The Stone Princess

Short tale: The Stone Princess

Enjoy it! Here’s the audio story!

Once upon a time there was a very beautiful, but also very sad young woman. Her father, the king, had promised her in marriage to a prince from a distant kingdom, without consulting her opinion. The princess did not want to marry someone she neither knew nor loved, but neither could she disobey her father.

One day, while walking in the palace garden, she met an old man who offered her a rose. The princess accepted the gift and thanked the old man. But what she did not know was that the old man was actually a magician in disguise, and that the rose had a spell on it.

– This rose is very special, the wizard told him. If you put it on your chest, you will turn to stone until someone kisses you with true love.

– ¿What? ¿Why do you say that? -asked the frightened princess.

– Because I want to help you,” answered the magician. I know you don’t want to marry the prince, and that you prefer to wait for your true love. With this spell, you can escape your destiny and sleep until your prince charming arrives.

– But that’s crazy,” protested the princess, ¿How can I trust you? ¿What if no one ever kisses me? What if they forget me?

– Don’t worry, said the wizard. I will watch over your sleep and protect you from any danger. And when the time is right, I will make your true love find you and wake you up.

The princess hesitated for a moment, but then thought that perhaps the wizard was right. Perhaps it was better to turn to stone than to marry a stranger. So she took the rose and put it on her chest.

Immediately she felt a sharp chill run through her whole body. Her skin turned gray and hard as rock. Her eyes closed and her heart stopped beating – ¡she had become the Stone Princess!

The wizard smiled and carried her carefully to the center of the garden. There he placed her on a fountain and placed a wreath of flowers on her head. Then he left, promising to return someday.

Years passed and no one knew what had become of the princess. The king died of grief and the prince married another princess. The palace was abandoned and the garden became overgrown with weeds. Only the statue of the princess remained intact, waiting for her kiss.

One day, a young peasant passed by the garden and saw the statue. He found it so beautiful that he went over to admire it. Seeing the rose on her breast, he became curious and took it off to smell it. Then something wonderful happened: ¡The statue came to life and opened its eyes!

The young man’s jaw dropped as he saw the princess awaken. She looked at him in amazement and smiled at him. He smiled back and asked her name.

– My name is… my name is… -she hesitated. I don’t remember it.

– It doesn’t matter,” he said, I will call you Rosa, like this flower.

And without thinking twice, he kissed her tenderly on the lips.

The kiss broke the spell and the princess recovered her human form. She felt happy and grateful to the young man, who helped her up and took her home. There she gradually regained her memory and remembered who she was and what had happened.

The princess was grateful to the young man for waking her from her long sleep, and fell in love with him for his bravery and kindness. The two became good friends and spent a lot of time together, sharing their stories and their dreams.

Eventually, the princess decided that she did not want to return to her old life of privilege and royal duties. Instead, she chose to stay with the young man and work with him on his humble farm. Together they lived happily ever after, and their love grew day by day.

The statue of the princess was no longer in the palace garden, but her legend was still alive in people’s minds. Some said that she had been rescued by a brave knight, while others claimed that she had awakened thanks to a love spell. But all agreed on one thing: that the Stone Princess had found her true love and had been happy forever.

END

Reflection on the story: The story of the Stone Princess tells us about the importance of true love and the freedom to choose our own destiny. The princess found herself in a situation where her father had decided her future without taking into account her own wishes and feelings. Upon meeting the disguised magician, she decides to take the risk of turning herself into stone to avoid a future she did not want.
In this sense, the story shows us that sometimes we must make difficult decisions in order to follow our own desires and dreams. In addition, it also tells us about the importance of patience and waiting, since the princess had to wait a long time until her true love arrived.
Finally, the story leaves us with a reflection on the importance of inner beauty, since the young peasant was not carried away by the external beauty of the princess turned into a statue, but fell in love with her kindness and bravery upon awakening.

Frequently asked questions about the story “The Stone Princess”.

¿Why did the princess accept the magician's rose?

The princess accepted the magician’s rose because she was saddened by her father’s decision to promise her in marriage to a prince she did not know or love.

¿Why did the princess decide to turn to stone?

The princess decided to turn to stone because she wanted to avoid marrying the prince her father had chosen for her. The magician offered her the chance to sleep until her true love arrived and she decided to take the risk.

¿What did the magician promise the princess?

The magician promised the princess that he would protect her during her sleep and that he would wake her up when her true love arrived.

¿How long did it take until someone kissed the princess?

It was a long time before someone kissed the princess, as the palace was abandoned and the princess became a legend.

¿Why did the peasant kiss the princess?

The peasant kissed the princess because he fell in love with her inner beauty and her bravery upon awakening, not because of her outer beauty.

¿Why didn't the princess remember her name when she woke up?

It is possible that the princess did not remember her name because she had slept for a long time and had lost her memory. It could also be a consequence of the spell.