The Little Princesses
Once upon a time there was a little boy who had lots and lots of sisters. And, even though, you may find this hard to believe, I tell you it‘s the truth, every single one of his sisters dreamed of becoming a beautiful princess.
Each day, when they played, the boy would have to be the handsome knight, sent to rescue them from the evil witch, or the hungry troll, or any of the hordes of wicked denizens that preyed upon young girls.
One day the boy asked his eldest sister why it was so important for young girls to pretend they were princesses. She replied that becoming the wife of a King would give her all the money in the world, and once she had her hands on that, she could do whatever she liked all day, every day. And that she would be famous.
The boy thanked his sister for her answer and then went away, shaking his head as he went. He simply didn’t understand girls. He dreamt of becoming a fighter pilot, or a doctor or a general in the army. He had no dreams of weddings at all. Besides kissing girls was yucky so he couldn’t figure why would anybody want to marry one?
He also didn’t understand, because what his sister said, made no sense when he thought about the real world. He began to recollect all he knew about the famous princesses he had heard about.
He thought about the beautiful Diana, married to a wealthy but cold man, who had died in a car crash running away from the overexposure her fame had given her. She had had affairs with other men but her subjects knew that she had been unhappy so forgave her.
He thought about Masha’il, given at seventeen years of age as a gift to a very wealthy but incredibly old King who already had seven other wives. She would never have babies or a family of her own. She had been married purely for public show. She had also had an affair like Diana, but her subjects did not forgive her and she was executed publicly.
Lastly, he thought about Sakuntala, who was burnt alive on her twenty-ninth birthday, so that her husband could marry a younger woman. She had never had an affair, but her husband had lied, so that he could be rid of her.
All of those princesses had pots and pots of cash but they had still ended up trapped and unloved in their Ivory Towers before they died. Money itself would not protect his sisters.
That night the boy hardly slept at all. What could he do? How could he change the world and protect his sisters? All night long he tossed and turned in his bed until finally, just before dawn, the answer came to him. He couldn’t believe how easy the solution was. He jumped out of bed and ran to tell his family.
When I grow up, he said, I will chose to be a decent person. I shall refuse to become cruel and violent. I shall make choices that do not hurt others. His family was stunned, but the little boy kept his word. And although you might think it unbelievable, it really was as straightforward as he had said it would be.
From that day on, the boy and all his sisters stayed safe, and the world became a much better place simply because he had made the right choices. And when they all finally grew up, not one of his sisters ever became a princess. And even though you might think they were, they weren’t in the slightest bit disappointed either, because they all got to live happily ever after instead. Oh, and of course, the boy realised that kissing girls wasn’t as yucky as he had previously thought, which was pretty fortunate for his wife when they eventually got married.
