Once upon a time, there was a beautiful King and Queen. They had a baby that they named Unique. They named her this because she was very different looking than all the other babies they had seen before. They knew that when it came time for her to pick a suitor it would be much harder due to her looks.
When the princess got older she realized what she would have to do in order to get a husband. She gathered a crowd of eligible men to the castle and she stood before them, carrying only a ball of yarn. She thanked them for coming and then threw the ball of yarn into the crowd of men hoping that one man would catch it. For whoever caught it would become her husband. After she threw it she went into the crowd looking for her new husband. She followed the yarn trail until she came upon a poor man. A beggar had caught her ball and was now destined to be her husband.
When her parents found out they were distraught. Why wouldn't she re throw the ball and get someone better, they asked? She told them she had made a promise that whoever caught it she would marry and she had every intent of keeping her promise.
Embarrassed of their daughter, the King and Queen kicked their daughter out to live with her new husband. The two newly weds were very poor and did not have much to live off so they lived out of the city in a little hut. One day the husband said he was going to go off and find a better life for his new wife. He was gone for nearly 18 years.
He finally returned and his wife did not even recognize him. For he did not look like a beggar anymore, but instead a King. He took her back to his castle and showed her the life he was going to give her. He dressed her in the finest clothes and fed her the best foods around. This is the life she had hoped for.
She finally asked how he became King and he had to explain to her that 18 years ago he had gone back to her parents and started a feud that led into a fight. During the fight the King, her father, was killed and that he took over.
Unique and her husband, now the King and Queen, lived happily ever after in their new life.
I kept the beginning of the story similar, except in the original the daughter was not ugly but rather had bad luck. She did throw a ball of silk in the original and a beggar had caught hers as well. The original had them kicked out as well but the daughter was fine with it because she had a feeling about her new husband. He did go off for 18 years and came back an emperor instead of King in the original. He took his wife back with him but due to her bad luck she only lived 18 days in her new life before dying. I did not like this ending so I let them live happily ever after. I also changed it to where the beggar had defeated the King and took over his role.
Bibliography:
The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921). Web source.
When the princess got older she realized what she would have to do in order to get a husband. She gathered a crowd of eligible men to the castle and she stood before them, carrying only a ball of yarn. She thanked them for coming and then threw the ball of yarn into the crowd of men hoping that one man would catch it. For whoever caught it would become her husband. After she threw it she went into the crowd looking for her new husband. She followed the yarn trail until she came upon a poor man. A beggar had caught her ball and was now destined to be her husband.
When her parents found out they were distraught. Why wouldn't she re throw the ball and get someone better, they asked? She told them she had made a promise that whoever caught it she would marry and she had every intent of keeping her promise.
Embarrassed of their daughter, the King and Queen kicked their daughter out to live with her new husband. The two newly weds were very poor and did not have much to live off so they lived out of the city in a little hut. One day the husband said he was going to go off and find a better life for his new wife. He was gone for nearly 18 years.
He finally returned and his wife did not even recognize him. For he did not look like a beggar anymore, but instead a King. He took her back to his castle and showed her the life he was going to give her. He dressed her in the finest clothes and fed her the best foods around. This is the life she had hoped for.
She finally asked how he became King and he had to explain to her that 18 years ago he had gone back to her parents and started a feud that led into a fight. During the fight the King, her father, was killed and that he took over.
Unique and her husband, now the King and Queen, lived happily ever after in their new life.
Ball of Yarn. Sevoo, 2007. Flickr.
Authors Note:I kept the beginning of the story similar, except in the original the daughter was not ugly but rather had bad luck. She did throw a ball of silk in the original and a beggar had caught hers as well. The original had them kicked out as well but the daughter was fine with it because she had a feeling about her new husband. He did go off for 18 years and came back an emperor instead of King in the original. He took his wife back with him but due to her bad luck she only lived 18 days in her new life before dying. I did not like this ending so I let them live happily ever after. I also changed it to where the beggar had defeated the King and took over his role.
Bibliography:
The Favorite of Fortune and the Child of Ill Luck The Chinese Fairy Book, ed. by R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens (1921). Web source.
Hi Katlyn,
ReplyDeleteI think you've got a great story here. Everything seems to be well written and I didn't experience any confusion as I read through. I was wondering if it would be beneficial to add something that stated why the man had to be gone 18 years? Perhaps he had to perform 18 tasks each year to acquire some sort of skill that would allow him to over throw her father, or that it might take that long of a time to build up an army. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this one! I look forward to seeing more.
Hey Katlyn,
ReplyDeleteI liked your take on this story! So many stories are reliant on good fortune for their resolution, and I appreciated that you led the princess into a life of poverty before she had a life of plenty. In your retelling, I found it interesting that you chose to kill the king. It felt a bit sudden and unexplained. Her parents disowned her, but it's a bit hard to believe that she would be alright with their deaths in that situation. Is there a way that there could be resolution without the death? Or maybe that the reasoning behind it could be a bit more explained? I loved the way you pulled details from the original story but also made it clearly your own. It was both understandable and fun to read. Well done.
Hi Katlyn! I really enjoyed reading your story! I loved the Princess's name, Unique. She was true to her promise and was deserving of her happy life at the end. It was really creative to have her throw a ball of yarn into a crowd to choose her husband! I am wondering what happened to Unique's mother after the father was killed? Did she make up with her daughter or did Unique refuse to forgive her?
ReplyDeleteHey Katlyn! I just finished reading your story and I loved it! I thought it was so well-written and easy to follow. The names of the characters were very interesting, which is always a good thing. I enjoy reading any type of story that involves princesses and kings and queens, so I loved yours! I look forward to reading more of your stories in the future. Overall, nicely done!
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