A Gift for the Prince

Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen who were very kind. They loved their people and ruled with mercy. Because they were kind rulers, the people loved them as well.

The king and queen were very happy, except that they'd wanted a baby for many years and had been unable to have one. Finally, they were blessed with a beautiful baby boy.

At the birth of the king and queen's son, the people rejoiced and sent the finest gifts they could afford.

Emily's family was poor. They didn't have a lot of money to buy something special for the newborn prince, but they wanted to send a special gift because this king and queen had ended many terrible laws the previous one had enforced. Their life was much happier now, even if they weren't much richer.

Emily's parents discussed what to do for a gift. They'd been saving to buy a piece of land so they could grow vegetables and raise chickens and have a better life. Most of their money was actually in the form of a silver piggy bank of beautiful craftsmanship that they'd received as a wedding gift. They'd been told to save their money in this bank and when they almost had enough for a piece of land, they could also sell the bank to help them buy the land.

Her parents thought long and hard and eventually decided they really wanted to give their beautiful piggy bank to the new prince. They could save their money in an old jar and just save longer before buying some land.

With that decision, they emptied the silver piggy bank, polished it well, and wrapped it in a cloth. Emily's parents couldn't go because they had to work, so they decided to send Emily. Emily's mother made her lots of wonderful things to eat on the trip and they sent her off with their precious silver piggy bank.

Emily promised to take extra care of the silver piggy bank and give the royal family her parents' best wishes for the future. She set off on her journey, excited to see the palace.

As Emily was traveling, she ran across a man selling beautiful golden silks as gifts for the newborn prince. Emily looked at all the glittery things and sighed. These were much more beautiful than their silver piggy bank.

The man saw Emily staring at an extraordinary piece, but knew such a young girl wouldn't be able to afford the price. But still, everyone on this road was going to the palace, so she must have something of value.

"Hello there, little girl. What brings you this way?"

"I'm going to congratulate the king and queen on the birth of their new son."

"Well, you must have something very expensive to give to them as a gift. Let me see what you're bringing."

Emily was embarrassed after seeing the fine silks the man was selling. She blushed and said, "We don't have a lot of money. We are only bringing a silver piggy bank my parents received as a wedding gift." She unwrapped the bank to show him.

Upon seeing the fine craftsmanship, he smiled, knowing his plan.

"Oh, well that's a nice gift for a common person, but certainly that's not all you're going to give to a prince! You could be locked in the tower for such a gift."

Seeing the fear in Emily's eyes, he said, "But don't worry. I can sell you something beautiful to bring as a gift instead."

Emily looked sad. "But I can't afford any of your fine fabrics."

"Oh, there, there," said the man, patting Emily on the head. "Don't worry. I'll tell you what. I have a very special fabric I can give you in exchange for your bank, if you promise to keep the secret of how I get these beautiful golden silks."

Emily looked unsure. After all, the bank was the gift she was supposed to bring for the prince. But she looked at the wonderful silks blowing in the breeze.

"These are made from real gold. One of these is worth a hundred of your little silver banks."

Emily knew many people would be bringing gifts of gold. She'd seen some of them being carried along the road. She decided to take a chance on what his secret might be.

"Okay, I'll give you this silver bank if you give me a golden silk to take to the palace."

"I'm not going to give you one of these silks. That's where the secret comes in." He reaches inside a chest and brings out two pieces of ordinary looking fabric. He looks around to ensure no one was listening. "These are magical fabrics that I use to make these fine silks from."

Emily eyed at him suspiciously.

"Really. But it's not from my magic or even just the magic of these two ordinary looking pieces of cloth. You have to go to Gold Stream way up the road and wash these fabrics in the stream while saying, 'Fabric, fabric, in Gold Stream, turn this fabric into gold before I scream.' Say that three times and if after three times, the fabric hasn't completely turned to gold, scream. Sometimes it takes a few tries. And you REALLY have to believe." Pointing to the most beautiful fabric Emily had been eyeing earlier, he said, "I almost screamed myself hoarse trying to make this one. But it was worth it. I can't promise yours will look like this when it's done, but it's certainly worth that little old silver piggy bank, don't you think?"

Emily nodded her head excitedly and handed him the piggy bank. She wrapped the fabrics in the material that used to hold the piggy bank and practically started to run in the direction of Gold Stream.

Gold Stream was farther than she realized and she was out of breath by the time she reached it, even though she'd had to slow to a walk. The royal family would be so impressed with their gift and her family would be so proud of her for getting such a wonderful gift.

She quickly untied the bundle of fabrics and started dipping them in the stream saying the magic words, "Fabric, fabric, in Gold Stream, turn this fabric into gold before I scream."

Nothing. She tried again. "Fabric, fabric, in Gold Stream, turn this fabric into gold before I scream."

Still nothing. She tried again. "Fabric, fabric, in Gold Stream, turn this fabric into gold before I scream."

And STILL nothing. She was a little intimidated and looked around to see if anyone was watching her, then she let out a scream. Birds from a nearby branch flew away in fright. She blushed and began again.

After three more times of repeating the magic words, she screamed again. And began again.

After another three times, she looked at the fabrics and they looked just as they had before. She let out the loudest scream she could. Her throat hurt a little this time, but she knew it was for the prince, so she started again.

After the next three tries and another scream, she began to get teary in frustration. She was sure she believed, but nothing was happening. She began to cry as she started washing the fabrics in Gold Stream and saying the magic words yet again.

After the third try, just as she was about to let out a slightly hoarse scream, an elderly lady approached her from behind. "Excuse me. Was that you screaming?"

Emily jumped at the words. She had thought she was all alone. She blushed at her screaming and her crying and nodded.

"Well, I can understand letting out a scream or two every now and then, but what ever is wrong that keeps you at it so?"

Emily explained through her tears how she'd been trying to turn the fabric into gold as she'd been told, but that apparently she simply didn't believe strongly enough.

"Oh, that man," the old woman said. "He's at it again. He's always got a trick up his sleeve. Don't cry. Come with me, have some supper, and we'll see what we can do about this gift for the prince."

Emily agreed, feeling a little better.

After dinner, the kind old woman listened to Emily as she told all about the things she'd seen on her trip and how excited she was to go to the palace, but how sad she was that she no longer had a gift for the prince.

"Well, I'll tell you what. How about you and I do something for that prince that no one else will? Many people are bringing the prince gold and even silver as gifts. No doubt there will even be people bringing golden silks. But no one will be bringing the prince a handmade quilt."

Emily didn't want to bring the prince a handmade anything, let alone a quilt. She knew that store bought gifts are the best, but she looked at the old woman smiling at her and knew she didn't have any other choice, so Emily agreed.

Emily and the old lady stayed up very late that night working on the quilt and they even worked on it the next day. Long after Emily went to bed, the elderly woman worked until the quilt was finished.

Emily got up the following day and saw the quilt they'd been working on was covering her. She had to admit, the quilt was very warm and it looked better than she'd expected. She still wished she hadn't traded her family's silver piggy bank, but she knew she didn't have another gift and was grateful to the elderly lady who had helped her.

After a hearty breakfast, Emily thanked the woman profusely and left with her new gift for the prince.

Emily finally reached the palace late in the afternoon and she couldn't believe everything she was seeing. There were people with golden cups and silver plates and even some with scarfs like the man was selling. But no one, not one single person was holding a handmade gift. Emily was embarrassed, but she knew the mistake was her own fault and when she presented the quilt, she'd simply apologize and leave.

Emily waited in line with all the other loyal subjects, everyone chatting excitedly about their gifts and what it would be like inside the royal palace. She was grateful that no one wanted to talk to her because she was just a little girl. She was too embarrassed by her gift and pretended she didn't exist.

Finally, it came time for her to present her gift. She shyly approached the king and queen and the little prince in his bassinet.

She untied her cloth holding the quilt and said, as she'd been instructed by the royal guard, "Your highness, I present to you this gift of a handmade quilt."

Almost before she finished, the queen jumped up, startling Emily, "Oh my! It's exquisite! It's the most beautiful gift he's received!"

The queen came down to Emily to get a closer look at the quilt.
"I can see it was made with great time and attention. It's the best gift you could have given him. So many people have given gold and silver and other things they bought, but no one took the time to actually make something for him."

The king agreed. "Because you have given us this most precious gift, we offer you a gift in return. What would you like?"

Emily remembered her parents' frequent discussions about wanting some land and she told the king.

"It is done. You shall have land from my finest fields!"

When Emily returned home, she told her parents everything that had happened. They wanted to be angry with her, but they simply couldn't. They smiled, thanked her for being honest, and gave her a big hug.

And they lived happily ever after...

2000 Words