A Fairy Tale... Part 2

Click here to read A Fairy Tale... Part 1

Although the princess experienced heartbreak and felt sad for a period of time after breaking free from the rafter, she held her head high and aimed her sailboat toward the sun. She eventually gathered quite a following, and while some of the time she sailed alone, most of the time she had a friend floating along with her.

There was Telly the Turtle. She was playful and funny, splashing with her flippers and beating her shell with sticks to create music to entertain the princess. Many times, Telly and the princess would dance and laugh together late into the night.

There was also Sassy the Seal. Sassy was sleek and stylish, and very, very wise. Sassy was a good friend for the princess to talk with about all the troubles there were out at sea, as well as all the wonderful things she experienced. Sassy helped guide the princess, even at times when the sea tossed the sailboat roughly in its waves.

Clinging to the side of the sailboat was Stella the Starfish. She laughed at and listened to all that happened on and around the princess’s vessel. She was quick to mend cracks before they became holes and happily bathed in the sun with the princess.

And let’s not forget about Betsy the Butterfly. She fluttered near the sailboat, frequently touching down gently on the tip of the sail or on the princess’s shoulder. She floated along with the boat, beautiful and elegant, a constant companion for the princess. She just had to look up in the sky and there Betsy would be, waving her wings and winking at the princess.

The princess enjoyed her friends immensely.

One sunny, unsuspecting day, the princess saw a canoe traveling along in the distance. The princess steered clear, having learned her lesson about strange sailors. She turned her sails and aimed her sailboat in the opposite direction. But the canoe turned its course to follow her. She looked back and the canoeist waved while yelling out a friendly hello. The princess slowed down a bit, she was going to make sure he wasn’t in any trouble, but that was it! Then she would be on her way again. The canoeist gained on her and they chatted a bit. He wasn’t in any trouble at all, he just wanted to visit with the princess. The princess smiled cordially and eventually sent him on his way. She was not going to let another stranger float near her sailboat for a long period of time again.

The next day, the canoeist found her again and this time he came bearing gifts. He brought fish and bread to share with the princess. The two dined together and the princess reluctantly enjoyed his company. But, as the sun sank into the sea in the distant horizon, the princess requested that the canoeist untie his canoe and be gone again. The princess loved her strong, secure boat, and wasn’t willing to share it with a stranger so soon after being abandoned by a previous rafter.

On the third day he came floating in her direction, waving and smiling. The princess was surprised to feel joy at the sight of the canoeist approaching her. He, again, came with a present for the princess – a beautiful strand of pearls. The princess’s heart filled with love as she bowed her head for the canoeist to tie the pearls around her neck. This canoeist seemed to be different from the rafter who had abandoned her. He was genuine and caring. He held her hand and said flattering words to the princess. The princess and the canoeist shared many of their thoughts and feelings with each other and decided that they should tie their vessels together. The princess felt the courage that had been drained from her by the rafter, slowly return to her while she was in the presence of the canoeist.

The princess was happy to have a new vessel tied to her sailboat and reveled in the constant companionship of the canoeist. Telly clapped her fins together and made music for them to dance to and Stella watched from her perch on the bow. Sassy swam by frequently for afternoon talks, but Betsy didn’t touch down to the sailboat as often as before, a little timid around the canoe.

Many days and nights passed, but one night the stars didn’t sparkle and shine as they usually did. Dark gloomy storm clouds threatened the princess and her traveling friends with big wet rain drops and deep rumbling thunder claps. Wind began to wail and the sailboat and the canoe were tossed fiercely around on the choppy waves. As the storm grew wilder, lightning struck down too close to the vessels and frightened the princess. Crawling carefully to the edge of her sailboat, the princess checked to make sure the canoe was still tightly secured to her sailboat. To her disappointment, the fastenings were becoming loosened by the dreadful storm. She searched frantically for the canoeist and found him sitting on the far end of his canoe, too far for the princess to reach. She called out to him, but the shrieking wind was far louder than her voice could be raised. He looked at her briefly but didn’t seem to notice the panic in her eyes. She reached out her arms to him, calling to him, but the ropes tying the two together continued to loosen. Why wasn’t he helping her tighten the knots? Why was he sitting so far from her and refusing to acknowledge her cries for help? Everything fastening them together came undone. The princess fell to her knees and sobbed as the canoeist drifted further and further away, the storm swallowing him up into the darkness.

The princess never saw the canoeist again. He was gone in an instant and her pain was sharp and deep. The reality of being alone cloaked and suffocated her like a cold, wet blanket. She was angry with herself for allowing another stranger to sail away with her heart. The princess felt shame, regret, and confusion at the loss of another sailor.

Telly, Sassy, Stella, and Betsy all helped the princess find her heart again. They told stories of new love and did the best they could to help the princess forget about the canoeist, knowing full well he was not the one meant to travel with the princess. Just when the princess thought her sailboat would go crashing into the rocky shore, one of her friends would help guide her straight. She was reminded of the course she had set out on at the beginning of her journey – her quest for happiness and love.

The princess learned that the canoeist was just a glimpse of the happiness that lay before her. He was a small pebble that added to her bubbling brook but not the force that made it run strong.

The Sea of Dreams still spread out before the princess and she smiled. And her friends, like the glow from the sun, encircled her as she continued on her way.