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A Blue Dove For The Princess
A Blue Dove For The Princess
Princess
Chapter 1
Begining
It was such a bad injury that the dove felt as if its wings
were torn off. The pain was all over its body, and it could do
nothing but to lay itself on a leaf bed. It was the Princess
who saved it then. She carried it into a small cage, which
was hanging near a window in the corner of the Princess'
room. Despite living inside the birdcage, there was not a
thing that made the dove feel frustrated. The Princess
always gave him close attention, and it became fond of the
scenery through the window. Moreover, it liked watching the
Princess lead a life every day. Recovering from the injury, it
would hop around in the cage cheerfully.
Chapter 2
Disease Of The Princess
The dove was so happy with the days it lived there, and it
hoped that such days would last forever. But, one day,
things began to change. The Princess, who was always in
good shape and made it a habit to visit the dove many times
a day, did not show up one day. She did not come up to feed
it on that day.
Chapter 3
Thoughts of the Dove
While caring for the Princess and looking back upon the
days spent with her, a faint memory flashed across the
dove's mind. It was the story told by its mother who died
when the dove was still a baby.
That magic fruit can get rid of her disease and save her
life, the dove thought. She will be well if I can get one.
But, the more the dove thought about it, the less confident it
felt. There was no time to be sitting and doing nothing, but it
just couldn't make up its mind.
"Can I really carry the fruit with this small beak of mine,
even if I'm lucky enough to get there?"
These bad feelings would not leave the dove's head. That
couldn't be helped because it had been living in the cage
since its injury. Having been protected all the time by the
Princess since then, all it did was hop around in his tiny
birdcage.
Was the dove finally free from the fear of hawks and
falcons? Definitely not. Had it the idea of what course to
take? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, he took desperate flight
just in pursuit of the magic fruit
Chapter 4
Lark
The dove first reached a forest to the north of the
castle.
"Looks like you are in such hurry, but your flying is not
smooth," said a lark, which had just flown quickly from
behind to the dove's side.
"It can't be helped. I've lived in a cage for a long time. I'm
proud that I can somehow manage to fly," the dove
responded.
The dove asked the lark, "Don't you think the sky is
dangerous? There are hawks and falcons up here. What if
they come after you? And on the ground, there are foxes,
raccoons, dogs, and cats."
"Let me ask you something. Can you eat anything you wanna
eat, if you are confined in a cage?" The lark asked. "Even if
some days you feel like eating bugs, sometimes you want
rosebuds instead. Suppose you no longer have someone to
feed you. There is no point in talking about 'safe' and
'dangerous' then. It's about either 'you' or 'someone else'
who is responsible for anything that happens. That's all that
counts."
"The world is what your eyes can see, and it is what we live
in. So, knowing more about it makes you better. You can
count on it." The lark said all of this snobbishly, but
seriously.
The dove said to the lark, "I am searching for a magic fruit."
"Ain't got no clue. Why don't you ask that green worm down
there? O' how pathetic! I never want to be something like
that. It can move, but it can move forward and back only on
a single tree. That tree is the entire world to that thing."
Chapter 5
Green Worm
"I myself can fly. I know I can't fly as high as you can, but I
can fly," the green worm suddenly said, perplexing the dove.
"You don't have wings, do you? You cannot fly," the dove
responded right away.
"You are wrong," the green worm said. "Whatever you say, I
can fly. I will become a pupa and I will have my wings.
That's why I can fly."
Far, far away, just beyond the forest, the dove found a lake
shining under the light of the sunset.
Chapter 6
Tortoise
On arriving at the lake, the dove came across a tortoise that
appeared to be wise. The tortoise said, "It's good to have a
carapace. This thing has enabled me to survive a lot of
dangers. There are some birds that wear a carapace, aren't
there?"
"Well!" said the tortoise with a loud voice. "Are you able to
solve every problem you encounter? Are you certain you
are? Good or bad, everything has its ending. When the sun is
shining, you better enjoy as much sunlight as you can. In an
ice-cold winter that freezes even your teardrops, you must
endure with all your might. The sun will rise again. Mind you,
we are mortals, and that's all mortals can do." The tortoise
paused.
"When I saw it for the first time, I was young and thin. I had
fewer branches then. In those days, humans often battled
against each other. Razgriz then brought about a storm
which kept raging for seventy days and kept scattering huge
hailstones from above. Trees and grass perished and nothing
was left for the humans and animals to live on.
Consequently, this soil became desolate. All living things
died, one after another. Friends of my kind, four-legged
beasts, humans, and birds like you. Everything in this land
was deprived of breath. In the end, Razgriz killed none other
than itself. Shortly after, this place became a bare mountain
as you see."
"... Alright. There are few fruits left for me to give. You can
take one though. By the way, have you any idea why this is
called magic fruit?" The dove remained silent, gazing at the
old tree. "This can become not only a medicine but also a
poison. Or rather, this may be no more than an ordinary fruit
and this may even turn into a stone."
"This fruit will be what you believe it to be," the old tree
answered.
Chapter 8
Demon From Above
The dove gave gratitude and said farewell to the old tree,
tightly holding the magic fruit in its beak. It then took off
and left the rocky mountain. The wind began to blow even
stronger, and the dove found itself flying through a storm
and hailstones.
With a valiant look on its face, the dove spread out its wings
Chapter 9
Death From Above
Dragging its numb body upwards, the dove flapped its wings
and flew towards the castle where the Princess lived.
Although the tailwind it was hoping for didn't come, the dove
drummed up all of its power and kept flapping, holding the
"miracle medicine that can cure any illness" tightly in its
beak.
Just a little further! Just a little further and I can see the
Princess again!
When I do, I will give her this fruit.
And I can enjoy those happy days again!
Chapter 10
Return
When the dove finally made it to the castle, the Princess'
bed was surrounded by a great number of people. They were
all weeping. The king, who was among them, was sobbing
uniquely in his grief.
Chapter 11
Ending
The following morning, upon entering the room, the
nursemaid found the dove's body resting in peace beside the
Princess. She twisted her face in surprise and said in a very
loud voice, "O' my! Is this her little dove? How come? He
was injured and couldn't flap since then. These wings were
certainly deformed and disabled. How did it set off and even
come back? What a surprise!"
The dove was still holding the fresh fruit of Orion Poplar in
his beak, even after it passed away. The nursemaid decided
to plant it in the middle of the garden right under the window
of the Princess' room.
This is a tiny miracle story that parent birds have told their
babies atop the tree of Orion Poplar