Princess and the wicked witch, Ruwansha Galagedara [audio ebook reader .txt] 📗

Long time ago when animals were not shy to talk with people, and when brave Jack fought the giant, amidst a vast mountain range where no sunlight ever penetrated through the gloomy grey clouds, there lay an isolated kingdom bordered by a dark, thick forest. It was ruled by a wise and mighty king who treated his people with kindness and gentleness. The kingdom was prosperous and the people were happy. They grew their crops, maintained farms, and had cows to get milk. They also had a fair, where they exchanged their goods and bought their necessities.

But everything began to change in one stormy night; whilst everyone was asleep, enjoying their merry dreams or being horrified by the nightmares, a woman in a black cloak walked towards the castle. She was drenched with water and had a stick in her hand.

In the following morning, the thunderstorm was over. Everyone engaged in their daily chores. Children played happily and girls sang while they went to fetch water. All of them were busy in their own worlds including the members of the royal palace. The king, his queen and their seven year old daughter were at the breakfast table when an announcer informed about a royal guest. It was a very beautiful princess from a faraway kingdom. She has fled her kingdom as an enemy killed her parents and gained the power. That’s what she told the court. But in truth, she was a witch, disguised as the lovely princess. She had changed her appearance in such a way that everyone was attracted to her immediately. Even her voice was charming and soft, and no one doubted her royal descent. “Let us be family to thee,” said the king.

Soon she became one of the royal family members and showed a great wisdom in everything. But she was wicked. Her intentions were cruel. What she wanted was the kingdom to herself. She enchanted the king with her powerful magic and became king’s advisor. The king became a puppet to the witch who commanded him in reigning. With time everyone understood the true self of the witch. But nobody could do a thing against her. She was so powerful that everyone had to fear. The queen fled from the kingdom taking the little princess with her. Once wealthy kingdom was facing its darkest times in its history. The king grieved over the queen’s departure and finally he lost his sanity.

Years and years passed and the king became weaker and weaker. By each day he became closer to death. The king had seven brothers who were fighting against each other to decide who the next king is. The kingdom reached miserable times and people suffered. They didn’t have enough food, they lacked clothes, and the king charged more taxes by the demand of the witch.

With all the wars going on, lands became deserted and finally all of the king’s brothers died owing to the lethal battles. When the king deceased, there were no one accede to the crown, except the wicked witch, who terrified the whole kingdom with her dark magic. She treated everyone in a mean way and collected all the precious things people had. She enslaved them and punished who arose against her, in scary ways. The kingdom was almost doomed without any hope; but there were three faithful servants of the former king who couldn’t bear the misfortune falling upon the kingdom. One was a sturdy rhino who served as the commanding officer of the king’s army, the other one was king’s pet lion who was very brave and fierce, and the final one was the king’s horse who could run faster than the wind. Three of them were very sad about the fate of the kingdom and determined to find a way to defeat the wicked witch.

By this time, in a small village far-off from the kingdom, the former queen and her daughter lived as a dressmakers. The queen has grown old and lost her beauty with all the hard work which she was not used to. The little princess has now grown up just like any other village maiden; wearing wild flowers instead of refined jewelleries a princess normally should have worn, and helping her mother to sew clothes. They worked together and earned their food and lived in a tiny cottage which they build with difficulty. They had only one thing to prove their nobility, a beautiful golden crest bearing the sign of their family which the queen kept hidden from the princess who didn’t know her real origin. She thought she was just an ordinary village girl whose father had died by an illness.

One evening the princess, now known as Gilda was on her way home across the forest when she saw tiny lights glimmering through the woods. She stopped and wondered what that light could be. “Fireflies?” she muttered to herself. But then the little lights turned red, to blue, to orange and then to purple. They were so beautiful changing into rainbow colours. She started walking towards them without making any noise. When she got enough close, she heard sounds of faint laughter so beautiful. Her heart almost stopped seeing the tiny fairies who were rapidly changing the colours of their clothes and wings. They were talking and laughing with each other cheerfully. Gilda was hiding behind the trunk of a large tree when all of sudden fairies stopped their chatter and looked towards the tree Gilda was hiding.

“She hath arrived!” shouted a fairy in pink.  The fairies swirled above princess Gilda’s head in a circle, looking at her with curious eyes.

“Finally! Thou hath come to own thy rightful place.” Said the fairy in pink who seemed like their leader.

“We have been awaiting thy arrival.” Chorused the little ones. They revealed the true story to the princess, the story of her faraway kingdom and about the wicked witch.

“Thou art destined to be a great ruler, seek for the good wizard in the high valleys. He alone canst help thee. Thee wilt meet companions.  Henceforth thou shalt act wisely.” And the fairies begin vanishing to the thin air.

Early in the following morning the princess started her journey towards the high valley midst of the mountains. She has heard about the cannibalistic giant residing in the hills and about his tricky riddles. She has heard that the giant never let anyone who couldn’t solve his puzzles.  

Publication Date: 02-15-2014

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Dedication:
To B. M. D.