The Princess and the Faithful Knight

Once upon a time, there was a Princess whose beauty was the talk of not just her own, but many a land. As beautiful as she was, the princess had been raised to be fair and just. As the days went by, the happiness and the joy of her people became her only concern. One day, a prince arrived at the kingdom to court the princess. The two spent hours, days and weeks together. The princess had fallen in love with the charming prince.

One day, the prince took his princess to a shady grassland full of flowers, located near the edge of the forest. He challenged the princess to pick out the rarest flower for him; the scarlet rose from the dense woods if she truly loved him. The princess entered the woods to search for the scarlet rose. She loved the prince, and she would prove it to him. When she had almost given up, she saw a beautiful flower. The princess was fascinated by its beauty and reached out to touch it, but immediately fell asleep.

The prince suddenly appeared. He had planned to steal the riches and jewellery of the princess. He took the valuables and abandoned the princess. When the princess did not return her father, the king sent his soldiers far and wide to look for her. After a long search, they discovered her in the meadow, covered in vine. His advisers discovered that she had touched a scarlet rose and thus she couldn’t be awakened. The king tried every possible measure and potion to wake her up, but nothing helped.

The disheartened king made it known that anyone who could wait by the princesses’ side until she awoke would win her hand in marriage. Many suitors came drawn by the princesses’ beauty, but she slept on unaware. As time passed, her beauty faded, and so did almost all the suitors. Except for one- a knight who had knelt at the princess’ side and hadn’t moved since the time he had arrived. When the princess woke up, she saw the strong knight kneeling by her side. He told her about the poison and the king’s decree and declared his undying love for her. The king was overjoyed at having his daughter back, and at finding a loving husband for her, and declared their wedding which took place the very next day.