The Golden Prince

The Golden Prince Once lived a King and a Queen in a big palace. They did not have any children, that made the King and Queen sad. The King’s Minister came to see him. “There is a Sage in the village, people say he is very clever and he grant wishes” he informed the King “Why don’t you talk to him, see if he can grant you the wish of having a child your Majesty.” “Go! Send the soldiers to bring him to me.” ordered the King. That afternoon the Sage came to the palace. The King told him about his worries of not having an heir to the throne. The Sage asked the King “What will you give me in return?” “Anything you desire.” replied the King “I will grant you the wish of two sons, but you will have to give me your first-born child.” said the Sage. The King thought “At least I will have one son with me for an heir even if I give him my first born.” The King agreed. The Sage gave him an apple “Give this to your Queen, she must eat all of it even the seeds, she mustn’t throw anything away. I will come back when your son turns eighteen.” he left immediately. After nine months the Queen gave birth to two boys. Everyone was happy. The King gave the people of his kingdom gifts and money. The princes were named James and Henry and they were brought up with love and affection. The King hired the best teachers to educate them. They were taught many things including fencing, hunting and ballroom dancing. Years passed the princes grew into handsome young men. The day they turned eighteen the Sage came. The King was horrified to find the Sage at his front door. He had forgotten about his promise. The King pleaded with the Sage to spare his eldest son, he could have anything he wanted instead. The Sage refused “You made a promise”. The King rushed to tell Prince James all about the Sage. “Don’t worry Father I will keep your promise.” Prince James bid goodbye to the Queen and the King, his brother and everyone in the palace. He left with the Sage. The Queen was inconsolable, but she knew he was a strong brave man able to take care of himself. On their way to the Sage’s house, they came to a crossroads. The Sage said to the Prince, “These two roads lead to my house, the road on the left is long, filled with flowers and butterflies, the road on the right is short, but there are monsters and ferocious animals in there, which one would you choose?” Without hesitation the Prince said the one on the right. He was pleased with the Prince’s choice. “He is brave,” thought the Sage. Prince James took his sword out and went ahead, he fought the ugly ferocious animals, they looked like wolves with big teeth and pointy nails. Then came the giant hairy monsters with green eyes. When they reached the Sage’s monastery it was already dark. “You must be tired” stated the Sage calmly. “Let’s have something to eat and then we will go to bed. Tomorrow you need to wake-up early, we have a special prayer to perform”. They had some bread and soup, then they went to sleep in their separate rooms. There was just a mat on the floor for the Prince to sleep. He kept twisting and turning, staring at the ceiling. Unable to sleep he got up and went for a walk in the garden. He saw three sheds; he opened the first door there were lots of human skulls inside! He closed it. In the second one he found bones of limbs. He looked puzzled; he opened the third door. There was a white horse standing there laughing. “Why are you laughing?” asked the Prince. “I am laughing at youuu” neighed the horse. “You are going to be killed tomorrow morning, the heads you saw in the shed, they are of ninety-nine brave, courageous, young men. You are going to be the hundredth. There is a statue at the back of the garden. The Sage will sacrifice you in front of his God in return he will receive a magic ring. You can wish for anything you want.” Prince James closed the door and went to sleep. He knew what he had to do next.