Soothing Songs

Upon catching sight of his daughter, the father rushed over and hugged her. Then immediately, he said to her, “My dear, you must go along with these men of the king, for it is of the utmost importance.” Then O’do and Do’do bowed down to her, saying, “Greetings, I’m O’do.” “And I’m Do’do.” “And we are at your service!” So off they went. Along their way, the two spies told her what she must do. Even though she did not want to, she did it anyway for the love of her father. Before arriving at the castle gates, the two spies handed her a disguise with which to cover herself. Then they went in while Temper stayed outside hidden among the foliage. They brought Soothing Songs before the king and said to him, “O great king, we bring to you the maiden who has captured heart of your son the prince.” “Please, O gracious king,” said the other spy, “turn out all the lights that flicker within your courtyards so that she may sing.” The king thought about it for a moment and then said to them, “As you wish, my trusty fellows.” Then he turned to his servants and said, “Do just as these two men asked!” And the servants immediately did just so, turning off all the lights. Then the maiden started to sing, and she sang of her fathomless affection for her one true love, who had brought many joys to her heart from the very first time they met. Her voice soon came to fill all the castle’s walls and left everyone, including the king, in awe. The prince, upon hearing her, rushed down from his room to finally see her and said to himself, “That is the voice of my true love. I must hurry like the wind to greet her. For she falls upon my heart just as the rain does upon the roses from above. Thus, it is my very heart she stirs!” But when the prince came down and the lights came back on, the maiden had secretly left. The king said, “She’s gone? How could she leave without anyone taking note of her?” He then turned to the two spies and said, “You men have until tomorrow evening to find her and bring her before me. If you do not, you will certainly die!” “Yes, my lord!” said the two spies, and off they went to find the maiden. When they were outside the castle, the prince, who was waiting for them to come out, greeted them and came along to find her. They searched and searched for many hours to no avail. Suddenly, the prince remembered the instrument that the maiden had given to him, which was still tied around his neck. He said, “This object lying upon my heart—I should have used it from the very start!” He reached for it and blew. Soon the maiden’s two companions appeared and led them to her home. When they finally arrived, the prince and the two spies knocked on the cottage door. Upon hearing the knocks, the two sisters opened the door, and the prince, at the very sight of them, fell in love and said, “Why, certainly one of you must be my love, Soothing Songs, for you are beautiful indeed. One of you must be her, the one for whom my heart longs!” Seeing him and hearing his words, the two sisters began to fight among themselves, saying, “I am Soothing Songs!” “No, I’m Soothing Songs.” As soon as they saw and heard these lies, the two spies told the prince, “My lord, though fair indeed these maidens are on the outside, deep within they are full of dung.” The sisters, upon hearing these words, ran away inside and would not stop weeping. All of a sudden, they heard a familiar sound getting closer and closer to them. Finally, when she was within their sight, the prince, seeing her, asked the two spies, “Is this not my love who sings with a voice that carries upon many winds? Is this not the one who gathers petals of roses and of vibrant flowers that she to her father sends?” And the two spies replied together, saying, “Yes, my lord; it is she!” After hearing these words, the prince ran to greet her, saying, “Soothing Songs, my love, finally, at last, I have found you—the one for whom my heart longs, the one who has always been true!” The prince, upon reaching her, grabbed hold of her within his arms and then kissed her tenderly. Afterward, the maiden, not knowing how to react, started to weep bitterly and said to the prince, “My dear love, my heart is in constant pain. Why choose me when I am not beautiful? Now please, my love, let me be and find another who is both lovely and fair!” And the prince quickly said to her, “My dear, the beauty or love of another can never be equal to yours, for you are caring like no other, because your heart is both just and true! My love, many lovely maidens I could have had, but their hearts were bad. But the love from your heart and from your many songs shall eternally soothe me.” After saying these things, the prince again kissed her tenderly and then asked her to marry him. The maiden, hearing these words of truth and comfort, realized that he truly did love her, so she stopped weeping and agreed to marry him. So off they went to meet the king after the prince had met Soothing Songs’ father and received his blessings. On their way, the prince told the maiden not to be frightened and not to leave his side. And so, knowing his heart, the maiden promised him that she would never leave his side. They made it to the castle just before evening fell. When they appeared before the king, he inquired of her, saying, “My dear, to where did you run and why?” And she answered him, saying, “It was to my abode that I departed, because I was in fear of anyone laying sight on me!” After hearing her words, the king was once again in deep thought. He then said to her, “My dear, my son tells me that you are one of inner beauty and of unequalled songs. Thus your appearance must be one to desire and your heart must be one to long for eternally! Now please take off that silly disguise!” So the maiden…