The weeping princess

Far behind all mountains, deep down in the woods, there was a castle. In the tower that stretched itself above the clouds the old king sat with his gerfalcon, mourning over his daughter who was always crying. She lay in her princess bed in the heart of the castle. Crying with long, pitiful sighs vibrating at the end. She had been crying every day and every night, ever since her mother died.

The old king had taken care of the little child and comforted her as best he could. But whatever good he did for her, he couldn't make her stop crying. She had reached the age when it was time for her to find a prince. But she still wept and cried as before.

The king said to his gerfalcon: "Fly out in the world with your falcon sight and look for a prince for my daughter." The falcon unfolded its wings and dived down into the white clouds, and the world behind the woods and mountains.

When the falcon came to a village, it landed in a tree by the well at the market place. The ladies came there to fetch water, and the falcon listened to all that was said. Soon he heard rumours of a prince who had come to the land on a white horse. The prince had black hair and was a master hunter. He was slim and strong, his eyes sharp and blue. He was so handsome that the ladies' voices shook when they spoke of him.

The falcon flew back, between the mountains, into the forest to the castle where the king waited. The king listened eagerly to all the falcon had to say before he went down the wide dark stairs from his tower chamber. When he came closer to the princess' room he heard her whimpering. It made him so sad that his heart ached for her, as it had done ever since the child was new-born and the mother died. Upon when his hair and beard had turned white overnight.

The princess sat on her bed with her long red hair and big wet eyes. The king sat down in front of her and said: "A prince has come to our land and I want you to meet him." "But do you think he wants a princess who weeps all the time?" the princess asked sniffling in to her handkerchief. "Maybe not," the king said. He lifted his eyes and watched his daughter. "But you can't stay here for ever. I have decided to send you off."

The king followed her out of the room and helped her down the stairs. They went out of a door that led to a jetty by the river. He placed the princess aboard a rowing boat that had carved dragons heads and a shining lantern at the bow. When she was seated the king gave her a magic candlestick with three lighted candles. "As long as the candles burn, you may win the prince," the king said. "But when they are all extinguished, only love can bring you together."

The king knelt in front of her, holding the gunwale. "Let the stream take you towards the sea. On your way you will come to know the people, and they will help you stop crying. Then you will meet the prince and take him back here to marry him." Then the king pushed the boat out into the river.

While the princess drifted with the stream, the king hurried up to his tower chamber. Short of breath he took the gerfalcon down from its perch. "Now you must help the princess," he said and took the falcon out onto the veranda. "Find all the lucky items there are and give them to her." Again the falcon spread its wings and dived down from the king's arm.

The night came and it grew cold. The princess' boat led her into the deep forest while she wept high and sorrowfully. Her crying so pitiful that the owl stopped singing. It was as if the woods stood silently around her, and the air completely filled with her crying. The sounds woke up a fisherman near by. He saw the lights reflected in the dark river water. With his fishing rod he hooked on to the boat and dragged it ashore.

In the meantime the falcon had found a flute player who played so beautifully that everyone felt happy and started to dance. The falcon landed on his shoulder and whispered: "listen flute player. The sad princess is in her boat looking for a prince. She has to stop crying before the candles burn out, maybe your flute can help her?"

The flute player smiled and told the falcon. "If the flute can help the princess stop crying, there is nothing that would please it." The falcon flew to the fisherman with the flute in his claws. It landed by the fisherman's camp and gave him the flute. The fisherman was happy to get hold of something to cheer the sad princess up. He took the magic flute and blew it. The moment he heard the flutes tones, he felt so happy he started to dance. The fisherman's body felt as light as a feather and he had to smile. But the princess kept on crying, even though she felt a tiny feeling of joy.

The next morning she climbed aboard her boat and continued to drift down the river. One candle was burned half way down. She cried with quivering lips, and prayed for a miracle to happen so that she could stop.

The falcon had returned the magic flute and went to look at a circus. There it saw a clown playing so amusingly with a doll that nobody could resist laughing. The falcon flew down to the clown and landed on his shoulder. "The princess is on her way down the river, seeking a prince," the falcon said. "If she can't stop crying before the candles burn down, her hope burns out with them. But maybe your funny doll can help her?"

The clown let the falcon borrow the doll. It flew back to the river with it. But when the falcon found the boat, it was empty. Nearby there was a hut where three timber men lived. They sat round the crying princess giving her food, while they did every imaginable thing to make her smile. "It's no use," one of them said. "She won't even laugh at my best stories," said the other. "And not when I show her my favourite funny face," the third said disappointedly.

At that moment the falcon flew in through the open window with the doll in its beak. The largest timber man took the doll, and became instantly so funny that the other two collapsed on the floor. Even he who held the doll laughed so much he almost suffocated. But the princess couldn't stop crying, even though she felt a little laughter mixed up in her crying.

When the princess had eaten, she said goodbye and went down to the boat. She saw that the first candle had burned down. Only two continued to burn. It made her moan even louder, while she pushed the boat from the riverbank and continued on her journey.

The falcon returned the doll to the clown and went on a gymnastics show. There he saw a juggler, juggling eggs so masterfully that everyone laughed and sighed again and again. The falcon landed on the juggler's shoulder and told him about the princess. "So you see I need to borrow your eggs," he said finally.

When the falcon met the princess again, she had come to a farm with grazing animals and a storehouse. She knocked at the door until the farmer opened. "Can I have some food here, please?" the princess asked. "Of course, you are very welcome," the farmer said and smiled at her. "We'll have to cheer you up as well, because you don't look too happy." The farmer and his wife gave her food while they stood on their heads and sang, played the viola with their feet and told funny stories. But nothing of this made the sad princess feel the least happy.

Not until the falcon came with the eggs. The farmer's wife wanted to juggle with them, and when she picked them up she became so good at juggling that she could juggle while turning somersaults. Whatever she did, the eggs always fell down in to her hands without a single one of them breaking. The farmer himself laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. Yes, even the princess felt something strange. Something squeezing together in her tummy and a new feeling round her mouth, as if there were some unused muscles there that wanted to pull her lips. The farmer thought he saw a tiny weenie smile on her mouth when it was at its funniest, but then the whimper took control over her again.

Having eaten her fill, the princess said farewell and returned to the boat. When she saw that the second candle had burned half way down, she closed her eyes in despair while her tears flooded down her cheeks. With a last effort she kicked away from the jetty, and was once more led down the stream.

The falcon flew back with the eggs and met a woman plucking a goose. The woman whistled and sang while the feathers landed in a basket. "You are certainly a happy woman," the falcon said. "If I tickle the princess with one of these feathers, will she also be happy?" The woman nodded. "Feathers plucked while laughter and singing will always bring happiness. Just take a feather if you like."

When the falcon came to the princess again, she had stopped at a village. When she moored at the wharf the second candle burned out, and that made her cry like a fog horn. The marketplace was decorated and everybody having a party. But when they saw the sad princess they stopped having fun and asked her what was so sad. "I can't stop crying," the princess said. "And if I can't stop before the last candle burns out, I won't get the prince."

"We will make you happy," the village people shouted showing off for her with strange dancing, grimaces and funny walking. They stood on their hands while picking their noses and singing strange songs. She could see through the veil of tears that they were doing their very best for her. But she didn't feel anything until the falcon came.

The falcon landed on the princess' shoulder and brushed the feather under her nose. The feather made her sneeze - and together with the sneeze came laughter!

The princess heard her own laughter for the very first time, and she thought it sounded so funny that she continued to laugh. The village people rejoiced. "We made the princess laugh," they shouted. But when the princess lost her breath, the laughter stopped and the old crying took over again so that there was only her sobbing to be heard.

Sad and disheartened she went to the boat. She loosened the rope, and let the river take her towards the town where the prince was to be found. Darkness painted the river. The lantern light blinked darkly in the water and the last candle waved in the soft evening breeze. It was burned half way down when the princess fell asleep with her head on the rail. Her long red hair flooding behind the boat. The falcon caught the longest hair and plucked it out. Then it flew towards the town with it.

When the falcon came to the town, there was a grand party there, celebrating the prince. The most beautiful girls in the country had come to meet him. The prince danced with one beautiful girl after the other while the orchestra played in the marketplace. But he wasn't fond of any of these girls. They smiled too much and put on airs, just like all the human beings the prince had met in his life. The prince only smiled stiffly back at them.

While the prince was dancing the falcon came flying and sat down on his shoulder. The prince admired the gerfalcon. He took the red hair out of its beak and smelt it. At once he felt a great urge. It felt as if the person who owned the hair could satisfy him and comfort him and make him happy. "Show me the way, gerfalcon," he whispered while he climbed up on his white horse. "Straight ahead prince," the falcon said. "By the river you will find her boat. It has a lantern in its bow and three burned out candles. On the deck you will find the princess. She will be crying."

"That doesn't matter," the prince said. "I cry a lot too." The prince rode away from the artificial girls in the marketplace. He came to the river alone. The falcon pointed at the princess' boat with its wing. "That tiny boat?" the prince said. "Yes, there she is," said the falcon.

The prince entered the boat. He heard the princess sobbing and pulled away some blankets. There he saw the princess' tearful face, in a coil of red hair. The prince's eyes grew large with pity and compassion. He stroked her wet cheeks until she woke. When she saw the kind, mild face of the prince she stopped crying. In his eyes she could see that it didn't matter whether she was crying or not. And while she felt her love bursting from her chest, she saw that his eyes filled with tears. The princess sat down on the thwart, stretched out her arms and held the prince's head in her hands. She lay his head in her lap, took the oars and started to row home.

The prince wept with joy; finally he had found his beloved. Finally he had escaped all the false friends and lovers. He wept until her dress became wet. Then he sat down beside her. Side by side they rowed with one oar each, and held each other's hand with the other.

When they arrived, the King waited by the quay-side. "Dear princess and prince," he said. "I'm so happy that you finally found each other." Then the wedding was arranged. Among the guests were the fisherman, the timber men, the people at the farm, the flute player, the juggler and the lady plucking the goose. They all entertained at the party - and the princess and prince laughed most of them all.

© Martin Nygaard