prince in a shell

Prince in a Shell

“Once upon a time, for then it was when all stories begin, there was a King and a Queen who had a son. The Prince was their joy and they were his. Never has a Court seen such love and contentment before. But sadly, joy is frequently like a flower, which blooms today and falls to the earth the next.
So it was that an Enemy attacked the King’s land. As Head Knight, it fell to him to lead his men against the Marauders. So great was his courage, that the Enemy was soon vanquished, but in the heat of battle the King was pierced with a poisoned arrow and he died.
The Queen was filled with dismay and locked herself in a tower. No amount of entreaty could persuade her to open the door. She remained locked in her grief. The Court was in disarray. Finally, the Chamberlain sought out the young Prince. “Your Majesty, go and speak to your mother, for perhaps her mother’s heart will respond where her reason refuses.”
The Prince, his own heart torn by sadness, went to the tower and called out for his mother. Hearing his small voice, the Queen dried her eyes and opened the door. The Prince clung to her and together they wept.
The Lords and all the other Courtiers sent word to the Queen that as a woman she could not rule, and her son as a child, was likewise ineligible.
“Your Highness must take another husband to rule over us,” said a Baron with a note of finality.
Such are the cruelties of rulership. The Queen hardened her heart to her misery and sent word that she would interview suitors.
The Prince felt like he lived in a daze, for no man could replace what had been so harshly taken from him.
The Queen eventually settled on a handsome lord from a neighbouring land. Beauty, as they say, goes no deeper than the skin; for this lord had a green heart of envy. He saw the Prince as a competitor and hated him. The Prince made matters worse by not attempting to hide his disdain for his step-father.
One night, the new King went to the Prince’s chamber, and finding him asleep, gagged him and tied his hands together. He threw the Prince onto his horse and rode hard for the Sea. Here, he untied the Prince and freed his mouth. No bonds were necessary, for the King had another confinement for him. On the beach, the King made a rendezvous with an evil magician. “Here he is” laughed the evil King, “Shut him up so he never returns!”
The Magician spoke dark words, and immediately the Prince was enclosed in a huge, transparent shell. The Magician raised his hand and the Shell was cast into the deepest depths of the Sea. Down and down and down went the poor Prince and until finally the shell sank down into the muck at the bottom of the Sea.
The Prince pounded on the shell until his small fists were red, but it was to no avail. He screamed for help but the only result was the deep echoing of his voice.
Well, they say that every prisoner makes the best of his prison and so it was that the Prince learned to accept his confinement. He no longer cried. At least the shell prevented him from drowning.
There aren’t many things that one can do trapped in a shell, and the Prince soon discovered them all. He stood on his head, he slid down the steep incline of the shell, and he counted the seaweed that billowed outside of his prison. It wasn’t much of a life but it was better than drowning.
Then, one day, he saw a sight which destroyed his fragile contentment. It was a mermaid, swimming through the seaweed. Not the kind of swimming to get from point A to point B. No, this was more of a dance: now stately, now frisky. There were pirouettes, somersaults, and tail-snapping spinning. It was surely the most beautiful dance the Prince had ever seen. He pounded on the shell, but the Mermaid saw him not. The Prince wept for his frustration and cried out for deliverance!
And then, he saw a most strange sight: rainbow- coloured filaments fell through the water, settling all around his shell. Suddenly, the shell began-to rock back and forth, and with a pop, it broke free of the muck. He was in some sort of a net!
Up and up and up went the Prince in his shell until, splash! he was on the surface. In a boat, nearby, was a Fisherman, hauling in his net. If the Fisherman was surprised at netting a huge, transparent shell, he didn’t show it. He smiled as though bringing up boys from the depths was an everyday occurrence.
Seizing his filleting knife, the Fisherman began to pry open the shell. The Prince pushed and pried from within. Here an inch, and now another one, so that the Prince could get his hands out. Together they sweated and grit their teeth. Another inch and now another until crack! the shell lay in two halves. The Fisherman reached his brawny arms around the Prince’s waist and pulled him into his arms.
It was like being held by his father again. The Prince wept for joy.
They remained together for many days thereafter, as father and son, casting out the huge net together.”