All of these introductions all seem the same, but I’ll be the first to tell you this one is different. Corrinne is a sophomore education major at St. Norbert College. She has been avidly reading and writing since she was very young in hopes that one day she would be a journalist. Though she is an education major now, she still loves to read and write; hoping to teach her students that same passion. This fairy tale does not seem to correlate to common fairy tales and holds an original plot line. It is simple, but readers should know that there is a moral here. Hopefully you all see it, because it is an important one. Enjoy the tale of how a small child learns that she does not need anyone but herself and her own confidence to accomplish what is needed to survive. - Kendall Geurt
You may think that this is another story, and you will see the similarity, but I promise you, this is the real version. It has been passed from each generation to another and could never just be made up. Long ago in a land far away…sound familiar? There was a family who had a child named Priscilla. As Priscilla grew up, she was abused by not only by her mother and father, but by the villagers whose path she crossed every day. By the time she turned twelve years old, she had made a plan to run away in the middle of the night to escape such evil. Priscilla grew up feeling worthless and weak, but leaving in the night made her feel confident that finally her scars were worth it. As she crossed the village line, a figure stood in the distance. Priscilla trembled in fear of this unknown figure. As she approached, it became clear that it was a familiar being. It was her mother.
“Hey kid. Your father and I wondered where you went tonight; this explains it all. Was it such a bad life we gave you that you had to leave without saying goodbye?” And she struck Priscilla.
“I-I-I I wasn’t running away. I was off to find the lost prince who is drowning in the swamp past the castle.” Priscilla held her face as she laid helpless once again on the ground.
“That’s unlikely. There hasn’t been a prince in this kingdom for years. You really think you can lie to your mother?” And again she struck Priscilla.
“It is real! I heard about it from the tailor.” Priscilla held back tears while lying through her teeth.
“Here is a deal; you find this prince and bring his riches back to us in two days, and you can go free. If you don’t, I will come after you and then drown you in that swamp the ‘prince’ is in.” Priscilla's mother then disappeared without another word. Priscilla cried into her knees and ran into the forest, falling beneath a pine tree.
The next day, Priscilla searched far and wide for any sign of someone she could take back and trick her parents into completing her mission. Priscilla felt more alone than she had her entire life until a young boy around the age of 14 ran out of a small cabin shouting at the sky. As he shouted, birds fell dead at his feet.
“Excuse me?” Priscilla shouted.
“Hello, Priscilla. This will sound weird, but I knew you were coming this way.”
“I am going to ignore that because I need your help. I need you to come back to the village and pretend you are a prince.” Priscilla ran closer to him out of breath.
“It is funny how my powers are the only thing that people wan—” the young boy started.
“Oh, and I need you to transform some object into riches,” Priscilla commanded.
She grabbed his arm and pulled him back through the forest. It took hours, and he talked nonsense as she rolled her eyes because soon she would be rid of him and finally be free.
They set up camp against a river bank and talked for hours. Priscilla finally opened up to him, and he told her his story. He was an orphan boy who had lived in the forest and accumulated magic from a stream, and from that day forth, he had realized that he no longer needed anyone but himself.
The two fell asleep, but Priscilla awoke in the middle of the night and searched far and wide for the stream until dawn. Priscilla made her way back to the young boy where he sat with two cups of water.
“Drink up. Today is the big day.” He handed her the water, and they both drank before venturing back. On this portion of the trip, Priscilla did not stop talking. She wouldn’t even let the young boy get a word in. As she crossed the village line, her parents stood outside waiting.
“Here I proved you wrong, and finally I have my life to live.” Priscilla shouted.
Her parents laughed, and Priscilla’s face turned red.
“This is Prince Carl, and I rescued him from the swamp just this morning. His riches were lost in the swamp, but if you ask, he will provide anything.”
Priscilla turned around to cue the young boy, but no one was there. Priscilla began to cry and shouted out for the boy to appear. She shouted over and over and began cursing the town.
“Let there be a monster that destroys your home and each other,” she shouted under her breath and suddenly there were footsteps that shook the ground. Priscilla looked up and saw her parents tremble. The monster picked them up and swallow them whole.
“The water,” Priscilla whispered. The water the young boy gave this morning was the same magic water that gave him power.
Behind the monster, the young boy appeared again.
“Where were you? You left me! I counted on you, and you left!” Priscilla yelled and cried.
“You cannot rely on others your whole life. You are powerful enough on your own. Just remember that, kid.” The young boy then took her hand, and they ran from the destructive monster.
The lesson here is simple: never take advantage of people just for their gifts, and you yourself can accomplish far more because you are more powerful than you know.