The Maiden and the Thorny-vine Wall

Once upon a time, there was a fair maiden who lived in cozy cottage in the center of a beautiful kingdom, vast with rivers, forests, and fields of flowers. It was there she met her young love, a prince who honored her with great respect. He gave the maiden nothing else but love, companionship, and respect.

One morning, the maiden collected berries from the many plants that grew just outside the cottage for tea with the prince later that day. Suddenly, vines began to grow all around the perimeter of the yard, enclosing the yard, the maiden, and the cottage where she lived. The vines grew thick and twisted. They grew tall and taller until they reached a thousand feet into the sky. The vines were so thick, the maiden could not see through to the beautiful kingdom on the other side. Upon every inch of the twisted plants grew out razor sharp thorns.

Frantic, the maiden ran around the courtyard, trying to see a way out through the twisted vines, but she could not see how to get through, especially with its painful thorns that threatened to cut her fair skin. In defeat, she ran into the small cottage and threw herself onto her soft bed and cried, knowing she would never see her beloved prince or the beautiful world again.

The next morning, she woke to the sound of someone calling her. She ran into the courtyard, toward the voice. But, the thorny vines would not allow her to pass. She listened and knew it was the voice of her beloved.

"Fair maiden! It is I, The Prince. I've come to rescue you from these thorny walls."

The fair maiden heard the sound of the prince's axe, chopping away at the base of the vine.

"Hurry my love! Save me from this agonizing trap."

Suddenly, the maiden heard a loud snap!

"It is no use, my dear. The vine has broken the head off my axe!"

So, instead, the prince spoke words of encouragement and kindness through the thorny vines to his beloved maiden, to comfort her in her lonely world.

Every day the prince came to talk to the maiden through the wall of thorny vines. And, as he spoke, the maiden stared up into the blue sky, wishing she could see the kingdom again.

One day while she was listening to her beloved's voice, a dove flew above the vines and over the courtyard. A white feather floated down into the grass. The maiden picked up the feather and held it in her hand for a moment. She looked around and noticed many more feathers scattered around the courtyard. She collected all of the feathers she could find and, while she listened to the encouraging words of the prince, she sewed a beautiful pinafore with the feathers she had collected. When she was finished, she was pleased. It was exquisite, almost as beautiful as the kingdom itself. She wore her pinafore all day and to bed that night.

While she slept, she dreamed about seeing the prince and running through the kingdom's flowering fields.

The next morning, the maiden woke again to the voice of her beloved calling her through the wall of thorny vines. She wanted to see him as she did in her dream. She wanted to be on the other side so terribly, that she ran. She ran, determined to penetrate the wall. A thorn sent a stabbing pain into her cheek and halted her stride. As she fell against the thorns to the ground, she heard the rip of her beautiful pinafore.

She lied on the ground, and teardrop shaped blood trickled down her cheek. The pain was great, yet so powerful. The encouraging voice of her beloved grew stronger, vibrating inside her head, until it sounded like her own. She rose to her feet. She sensed a strange strength behind her. She felt the power of the wind against her arms, and she heard the steady beat of flapping wings. Suddenly, she leapt into the air with a power she had never known before. She realized her pinafore had torn and separated into two perfect wings, and she was flying! She pumped her new wings harder and harder until she lifted herself to the top of the giant vine wall. When she finally could touch the clouds, she gasped. There, peeking over the wall of thorny vines was the beautiful kingdom she had only dreamed about for so long. It was even more lovely than before.

She remembered about her love, her friend. She crested the wall and descended to the lovely side where the prince greeted her with a warm embrace.

The prince and the maiden married and lived in perfect harmony. He continued to give her respect and encouragement. Sometimes, the princess (well the maiden did marry a prince, right?) felt scared, but she never forgot living for so long trapped within the small courtyard behind the walls of thorny vines. She never forgot that sometimes life is painful and it isn't easy to get where you want to go, but she always employed her inner strength and the wings she earned to take herself to new, beautiful heights.

The End