It was that garden the princess tasted, twirling her tongue in her mouth… And so, lost in her thoughts, she found herself in the palace garden. It was then that she discovered that the beautiful prince had woken up before her. And he was filling with his imagination the empty tree branches with pomegranates, on a big painting in front of him.
He was so absorbed by his work he did not notice her. And, the more cheerful were the things he drew, the more blue he seemed to be. It was as if the small crown was an unbearable weight on his head, a head that shined as if made by pure gold, under the sun’s first sight… and then he saw her.
He tried desperately to discern any signs of insomnia on her face, but she was rosy and glowing and even more beautiful under the sun, unlike under the light of the candles. The prince’s heart fluttered in its chains. Because for her he would draw all the world’s pomegranates… But…
Did she sleep well? He wondered.
Perhaps she did not notice the pea his queen mother had placed under the
mattresses and duvets?
Was she a real princess? He wondered.
They would never let him marry someone of not a royal birth, no matter how beautiful or kind she was and this, not because they were arrogant. After all, the prince was also a child of love. His father was a poor tailor, who, contrary to the prince of our story, did not have to do any brave deeds to win the heart of his beautiful princess. A mere look was all it took!
But, as you know, many are those who envy the happiness of others. An evil wizard who wanted the princess for himself became so mad when he learned of her marriage that he cursed the couple. Hi s curse was that their first child would transform into a swallow should he ever married out of love…
The good fairy godmother (thankfully there is always a fairy godmother, ever vigilant on our side) managed to make a small change in the curse, and so, the prince would be able to marry one he loved but only if she was a real princess.
He was groomed so, even if unwillingly, for the future before him. They forbid him any contact with the simple folk, in fear, should he ever met a girl not of a royal birth and fell for her and they lose him like one would eventually lose a migratory bird…
The little prince would get blue, no matter how hard his parents tried to cheer him up. They would buy him the best presents. He had a room with anything a child could ever wish for: teddy bears, slingshots, model trains and boats and golden swords. Ice creams of every flavor in the world: mint, wild strawberry, peach, blackberry, lemon, chocolate, true vanilla… Nothing could make him smile.