Children's Story: The Prince of the Forest by María Jesús Verdú Sacases

  • 2013

The prince of the forest

Once upon a time there was a prince who, fed up with the tedious, easy and lavish palace life, wanted to experience the other side of the scale. So I left to live alone in the country. With his own hands he built a house in a clearing in the forest and began with his new life fresh, simple and humble. The prince loved to wake up with the melodious song of the birds, with the caress of the rays of dawn and the smell of fresh earth that intoxicates the forest in the early hours of the morning. These feelings connected him with the protection of the lap of mother earth, which protected his son through the beauty that radiated the nature that the prince had the honor of witnessing in every moment.

"I feel the king of the forest, " murmured the prince, while smiling to himself.

The prince felt so at peace with himself and with the natural and magical environment that surrounded him that at times, at dusk he seemed to hear the heartbeat that came from the My heart was the breeze, while I was playing with the monarch's hair.

When the construction of his house in nature was finished, the prince sowed the earth and with effort and sweat, he began to reap its fruits.

One day, a former servant of the former approached the prince's house and welcomed him into his home of the smell of young wood. The servant built in him a stone and wood oven to cook bread and other food that he later sold in the market next to the fruits that the farmland gave. Both worked hard and their reward was the peace they felt in their hearts and the lightness and lightness with which they experienced being so far from the ins and outs, of the murmurings and the commotion of the palace.

The servant also built a small barn next to the house. Sometimes I noticed that small amounts of grain disappeared but were so insignificant that he forgot the matter.

The prince and his servant, now friend, ended up so tired at night that they did not notice the presence of discreet and tiny beings who during the night collaborated in the household cleaning tasks and also jogged and played in the garden of the house . One day the prince could not sleep and discovered them and saw how several wings and little legs left fluttering at high speed and nervously to hide in the small space between the curtains and window panes in a zigzag movement that did not seem proper of insects However, the prince did not give it importance.

Upon waking up, a message was received from the kingdom's preacher in the prince's forest house announcing the baptism of the prince's nephew. I could not miss. So the prince and his servant attended the event with great enthusiasm. They were received in the palace with pomp and honors and, immediately afterwards, they were able to meet the charming creature protagonist of the party.

The prince and his servant were left alone with the baby, while he was smiling, but it was a special smile. Then they both realized that the little boy was not smiling at them but at the beings of light behind them: fairies, elves and elves who had not been able to resist the temptation to delight in the presence of the child and play with him.

The prince and his servant quietly withdrew to allow such a tender scene. No doubt they had not gone to the party alone. They had been followed by the beings of light who each night blessed the prince's home with his presence.

"They are the ones who eat the grain that disappears from the barn, " the servant thought.

"They are the ones who clean the kitchen at night, " the prince thought.

But both kept the secret.

Here is the audio of this story:

Author text and illustrations: María Jesús Verdú Sacases

http://zonailuminada.blogspot.com.es/

Technical illustrations: Watercolor

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