The Little Prince

            by Ariel Krizack

 

 

 

 

                Once upon a time there was an ungrateful little prince. The prince lived in a marvelous castle filled with all the toys he could ever want. He had ten maids and  five butlers ready and willing to wait on him, hand and foot.  He had two loving parents and even his own stable of horses.  But the little prince never seemed to be satisfied. He always wanted something more, and he always complained about how difficult his life was.

 

 

            One day when the prince was taking his new puppy for a walk he wandered off into a forest that he had never been to before. The forest was deep and dark. The prince walked through the forest for a long time, trying to find his way out, but he only found himself lost with no sense of direction. It wasn’t before long that the little prince stumbled upon a cozy little cottage with smoke spitting from the chimney. He decided to knock on the door to ask for help or at least directions back to the castle. A tall, thin woman answered the door,

 

 

            “May I help you little boy?”

            “Yes, I was taking my puppy for a walk and I seem to have lost my way in this big forest.”

            “Well, where do you live?” the woman asked.

            “In the castle. I am the prince. You should know that,” the little prince replied.

            “I’m sorry. I haven’t left my cottage in years.”

            “How could you stay in this tiny cottage for so long? You don’t have any horses?” asked the prince.

            “Why no, I could never afford horses.”

            “Yeah, I have three horses, but they’re not that great. What I really want is a llama, but my stupid dad says that I already have enough pets. What does he know?”

            The woman sighed as she looked the little prince up and down. “You must be tired and hungry. Would you like to come in and have something to eat. I just baked  blueberry muffins.”

            The little prince hadn’t eaten since his pancake breakfast earlier that morning and his stomach was grumbling. He nodded and entered the small cottage. All the window sills were lined with glass bottles filled with different colored liquids and powders. Little did the prince know, this woman was also a sorceress with great powers. The prince sat down at the table and grabbed the biggest blueberry muffin from the pile. The woman sat down at the table with him and watched as the little prince took a large bite from the muffin. He chewed and swallowed.

            “Well, how is it?” the woman asked.

            “I don’t know, it tastes a little funny,” the prince replied.

            And with that the prince changed from a little boy to a little, pink pig in the matter of three short seconds.

            “What did you do to me?” the prince asked in complete shock.

            “I turned you into a pig because you don’t appreciate the wonderful life you have been given.”

            “Am I going to be a pig forever?”

            “No, maybe not. If you can prove to me that you are grateful and unselfish, I will change you back into a prince. Come back to me in one week and we’ll see if you deserve your royal life again.”

 

 

            The little prince, now the little pig, sighed and walked out into the forest. How can I prove to the sorceress that I am grateful? the little pig thought. He tried to think of something as he walked through the forest. Many ideas ran through his mind, but he did not know what would be good enough to change him back to a prince.

            As nighttime approached, little pig’s tired legs needed rest. He couldn’t go back to the castle because his mother would throw a fit if she noticed a pig walking around. He found a worn down, old shed where he made a small bed of hay to sleep on. I’ll come up with the most perfect idea tomorrow, the little pig told himself.

            When he awoke the next morning he immediately started on his project to become grateful. He worked for three days straight without even eating and by the time he was finished he was very hungry, but he didn’t know what to eat because he had no maids or butlers to bring him food. The little pig scrounged around some garbage cans and found a couple apple cores to munch on. He really started to miss homemade cooking and the amazing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that one of the cooks would always make for him.

            When one week was up the little pig made his way through the deep, dark forest to the sorceress’ house. He knocked on the door with his little pig feet and was greeted by the sorceress.

            “Well, little pig, show me how you have proven yourself to be grateful and unselfish,” said the sorceress.

            The little pig pulled out hand-made thank you cards addressed to his mother, father, and the entire castle staff. But since the little pig did not have his crayons or markers he had to use mud and leaves instead.

            “These cards are thoughtful, but not good enough. Anyone could make these. Think beyond the obvious, little pig. Come back to me in one week and show me what else you have,” the sorceress said.

 

 

            The little pig turned around and walked through the forest once again. I have to come up with something much better, he said to himself. The little pig then decided to climb to the tallest mountain in the land where his father’s favorite fruit grew and his mother’s favorite flowers blossomed. It took the pig three whole days to fetch the fruit and flowers, but when he came down from the mountain he was sure that these gifts would impress the sorceress. So, once again the little pig ventured through the deep, dark forest to the cottage. He knocked on the door and awaited a greeting from the sorceress. She opened the door and asked, “Well, what do have this time?”

            “Sorceress, I climbed to the tallest mountain in the land to gather my father’s favorite fruit and my mother’s favorite flowers. I know they will like these things because they only receive these flowers and fruits once a year when the maids journey up the mountain to retrieve them.”

            The sorceress looked at the flowers and the fruits for a while, examining every petal and every seed. “These are very thoughtful gifts, but not what I am looking for. You have not proven yourself grateful yet. Come back to me in one week with something better, something more creative.”

            The little pig sighed. As he began to walk away he inhaled the sweet smell of his mother’s favorite flowers. The smell reminded him of her warm arm‘s that would wrap around him and give him a huge hug. He took a bite of the exotic fruit that his father loved so much. The juice dribbled down his little chin and he was reminded of his father’s kind heart. This is ridiculous, the little pig said to himself. I’m sick of being a pig. I want to be a human again so my mother and father can love me and hold me in their arms. I miss them. Then, at that very moment something clicked in the little pig’s head. He turned around and rushed back to the sorceress’ cottage. He knocked on the door loud, and strong.

            The sorceress answered the door, “It has not been a week yet, only a couple minutes. What do you want, little pig?”

            “Oh please sorceress, I miss my parents so much. I just want to see their faces again and I want them to love me. Please, I beg of you, change me back into a human.”

            The sorceress turned around to grab a bottle from the window sill. It was a swirly blue. She poured some of the contents into her hand and sprinkled them over the little pig’s head. And in a few short seconds the little pig’s curly tail disappeared, his little piggy legs and arms turned into human body parts, and his pink skin turned back to his natural flesh color. He had finally become the little prince again.

            “Why sorceress, what made you change me back into a human?” the prince asked.

            “Your compassion and care for your parents has proven you a grateful little prince. Now go home and give your parents and huge hug.

            And that’s exactly what the little prince did.

 

 

The End