The Water Sprite and the Prince
There lived a beautiful fairy in the forest of Diac. Her
name was Erabella. The King Fairy, her father, gave her very own pond when she
turned 21. She was excited to have her own pond to live at and watch. Her
father told her that anyone who approaches her pond would have to answer the
question, “Who are the Good Fairies?” If the person answered the question
wrong, Erabella would have complete power over them. Erabella was a kind fairy
who did not do harm to those who got the question wrong. She merely gave them a
single conch shell necklace for them to wear. When she needed them, she would
call them and they would hear from the necklace.
One spring dewy day, Erabella heard commotion from the South
winds. She went over to explore the area. She saw three handsome men. They
obviously looked like brothers. One man in particular caught her eye. He looked
like he was the oldest brother. He stood tall but had kind eyes. She asked the
South wind where they traveled from.
The South wind replied, “The three men who traveled to the
Diac Forest come from the kingdom of Conrad. The winds tell me that they are
the princes who ran away from home until their father dies.”
Erabella spent days daydreaming of the oldest prince. Until
one day, the youngest prince came to her pond to fetch water for their
encampment.
Erabella asked him, “Who are the Good Fairies?”
The youngest replied, “Why, it is beautiful fairies like
you.”
Erabella said as she handed him a conch shell necklace, “That
was not the correct answer. What is your name?”
He said, “My name is Eric, the Sun Prince.”
Erabella showed him her cave and told him to wait there
until further notice.
The oldest and middle started to worry where their youngest
brother was. The oldest brother decided to grab his sword and head to the pond.
Erabella asked him, “Who are the Good Fairies?”
The oldest replied,
“The pure in heart
who fear to sin,
The good, kindly in
word and deed.”
Erabella said, “That is the correct answer. Where did you
learn that?”
The oldest replied, “Since I was interested in mythology as
a child, I learned it from an ancient book.”
Erabella told the oldest that he was free to go.
The oldest hesitated and said, “Water Fairy, my name is
Henry, Prince of the Stars. My youngest brother must have stumbled across here,
have you seen him?”
Erabella said, “Yes, he is sitting in my cave. You may have
him back under one condition.”
Henry waited.
“I would like to marry you and be your Queen, your equal.”
In response, Henry said, “When is the wedding?”
Bibliography. Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. The Baldwin Project.
Web source.
Author's Note: When the third prince was born, the king offered to uphold any promise the queen had. When the third son turned 21, the queen asked the king to give the kingdom to the third son. The king refused. The king said that it was the oldest and then the second son's by right. Afraid that the queen would harm the older sons, the king told the sons to go to the forest and live until he died. The youngest prince, seeing that his brothers were leaving, left with them too. The sun prince went to a pond owned by a water sprite. If the person goes to the pond and answers the question "What are the good fairies like?" correctly, they will not be in the sprite's power. The youngest prince answered wrong and the sprite carried him to his cave. The oldest king answered correctly and they lived happily ever after according to plan. In this story, I wanted the water sprite to be the main character.
