Storytelling Week 7: The Cost of Love

(macaque)

One day a Prince walks to the market to get fruit for the feast his father would be having later. He gets apples, bread, meat, and grapes. On his way back he ran into someone. He sees a girl and is completely entranced by her beauty. He approaches her with confidence. 

The Prince says, "Excuse me, what is your name?"

The girl says, "Natalie."

The Prince replies, "Oh what a lovely name."

Natalie blushes. She hopes he will ask her to do something sometime.

The Prince goes on, "How would you like to have dinner with me?"

Natalie responds, "When?"

The Prince continues, "Actually, there is a banquet tonight. Would you like to join me?"

Natalie says, "Yes, I will see you tonight Prince."

Both part ways. There is an issue though. Natalie is the daughter of the King's arch rival, the Witch. The King is the Prince's father.

Natalie tells her mother, the witch, she is going on a date. The Witch is curious about this man she is seeing, so she spies on Natalie the whole night.

The Prince and Natalie meet up and head to the banquet. They arrive and the Prince's father sees him with a date and approaches him, "Who might this be son?"

The Prince says, "Father this is Natalie."

The King responds, "It is nice to make your acquaintance Natalie."

Natalie replies, "The pleasure is all mine sir."

All of a sudden, everyone starts dancing. The Prince takes Natalie's hand and takes her to the dance floor. They look at each other in absolute joy. They both flirt back and forth and do not leave the dance floor for an hour. The Prince in the final dance picks Natalie up and performs a huge lift. He finishes by dipping her. The scene is still and the y stare into each other's eyes. The Prince goes to kiss Natalie, but at the last moment Natalie's mother barges through the door.

The Witch yells to the King, "How dare you try and turn my own daughter against me!"

The King with a strange look on his face replies, "What do you mean Witch?"

"Natalie is my daughter," the Witch said.

The King looks at his son in disappointment.

"Witch we have no quarrel with you. Now, go on about your way and we can speak later," the King said.

The Witch does not waiver and starts performing a spell. Natalie sees what spell she is creating and decides to stop it.

The Witch yells, "This is what you get King. I hope it was worth it. With all the power I possess in me change this King's entire destiny!"

The Witch sends the spell towards the King with her hand as Natalie runs with a metal tray towards him. Natalie leaps in front of the King and deflects the spell. The spell bounces back and hits the Witch. The Witch is turned into a monkey. Everyone is safe and now needs attention. The entire crowd takes all precautions necessary and heads home.

Author's note: I chose third person narration style for this story because it allows me to write naturally. If I write another way it feels pretty awkward for me. My main goals for this story was to change the fate of the Prince. and to focus more on the connection between he and Natalie.

The Enchanted Prince originally has the Witch's daughter fall in love with the Prince. The Prince decides to marry someone else though because of pressure from his father the King. So, the Witch's daughter casts a spell on the Prince that turns him into a monkey. He stays a monkey for five centuries until he found a new love that broke his spell and loved him for who he was.

I changed it to where the Witch is the one casting the spell because of her daughter falling in love with the Prince. The Witch gets turned into a monkey though because it bounces off a metal tray her daughter put in front of the King to save him. So, the Prince and Witch's daughter got the happy ending they always wanted, but the Witch would stay a monkey for a long time.

Bibliography: The Enchanted Prince, Filipino Popular Tales, Dean S. Fansler, (1921)