This is an excerpt from The Book of Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Legends of Menewsha: Volume IV (Fairy and Folk Tales), compiled by and re-written by literary historian, Sir Cassian Keane the Third.


Once upon a time, in a small, little, tiny kingdom that sat just over that distant mountain, there lived a Princess. As with many princesses, this princess enjoyed all the usual privileges - she was beautiful, merry of disposition, and had nearly anything she wanted right at hand.

The Princess had lots of suitors, but she had no interest in romance. Her mother, the Queen, pressed her again and again to make her choice of the men who tried to court her. "Your father and I want for you to marry and be happy, Daughter."

"But I am happy enough by myself, Mother," the Princess replied, and returned to dancing with her friends.

Finally, the King and Queen could take no more of their daughter putting them off, so they arranged a court function in which the Princess formally met each of her suitors. With as much grace as she could manage (as the Princess was very embarrassed), she sat her throne and waited as each of her suitors came to her, bowed, stated his name and country, and declared his interest in her.

The Princess turned many of her suitors away, knowing from their manner that they held no affection for her and wanted only her throne. Others she turned away for being too young or too old. By the time the audience was nearly over, the Princess had six suitors arranged to one side of the room.

"This is the last call to present yourself as a suitor to the Princess!" The majordomo called, rapping his staff three times upon the floor.

There was a pause of silence, during which the whole court could hear the sound of nails on marble floor. All eyes turned to the open doorway as a white fox with a heart on its face scampered into the room. The majordomo tried to stop the fox, but the fox seemed to laugh as it nimbly dodged the man, ran across the room, and jumped into the lap of the Princess!

The Princess laughed as well and hugged and petted the fox with the heart face. "Oh, you silly creature!" she cried. "Have you come to court me as well?" The fox settled itself into her lap and seemed to look at everyone in the audience chamber as if he were the ruler. No one challenged the fox's impertinent manner.

After the majordomo had rearranged his clothing and got his composure back, he rapped his staff three times upon the floor again and announced, "The Princess has made her choice of her suitors. She will spend a month of constant company with each suitor and make a decision regarding him at the end of each month. That is all."

And so it went - the Princess lived her life as usual, dancing with her friends, riding the countryside when it was sunny and studying when the weather was poor. The only changes were that each month, one of her suitors accompanied her, and the fox with the heart on its face was her constant companion.

At the end of each month, the Princess locked herself in her room and thought about the man she had spent the last month with. "Does he love me?" she wondered aloud. The white fox stared up at her and she petted him. "Perhaps... But do I love him?" The white fox would turn black, and the Princess came to understand that she did not love the man, so she sent him away.

After she had sent away all six suitors, her parents were quite upset with her. "You must marry! And we will see that you do!"

They locked her within a tower, set many obstacles and challenges around it, and declared that the first one to reach the Princess would be her husband. Dozens of men gathered to attempt the mighty feat. The Princess watched from the window of the tower and worried, seeing that most of the men there were suitors she had rejected outright and had never even made it to being included in the final six suitors.

With a heavy heart, the Princess saw as men threw themselves at the challenges, but her heart lifted as she saw a streak of white and red weaving its way through them. It was her friend, the fox with a heart on its face! She cheered him on as he dashed up to the foot of the tower and made a mighty leap to the window. She caught him and laughed.

Her parents were in the tower with her, so she turned to them and said, "You said the first to reach me would be my husband - if I must marry, meet your son-in-law!"

The King and Queen had nothing at all to say in response, for the white fox laughed his silent fox-laugh at them, seeming to dare them to set him another challenge. They decided not to press their daughter to marry, and she and her friend the fox lived happily in the other's company for many years. Eventually, the Princess did decide to marry - but that is another tale!