Because I can

In leiu of a real post, I would like to offer you this short story:

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. As seems to be a running theme with princesses, this princess was under a curse from an eeeeviiiil witch.

The eeeeviiiil witch was jealous of the princess because the princess was so beautiful as well as so kind. She was loved by everyone in the kingdom and knights and princes came from aaaall over the land to seek her hand. The witch was jealous because she was ugly and despised by everyone because of her wickedness.

Because of her jealousy the witch set out to curse the princess. She cast a spell on her, turning her into a raven. However, because of the goodness of the princess, the spell was altered and instead of being turned into an ugly raven, the princess was turned into a beautiful dove. Still, the kingdom grieved that they had lost their princess.

The father of the princess, the king, sent out a decree saying that if any man could find a cure for his daughter, he could have her hand in marriage. Many came from far and wide bearing cures for the princess. They tried potions and counter spells but nothing worked. Finally, the princess and the king and queen grew soooo weary of trying different remedies that the king announced that they would only continue to take cures until the end of the month, and after that they would stop and resign themselves to the princesses' fate.

One day, near the end of the month, a peddler came into town asking to see the king. He claimed he had the cure that would restore the princess. They had heard this so many times that the king and queen had no hope but they agreed to see the peddler. He was brought before them and, after saying that he had been sent from his master who was a prince from a far off land, he produced a beautiful ruby necklace from the folds of his cloak.

"The princess had only to put on this necklace to be restored," he said, "As long as she wears it she will be human. If she takes it off she will again be turned into a dove, but as long as she puts it back on she will always be restored to her human form."

The king and queen permitted the necklace to be put on the dove. Instantly the little dove was transformed into the beautiful princess. The king and queen were overjoyed! They ordered that the peddler be adorned with fine clothes and they loaded up his horse with gold and jewels. Then they sent him off telling him to return with his master so that he could wed the princess.

Several months passed and the prince never came. The princess became sad because she had fallen in love with the man who had helped her. She grew sadder and sadder the longer she went with no word from the prince or the peddler. One night, while she was up in her room thinking about the prince and wondering if she would ever meet him, she noticed a faint red light. Looking around, she finally realized that the light was coming from the rubies in the necklace. Suddenly she knew, she *just* knew, that the necklace could solve her problem. She took off the necklace and was transformed into the form of a dove. She picked up the necklace from her dresser and started to fly.

She fleeeew and flew until she came to a beautiful palace with shining walls. The princess alighted and put the necklace back on, taking on the likeness of her human self. She walked up to the gate and asked to be admitted to see the prince. She was taken instead to the peddler who had brought the necklace. He took her into a room adorned in rich tapestries and expensive ornaments. There, by the window was a dove mounted on a golden perch. The peddler explained that this was the prince. He had been cursed, like the princess. He had such a good heart that when he heard of the plight of the princess he had sent the necklace, giving up his human form to help her.

When the princess heard this she was overwhelmed with gratitude and wept for the fate of the kind prince. She insisted that something must be done! Finally she thought of a plan. She told the faithful peddler that she would take off the necklace and made him promise that he would break it in half and give half to each of them.

The peddler did what the princess requested and went to put each half of the necklace on the two doves but the magic was gone. Only as a whole necklace would the charm work. He put the necklace back together and placed it on the dove that was the princess. After her told her what was wrong she was very sad. She then decided that if they could not both be human then they would both remain doves forever. The faithful peddler, whose name was Arnold, would keep the necklace safe and would continue to watch over the two doves.

Back in the princesses' kingdom, the king and queen were distraught with worry over what had happened to their daughter. One day as they were looking out the window, they saw the very same peddler coming up to the castle. The ran out to meet them and saw that he had two doves with him. Arnold explained all that had happened to the king and queen and they agreed that their daughter and the prince should remain with them.

The two doves lived very happy, very long lives (for doves) and had a beautiful baby dove. When their child was old enough it was decided that he should get to wear the magical necklace. The child grew up to be a handsome and brave prince and, eventually, he became king. All the people said he was the wisest and kindest king they had ever had and everyone loved him. He had a long reign and insisted that all the portraits painted of him contained two doves.

And everyone lived happily every after.

The End