Fairytales

Once upon a time there was a city far away to the north. This city was so cold that for seven months of the year the snow fell and the wind howled and the people on the streets bustled to find shelter. For those seven months each year, there was just not much to do.

But in that city lived a wonderful prince who was not afraid of the wintry cold. He was offered a pair of shiny black shoes with silver blades, which let him fly over the ice at breakneck speeds. And - wonder of wonders - they fit him perfectly!

People would stop to watch as he and his friends from other kingdoms swooped and leaped and charged up and down on the biggest icy patches they could find. They grabbed sticks and hit a little rubber disc back and forth to each other. It brought the people great joy and made their winter seem less long. Crowds would gather and even pay money, which made the prince and his friends very, very rich.

The reason we know he was a prince is because legend tells us that many years ago, the prince went to the Grand Ball and twirled around on his shiny blades, the fairest of them all.

He didn't go just once either - he was chosen, among all his friends and enemies, to lead the Ball in 1984.

And 1985.

And 1987.

And 1988.

And 1990.

People talked about fairy godfathers, about magic, about destiny.

People started to expect to see him leading the pack of 30 friends, all princes in their own right.

But our prince, the greatest of them all, was growing tired. His fairy godfather was locked up in a damp, dark dungeon; and without his magical powers, the prince was left to fade back into the grey coldness of the landscape.

There was a brief moment in 2006 where he got himself to the very gates of the palace where the Grand Ball was being held, only to be turned away at the very last minute as another prince was chosen to lead the dance.

And it just got worse and worse from then on until the prince found himself living in the basement of the crumbling castle, quietly doing his duties, hoping no one would really notice how bad things had become. He wondered if anyone remembered him. He wondered if he would ever get to live like a prince again. He wondered how.

Then one day, it was announced that there was a new fairy godfather in the land! The prince timidly crept up the back stairs of the castle to catch a glimpse of the person who, it was hoped, could right the fortunes of the prince.

This fairy godfather had silver hair and steady eyes. He had no wand in his hand, but he handed a stick to the prince. "Let's get to work," he said.

(Torontosun.com)

 "Get to work?" squeaked the prince. "Can't you just wave your magic wand and make me be the greatest in the land again?"

"You are more powerful than you know," replied the godfather as he tossed a little black rubber disc on the shimmering ice. "You can do this with the resources you have within you."

"But ... but ..." sputtered the prince.

"And, no matter what happens, I am with you," finished the Fairy Godfather.

(Edmontonjournal.com)

And he was. Day after day for two years he worked with the prince, teaching him discipline, giving him hope.

Until one day, the prince realized that he was no longer in the cellar any more! Almost unbeknownst to him, he was slowly, slowly climbing up the stairs, finding his feet, realizing that he had more control.

Feeling more like a prince every day.

Then came the day that the Fairy Godfather entered the room. "We have a new castle," he announced. "We need to rise to the occasion, show that you are - once again - a prince indeed.

"It's not going to be easy," he cautioned. "More work, more discipline. Are you up for the challenge?"

"Yes," breathed the prince.

"No matter what happens, I am with you," said the Fairy Godfather.

Then, of all things, the Fairy Godfather threw the prince into a tank of sharks! And - can you believe it? - our prince beat them back, climbing out of the tank triumphant.

"In the next test you will be battling birds. Ducks, to be precise," announced the Fairy Godfather. "Ducks are tricky things. They can swim, they can walk, they can fly.

"And these ducks are very hungry. They have been starved for many years. They would like to peck out your eyes and flap their wings in your face. They would like to trip you as you move. Are you up for the challenge?"

"Yesss!" cried the prince.

And so it was that for the first two skirmishes, fortune was on the side of the prince. He beat down the ducks in their own pond. It was time to go home and wrap up this battle.

But the ducks were hungrier than anyone could have imagined. They pecked and flapped and tripped and hit and managed to triumph in both the third and fourth encounters.

Back to the pond everyone went.

And, in the nature of all true fairy tales, whenever there is a good fairy, there have to be bad fairies as well, those not invited to the Grand Ball.

Some of them showed up and started to cast a spell on our prince. They twisted and whirled about, stirring up a blinding dust, so bad that some of it worked its way into their own eyes; and when a duck caught the prince by the knee pad, pulling at it and paralysing his leg, the evil fairies could not see what had happened. Or so they said.

"Put it behind you!" urged the Fairy Godfather. "You are more powerful than those black-and-white striped, lily-livered pretenders!"

And so the prince did. In the next do-or-die meeting between the two foes, the prince attacked on all fronts. When the ice chips settled, the ducks had had their wings clipped a little and they waddled slowly back to their pond.

There was but one more meeting.

And the ducks were very, very hungry and very, very angry and very, very, very determined.

The prince started off strong, but then a duck flew out of nowhere and cast the first of the two blows that would eventually lead to our prince's being vanquished.

Even the presence of the Ghost from Christmas Past could not help them. (But that is a different story entirely, isn't it?)

There would be no Grand Ball to lead this year. The black shiny shoes with the blades of Jupiter were not to be.

All was quiet as the prince packed up for the long, thoughtful journey home.

And then came a voice through the shattering silence:

"You came far further than anyone would have expected at the beginning of this season. You are no longer in the basement - you are almost at the top.

(Torontosun.com)

"There is always next year. The shoes with the blades of Jupiter will fit you better next year."

"Keep working. Keep learning. Keep believing.

And I will still be with you. Together we will do this. Are you up for the challenge?"

"YESSSSS!" whispered the prince.

And it will be so, for indeed, one of the scribes who follow the happenings of the prince summed it up like this:

"A place which used to feel like a divine right has now been earned again."

Unless otherwise noted, (C) 2017 Karyn C Ironside