The Prince, the Bird, and the Greedy King
by Sarah Sims
Once upon a time, a prince was on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While passing through a foreign kingdom, he encountered the most captivating singing he had ever heard in his life. But the song was filled with sorrow. Surely, a voice of such beauty should sing songs of joy, not tears and sighing, he thought. He left the road to follow the hauntingly beautiful sound and came upon a grand castle.
Now the king of the castle was greedy, and desired that all of the earth’s most precious things would be his, and his alone. The king’s most prized possession was the bird in the golden cage next to his throne. Naively, she had come to his castle singing songs of sunshine and flowers, and was quickly ensnared by the greedy king’s trickery. The joy of springtime that had once filled her heart slowly turned into bitter winter, as days turned into years within the bird’s golden prison. The king triumphed over his new trophy. He delighted in her songs of wintery sorrow, for the warmth of spring had not touched his stony heart for many, many years.
The prince walked to the front door of the castle and knocked on it three times. The door creaked open, and a servant boy nervously peeked out.
“W-w-why have you knocked on His M-m-majesty’s door?” said the page, eyeing the prince’s richly embroidered cloak.
The prince replied, “I seek she who moves my heart to joy and sorrow. Who sings inside this castle?”
The servant straightened and opened the door further. “Why, it is the king’s m-m-minstrel,” he replied.
The prince followed the boy down a hallway covered with the mounted heads of exotic animals and golden statues. Their tortured expressions unnerved the prince, and he secretly wished the servant boy would pick up the pace. The prince squinted. Setting sunlight poured into his eyes, leaving him dazzled. Gaining his bearings, the prince saw he had entered a great hall, and soon discovered the golden feathers and deep sapphire blue eyes of a bird singing next to the king. Wonder filled the prince’s heart as he looked upon her.
Meanwhile, a smile crept across the king’s face as he surveyed the prince. “Welcome to my kingdom, Sir Prince.” The prince tore his attention away from the bird and hastily bowed, for he did not want to show disrespect to his host. “You must be very hungry from your journey,” said the king.
Suddenly, servant boys scurried into the room, carrying a great table and dish upon dish of the most enticing delicacies the prince had ever seen. While the servants laid out the feast, the prince sat down and bowed his head to say grace. As he was praying, he remembered the great King Solomon’s wisdom: do not overly desire the delicacies of a ruler. In his heart, the prince decided to only eat what was on his plate. When he opened his eyes, every dish he saw was more luxurious than the next. There were steaming stews and creamy custards, spice cakes and sparkling pomegranates, and in the center stood a whole roasted boar. But when the prince looked down at his plate, all that lay there was a small loaf of bread. The prince thanked the king for the meal and, having contentment in his heart, ate the bread.
The king, refraining from eating, stared at the prince. “Do you not want anything else but bread?” the king asked. “There must be something on this table a prince like yourself would desire after such a long journey.”
“No, Your Majesty,” said the prince, “I am content with what I’ve had. I do not need more.”
The king nodded and sighed a little, “Then let my servant show you to your room.” The prince said a quick prayer thanking God for his supper and followed the servant out of the hall. Then the king waved his hand, and all the food on the table disintegrated into dust, except for the couple of breadcrumbs left on the prince’s plate.
The prince climbed a flight of steps that led to a cozy bedroom with a window overlooking the city center. He yawned and prepared for sleep. Before too long, there came a knock at the door, and a servant boy came into the room with a large purse of gold. “A gift from the king for the prince and his travels,” announced the boy, laying the purse to the right of the prince’s bed.
After he left, there came another knock at the door, and a second servant boy came into the room with a large sack of gold. “A gift from the king for the prince and his travels,” announced the boy, spilling the treasure to the left of the prince’s bed.
Immediately after he left, two more servant boys walked through the still-open door carrying a large wooden chest overflowing with gold and jewels. “A gift from the king for the prince and his travels,” announced the two boys, laying the chest at the foot of the prince’s bed. The prince thanked the servants and wondered at the king’s generous gift.
The prince turned towards the Holy Land to say his evening prayers. As he was praying, he remembered the great King Solomon’s wisdom: those who help the poor will be repaid by God. In his heart, the prince decided to keep only one gold coin and to share the rest of the treasure with the poor.
The prince placed a coin on the nightstand next to his bed. Then he gathered the rest of the gold and jewels, and carefully lowered them down to some beggars crying for alms underneath his window. When he had finished, the prince lay down and dreamed of the golden bird’s beautiful voice and glittering eyes.
The prince awoke with a start, feeling a crushing weight on his chest. Overnight, the gold coin had multiplied into thousands of coins. They had showered off the nightstand, poured onto his bed, and piled on top of the prince as he slept. Carefully, the prince crawled out of bed. After breathing a sigh of relief, the prince recognized the voices of the beggars he had helped the night before. They were praising God for the mountain of gold and jewels that had filled the entire town square overnight. The prince said a quick prayer thanking God for blessing his gift and protecting him in his sleep. Then the prince reached out to pick up one of the coins lying on his bed. He paused and thought, maybe I shouldn’t take this coin. But as he looked at it, the prince’s heart was at peace. He placed the coin in his purse and walked downstairs to the great hall of the king.
The king sat rigidly upon his throne as the prince approached, “Sir Prince, why have you rejected my gifts? First my feast, then my gold. Were they not to your liking?”
“Oh, no, Your Majesty,” said the prince, “I am grateful for your gold. Your people’s joyous songs of praise lifted my heart, as they received your mighty gift.” The king’s lips curled into a snarl before he quickly regained control of his features. “There is one thing I do seek from you before I continue on my journey,” the prince replied while kneeling, “I ask for the freedom of your songbird. Such a creature should not live in a cage, but move freely about the earth, blessing all who hear her.”
The caged bird stared at the prince. Her deep blue eyes looked as if they were about to weep.
“That would be a great gift indeed,” said the king. His probing eyes studied the prince’s face. “But if I let her go, she would fly away, and you would never see her again.” The prince looked over at the bird. “However,” the king continued, “I have a mirror that can reveal to you whatever your heart desires, including my beloved bird.” The king produced a little mirror from his robes.
The prince imagined never being able to see the songbird again, and wondered if the mirror could reveal to him deeper mysteries than even the wisdom of the great King Solomon. As the prince stared at the mirror, he wanted it more and more.
The king beckoned to the prince. The prince arose and walked to the side of the throne. As his fingers grasped the mirror, dread coursed through the prince’s heart. He paused and thought, I would be a fool not to see what this mirror can teach me. The prince peered into the mirror. Light began to glow from the polished glass, drawing in the prince’s hungry gaze. Suddenly, the prince fell to the floor like a dead man, with his eyes glued to the dark, swirling images of the mirror.
“He’s mine! He’s mine!” the king roared. “What shall I do with you, my dear prince? You are far too noble to mount on a wall with all those other beasts. Perhaps I will transform you into a falcon tied to a perch next to my throne. The songbird and the hunter. I’ve always wanted a pair.”
As the king loomed over the prince, the bird began to frantically flap her wings. Her heart, frozen from years of icy sorrow, melted that day with compassion for the prince. She had fallen in love. As her heart swelled, so did her stature. Soon the golden cage could not contain her any longer and burst open. She flew at the king and slashed at his eyes with her claws. Terror suddenly seized the greedy king’s heart. In a blind panic, he ran out of the castle, through the city and deep into the surrounding forest, to a place only rumor and myth can tell.
All was silence as the songstress moved over to the prince, still paralyzed by the mirror’s enchantment. She shattered the mirror on the floor. Taking hold of the prince, she did something she had not done in many years: she prayed.
While her tears washed over the prince’s face, his eyes slowly fluttered open and beheld a beautiful maiden with golden hair embracing him. He thought, I must be in heaven to be held by a woman of such grace. Then her eyes opened, and he saw the deep sapphire blue of his beloved songbird.
The prince took the king’s gold coin and had it forged into two golden bands. One he put on his finger, and the other he put on his bride’s. All people who heard them singing the praises of God’s wisdom and bountiful provision were blessed, as the prince and the princess made their way to the Holy Land.
About the Author
Sarah Sims is 31 and a singing teacher from San Francisco, California. She loves telling stories of all kinds, whether in song or in her writing, and enjoys teaching other people how to tell their stories.
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