green fairy tale book

Chapter 18 The Cold Heart (1)
Once upon a time there was a king and queen, who were very stupid people, but they were very fond of each other.Some of the sarcastic people sneered that it was more proof that the king and queen were stupid enough, because only fools like fools.Of course, the king's ministers dare not say such things, after all, no matter how stupid they are, they are still their own masters.So so far, their country is still stable and prosperous.At that time, if one wanted to rule a country well, one had to have a good relationship with the fairies and magicians all over the country.During the holidays, you must not forget to send them some pastries, silks and satins... What is especially important is that whenever a christening ceremony is held, you must remember to invite each of them to the ceremony, regardless of Whether this fairy or magician is good, bad, neither bad nor good and bad, can't leave him alone.

This year the stupid queen gave birth to a son.Months before the christening, she had painstakingly prepared a long list of names of all the people who had been invited.But she forgot how long she had been writing this list, and how long her husband, the stupid king who was about to read it, had to read it.Sure enough, before the second page was finished, the stupid king's tongue was tied up with fatigue, so he stammered and hurriedly read: "I call your presence, and I implore you... this what What kind of fairy, or so-and-so magician, I hope you will come and bless my son with kindness."

To make matters worse, it was not long before someone came to inform the king that the fairies on the first page of the list had arrived at the palace after hearing his summons.They were already waiting impatiently in the hall, complaining why no one received them.The king had to put the list aside, and hasten to entertain the fairies who had come.He very humbly asked them to be calm, and most of the fairies were moved, and promised that they would not do the prince any harm for such a small matter, but one fairy did not think so.She was a fairy who had come a long way from a distant country, and though her name was on the first page of the list, nothing was known about her.After hearing the call from the king, she hurried over on a big ostrich.But when she got here, no one received her, and no one helped her get off the ostrich, she was very angry.Then she murmured to herself in a terrible tone:
"Oh, stop talking nonsense, your son will never be something to boast about, no matter what you say, he will become a dwarf..."

She could have said something more vicious and given the little prince some bad luck gifts.Fortunately, the guardian fairy of this country, the Fairy Gnisda, arrived in a hurry at this time, preventing the tragedy from expanding.She comforted the unknown Fairy with many kind words, and begged her to speak no more, and then she hinted that it was time for the king to send a present.After the baptism, the fairies went home, except Fairy Gnista.She came to the queen and said to her:

"Look what a mess you've made! Madame, why didn't you discuss it with me beforehand? Maybe stupid people like you think you can do well without help from others. Even so, you are too rude. Well, I've always been kind to you, and you didn't even invite me!"

"Ah, my dear lady!" cried the king, kneeling at the fairies' feet, "I have not had time to pronounce your name! Look at the marks I have made! Almost from the beginning, I gave up in despair." I thought about reading the list."

"Well! well!" said the Fairy, "I am not offended. Nor do I allow myself to be entangled in trifles with the one I like. But as for your son, though I have done my best to spare him some misfortune, You still have to let me take him away and let me take care of him. You can't see him again until he's covered in hair!"

After hearing these incredible words, the king and queen couldn't help crying.Because the climate in their country is very hot, they really don't understand why the little prince has to be covered with hair, but they know that the fairy must be warning them that the little prince is destined to have great disasters.

However, the fairy let them not worry too much.

"If I leave you the little prince," she said, "when he grows up, he will be as stupid as you are. I don't even want him to know that he is your son. As for you, just concentrate on governing you." country." Then she opened the window, took the little prince in his swaddling arms and his cradle, and flew away lightly, leaving the king and queen in great sorrow.

Afterwards the King and Queen asked around to know what the Fairy meant when she said, "You must wait until the little prince is covered with hair before you can see him again," but no one could give a satisfactory explanation.But people also felt that this must be a pretty terrible thing.The king and queen didn't think about food and tea, and walked around the palace sadly and anxiously every day. Their sad appearance made everyone feel sorry for them.

At this time, the fairy had brought the little prince back to her castle.She entrusted him to the care of a peasant girl, and then cast a spell on the peasant girl to make her think that the little prince was her own son.In this way, the little prince grew up vigorously day by day and lived a simple farm life.Fairy felt that this kind of life was the best education for him in his childhood.When he grew up a little, the fairy kept him by her side more and more.Under her guidance, the little prince's intelligence and knowledge gradually became as outstanding as his body.But the fairy's goal is far more than that. She feels that the little prince has to go through hardships, blows and disappointments, and learn about his compatriots before he can become a qualified prince.Because she knew that, sooner or later, all this knowledge and character would come in handy.

The little prince gradually grew up and became a strong and smart young man, but his height stopped growing a few years ago, so he may be the smallest prince in the world.Even so, he has vigor and good looks that are out of proportion to his height.The prince knew that people called him "dwarf" behind his back.But he secretly vowed that one day, he would make this name resound everywhere.

In order to let the dwarf prince practice in all directions, the fairy made him have many wonderful dreams.He always dreamed that he was exploring everywhere on sea or land, and in these journeys he always appeared as a hero.Sometimes he dreamed that he rescued a lovely princess from dire peril, and sometimes he dreamed that he won a kingdom by his brave deeds.These dreams aroused the dwarf prince's ambition, and he couldn't wait to go out to travel, to a distant country where birth was not valued, and heroes were judged only by success or failure, and there he made achievements with his courage.One day, just as he was planning his journey with great concentration and ambition, he unexpectedly rode into a city not far from the fairy castle without knowing it.He had intended to hunt in the forest near the city, so he was dressed in simple clothes, with a bow, a box of arrows, and a bright spear.But even so dressed, he still looked valiant and dignified.As soon as the prince entered the city gate, he saw that everyone was running towards the market, so he turned his horse and ran towards the market, wondering what happened there.I saw a few unfamiliar faces in the market, foreigners wearing exotic costumes, and one of them was a majestic old man who seemed to be their spokesperson, reading a notice to the onlookers.The prince squeezed to the front of the crowd, only to hear the old man solemnly read:
Today I declare to the world:
Whoever climbs to the top of the iceberg, as a reward, he will win the most beautiful girl in the world——Princess Sabella, and all her lands!

After reading the notice, the old man went on to say: "This list contains the names of many princes. They were infatuated with the beauty of the princess, and all of them died on the way to climb the iceberg. On the other list, there are princes who just decided to take the risk of climbing the iceberg." the names of the princes."

Hearing this, the dwarf prince had a strong impulse to list his name with other warriors.But when he thought of his background and his empty wallet, he couldn't help but flinch.While he was hesitating, the old man's attendants carefully opened a portrait.The old man bowed respectfully to the portrait a few times before ordering his followers to show it to everyone.

With just one glance, the astonishing appearance of Princess Sabella made the prince make up his mind.He walked quickly to the front and asked them to add his name to the second list.Seeing the prince's simple clothes and short stature, they couldn't help but look at each other, not knowing whether to agree or refuse.The dwarf prince said proudly:
"Give me the list, and I'll sign my name myself!"

They did.The prince was very excited, his admiration for the princess made his heart surge, but the hesitant and mocking expressions of the princess' envoys made him a little annoyed.The prince's pen was hanging in the air, and it didn't come down for a long time.He anxiously wanted to find a new name for himself, after all, people had always called him too indecently.But in the end, after the long list of eminent names on the list, the prince simply wrote the word "dwarf".The princess's envoys couldn't help laughing.

"You judge by appearances!" cried the prince angrily, "if you hadn't been in front of the picture of the lovely princess, I would have cut off your heads!"

But he immediately realized that "Dwarf Prince" was a ridiculous name anyway, and he hadn't done anything earth-shattering to make himself famous yet.So he calmed down and asked the way to Princess Sabella's country.

Although the dwarf prince is full of confidence, he clearly knows that there will be many difficulties and obstacles along the way.He decided to set off at once, without even saying goodbye to the Fairy, for he was afraid that the Fairy might stop him.Hearing that the dwarf prince was about to embark on such a dangerous journey to compete with princes from all over the world to win the heart of the most beautiful princess in the world, everyone in the city who knew him burst out laughing.The news even reached the ears of the dwarf prince's parents, the foolish king and queen, who laughed more than anyone else, thinking that the little one was crazy - how did they know that the brash little one was themselves The only son!

In this way, the dwarf prince embarked on a long journey.But the direction the messengers told him was too general.

"When you reach the point 400 leagues north of the Caucasus Mountains, you will receive a mission and mission instructions to conquer the iceberg."

In short, he set out eastward, avoiding all the villages and towns on the way, lest his name should be laughed at.well!You can surely see that our little prince is not a seasoned traveler, nor has he learned how to enjoy and cope with jokes directed at him.In this way, he slept in the woods every night, and gathered wild fruits to satisfy his hunger when he was hungry.Fortunately, the kind fairy Gnisda has been taking care of him in secret. She thinks that if the dwarf prince is always half-starved, he can't do anything. All kinds of good things to eat.So whenever the prince wakes up, he is always surprised to find that he is not hungry at all!
To test his mettle, the Fairy puts many tests on the dwarf prince's journey.The prince passed all the tests successfully, only to lose his horse at the end in a fight with a monster.However, none of this can stop him from moving forward.Soon after, the prince arrived at a seaport.There happened to be a ship going to the port where the Prince was going, and it happened that all the money he had with him was just enough to buy a ticket, so he got on board, and the ship lifted anchor and set sail.A few days later, the ship sank in the vast sea in a terrible storm, and everyone on board died in the belly of the fish, only the dwarf prince survived, and he swam tenaciously to the only visible land .He swam and swam, until he reached the shore before the last of his strength was exhausted.It was only later that he discovered that it was a desert island.So he made a living by fishing and hunting, and spent his days on the deserted island, hoping that the fairies would come to rescue him.One day, he was looking sadly out to sea when he noticed a strange looking boat drifting slowly towards the island.Soon it floated to the shore and ran aground on the sand.

The dwarf prince hurried to the side of the boat and watched it carefully.He was surprised to find that the mast of the ship was covered with branches, and there were leaves on the branches, which looked like a small tree.The boat was quiet and there was no sound. The prince thought that there must be no one on board, so he pushed aside the lush branches and leaves on the hull and jumped into the cabin.Looking around, he couldn't help being startled—the cabin was full of people lying in disorder, and they lay there motionless, as if they were dead.It looks like they are the crew of this ship, but now, they seem to have turned into trees.Their limbs grew firmly on the deck like roots, some on the mast, others on the side of the ship, or wherever they happened to come across when possessed by the enchantment.The dwarf prince was very sorry for their situation, so he did his best to save them.He carefully separated their hands and feet from the enchanted tree trunk with the sharp point of an arrow, and carried them one by one to the shore, massaged their stiff limbs, and finally applied several kinds of herbs.The treatment worked, and within a few days, the crew was back to life.

How did the dwarf prince know about this miraculous cure?Needless to ask, of course it is the fairy's credit!In addition, the fairy also unconsciously instilled in the dwarf prince's mind the idea of ​​"try to spread these herbs on the boat".So the prince did so, and it was not long before the magic that was attached to the ship was broken.Otherwise, according to that growth rate, the ship would turn into a forest in a short time.The crew were very grateful for the life-saving grace of the dwarf prince, and they were willing to send the prince to any seaport he wanted.The prince asked them what had happened to the ship, how they had been corrupted by magic, but they could not explain it, but said that a few days ago, when their ship was sailing along a bay covered with thick forests, Suddenly, a gust of wind blew onto the boat from the direction of the forest, and they immediately felt surrounded by a cloud of dust, and then they were horrified to find that, except for the metal, everything on board, including themselves, began to sprout like plants , blossomed; and then they fell into a drowsy insensibility until the dwarf prince found them.

The dwarf prince was very interested in this strange story, and even went to the bottom of the cabin to collect some dust mentioned by the crew, and then carefully stored them away.Because he felt that these strange dusts might come in handy someday.

(End of this chapter)