King Grisly-Beard

King Grisly-Beard Once upon a time there was a king who lived in a faraway land in the East. He had a daughter who was very beautiful, but she was also too proud, haughty, and conceited. She felt that none of the princes that came to ask to marry her were good enough for her and she would make fun of them. The king decided to hold a feast and asked all his daughter’s suitors to attend. They all sat in a row according to their rank. Kings, Princes, Dukes, Earls, Counts, Barons and Knights. The princess came in and walked past them and had something mean to say to them all. The first was too fat, round as a tub. The second was too tall, just like a string bean. The next was too short and she called him a dumpling. The fourth was too pale and she called him a sheet. The fifth was too red so she called him a tomato. The sixth was crooked so she called him a branch. She made a nasty remark about all of them, but she picked on a king most of all. She said his beard looked like an old mop and he will now be known as King Grisly- Beard. Her father, the king, was very angry with the way his daughter behaved towards his guests. So, the king made a promise that his daughter would marry the first man, whether a prince or a beggar, that came knocking at their door. Two days later a traveling fiddler began to play under the window begging for money. When the king heard him outside, he said to let him in. A dirty-looking guy came in and sang for the king and the princess. When the fiddler finished singing, he asked for money. The king told him that he sung so well that he could marry his daughter. The princess cried and begged her father to not make her marry the fiddler, but her father said he made a promise that the first man at the door would marry her, and he will not break his promise. All the tears that the princess shed would not change the king’s mind. So, the official was called, and the princess was married to the fiddler. Afterwards the king told his daughter to pack her things as she no longer could stay at the castle. She must travel with her new husband and the king sent them on their way. The fiddler and his new wife, the princess left the castle. They soon came to a beautiful forest. The princess asked who owned the forest and the fiddler replied King Grisly-Beard did and if you had chosen him this would be yours. The princess sighed thinking that she had made a mistake about the king. Soon they came to a beautiful, lush meadow. Once again, the princess asked the fiddler who owned the meadow and once again the fiddler replied that King Grisly-Beard owned it. The princess just shook her head and they continued on. The fiddler and the princess came upon a great city. The princess asked whose city it was and the fiddler replied that King Grisly-Beard owned this also. By now the princess was feeling quite foolish for not having been nicer to the king when she met him at her father’s castle. The fiddler said if you do not mind me asking why would you wish for another husband? Am I not good enough for you? At last, they came to a small cottage. The princess thought it a horrible place and asked who does this dirty little hole belong to? The fiddler replied that it was their home and where they would now start their new life together as husband and wife. The princess asked where the servants were, and the fiddler asked why do we need servants? You will do what needs to be done yourself. He then asked the princess to build the fire, put the water on to boil and cook some dinner as they had a long way to reach their home. But the princess had no idea how to do any of those things, so the fiddler helped her. When they were done with their very meager meal, they went to bed as they both were very tired. The next morning the fiddler woke the princess and asked her to clean the house and cook breakfast. Of course, she did not know how to do those tasks either. They lived like this for 2 whole days before the fiddler said that they needed to earn some money and wanted the princess to learn how to weave baskets. The fiddler went and cut willows and she started to weave but the willow branches made her fingers sore. Next the princess tried spinning, but the threads cut her tender fingers and she bled everywhere. The fiddler told her that she was good for nothing and that he did not get a good bargain from the king. The fiddler’s next idea was to set up a booth in the market and sell pots and pans. The princess knew that if anyone in her father’s court should see her, they would laugh at her. But her husband did not care and said that she had to work if she did not want to die of hunger. At first the princess did well because people were surprised to see the princess selling in the market. They lived on this for quite a while but eventually all the pots and pans were sold. The fiddler went and bought some new pans, but a drunken soldier drove his horse through her stall and broke all her wares. The poor princess started to cry because she did not know what to do. She went home to tell her husband what had happened. He asked why did she set up on the edge of the market? That location would lead to accidents like hers happening. The fiddler told her to stop crying, he knew that the princess was not used to this kind of work. So, the fiddler went to the local king and asked if they needed a kitchen maid. They said yes, so the princess went to work in the kitchen. The princess helped the cook by doing the dirtiest of work but in return she was always sent home with meat and other good things to eat. She and the fiddler lived like this for a while. One day while working the princess heard that the king’s oldest son was to be married. She hurried to the window to watch the preparations for the wedding festivities. Soon everything was ready, and all the pomp and brightness of the court was evident to all. The princess bitterly grieved her foolishness and pride that brought her from a princess to a lowly kitchen maid. The cook and the servants gave her some of the food in a basket so she could bring it home to share with her husband the fiddler. As the princess was leaving for the day, the king’s son came in dressed in golden clothes and when he saw the princess, he took her by the hand and told her she should be his partner in the dance. But the princess trembled in fear for she saw that the king’s son was none other than King Grisly-Beard. She thought he was making fun of her since she had mocked him at her father’s castle. Grisly-Beard kept ahold of her hand and led her into the dance. The cover of the basket came off and all the food that the cook had given her to take home came pouring out onto the dance floor. Everyone laughed at her when they saw what had happened. The princess was so embarrassed and wished herself far away. She ran to the door, but King Grisly-Beard caught up to her and told her not to leave or to fear him. He told her that he was the fiddler that lived with her in the hut. He was also the drunken soldier who had broken all of her wares. I did this to make you realize how silly and rude you were in your treatment of me. But I think you have learned your lesson. I have loved you from the beginning and it is now time for us to celebrate our marriage with this wonderous feast and dance. A beautiful dress was brought out for her to change into. Her father and his court were there and welcomed her with open arms for she had learned her lesson. Everyone was happy and enjoyed all the delicious food and dancing. The princess never said a mean word about any one again and lived happily ever after with her king. The End!