A FAIRY TALE: THE STORY UNFOLDS

Once upon a time there was a handsome young man who was the prince in a kingdom far away. He was looking for a princess to marry. “She must be a real princess in all her qualities”, said the Queen. The King agreed saying, “She must be beautiful, clever and sensitive. Yes, it is very important for her to be a true princess”.

The prince rode off on his horse and went around the world to find a princess to marry. He stopped in every castle he came across on his travels. There were many princesses, some of them beautiful and some of them clever. But he wasn’t sure whether they were real princesses or not. A real princess is a very special person, and one who is not easy to find. He came home sad and lonely because he had not found the person he was looking for. “I’ll never find a real princess he thought.

There was a terrible storm. Lightning flashed, thunder boomed and the rain poured down. It was a dreadful night.Suddenly there was a knock on the castle door. All the servants, scared to death, were hiding because of the storm. The King went to see who was knocking on such an awful night.Somebody was standing outside.

It was a witch, the King was pleasantly surprised “What are you doing here?” he asked.“I know that your son is looking for a princess to marry” the witch said.“What do you want from me Golgona?” the king asked.“I know a princess who is beautiful, clever and sensitive” and one I can be sure she is telling the truth, I am not a wicked witch any more, I only want the good for the people, I regret for all the bad things I’ve done in the past and I want to help you find a real princess for your son.“You really seem as if you have regretted, o.k. then, tell me who is that

princess” the king said.

“The prince must take three tests first, prove that he is worthy of a true princess “, Golgona said.

Firstly, he must face a dragon to prove that he is strong Secondly, he must solve a puzzle to prove he is clever and

Last but not least, he must visit all the villages around the castle to see how people live and take actions to help them.

But BE CAREFUL! “If you give him instructions, he will not succeed and he will never find his princess”,

Golgona said.

“All right, I’ll do as you say”, the king said.

The next day, the King called his son Emilio, explained that he had found a princess for him to marry, but before meeting her, he had do the three tasks Goglona had asked for, to prove that he is

strong , clever and merciful.

The prince would do anything to find his princess and accepted the challenge. The King explained the situation to the Queen mother. She was happy that there was a true princess for her son.

The following day Emilio said goodbye to his parents, took their blessing, and went to face

Golgona’s Dragon.

Three months later, prince Emilio returned to the castle victorious. He had killed the Dragon and saved the people of the realm how were terrified by him. The King and Queen were very happy to see that their son was safe.

They explained of the second test he had to do, solving a puzzle…

VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The puzzle says “Once I came across two friends who knew that one always tells the truth and the other sometimes tells the truth and sometimes lies”…

But I didn’t know who was who, so I asked him. First if his friend always tells the truth and he replied me with “yes” or “no”. Immediately I realized who was telling the truth and who sometimes tells the truth and sometimes lies.“What did you say?”“If the first is always telling the truth he replied “no”, “If telling sometimes truth and sometimes lying”.“He answered to you “yes” or “no”, we could conclude that, if that is the answer.“He gave me “no”. I could find out who was who. But after I realized he should have replied “yes”, which means that the first tells you when he tells the truth and lies and the second always truth.

“Perfect my son “, said the King “you solved the puzzle”. “Now you must go through the last test, you must go to all the villages around the

castle, we will wait to see what you’ll have to say when you return”.

Prince Emilio left immediately, it took him two months to visit the

villages of the realm but when he came back

he had some interesting things to say.

“Father, Mother I missed you so much, what Golgona is doing here,

why she is with you? Some bad happened”?

“Don’t worry Emilio, Golgona is not wicked any more; she ‘s waiting to see if you have taken any decisions after seeing the way people live in the

villages”, said the King”.

“The lives of the people are difficult in the countryside Father”. Prince Emilio started :“I decided that we must reduce the taxes for the poor. Every month necessary goods, such as drugs and food must be given to the poorest of them. Also a strong fortress must be built around the villages to protect the people’s lives.

WE MUST CARE MORE FOR OUR PEOPLE!!!

At that very moment, there was a lightning and the ugly witch turned into a beautiful, clever and sensitive princess.

The princess had a very hard heart and a curse had been thrown on her to look ugly, until she finds kindness in her heart and willingness to help people. So she found a goodhearted Prince to marry and get

rid of the curse.

The Prince fell in love with her instantly and asked

her to marry him.

The King and Queen arranged a wedding for the following Sunday.

Everybody was there, none was left uninvited.

They lived happily ever after and the people of the realm lived

even better.

Despoina Fanou: Story & Graphics,Villy Saranti: Graphics

E3, 2013-2014