Week 9 Story: The Princess in disguise

 Source: Tiny Tales from the Mahabharata

By Laura Gibbs

In a kingdom somewhere, there was a princess. She was the only child of the king and next in line to the throne. Many suitors came from lands far away longing for her hand, and the power that came with it. Man after man, she only saw deceit, greed, and entitlement. She knew she would have to find a husband elsewhere. The princess went to her sorceress, and asked her to turn her into and old, unbecoming woman covered in wrinkles and warts. The sorceress says "what a strange request, in what way could this help you?" The princess answers "I just want to try something different, no reason!" Of course the princess hid the real reason she was changing her appearance. She did not want the sorceress to tell her father because he would stop her. That night the princess left the castle to the outskirts. She would go door to door, knocking and asking for a place to stay. The princess decided she would take the hand of the kind man who opens his door to her. She knocked on her first door, a tall raggedy man answered. Within seconds of observing the princess in disguise, he slammed his door shut. The princess continued to go door to door, receiving responses similar to her first experience. The princess begins to lose hope. She sees one last house to try, a small hut next to a pond. She knocks on the door and a tall, handsome man answers. She asks to stay for the night and he lets her in. The princess thought "this is him, this is my husband!" The man made her a meal and she sat down to eat it. The man had a dog, which seemed very underfed and sad. This made the princess nervous. However, she kept eating and realized the man had disappeared. The princess wonders the house looking for the man and hears a noise behind her. Once she turns around she sees the man is holding a knife, about to stab her! She screams, closes her eyes, and braces herself for the sharp pain, but nothing happens. She opens her eyes to see the dog attacking the man. She runs out of the hut and the dog follows after her. She sprints all the way back to the castle with the dog. Once she is there she bends over to thank the dog for saving her, "you will be my companion for life," she says to the dog. After that, she asks the sorceress to turn her back. The princess spent every day with the dog, he became the most important thing in her life. One day, the sorceress felt something strange about the dog. "I do not think he is a dog at all," she said to the princess, "I think he is under a spell." With the snap of her fingers, the sorceress changed the dog into what he truly was, a striking man! The man explains his story, he had been unjustly transformed into a dog. A few years later, the princess and the man marry and she was happy with her companion for life.

Princess in Disguise


Author's note: I used the element of disguise from the story of Mahabharata when the Pandavas went into disguise. I mixed a couple of elements from different princess stories to make my own. Most of this story came from my imagination, however my imagination is influenced from all stories I have read before. I wanted to include a dog in the story, and I tried to foreshadow with "you will be my companion for life," since the dog ended up being the man the princess wants to marry!

Comments

  1. Hi Jessica,
    I really enjoyed reading your story! I love the fairytale aspect of your story. Fairytales are definitely my favorite to read and I love the mystical nature they possess. Your story reminds me a lot of beauty and the beast. The way the girl saw something in the dog even though he was an animal reminds me of how Belle fell in love with the beast even though he was a hideous creature. I also think it is really creative how you were able to write this story based off the element of disguise. You really thought outside of the box and wrote a story that is really fun! I would however say that you could add some more detail in order to lengthen this story and make the reader feel more connected to the characters. You could name the characters and share some of their backstory. You could give more insight into the feelings and thoughts of the characters. Overall, you did really well! I would just suggest adding to this story.

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  2. Hi Jessica!
    I have to admit, the ending was very unexpected, and I loved that! First, the handsome man was a villain, and then the dog was a man! It gives me Beauty and the Beast vibes. The princess sure is bold to think there is nothing wrong with going house to house and staying with a stranger just because they did one kind deed. But, then again, the worst that I had thought may happen to someone who does this did happen to the princess, but she handled herself just fine. I noticed the many different elements from different princess movies that you said you referenced in your story, so I like that you fused multiple inspirations together to create your own unique story. Well done!

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