MoonLand Princess
Helen Cohen, WWOnce upon a time, long, long ago—before the Great Books of the World were written—and so far away that one had to travel beyond the Towering Mountain Ranges and the rolling, rambling expanse of the Plains, past the Three Salty Seas and Nine Mysterious Queendoms—there was a majestic place called Land of the Moon.
This Land was ruled by a mighty Warrior Queen, who governed her subjects with a fair hand, compassion, and love. The Queen herself was a subject to the Great Goddess Arachne.
The Queen had a Consort, who was tall, handsome, and loving, and he had been her trusted companion in life for many long years. They lived very happily together, and, if some gossiping people told you that they quarreled occasionally, well, we’d say, who doesn’t quarrel? Besides, they never hurt each other’s feelings, and they always made up.
Thus, everything was perfect in MoonLand, except one thing, which made the mighty Queen weep bitterly at night; for some mysterious reason—one that no witch doctor in the entire Land of the Moon was able to discern—the Queen and her Beautiful Consort were not able to conceive a child.
One day, the mighty Warrior Queen reached the end of her endurance and decided to beseech the help of the supreme Goddess of MoonLand, Arachne. She retired to her quarters and prayed all night.
"If I do not give birth to a female child by the end of the next year, oh Great Spinner,’’ pleaded the Queen, "my younger sister will be forced to take my throne. But she is too young and inexperienced to be a Warrior.’’
Nine months later, a beautiful healthy little girl was born to the mighty Queen and her Consort. Everyone in the Land was overcome with joy. The proud parents invited the entire queendom to celebrate their daughter’s birth. For an entire week, seven hundred guests were served magnificent food and shown splendid fireworks at the Royal Palace.
The parents called their little girl Arachnon, in the honour of Goddess who helped bring her into the world. She was very pretty, with big bright eyes, long silky lashes, a plump fragrant little body, and the most engaging smile in the Land! Time went by in the happy palace, and Arachnon grew as all babies grow, not too quickly and not too slowly. In spite of all the sleepless nights, she gave her parents tremendous joy. And since they were first-time parents, they thought that their little girl was just like any other baby. But she wasn’t.
From the very beginning, the Royal Nurses and Midwives noticed that there was something a little bit wrong with Arachnon. The precious little girl did not like hugs. She pushed away anyone who tried to caress her. And she was too busy for kisses. In fact, she was too busy for anything. Arachnon was constantly in motion. She snatched everything in sight and immediately put it into her mouth. She ate whatever she found on the royal floor, as well as uncooked food she stole from the royal kitchen. She tore up books and tried to eat the pieces. Once, she got a hold of her father’s silk pajamas and cut them into tiny pieces with her scissors. She smiled like an angel when people greeted her, but if they came too close she grabbed their hair and pulled it ferociously.
With a wild look in her eyes, she danced and sang tirelessly all day long. Finally her exasperated parents realized that they needed help.
Her father went to the royal balcony and issued a proclamation: "I love my Arachnon more than life itself, but I think there is something a little wrong with her. I want her condition to be determined and treated as soon as possible. Let it be known that we urgently need the most accomplished sorceresses and healers to help."
A week after the announcement, a large crowd of witch doctors, herbalists, shamans, sorceresses, and midwives gathered at the MoonLand Palace. They were the most famous and illustrious healers in MoonLand and the neighbouring countries. They wore magnificent robes and carried gigantic Books of Wisdom and elegant leather crates filled with potions. One after the other, the healers and sorceresses examined Arachnon, gave their opinions, and commenced their treatments. Some said that she needed to exorcise evil spirits, but even the most sophisticated sorcery would not change Arachnon’s condition. Others tried oils and elixirs from faraway lands, but to no avail. Her gentle father was beginning to think that maybe he had done something wrong, and, indeed, there were some doctors who told him that his indulgence had spoilt his beloved daughter.
Months went by, but Arachnon became wilder as a result of the excitement in the Palace (which, incidentally, she tremendously enjoyed). Then, one day, when the Queen’s Consort was passing by the palace gate, he heard a commotion. He went to investigate and saw a very old woman trying to persuade the guards to let her see the Queen. They refused to believe that the woman was a sorceress, because of her plain dress and frail appearance. The Royal Consort, however, recognized the famous Wise Crone, because once, as a child, he had visited Arachne’s temple, where she served as a priestess.
After the Consort’s intervention, the Wise Crone was welcomed by the desperate parents and allowed to examine their child. She pronounced,
"Arachne is a great and powerful Goddess. Sometimes the powers of the Great Spinner are too potent for the mortals. The fertility essence was overpowering; now we have to remove the excess."
She ordered a magical potion to be prepared from the venom of thirteen little spiders. She poured seven drops into the pond inside the Royal Gardens. The little girl was then brought into the pond and immersed three times.
Well, the Princess never ate another piece of paper, and, even though she was still a very energetic child who wore down quite a few Royal Nannies, she was ready for caresses and kisses every day! She never wilfully destroyed anything in her entire life. But she still loved dancing.
The End.
A note for grownups: go to School<Repertory<MoonLand Princess if you wish to see the story repertorized.
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