Once upon a time there was a princess who lived
in a glorious kingdom. One day it came time for her to choose her husband
and the King was growing anxious. The suitors were lined outside the
palace waiting for the princess to give them an answer. However, the
princess was worried. She had the worst luck out of anyone she had ever
met. She was terrified making the biggest decision of her life while in her entire life going with her gut has only lead to bad luck.
With her father’s growing impatience he had all
the suitor’s assemble before the throne and it came time for the princess to
choose the new king. The princess
decided to throw a red ball of silk and whoever caught it would become her
husband.
Just as she was about to release the ball she
noticed a beggar in the midst of all the royal suitors. Something flashed by his ear and the princess
no longer doubted her choosing ability.
The beggar had the dragon of luck circling him and as the yin to his
yang she was the only one who could see the spirit of luck within him. The princess tossed the ball directly to him
and he had no trouble catching it.
After seeing his daughter toss the fate of
the throne into the hands of a beggar the king erupted: “Why did you throw the ball to a beggar when you have suitors from the finest families in China?”
“I have never felt so sure about anything in my
life. I know that he is my equal because
all my life people have joked that the ill-fortuned dragon has followed
me. I never believed them until I saw
it’s other half in the beggar. I will
marry him and perhaps share in his good luck.”
The irony was not lost on the beggar, who had
struggled to find food that morning and was now a king. Initially the king would not let the couple
live in his palace because he could not stand the thought of his successor
being a peasant. However, when the
beggar and princess lived in exile he soon found his fortune and became emperor
of a neighboring kingdom.
To avenge his wife the new emperor conquered the
kingdom for his princess and instantly restored her to the throne. So the exiled princess who never had good fortune
became queen at the hands of a beggar.
(Book Cover Images.)
Author's Note: I wanted to give a little more detail about the princess's choice when she decided to marry the beggar. The concept of luck is so fascinating and that's why I decided to throw in some yin and yang references. Sorry if the ending felt rushed but in the end the beggar becomes emperor on his own and restores his queen.
Biography: This story is part of the Chinese Fairy Tales unit. Story source: The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921).
Hello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your story a lot. I believe it is the first story telling post that includes a love story with a happy ending I have read all semester. I love that she found within confidence when she found him and that she loved him even though he started off as a beggar. Her dad sure should have trusted his daughter.
Hi Jenny!
ReplyDeleteI loved the way you told this story! I read the original one a few weeks back and the ending was so disappointing when she died! I am glad you let her live! I really enjoyed the insight you gave as to why she chose the beggar over the other guys. I would have liked to see more on how the princess trusted the beggar and lived in poverty while he went off chasing his own fortune! That would add a little more trust and depth to the story! Great job overall!
Hi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you integrated the concept of yin and yang into this story. I think it helps the reader understand the Princess's choice of the beggar as a husband and it provides ground for her better luck in your retelling. The beggar's good luck helps to balance and cancel the princess's ill luck. I feel like you could have added a lot to this story. It really does just fast forward to the end. Overall it was a good concept and interesting to read.
Hi Jenny!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you did with this story. I have read several of your stories now and I appreciate your storytelling style. You have a knack for creating stories that are easy reads, they feel entertaining and complex. You do well at keeping the vibe of the original story while adding your own sense of style. Well done! Thank you for sharing your stories.