by Michael Espinoza
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a peasant man lived
with his wife and his seven daughters, and the youngest of his daughters was
named Apple Blossom. She was called
Apple Blossom because her cheeks were the pink color of apple blossoms. Every day, at mid-day, Apple Blossom would go
out to fetch water from the well. Her
bucket was only large enough to carry water for her father, her mother, her
seven sisters, and herself, but there was always enough water for them every
day.
One day, at mid-day, Apple Blossom went out with her bucket
to fetch water from the well, as always. But no sooner had she drawn the full bucket of
water from the well, than a man approached her, dressed in tattered, filthy
rags, and so weary with fatigue that he looked more dead than alive. "Good woman," said the man, "I
am dying of thirst. Pray let me have a
drink of water from your bucket."
Apple Blossom knew there was only enough water for herself
and her family, and that if she spared any she would have to draw again. But taking pity on the man, she took out a
ladle and scooped some water from the bucket, saying, "Drink as much as
you need, sir." The man drank to
his heart's content, until he was satisfied, and there was no longer enough
water in the bucket for Apple Blossom and her family.
When the man had drunk his fill, he said, "Kind woman, I
am your prince! I have traveled the
kingdom in disguise, and you were the only one to show me kindness." To prove that he was who he said he was, he
produced the royal ring, made of pure gold studded with a ruby. It was a beautiful ring, and worth far more
money than Apple Blossom and her family had ever seen.
"What is your name, fair maiden?" asked the
prince. "Apple Blossom, if it
please your highness," said Apple Blossom, curtsying. "For your kindness, fair Apple
Blossom," said the prince, genuflecting to her, "I offer you this
ring as a sign of my proposal of marriage to you. Will you be my bride?" Apple Blossom hardly knew what to say, but
she did not dare refuse her prince.
"I will, if it please your highness," she said, curtsying.
"Then in three days' time, I will send the royal coach
for you," said the prince, placing the ring on her finger. "You have only to show the coachman the
ring on your finger, and he will know that I have chosen you for my bride. He will take you to the palace, where we will
be married, and you will have your new home." With that, the prince bowed, and kissed the
hand which bore the ring, and then he left for the palace.
Three days passed, and a royal coach came to the home of
Apple Blossom's father, who came out to meet the coachman. "Sir, I have come to take your daughter
to the palace, where she is to wed the king's only son and heir to the
throne. Bring her out here." Apple Blossom's father brought out his oldest
daughter, who curtsied before the coachman.
He checked her hand, and finding no ring on her finger, he said,
"This is not the right bride."
One by one, the peasant man brought out each of his seven
oldest daughters, and each curtsied before the coachman. And the coachman checked their hands, and
finding no ring, said of each, "This is not the right bride." At last, Apple Blossom was brought out before
the coachman. Curtsying, she showed him
the royal ring on her finger, and the coachman said, "This is the right
bride. Come, fair maiden, and I will
take you to the palace, where you shall marry the prince." And so Apple Blossom entered the coach and
was taken far away to the royal palace.
But in the three days between the prince's proposal and the
royal coach being sent out, a terrible thing had happened to the kingdom. A terrible dragon, large enough to swallow a
grown man whole, had come upon the kingdom, terrorizing her people and
devouring their livestock. Each day, the
dragon spoke to the king, saying, "Choose your best fighting champion from
among your subjects, and let him fight me.
If he can kill me, then you will have no more to fear from me. But if I kill him, then you and your entire
kingdom will be my slaves, to do with as I will."
The king put the challenge to his best warriors: big,
strong, brave men who had fought in many battles and killed many men. But even they had never fought with a dragon
before, and they were terribly frightened of being killed. None dared face the dragon that now plagued
the kingdom, not even the biggest and strongest warrior, and so the dragon
continued to terrorize the kingdom.
The king sent for his wisest adviser, saying, "What
shall I do? Is there no champion who can
defeat this terrible dragon?" His
adviser said to the king, "You must seek the one wearing the royal ring,
for whoever bears the ring is the champion who will conquer the
dragon." The king called for his
son, but discovered that the prince no longer bore the ring, and so he could
not be the champion who would conquer the dragon.
This was how Apple Blossom found the kingdom when she
arrived at the palace. The dragon flew
around the palace, once again giving his challenge: "Choose your best
fighting champion from among your subjects, and let him fight me. If he can kill me, then you will have no more
to fear from me. But if I kill him, then
you and your entire kingdom will be my slaves, to do with as I will." Apple Blossom was brought into the palace to
meet her bridegroom, and the king and queen.
Apple Blossom curtsied before the king and queen, as the
prince said, "This is the fair Apple Blossom, whose hand in marriage she
has given to me three days past. Behold,
she wears my royal ring, as a sign of our engagement." When the king saw the ring on Apple Blossom's
finger, he said, "Can it be that this peasant maid is the champion who
will conquer the dragon? For behold, she
is the one who bears the ring. Surely it
cannot be she, for she is not a warrior!"
The king brought forth his adviser, who said, "It is
this peasant maid and no other. She
bears the ring, and so she will conquer the dragon, though how this is to be I
cannot say. But she must face the dragon
of her own free will--no one can compel her to do so." The king said to Apple Blossom, "Brave
peasant maiden, we are at your mercy. A
terrible dragon plagues my kingdom, and will not stop until he is killed. My adviser tells me that only the one bearing
the royal ring will conquer the dragon, and that is you. I know not how a mere peasant maid will
conquer where my strongest warriors fear to face the dragon, but I trust my
adviser. I will not force you against
your will, but I pray, will you face the dragon and save my kingdom?"
Apple Blossom curtsied.
"If it please your majesty, I am not a warrior. I have never faced a dragon before, nor have
I any experience in battle of any kind.
I am but a peasant maid, the youngest daughter of my father. I know not how I may conquer the dragon where
the strongest men fear to face him, but if the task has been appointed to me,
it is my duty to try. I will face the
dragon, my king, and I pray that I will win the victory for you."
"Brave maiden, we are at your disposal, and we thank
you!" said the king, and with that he called for his royal armorer. "Have this peasant maid fitted with a
suit of armor, and armed with a sword.
She is to face the dragon and conquer him," said the king. The royal armorer tried his best, but there
was not a suit of armor in all the kingdom that would fit Apple Blossom, nor
could she move in it. Nor was there time
to forge a new suit of armor to fit her.
And when the royal armorer placed a sword in Apple Blossom's hand, she
could scarcely lift it, even using both hands, let alone do anything with it.
"I cannot move in your armor, nor can I carry this
heavy sword," said Apple Blossom.
"But how will you face the dragon, without the protection of armor
and without a sword?" said the royal armorer. "I know not," said Apple Blossom,
"but if this task is appointed to me, another way will present itself. I know not how, but I am sure of
it." "Brave maiden," said
the royal armorer, "I am sorry I cannot help you, and I only pray that you
will be victorious somehow. If you are
not, the entire kingdom will be slaves of the dragon, that he may do with us as
he wills." "I do not believe
that will happen," said Apple Blossom.
At length the dragon reappeared outside the palace and
repeated his challenge: "Choose your best fighting champion from among
your subjects, and let him fight me. If
he can kill me, then you will have no more to fear from me. But if I kill him, then you and your entire
kingdom will be my slaves, to do with as I will." This time Apple Blossom stepped out of the
palace, without armor and without a sword, armed with nothing more than the
royal ring which the prince had given her three days before.
"Foul and villainous dragon, I am Apple Blossom! Behold, I bear the royal ring! It is I who will face you, if you be not
afraid of a humble peasant woman!" said Apple Blossom. The dragon was enraged. "Am I a dog, that you send a peasant
maid, unarmed and unprotected, to face me?" he said to the king. Turning to Apple Blossom, the dragon said,
"Come to me, foolish girl, and I will swallow you alive!"
Apple Blossom went out to face the dragon, who proceeded to
encircle her. Apple Blossom was
frightened of this terrible dragon, but did not run away. She knew not what she could do against such
an enormous and fearsome dragon, but she held her ground. The dragon had her surrounded, and now he
stood, poised to strike. Apple Blossom
had no weapon on her except her shoes, which had hard soles. She took off her right shoe and wielded it
before the dragon's toothy head. The
dragon laughed with contempt.
"Am I a fly, that you will kill me with your
shoe?" said the dragon. "I
will swallow you whole!" With that
the dragon struck, and Apple Blossom swung her shoe at his head. And lo! for the dragon fell to the ground,
quite dead, his head crushed under Apple Blossom's shoe. The dragon was very grateful to have died on
impact, lest it be said of him, the mighty dragon, that he fell to the shoe of
a peasant maid.
"Three cheers for Apple Blossom, for she has conquered
the dragon!" cried the subjects of the kingdom, and they proceeded to lift
their heroine into the air. "Hip
hip hurray! Hip hip hurray! Hip hip hurray!" They carried her into the palace, where she
was brought before the king and queen, and her bridegroom the prince.
"Brave and clever Apple Blossom," said the king,
"I and my entire kingdom are deeply indebted to you. However did you kill the dragon where my
strongest warriors feared to face him?"
Apple Blossom curtsied and said, "If it please your majesty, I do
not know myself. I hardly feel I deserve
your praise, for I myself did little. I
am only happy that my king and his kingdom are free from the terror of that
dragon."
"Was it not by your shoe that the dragon was
conquered?" said the king.
"Was it not you who bravely went out unarmed and unprotected to
face him? Therefore name any reward you
desire, and it will be yours, up to half my kingdom." "Your majesty is very generous I'm
sure," said Apple Blossom, curtsying, "but I neither need nor desire
any reward but what was promised to me already by the ring which was the sign
of my being chosen to face the dragon: namely, to be married to your son who
proposed to me three days past."
"If you are sure you will have no more, so be it,"
said the king. "For surely you
deserve at least that much. Let us
prepare for the wedding!" The
prince took Apple Blossom's hands and said, "Dear Apple Blossom, you have
earned this. Peasant maid though you
are, there is more to you than perhaps even you know. And so I repeat to you my proposal of three
days past." Genuflecting, the prince
said, "Fair Apple Blossom, will you marry me?" "I will," said Apple Blossom,
curtsying, and the prince kissed his bride.
And Apple Blossom lived happily ever after.
THE END
No comments:
Post a Comment