Once there was a princess who locked herself in the castle's tower and threw away the key. Her parents, the King and Queen, were very upset, and tried in vain to get her to come out. "But people are beginning to talk!" they begged. "What shall we tell them?" they pleaded, but the Princess would not budge.
After several days, the King and Queen came up with a royal plan. "Perhaps the Princess is lonely," they reasoned, "and that is why she has locked herself in the tower. Send for the handsome princes from far away kingdoms!" they decreed. "Surely one of them will win our daughter's heart and she will come down from the tower."
So all of the handsome princes from far away kingdoms were sent for to try and persuade the Princess to come down from the tower. The princes wooed, the princes charmed, but the Princess still refused to come down from the tower. With their pride hurt and their vanity bruised, the handsome princes returned to their castles in far away kingdoms never to be seen again.
The King and Queen were quite discouraged, but didn't give up in their efforts. "Perhaps the Princess needs a hero," they reasoned. "Send for the brave knights in shining armor!" they decreed. "Surely one of them will impress our daughter with his valor and strength and she will come down from the tower."
So all of the brave knights in shining armor were sent for from distant lands to try and impress the Princess so that she would come down from the tower. The knights showed off their skills and presented their strength, but the Princess once again refused to come down from the tower. With their dignity hurt and their egos injured, the brave knights returned to their distant lands in their shining armor never to be seen again.
By this time, the King and Queen were becoming very frustrated with the Princess, but once again they did not give up their efforts in trying to get the Princess to come down from the tower. "Perhaps the Princess prefers to be entertained," they reasoned. "Send for the finest musicians and poets from foreign parts!" they decreed. "Surely one of them will woo our daughter with his lyric or song."
So all of the musicians and poets were sent for from foreign parts to try and impress the Princess with their rhyme and song so that she would come down from the tower. The poets recited and the musicians played, but the Princess refused to come down from the tower. With their inspiration weakened and their creativity wounded, the musicians and poets returned to foreign parts never to be seen again.
The King and Queen were becoming outraged, for by now their Princess had been in the tower for months and months. Their next plan was to have the Princess forced out of the tower. "Send for the sorcerers and wizards!" they decreed. "Surely there is a spell that can free the Princess from the tower," they reasoned.
So all of the sorcerers and all of the magicians came at the King and Queen's beckoning. They cast spells and they mixed potions, but nothing would set the Princess free from the tower.
"We give up!" cried the King and Queen. "Daughter! What is it that will free you from this tower, your prison?" they asked, weeping.
"Dear Father, dear Mother," called the Princess through the tower's window, "the only thing that will set me free is the key to the tower's door."
"Search for the key!" was the new decree from the King and Queen. "It must be found for it is the only thing that will set the Princess free from the tower!" As the key was sought, the kingdom was searched, but nobody could find the key.
"Oh, daughter!" cried the King and Queen. "Where is the place where you threw away the key?" they pleaded, weeping.
"I gave it to the farmer's son," answered the Princess through the tower's window.
"Bring the farmer's son!" decreed the King and Queen. When the farmer's son arrived at the castle, he was demanded to relinquish the key that he held to the tower where their daughter, the Princess, had locked herself up for months and months. But when the farmer's son handed over the key to the King and Queen he was immediately thrown into the dungeon.
When the Princess was released and had taken a bath, she asked to see the farmer's son. "We had the farmer's son thrown into the dungeon," stated the King and Queen.
"Why?!" cried the Princess, tears streaming down her face.
"The farmer's son had the key the whole time you were locked up in the tower and he did not bring it to us," answered the King and Queen. "Therefore, we had him thrown into the dungeon."
The Princess was beside herself. "But I love him!" she cried out. "Release him at once!"
The King and Queen did not relinquish their sentence, but asked instead, "Handsome princes wooed you, knights in shining armor fought for you, musicians and poets wrote verse about you, and wizards performed magic to amaze you. Why is it that the farmer's son has won your heart? He has done none of these things."
The Princess answered, "The handsome princes were consumed with their appearance, the knights in shining armor cared only about their strength, the words of the musicians and poets were empty and hollow, and the magicians deceived with their tricks. It was the farmer's son who showed me the way home when I became lost in the forest one day. It was he who gave me water to drink, it was he who fed me, and it was he who guided me and stayed by my side until I reached home in safety. He did not try to impress me with his looks or strength nor did he use words or tricks to take advantage of me. It is for these reasons that I love the farmer's son."
"But why did you lock yourself in the tower in the first place, Princess, and why didn't you tell us who had the key?" asked the King and Queen.
"I locked myself in the tower to protect myself from the handsome princes, the knights in shining armor, the musicians and poets with empty words, and the magicians who deceive. I gave the tower key to the farmer's son and asked him to hold it until I was ready to be released. The farmer's son did as I requested and now you have thrown him into the dungeon," responded the Princess.
"But why didn't you tell us who held the key?" The King and Queen asked once again.
"I did not tell you because you did not ask," the Princess answered simply.
The farmer's son was thereby released from the dungeon, married the Princess, and they lived happily with each other until their lives came to an end.
THE END.