Once upon a time, long ago, in a kingdom far away, there lived a king and a queen. They were quite happy and then they had a baby girl. They named her Jeneth. She was healthy and happy. All the people of the castle said, “What a beautiful baby girl! What beautiful hair! She has her mother's lovely smile. She will be a wonderful princess!”
She grew as little girls do, learning to walk. But when she learned to talk, instead of the usual first words that babies have like 'mama' or 'dada' or 'hippopotamus' or 'tyrannosaurus rex', Princess Jeneth said, “I wanna be a rock star.”
This greatly perplexed her parents because they knew what rocks were and what stars were, but what was a rock star? And why couldn't she be normal like other children?
Nevertheless, Jeneth continued to grow, eating dirt and attending balls and parades, just like all the other princesses.
One day, her parents called her before them. There was a strange looking lady with them.
“Jeneth, this is Viveka. She will be your tutor. She will teach you to read and to work with letters and numbers so that you will become a proper princess,” said the King and Queen.
“Hello, Viveka. I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” said Jeneth politely, for she had already started to study etiquette.
“Hello Jeneth. The pleasure is mine,” replied Viveka, bowing slightly. She continued, “We shall begin our studies tomorrow. Shall we meet by the big tree in the courtyard?”
“Yes, that would be lovely. See you then. Bye, now,” said Jeneth. She skipped off to play, wondering what letters and numbers and studies were.
The next morning, Jeneth wandered to the big tree in the courtyard to find Viveka already there, sitting in the shade of the leaves and branches.
“Good morning, Jeneth. Come sit here with me,” requested Viveka.
“Good morning, Viveka,” answered Jeneth as she sat.
“Would you like me to read you a story?” asked Viveka.
“Yes, that would be lovely,” replied Jeneth.
Viveka opened a small book and began to read, “Once upon a time...”
Viveka read and Jeneth listened. Jeneth laughed when the story was funny, huddled close when the story was scary, sniffed back a tear when the story was sad, and looked perplexed when she heard words that she had never heard before.
This went on for a few days, then suddenly Jeneth asked, “Why do I have to learn my letters and numbers?”
Viveka looked at Jeneth and stated, “That is a very good question, young lady. Would you mind if I told you a story about a little princess who didn't learn her letters and numbers?”
“Yes, that would be delightful,” exclaimed Jeneth.
Viveka put away the book that she was going to read, sat back and began to tell a story...
YOU ARE READING
The Once Upon A Time Princess
عشوائيThis is a story about a Princess who discovers a passion for storytelling and how she shares that passion with others. It is also a story about my heroes: - Dr Albert Schweitzer and MSF - the mythical Chinese inventor of the printing press, the inve...
