green fairy tale book

Chapter 28 The Prince Charming and the Beautiful Helena

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Helena.Her mother died when she was very young, and her stepmother was very cruel and merciless to her, often abusing her.Helena did everything she could to gain her love, and was always happy to do the heavy work she set herself to do quickly and well.But this did not move the stepmother's heart at all.On the contrary, the more poor Helena did, the more her stepmother made Helena do.One day, the stepmother gave Helena twelve pounds of mixed feathers and ordered her to separate them all before evening, and if she couldn't finish it by then, she would punish her severely.

Poor Helena had to sit on a stool and get to work.Tears filled her eyes so much that she couldn't see anything at first.Afterwards, with great difficulty, she picked out a small pile of feathers, and with a deep sigh, she blew them all away again.Helena lowered her head in pain, covered her face with her hands, and cried sadly, "Is there no one in the world who pities me?"

Suddenly a soft voice replied: "Don't be sad, my child, I will help you."

Helena was taken aback.She looked up and found a fairy standing in front of her.The Fairy asked her in the softest voice: "Why are you crying, dear?"

Helena had not heard such a friendly voice for a long time, so she confided to the fairy her miserable experience and her present despair, because she felt that it was impossible for her to complete the task entrusted to her by her stepmother.

"Don't worry about it any more," said the good Fairy, "and lie down and sleep! I see you will do well in your task."

So Helena lay down, and when she awoke, she found that all the feathers had been divided into little piles according to different kinds.She was about to turn around and thank the fairy, but found that the fairy had long since disappeared.

Helena's stepmother came home in the evening.She was surprised to find Helena sitting quietly, all the work done.

The stepmother praised Helena's diligence, and at the same time racked her brains to figure out what heavier work to entrust to her.The next day, the stepmother gave Helena a battered shovel full of holes, and she ordered Helena to use it to clean the pond near the house.Helena immediately set to work.It didn't take long for her to discover that whatever her stepmother told her to do, it must be impossible.Helena threw away the shovel in grief and despair.At this time, the kind fairy appeared in front of her again.The fairy asked her, "Why are you so unhappy?"

Helena told the fairy about her stepmother's new mission.The Fairy said, "Believe me, I will do this for you. Before that, lie down and sleep."

Helena was comforted by the fairy's words.So she lay down.After a while the Fairy woke her up gently, and told her that the pond had been cleared.Helena was overjoyed.She immediately ran to her stepmother, hoping that her stepmother would be soft-hearted to her from now on.But when the cruel stepmother found out that her poisonous plan had been destroyed, she became furious and wanted to find some more difficult things for Helena to do.

The next morning, she took Helena to a rocky knoll, and ordered her to build a beautiful castle before dark, and to furnish it from the attic to the basement.Helena sat despondently on the pile of stones, wishing secretly that the kind fairy might help her again.

The fairy did appear, and she promised to help Helena build the castle, and then she told Helena to lie down and sleep for a while.As soon as the fairy's voice fell, the stones on the ground automatically flew up and piled up into a beautiful castle.Before sunset, the interior of the castle was fully decorated, and nothing was left out.You can imagine how happy Helena was when she awoke to find that her work was all done!

But the vicious stepmother wasn't happy at all. She went up and down the castle, hoping to find something wrong and punish Helena.At last she was in a basement.But as it was so dark there, she fell down the steep steps and died instantly.In this way, Helena became the master of this beautiful castle and lived a peaceful and happy life ever since.

Helena grew more and more beautiful, and her name spread far and wide. Everyone knew that there lived a beautiful Helena here.Many suitors come here, hoping to marry her.One of the suitors, known as the Prince of Flowers, quickly won Helena's heart.One day, they were happily sitting under the linden tree in front of the castle. Prince Huaxin suddenly told Helena a sad news. He said he had to go back to his parents and ask them to agree to marry Helena.The prince vowed that he would come back as soon as possible, so during this time, Helena was asked to wait for him under the linden tree where they had spent many happy times together.

When parting, Helena tenderly kissed the prince's left cheek, begging him not to let anyone else kiss there.Then she assured the prince that she would sit under the bodhi tree and wait for her, because she never doubted the prince's loyalty to her, and she believed that he would come to her as soon as possible.

Helena walks the talk.She sat motionless under the Bodhi tree for three days and three nights, but her lover never came back.Helena was so sad that she decided to leave the castle to find him.She took with her as much jewels as she could, and three of her most beautiful dresses, embroidered with stars, the moon, and the sun in solid gold.After leaving the castle, Helena traveled all over the world, but found no trace of her fiancé at all.Finally she gave up looking in disappointment.But she didn't want to go back to the castle.She is afraid of every table, chair, plant and tree in the castle, and the beautiful memories of her time with her lover will come to her eyes all the time.Because the happier the memories in the past, the more they gouge out her heart like a knife now, and she can't bear such pain.So she decided to continue to endure loneliness and loneliness in a strange land.

She took a job herding cattle with a farmer's family and buried her jewelry and beautiful clothes in a safe and secure place.Every morning, Helena drives the cattle to graze, but she never forgets her betrayal lover.She dotes on a calf in the herd very much and always feeds it with her own hands.She made it kneel before her, and whispered into its ear:
"Kneel down, Maverick, kneel down; you must be faithful, honest and obedient; don't be like the Prince Charming, who once left his beautiful Helena under the lime tree."

In this way, several years passed.She suddenly heard that the princess of this country was about to marry a prince named "Hua Xin".Everyone was delighted to hear the news, except poor Helena.It was a terrible blow to her, because deep down she had always believed that her lover truly loved her too.

The road to the capital happened to pass through the village where Helena lived, and when Helena drove her herd to the pasture, Prince Flowerheart often rode past her on horseback.But he never paid attention to the poor cow-girl, because he was always preoccupied with his bride-to-be.Helena suddenly wanted to test his heart to see if he would still think of herself.So one day when Prince Huaxin rode by again, she said to her calf:

"Kneel down, little cow, kneel down; be faithful and obedient; don't be like the Prince Charming, who left his poor Helena under the lime tree."

Helena's voice seemed to remind Prince Huaxin of something, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was.He didn't catch the words—for Helena whispered the sentences in a trembling voice.Helena herself was too excited to observe the prince's reaction in time.When she raised her head and looked around, she found that the prince had gone far.However, the prince obviously slowed down and fell into deep thought, which gave Helena a glimmer of hope.

To celebrate the upcoming nuptials, the nation's capital will host a huge banquet that lasts several nights.Helena puts all her hopes on the line and decides to go to the banquet to find her lover.

When night fell, Helena quietly left the peasant's hut and went to the place where the clothes and jewels were buried.She put on her gown with suns of solid gold, and all her jewelry, and let down her beautiful golden hair, which was hidden under her scarf.After dressing up, she set off towards the capital.

When she entered the big ballroom, all eyes were on her.People marveled at her beauty, but no one knew who she was.Prince Huaxin was also dazzled by the girl's beauty, but he never imagined that she was also his lover.

Prince Huaxin never left Helena's side all night.When it was time to go home, Helena managed to escape from him and blend into the crowd.Prince Flowerheart looked for her everywhere, and was eagerly looking forward to seeing her again on the morrow evening--this beautiful girl had promised him to come again the next day.

The next evening beautiful Helena set off early to the party.This time she was wearing the dress with the moon pattern and a crescent-shaped barrette in her hair.Prince Flower Heart was very happy to see her, and thought Helena was even more beautiful than the night before.He didn't leave Helena's side all night, refusing to dance with anyone else.He begged Helena to tell him her name, but Helena refused the request.He had to beg Helena to come back tomorrow.Helena agreed.

On the third night, Prince Huaxin was impatient to see this charming beauty as soon as possible. Before the banquet started, he arrived at the venue first, and then stared at the door intently.Finally Helena finally came.She wore a gown embroidered with gold and silver stars, a star-studded belt, and even star-shaped ornaments in her hair.Prince Huaxin loved her so much that he begged Helena to tell him her name again.

Helena kissed him quietly on the left cheek.In an instant, Prince Huaxin recognized his old love.Filled with remorse and grief, he begged Helena to forgive him.Helena finally won back her lover's heart, she couldn't contain her joy, and soon forgave the prince.So they married and returned to Helena's castle together.Now they must be sitting happily side by side under the linden tree.

(End of this chapter)