green fairy tale book

Chapter 20 The Cold Heart (3)
The other fairies who participated in the baptism did not find anything missing, and after the baptism, they went home.The king and queen were so happy that they finally breathed a sigh of relief.In this way, little Princess Sabella grew up day by day.She had no trouble learning everything a princess should know.Although her beauty is unparalleled in the world, people always feel that she lacks something.Her voice was delicate and beautiful, but when she sang, whether she sang happy or sad songs, she didn't seem to know the emotion contained in the songs.Those who have heard her sing say:

"She does sing very well, but she is not devoted at all. Her singing is not from her heart."

Poor Princess Sabella!How could she sing with her heart?Her heart is far away on the iceberg thousands of miles away!

In other respects, the princess acts as well as sings.Although everyone loves her and her parents blindly dote on her, as the little princess grows up day by day, people feel more and more that the little princess is cursed by fate.So the king held a party and invited many powerful fairies, hoping that they could find out what kind of disaster happened to the little princess.As soon as they entered Princess Sabella's room, they screamed in unison:
"Oh! Terrible—she has no heart!"

The king and queen cried out in despair.They asked the fairy to try to cure Princess Sabella.One of the oldest fairies has a magical magic book, which records the most advanced magic in the fairy world.This book was the lifeblood of the old Fairy, and she always carried it with her, and fastened about her waist with a thick silver chain.

The old Fairy opened the magic book, and presently pointed out that it was the Fairy Gorgonzola who stole Princess Sabella's heart, and pointed out where she had hidden the Princess' heart.

"What shall we do? What shall we do?" cried the king and queen with one voice.

"It must be very painful for you to find out that your dear daughter is only a beautiful walking corpse," said the old fairy. "It will last a long time, but, according to the prophecy in the book, the princess will have her heart again at last. I I suggest that you immediately send her portrait to the world. Then you have to make a promise that if any prince can get back the princess's heart, you will marry the princess to him, together with all her property. I see, just her Its beauty will attract princes from all over the world to take this risk."

So the king and queen did so.It is said that since then, more than 500 princes have been buried in the ice and snow, not to mention their guards and entourage.And every day, more princes come here to try their luck.

After thinking about it, the dwarf prince decided to go to the palace to see the king.His arrival did not cause any sensation, because the number of his entourage was almost negligible like his height; what's more, his competitors were all jeweled and ostentatious, and even Falda Kimpla The King of Sri Lanka pales in comparison.Even so, the dwarf prince saluted the king gracefully. When he said his name was "Prince Dwarf", the king tried his best not to laugh, but the other princes standing beside him had no scruples Laugh out loud.

The dwarf prince said to the king neither humble nor overbearing:
"If that name makes you happy, go ahead and laugh. I'm glad I did. But I'm not a toy for the other gentlemen. And if anyone thinks so, I must ask them to dismiss it immediately Such a thought." Then he turned to one of the princes who laughed the loudest, and challenged him haughtily to a one-on-one duel.The prince who laughed the loudest was Fardasi, who accepted the dwarf prince's challenge with contempt, and kept laughing at the dwarf prince's self-deprecation, because he felt that the dwarf prince had no chance of defeating himself.A duel was scheduled for the next day.After the meeting with the king, the dwarf prince came to Princess Sabella's drawing room.The beauty and grace of the princess almost suffocated him.With great difficulty he regained his composure, and said to the princess:

"Lovely princess, fatally attracted by your beautiful portrait, I come from the other side of the world to serve you. I would like to dedicate everything to you, but my ridiculous name makes me involved In a quarrel with one of your suitors. Tomorrow I have a duel with that ugly, overgrown prince, and I want you to come and prove to the world that a person's name means nothing, and please Accept me—the dwarf prince as your flower protector!"

The words of the dwarf prince made Princess Sabella very happy. Although she has no heart, she does not lack a sense of humor.So she gracefully accepted the dwarf prince's invitation.This made the dwarf prince very encouraged.So he further begged the princess, hoping that she would not show favor to his opponent then.

"Hey!" Princess Sabella said, "don't worry, I don't like those stupid fellows at all, their feelings and their stupid things make me upset. Expressing their hypocritical pain and troubles to me, nagging about love, I can’t understand a word. Who knows what else they said, let me tell you, I don't remember a word."

Through what the princess said, the dwarf boy immediately realized that instead of begging her to accept his love like other suitors of the princess, it is better to find a way to make her happy and interested in him, because the princess does not know "love" at all What is this mysterious thing.So he told the princess about his journey, and there were jokes in every journey, and the princess was very happy to hear it.The dwarf prince was so successful that the princess soon told the people that the dwarf prince was the one she could talk to.

The next day, it was time for the duel. The king, queen and princess came to the scene in person, and all the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the people of the whole city also gathered in the arena to watch the duel.Wearing bright armor, Prince Fardasi rode his horse into the arena, followed by 24 guards and a hundred soldiers, each leading a tall horse.The dwarf prince entered the arena from another direction, he was not wearing armor, but he carried a spear in his hand, followed by his hound Mostar.Because the contrast between the two princes was too great, the crowd couldn't help bursting into laughter.As soon as the whistle sounded, the two princes quickly patted their horses and rushed towards each other.The dwarf prince quickly avoided the attack of Prince Fardasi. After a few rounds, he knocked Prince Fardasi off his horse, stabbed him with a spear, and wedged his body in the sand.This beautiful blow attracted people's admiration.

According to the dueling rules of the knights, the dwarf prince can now dispose of the life of the prince Fadaxi at will.He turned to the princess, and swore to her that he did not intend to kill anyone who claimed to be her suitor.Then he ordered the shameless and disgraced Prince Fardasi to stand up and thank the princess for not killing him.Then he and Mosta the Hound left the arena in a state of majesty to the sound of gongs and drums and a flood of cheers.

The king immediately sent a message to congratulate him on his victory, and arranged for him a lodging in the palace, which the dwarf prince readily accepted.Princess Sabella proposed that she wanted to borrow the hound Mosta to play for a while. When he brought Mosta to the princess, the princess thought the hound was so cute and smart, so she asked the dwarf prince to take Mo Sta gave it to her.The dwarf prince immediately agreed to the request, not only out of politeness, but also because he felt that the princess had a loyal friend of his own who would be of great help someday.These few events soon made the dwarf prince a very important figure in this country.

Soon after, news came from the frontiers that an envoy of a very powerful king had arrived on the frontier, and he sent a letter to the king, asking the king to allow him to enter the capital, in order to formally accept the king's reply.

The letter said:
I, King Brenda Timo, greet King Falda Rapkins: If I had seen your daughter's portrait sooner, I would never have allowed these adventurers and vain princes to She was so courteous that they wouldn't have toads want to eat swan meat and be frozen into popsicles on the iceberg.As for myself, I have never been afraid of any competitor.I declare that I will marry your daughter.There is no doubt that after hearing my declaration, other suitors will immediately give up the idea of ​​pursuing the princess.I gave my envoys an order to arrange for the princess to come and marry me as soon as possible without any mistakes.I don't give a damn about all the nonsense rumors you spread about icebergs.Even if the princess really has no heart, I promise I won't care.Even if there is really someone who can help her find her heart, that person must be me.Goodbye, my dear father-in-law!

After reading this letter, Falda?King Rapkins and Queen Perbantina were embarrassed and angry, and the princess was also irritated by the haughty tone and impertinent demands.After the three of them discussed it, they decided that the contents of this letter must be kept strictly confidential before deciding how to reply to him.But Mosta the Hound secretly told the dwarf prince about it.The prince couldn't help being filled with righteous indignation.After thinking for a while, he asked to see the princess.During the meeting, the prince cleverly brought the topic to the princess's most concerned and worried matters.So the princess could not help telling the whole thing to the dwarf prince, and asked him what she should do now.The dwarf prince did not expect the princess to ask this question, but he replied that he advised the princess to delay as long as possible, and give her an answer after the envoys of King Brandatimo had entered the city.

Soon the envoys of King Branda Timo arrived in the capital, Trellington.Since the princess has not given an answer, he can't help being a little impatient.But he just said proudly: Soon his carriages and ceremonial guards will arrive. At that time, he will let the people of Trellington and the princes from all over the world take a good look at him. His master, King Brandatimo determination and power.The dwarf prince was very disappointed.After thinking anxiously for a long time, he felt that this time he had to ask the kind fairy Gnista for help.The dwarf prince missed Fairy Gnysta very much, and was always grateful to her, but since he embarked on this journey, he secretly swore that he would never ask for the help of Fairy until the most critical moment.That night, as he was lying in bed, thinking over and over of his difficult situation, he suddenly saw the Fairy standing beside him, and said to him:
"Prince dwarf, I am very pleased that you have behaved well all the way, and you will always have good friends to help you when you need it most. As for the envoy of King Branda Timothy, you can assure the princess that Let her just wait quietly for his guard of honor to enter the city. There must be a way for the car to reach the mountain, and the boat will naturally go straight when it reaches the bridge."

The dwarf prince got up and wanted to kneel before the fairy to thank her, when he woke up suddenly, and realized that he had had a dream, but he was still inspired by it.He rushed to see the princess the next day, assuring her that everything would be all right.He then asked the princess if she would be grateful to someone who would save her from marrying the insolent King Brendatimo.The princess replied that if that was the case, she would be eternally grateful to that man for his kindness.Then the dwarf prince asked her what her best wishes for the man would be.The princess replied: "I hope he can be like me, don't have to worry about the absurd things like 'love'."

These words were a great blow to the dwarf prince who loved the princess with all his heart.However, he still endured the pain in his heart and continued to chat and laugh happily with the princess.At this time, the envoy sent someone to say that tomorrow he would enter the palace with the guard of honor and formally accept the princess's answer.So at dawn the next day, all the residents in the city got up, and everyone hoped to occupy a good seat to see how grand the guard of honor of the envoy of King Brandatimo was.But what happened next surprised them.

It turned out that the fairy cast a spell on the eyes of all the onlookers, so when the guard of honor of the envoys appeared in high spirits, in the eyes of the audience, their gorgeous uniforms looked so worn out that even a beggar would wear them. The rags that feel ashamed; the tall horses are skinny in their eyes, and a gust of wind can blow them down; A piece of old sheepskin is too shabby even if it is spread on the donkey pulling the mill.Their formation couldn't be more ugly.The whistle made no sound at all, as if what they had in their mouths was not a whistle, but a piece of green onion, or a broken paper tube.What followed behind the cavalry was originally a convoy of fifty stately carriages, but what the audience saw was fifty shabby donkey carts.The envoy of King Brenda Timo sat proudly in the last car, and his car was also the commanding height of the whole procession. He felt that it was very beautiful, because he was representing a powerful monarch.He looked at his guard of honor with satisfaction: they are so gorgeously dressed and neatly dressed!And everyone in the guard of honor also had triumphant expressions on their faces. They believed that their appearance and gorgeous attire would surely amaze all the onlookers.

When this unusual guard of honor marched towards the palace, the inhabitants of the city laughed until their stomachs ached, and at last even King Falda Kimpras, who was sitting in the drawing room, heard their laughter.However, because the king felt that the envoy brought such a large guard of honor, probably to humiliate himself, so before the team arrived at the palace, the king ordered the gate to be closed.

The envoy was holding back his energy and wanted to use his guard of honor to demonstrate to the king, but the king didn't give him this opportunity at all, and refused to receive them for no reason.You can imagine how outraged the envoy was.He hurled insults at the king and at the crowd.The common people were enraged and kept laughing at them, throwing stones and clods at them.The whole column retreated in disorder.The envoy fled almost faster than his horse, but before he fled the city he did not forget to grit his teeth and declare war on the king, threatening to reduce the country to the ground with fire and sword.

A few days later, King Bayard sent someone to send a letter to the dwarf prince, in which he said kindly that no matter what difficulties the dwarf prince had, he could speak to him, and asked him about his current situation with great interest. progress.

The dwarf prince immediately replied with a letter, describing in detail what happened after their separation, and of course he did not forget to write the grievances between King Falda Kimpulas and King Brandatimo. Finally, he asked Bayard The king sent an army of several thousand hunting dogs to his aid.

(End of this chapter)