The Happy Princess and The Fair Knight

Once upon a time there lived a happy princess. She was as happy as she could be. She did not belong to the royal blood but she was entitled as happy princess as she possessed the immense treasure of happiness which she had acquired by helping others. She was as helpful as she could ever be. She used to give a piece of her golden heart to everybody who came to seek her help. And every time she gave a piece of her heart to help anybody, she used to light a candle.

One day a merchant who faced a loss in his business, came to seek her help. She gave a piece of her golden heart to the merchant. The merchant sold the piece of the princess’ heart and made good fortune. That night The Happy Princess lit a beautiful candle.

Another day, a lover who had been ditched in love came to seek help from The Happy Princess. The Happy Princess gave him a bigger piece of her golden heart. The lover bowed to her, sang songs of her praises and left. The Happy Princess lit another bigger candle that night. But she felt a big hollow in her heart.

Day after day, people kept coming and The Happy Princess gleefully gave each of them a piece of her golden heart. But with her every act of help, the hollow of her heart grew bigger and bigger. And the hollow made her weaker and weaker.

One day, a man came to seek her help. The Happy Princess gladly put her hand to seek a piece of her heart and give it to the man. But Alas! No piece of her golden heart remained in her chest. There was a big hollow instead. The Happy Princess regretted over her being unable to help the man. The man left in deep sorrow and disappointment.

The Happy Princess couldn't sustain the disappointment caused to the man due to her inability of being helpful. She collapsed as the hollow had made her weaker.

Soon, the incident spread among the people and they learnt that The Happy Princess could not help anybody anymore. Disappointment spread and they wondered who would help them now onwards. Very soon the disappointment crossed the limits and people started accusing The Happy Princess for being unwilling to help anybody.

“What if she lost her heart? She could peel her skin off and still help people by offering it to them? And why skin only? She could even help people by her eyes, hair and every ounce of flesh she possessed. But she is too haughty and callous to be willing to help anybody.”

Very soon The Happy Princess became The Callous Princess as she could not fulfill people’s expectations. She was too weak to peel off her skin or take out her eyes or cut her hair herself. She simple lied in her bed waiting for death. Nobody visited her.

The Fair Knight was still unaware of the fate of The Happy Princess and he had ascended to her house to seek her help. He was badly injured in a recent war and hoped that The Happy Princess would help her. By the time he ascended to her town, he came to know about her ‘callousness’ and ‘unwillingness’ to help anybody.

He listened patiently to the people without uttering a word.

Once the night fell, he slowly went to The Happy Princess’ house and found it doomed in darkness. He slowly went to her room and found her lying in her bed and pale with fragility.

When The Happy Princess saw him, she said, “I am too weak to do anything. Please take that dagger and peel off my skin. And help yourself. I am sorry, you are my guest but I cannot attend you.”

The Fair Knight said, “I have not come here to take anything from you. I have come here to share something.”

The Happy Princess was surprised to hear those words. For all long her life, people had visited her to take something from her. And they didn’t even value that. Even her helpfulness was taken for granted and she was loaded with expectations. She was termed callous when she grew too weak to help. For the first time, somebody had come to ‘share’ something from her. She wondered what was up to!

The Fair Knight picked up the dagger and pierced his chest with it. He cut his heart in two and took out a half out of his chest. He put that half in the hollow of The Happy Princess’s ribs. As soon as he placed it there, The Happy Princess came back to life and The Fair Knight’s wounds healed.

Both of them looked at each other with sheer happiness. The Fair Knight bowed on his knees and asked for The Happy Princess’ consent to share his life with her. The Happy Princess smiled and gave her consent. Together, the pair left the town and got married later.

They didn't have the perfect hearts but together, they were COMPLETE!

- written By Sneha Gupta

 [Copyright © Sneha Gupta]