The Princess Who Wanted To Go Out

Once upon a time (as all good tales begin) there lived a little princess in a magnificent castle. She was small, dainty little thing, and had lived all her life in a room in the tall south tower. Why she was put there she did not know, and did not really concern herself about it until she began to grow older. She had everything she desired, from pretty dresses to sweets to marvelous toys and endless playmates. She had a number of servants who cleaned up after her and fed her and washed her and did everything to make her life as easy as possible.

She was never lonely, for though left alone a great deal, she did not mind it, and could send for a playmate whenever she wished. Her favorite chum was Albrect, the youngest son of the Duke, and together they made mud pies and broke dolls and played catch, as well as having the occasional quarrel.

It was not until the princess was nine years old that she first began to notice the slit in the wall. She had always been conscious of it, but she never really paid much attention to it until one day when she was unusually bored, her eyes were caught by a faint movement, and she looked up to see green leaves swaying gently outside. You see, there were no windows in the princess’s room, and this slit was actually for ventilation. It was high up on the wall, and was just a little more than a crack. Through it the princess could see the shafts of sunlight turning the leaves a soft gold-green and the beauty of it made her breath catch in her throat.

She wondered why she had never noticed this phenomenon before, and began to spend hours sitting and staring at the leaves and the light. She forsook all her favorite toys and dolls, and the servants who observed this began to be worried. Her father the King rarely visited her, for he had many important matters of state to worry about, and though her mother the Queen would come in occasionally, she was too busy with her court to spare her little daughter much thought.

So the little princess could not ask her parents about the great outdoors and why she was not allowed to go there. She was too small to the scale the walls to the slit. She needed a ladder to reach the slit in the wall, and even if she was given one, she knew she would never be able to wriggle out of it.

The servants were worried about the princess’s lethargic attitude, and sent up Albrect to distract her from whatever was plaguing her.

She was happy to see him for she wanted to talk to someone about her discovery, and immediately showed him the slit in the wall.

“I suppose it’s pretty,” he admitted reluctantly, but his eyes were focused on the new train set the princess had received yesterday.

“Have you ever seen what the outside really is like?” the princess asked excitedly.

“No, of course not!” Albrect said, staring. “I have never had the least wish to go outside. Everything I ever wanted is here.”

“There aren’t any trees inside the castle,” the princess said.

“Trees!” Albrect laughed scornfully. “What would one do with trees? Say, can I have a go with your new engine?”

Further conversation with Albrect proved unsatisfactory, and he urged her to forget the outside and concentrate on the piano recital that was coming up. So the little princess followed her friend’s advice and threw her heart in her piano practice. She had the best grand piano in the kingdom of course, and the servants breathed a sigh of relief when they noted how diligently she practiced, and how her dull manner seemed to have disappeared.

But Louela, the Viscount’s daughter took first prize in the recital, and the little princess was disconsolate. She turned to the slit in the wall for solace, and found some comfort watching the leaves sway and dip in the breeze. Occasionally she would hear a brief snatch of birdsong, and she would flatten herself against the wall to hear it better.

The desire to go out grew daily until she could not bear it anymore, and decided to risk asking one of the servants to help her. She finally settled on the man who swept her room every night, for he had a merry face and a jolly whistle, and she was sure he wouldn’t shush her for asking inquisitive questions.

So one night instead of playing in the corner with her dolls, she sat close to the man as he worked and screwed up her courage to ask about her heart’s desire.

“Have you ever been outside?” she asked the man.

He laughed. “Been outside?” he said. “Why your Highness, I live outside! It’s where I belong, where I’ll stay till the end of my days.”

The little princess sighed. “It looks wonderful,” she said wistfully. “I wish I could go, but I’m afraid my parents would be angry.”

“Well, you’ll have to risk that if you really want to go,” the man said, shaking his broom energetically. “You’ll learn when you grow older that anything you do is bound to make someone angry anyway.”

“Is it safe?” she queried.

“Safe?” the man said slowly. “No it is not safe. You will lack the comforts and pleasures you now enjoy in the castle. You will suffer much hardship and persecution, and you will be required to do things you do not want to do. Of course, there are some servants here that would say life outside is all song and dance, but believe you me, that is a lie.”

“So what then, is the advantage of going outside?” the princess demanded. A dreamy look spread over the man’s countenance.

“Ah, to hear the song of the birds and feel the sea breeze caress your cheek,” he said,” are just a few of the delights the outside has to offer. But none can compare to the sight and the feel of the golden sun upon your brow, and this, O child of darkness, is something you will never understand until you experience it for yourself.”

As he spoke these words, a change came over the little princess. Until that moment, she had regarded the man as inferior to herself in everything. Now she realized that he was richer than she, and he had something she hadn’t.

“Will anyone try and stop me if I go outside?” she asked the man.

“Course they will,” the man said comfortably, examining the floor for more dust. “They will try their best to keep you from leaving the castle, but you must understand that you are your own person, and once you decide to go outside, nothing and no one can stop you.”

“Won’t you get in trouble for telling me this then?” the princess asked him.

“Yes, I could get a severe punishment,” the man acknowledged. “But I’d rather tell the truth and die happily for it, then tell a lie and be miserable for the rest of my days.”

The little princess turned the matter over in her mind for several days after this conversation. She wanted to go outside desperately, but was too scared to go alone. So she asked Albrect if he would go with her.

“Will we come back here?” he asked his face full of misgivings. The little princess considered. Deep down in her heart she knew that once she stepped out, she would never return.

“Well, you could come back for a visit,” she said.

“A visit!” Albrect snorted. “This is my home and I am happy here, thank you very much. Papa just bought me a train set bigger than yours. I think I’ll be too busy to come with you. And besides, what’s so great about the outside anyway?”

“There are birds,” the little princess said. “Just think Albrect, you and I have seen pictures of sparrows in our books, but never have we seen one up close.”

“We can have all the birds we want,” Albrect scoffed. “Louela has a parrot that can talk. And your mother keeps peacocks. You don’t need to go outside to see birds!”

“Oh please come with me,” the little princess begged. “I’m too scared to go alone.”

“No, this is something you should do on your own,” Albrect said adamantly, and the princess realized that further pleading would not sway him from his stubborn perspective.

“Very well, I’ll go on my own then,” she said at once. “I wish you would come, we would have had so much fun together. But perhaps you’ll join me later.”

Albrect snorted again at that, but he gave the little princess a hug, for he was really quite fond of her.

The next day the princess made ready for her journey. She was forced to leave all her toys and books behind, for common sense dictated that she couldn’t take them with her. She was a little sad about this, but the thought that she would soon see better things cheered her up and gave her confidence to say goodbye to her little room.

To the horror of her maid, she turned the handle of the door and walked out of her room all by herself.

“Your Highness!” cried the maid. “What are you doing?”

“Going outside Marian,” the little princess said cheerfully. “Goodbye.”

And so she walked on, heedless of her maid’s wails. Through corridors and down staircases she walked, stopping her ears so she did not hear the calls of her friends and servants.

She was just by the great castle door itself, when she heard the sweet lilting voice which she knew and loved.

“My daughter!”

She turned and beheld the King and Queen rushing to her, followed by the whole crowd of friends and servants who had tried to stop her.

“Why are you leaving daughter?” the Queen asked. “Are you not happy here?”

“I don’t know,’ the little princess said honestly. “ I just want to see the outside, Mother.”

“But what is wrong with the castle?” the Queen said in bewilderment. “Why do you want to go outside so badly?”

“Because it is calling to me,” the princess said. “And I can’t bear to ignore it. Oh, come with me Mother!”

The Queen stepped back. “I don’t want to come now, daughter,” she said sadly. “Perhaps another day.”

“I will come back one day and tell you about the outside,” the little princess promised. “And I hope Mother, and you too Father, will come with me and discover the joys of the outside.”

“I think this is great folly child,” the King said in his great, gruff voice. “But I am powerless to stop you, if this is your will.”

The little princess’s heart ached to see her parents so miserable and almost turned to change her mind.

“If I stay,” she thought,” I will never go outside, for if I do not heed my heart and go to where I am called, the calls will grow fainter and fainter until they finally cease. I would rather go outside and fill my curiosity now, then languish in this castle for the rest of my days.”

So she set her teeth resolutely, and bid goodbye to her parents. The drawbridge was let down for her and down it she walked, a small, pale figure whose mind was full of sadness and fear.

There was a dull thud behind her, and she awoke to the fact that the drawbridge had closed. She could not go back now. The castle loomed behind her like a forbidding shadow. She was finally outside. There was a strange, yet happy silence. She surveyed the trees with their tall branches hung with emerald leaves, observed the bright splashes of color the wildflowers made against the grass, and watched with bated breath as a group of sparrows alighted on the ground in front of her, chirping merrily to one another.

An odd, comforting warmth stroked her face and filled her heart with a wild, incomprehensible joy. She could feel the sunlight on her cheeks, and drank it in, unwilling to move another step before she had her fill. She sighed contentedly.
She was home.