Fairytale 2. Why the Sky is Blue...

    

     Long ago, so long ago that no one remembers exactly when, the sky was white. And back then, there lived a Princess in a beautiful palace�"lovely and cheerful, but impossible to please. Whatever was given to her, she disliked, and whatever was done for her, it wasn’t good enough. And whenever her parents tried to be firm, she would cry so loudly that her wails could be heard beyond distant lands.

     At that time, there also lived a young Tailor in a small village. His talent was famous throughout the world. Whoever wore his clothes could wear them for a hundred years, and they'd still look new. Rumors whispered that he knew magic words, for he had learned from an old sorcerer who had woven seas and knotted mountains. But since no one had seen the Tailor casting spells, they eventually forgot about his magic.

     Then, the time came for the Princess to be married. The King and Queen sent invitations to the most handsome and wealthy suitors, declaring, “Whoever gives our daughter the best gift shall become her husband and inherit half the kingdom.”

     The suitors weren’t thrilled to marry a temperamental Princess, but half a kingdom wasn’t something to turn down, so they set off, bearing their finest gifts. For days, the palace was abuzz, with noblemen arriving from all over.

     By noon, the suitors had gathered to greet the Princess. They brought exotic silks, jewels that sparkled like stars, rare animals, and immortal flowers. But whatever they offered, the Princess had a fit.

     “This fabric is too scratchy! These flowers are so plain! These slippers have been worn�"throw them away!”

     All this while, the Tailor was taking the Princess’s measurements for her wedding gown. He listened to her complaints, and finally couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

     “Why are you laughing?” the Princess asked. “Because,” the Tailor replied, “your suitors are fools.” “Why is that?” “They bow to you and offer you gifts, but you won’t choose any of them. And even if you did, he wouldn’t last long by your side�"he’d run off to the woods to escape your whims. But I know of someone who could make a special thing for you, something that will always serve you and captivate anyone who looks at it.” “That’s impossible,” sniffed the Princess. “But fine. If you bring me such a thing by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll marry you.”

     The Tailor smiled and went home to sleep.

     When the sun sank behind the horizon, he set to work. He gathered fine fabrics, silk threads, colorful buttons, and precious gems, and tossed them all into the fire. As the flames danced and blazed, he whispered:

“From the silk and ashes bright, weave a gown for the Princess tonight. 

Not too big, not too small, let it fit her well with no flaw. 

So when she wears it, whims may cease, and bring her heart a gentle peace. And should her whims begin to fray, let the gown fly far away.”

     The fire listened to his words, leaped and twirled, then died down. And where the flames had been, a magnificent gown lay, shimmering blue on the grass. So beautiful it was hard to look away: jewels sparkled, buttons glistened, threads sounded like harp strings, and the fabric rustled like the sea. The Tailor dusted it off, wrapped it in silver silk, and tied it with a crimson ribbon.

     When the sun reached the middle of the sky, the Tailor went to the Princess, and she asked:

     “Well? Did you bring the marvelous thing?” “I did,” he replied, unwrapping the gown.

     The courtiers gasped as soon as they saw it, for they had never seen such beauty. The King was so entranced he fell from his throne.

     The Princess frowned, but tried on the gown. And she felt such joy as she had never known before�"so light and dazzling that she began to glow with happiness. And the suitors, who were still in the throne room, forgot about half the kingdom and gazed only at the Princess. She strolled around in the gown and said:

     “I’ll keep this dress, but I won’t marry you. There’s nothing particularly special about it�"it’s just clothes. It doesn’t take much skill to sew scraps of fabric, polish buttons, and gather gems.”

     No sooner had she said this than the gown began to move. It rustled like an ocean in a storm and started to grow. Within moments, it had covered the whole garden and continued to grow, until it swallowed the palace and the kingdom. In just an hour, the gown had blanketed the entire earth and reached the sky.

     The Princess cried and stamped her feet, wailing, “Bring me my dress! I don’t care what you have to do, bring it back! Tear it down from the sky!”

     But no matter how hard the courtiers tried, they couldn’t reach it. There wasn’t a ladder tall enough to reach the heavens.      And so, the Princess was left with nothing�"no fiancé and no gift.

     And since then, the sky has worn that blue gown. When the gown gets dirty, it turns gray, so the sky carefully washes it with rain and dries it with a warm breeze. And when it shakes it out, the buttons rumble like thunder, and the jewels flash like lightning.

     “What about the Tailor?” you ask.

     He vowed never to sew clothes for people again and left for the edge of the world. There, he stitches splendid gowns for Mother Nature: green for spring, a flowered one for summer, red and gold for autumn, and a white gown with a fluffy cape for winter.

Reviews

[Jeyanthi]

Wow...
I can't smile enough today.. 😀
The first paragraph draw us further in...
Loved the imagination ...

[Yana Larson]

I am very glad that you enjoyed it and that my fairytale has lifted your spirits. Smile more - I'm sure you look good smiling

[Jeyanthi]

Yeah 😀 but I was told both .. good enough to scare.. :)

[Yana Larson]

And who is scared - let him not watch)))) There will always be well-wishers