There once lived a benevolent king who ruled a magnificent kingdom which had amazing, lush greenery and beautiful waterfalls,the king was kind to his people and especially to his wife and only daughter. He spoiled her with gifts and clothes and often took her on carriage rides around the kingdom. On their way home from one such ride they nearly crashed into an old woman who was hunched over, the carriage came to an abrupt stop and the king stepped out to apologize to the old woman. As they spoke, the old woman’s cloak fell off and the little princess peering through the carriage window began to laugh at the old woman. The princess pointed at her, began to laugh loudly and called her ugly and disgusting.
The old woman snapped her fingers and both she and the princess disappeared. The king was distraught, he began running around looking for his daughter, he checked the carriage and all the areas around it, he went back to the pond where they had their picnic earlier on but she wasn’t there. The king rushed back to the castle and ordered his guards to look for his daughter, he tried to comfort the Queen but she was besides her herself.The princess was eight years old when she disappeared.


Upon a thorough search through the woods the guards found the old woman’s cottage. They tried to free the princess but the old woman said that the only way she would free the princess was if they could answer her riddle. When none of them could she turned them all into pigs except one whom she left human to deliver a message to the king. “ A riddle in exchange for your spoiled princess but beware because the riddle changes every fortnight”. For years the king kept sending his best academics and soldiers but none of them could answer the riddle or predict what it could be in a fortnight. The king had to stop sending men eventually because the old woman kept turning them into animals. Despite the huge reward he offered for her rescue,no one came forward for fear of being turned into an animal.


For ten years the princess was gone, the king was a shell of himself and the queen had died of sadness. The king had given up and was just waiting to die. One afternoon while in the throne room the king was approached by an unassuming young man called William. William sang and played the harp in palace.He volunteered to rescue the princess and he told the king how he had grown up in the court and had played with the princess and how he was in love with her. Instead of the cash reward he wanted a chance to court the princess and perhaps marry her even though he wasn’t royalty. The king agreed and for the first time in a long time he held out hope to see his daughter again.

William set off into the woods and found the old woman’s hut. He approached it carefully and before he could knock, the old woman appeared out of nowhere
In a deep, bold voice he yelled “ I AM HERE TO RESCUE THE PRINCESS”
Answer me this riddle” she said

“I am a very popular and powerful musical instrument, I can be heard but not seen, what am I”

William thought long and hard, he had been around a lot of musical instruments and all of them needed to be touched before they could be heard. Then it struck him! The answer was your voice. It was a musical instrument but couldn’t be touched.

“The answer is your voice” William said. The old woman cackled and disappeared in a puff of smoke. In her stance was a young woman wearing tattered clothes.

“Your highness, my name is William, I’m here to take you home.” He held out his hand and led the princess out of the hut, out of the woods and into the palace.


The king rejoiced and wept, he threw a feast that lasted for days and the whole kingdom rejoiced with him. He comforted his daughter as she recounted her time serving the old woman as a maid and together they mourned the Queen’s death. The king tried to go back and arrest the old woman after the princess was safe but alas her hut had disappeared as if it never existed. William got his wish and began courting the princess. They fell in love after a long courting period, got married and lived happily ever after.


THE END