Monday, June 30, 2014

Princess Self Esteem


Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a Princess whose name was Essie. It was said this princess was very beautiful.  The news of her beauty spread far and wide across neighbouring kingdoms. 

Rumours like “Her beauty radiates outward”, “anyone who gazes on her face will fall in love immediately”, “she casts a spell on all who meet her” – spread out beyond the hills and valleys, and became the subject of conversation everywhere.

A few kingdoms over was a Prince who was really intrigued with these rumours, and he was looking for a princess bride. (You knew this was coming right?) Every time he heard about her beauty he imagined big brown eyes with long eyelashes, a tiny button nose, and full soft red lips.  The more he heard the bigger her eyes became, the smaller her nose and the fuller her lips.  Eventually he was tortured by these images and decided he had to meet this princess.

So he travelled days and nights without rest, up the hills, through the valleys, across the rivers to her castle.  He knocked on the door and demanded to see the king.  By this time he looked pretty dishevelled but was so exhausted he didn’t even think of how he looked.

“I am the King!” said the man who opened the door. The prince thought “Oh he must be a Unitarian”.  

At first the King thought the Prince looked a mess and wasn’t sure whether he wanted his daughter to meet him, but as he heard his story of the rumours and his torment, he agreed to let him meet her.  He asked his Page to call on the Princess to come to the chamber and bid the Prince to sit.

A few minutes later the Princess entered with a tray of scones and tea cups.  The Prince looked crestfallen.  Her appearance was quite ordinary, nothing like the rumours of her beauty at all.  Her eyes were like anyone’s eyes, her nose was the size of anyone’s nose, and her lips were no different from anyone else.

The Princess went up to the Prince and shook his hand.  “I’m so pleased to meet you” she said.  She gazed into his face and asked “what can I do for you”?

The Prince backed away and mentioned all the rumours of her beauty and how he came to seek her hand in marriage, but finds her actual looks don’t measure up to the rumours, and in fact, he is quite disappointed.

“Well that’s okay” she said “because marrying you wasn’t in my life plan. Not because there is anything wrong with you, but simply I hadn’t met you before and didn’t even know you existed. But before you leave please do stay and have a nice up of tea and fresh baked scones with clotted cream and jam – these will pick you up, no end.”

At this the King said “My dear boy please do stay longer and rest for a night before you take your journey back – I couldn’t bear to send you out again without some sustenance.”

It was this gesture that brought the Prince to his senses. How rude he had been to the Princess and how he had insulted the King. And then he looked down at his costume and realized what a mess he looked and how could anyone think he would be suitable for a princess. Humbly the Prince apologized.

The King replied that no offence was taken – he and his daughter were quite moved by his determination.

Over tea, the Prince asked the King why he called his daughter such an unusual name. The King said she was named Essie – short for Self Esteem – because it was their greatest wish that she learn what Self Esteem is, and what it isn’t.

“Yes” said the Princess.  “I have learned that self esteem is not what others think of you, and it is not about superiority or how many friends you have. Self esteem comes from being honest with yourself, and how you treat others.”  She paused and added “yes that’s it really – how you treat others is a mirror into how you feel about yourself.”

“Oh!” said the Prince.  Although he didn’t really understand it fully, he was too tired and thirsty to ask any more questions, and the scones really were delicious.

No comments:

Post a Comment