The prince’s valentine
Once
upon a time there was a little Prince, and he wanted to give a
valentine to a little Princess who lived in a neighboring kingdom.
She was a very beautiful little Princess indeed, for her smile was as
bright as her golden hair, and her love for her subjects was as deep
as the blue of her eyes.
"What
kind of a valentine shall I get for the Princess?" the Prince
asked.
"A
heart, your Highness; nothing but a heart will do!" said the
Court Wise Man.
"A
beautiful heart, your Highness; nothing but a beautiful heart will
do!" said the Court Ladies.
"A
priceless heart, your Highness; nothing but a priceless heart will
do!" said the Court Chancellor.
So
the Prince started out to get a heart valentine for the little
Princess that would be both beautiful and beyond price, and he did
not know where to find it.
Before
long, though, he came to a jeweler’s shop that was full of pretty,
costly things to wear. There were pins, and bracelets, and necklaces
made of silver and gold, and set with rubies, and sapphires, and
emeralds, and diamonds.
"This
is the place to find a valentine for the little Princess,"
thought the Prince, and he selected a diamond heart hung on a gold
chain as thin as a thread for the little Princess to wear about her
neck.
The
Prince gave the jewelers his bag of gold and started out of the shop
with the diamond heart in his hand. But he stopped at the door,
looking at the heart. It was dull, and no longer shining. What was
the matter with it, he wondered. Then he remembered. It was not the
right valentine for the little Princess because it had been bought
with his bag of gold. So the Prince gave the diamond heart back to
the jewelers, and went on again.
After
the Prince had gone quite a distance he came to a pastry shop. It was
full of delicious things to eat, jam tarts, and little strawberry
pies, thickly frosted cakes, and plum buns. In the window of the
pastry shop was a huge cake baked in the shape of a heart. It was
rich with sugar and spices, and the icing on the top was almost as
thick as the cake itself.
"This
is the place to find the valentine for the little Princess!"
thought the Prince, and he pointed to the great heart cake in the
window. "How much must I pay for that cake?" he asked of
the pastry cook.
"Oh, you could not buy that cake!" the pastry cook replied. "I made it as a decoration for the shop for Valentine's Day. But I will give it to you, your Highness."
"Oh, you could not buy that cake!" the pastry cook replied. "I made it as a decoration for the shop for Valentine's Day. But I will give it to you, your Highness."
So
the Prince thanked the pastry cook, and started out of the shop with
the great cake in his arms.
"This
must surely be the valentine for the little Princess, because I could
not buy it," he thought.
Then
the Prince almost dropped the cake. It had suddenly grown too heavy
for him to carry. What was the matter with the rich, huge cake, he
wondered. Then he remembered. It was not the right valentine for the
little Princess because something rich to eat is not beautiful. So
the Prince gave the cake back to the pastry cook, and went on again.
Now
he went a long, long way, and he came to a bird seller beside the
road. He had little gold birds, and bright-colored ones in green
basket cages. They were all singing as if their throats would burst,
but the Prince could hear one soft note above the others, because it
was so clear and sweet. It was the cooing of a little dove who sat in
her cage apart from the others. The Prince thought he had never seen
such a beautiful little dove, as white as snow, and with rose red
feet.
"Why
does she sing so much more sweetly than the others?" the Prince
asked, pointing to the little white dove.
The
bird seller smiled.
"She
sings because of her heart," he said. "The other birds sing
in the sunshine, but look"—he held up the dove's cage, and the
Prince saw that the little white dove had closed, blind eyes. "She
sings in the dark because of her happy heart," the bird seller
said.
"May
I buy her," the Prince asked, "to give as a valentine to a
little Princess?"
"Oh,
I will give her to you," the bird seller said. "Very few
people want to take care of a blind bird."
But
the little Princess did. She liked the white dove better than any of
her other valentines. She hung her cage in a pink rose tree in the
sunniest part of the garden, and she often invited the Prince to sit
with her under the tree and listen to the dove's sweet song.