I had a dream last night...
I saw the Prince, cautiously sneaking up to the stable of the grand estate.
As he approached the entry-way, he saw several of the groomers on each side, standing up, yet fast asleep.
He began to quietly step past them, when one of the groomers spoke:
“So you wanna hear about the legend of the Golden Castle, do ya’?”
The Prince froze in his tracks, wondering how he could’ve been caught, when he saw that the groomsman’s eyes were still closed.
“That’s right. That’s right. I know the story well.” said the sleep-talking man. “You see, long ago, there was a very noble and humble king and queen, who ruled their kingdom quite fairly. Before long, the Queen was expecting a child, and when it came time for her to give birth, she began having great difficulty in her labor, until she was but a hair’s breadth from death.
“So the King called out to the Creator of Heaven and Earth for help for his wife, and flying into the window came a beautiful fairy woman with golden wings! She told the King she would help his wife, but to be careful not to favor this child over any others he should have later on. The King agreed wholeheartedly, praying only that the fairy do what she could for his wife and their child.
“So the fairy used her magic staff on the Queen, and she did not breath her last, but gave birth to a darling daughter with beautiful golden hair. They thanked the fairy, and asked her to be the girl’s godmother when the child was christened.
“Later, though the King feared his wife having more children, she became with child again, and gave birth to daughter with hair as brown as the earth. To celebrate, the Golden Fairy gave the king a tree that bore Golden Apples.
But then the face of the sleeping groomer seemed to turn bitter, as he said “Well what do ya’ mean by that? The golden fruit tree isn’t near the Golden Castle anymore because it died long ago. But it’s from a seed of that tree that the king to the South got his Golden Apple tree. Make a bit more sense to ya’? Good.
“So the King, seeing as his eldest daughter had golden hair, considered the tree to be hers, and would only let her eat of its fruit.
“Then the Queen bore a third child, a boy with the hair of a raven. So the Golden Fairy brought the King and Queen a wonderful Golden Bird, who would sing like no other bird, and even proclaim what might happen in future times. But again, the King thought the Golden Bird should belong to his Golden Princess.
“Soon, the Queen had a forth child, this one was a boy who had the color of the harvest upon his head, so rich was his blond locks. And in commemoration, the Golden Fairy brought an amazing Golden Horse, which could run faster than the wind. And you can bet that this horse we have here is one and the same.
“With this gift too, the King thought it should go to his eldest, who loved to ride it once she got to the age.
“Next the Queen had a third girl, as their fifth child, with hair as bright and red as the dawn itself. The Golden Fairy came once more, and though she didn’t know about how the King had been favoring his eldest daughter, she saw how happy they all were, and how humble the King and Queen had remained. So she used her magic to turn the entire castle into gold!”
But then the groomsman seemed confused. “What’s that?” he asked his imaginary listener, of whom the Prince could only guess at what was being said. “Well I’ll tell you why it’s now empty.” assured the man. “As the King’s children got older, some of them began to resent their oldest sibling, though it was no fault of her own. And they all went out to make lives of their own.
“When one day, the second eldest came back, ‘Lady of the fruit tree,’ they called her. She let her heart grow dark, and sought to learn the ways of dark magic. She cut down the Golden Apple tree, and forced her parents and her sister from the Golden Castle, keeping the golden creatures with her, and everyone else away.
“So the King and Queen moved to a neighboring kingdom, where their daughter married a prince, having a daughter of her own, one with as golden of hair as her mother.”
Then, smiling, the groomsman licked his lips. “Yes, I’ll have another biscuit...” And grew quiet once more.
The Prince was intrigued by such a story, but knew he better hurry to the Golden Horse.
–Charles M Warren
