Nestled between two majestic mountains was an enchanted valley blessed with heartwarming sunrise and inspiring sunset. From these mountains were eternal springs pouring into a river that flowed down to the rolling fields of a magnificent kingdom. The kingdom, Happiness, was magical. Rainbows colored the flowers and the trees in the meadows. Buzzing bees and colorful butterflies fluttered above ripening crops. The breeze sang with the birds and the kids happily chorused with them. The winds raced with the friendly animals that roamed freely in the forests. The people were peaceful, happy, and content.

At the end of the river were a magnificent lake and a breathtaking golden castle. And in this castle lived the reason of all the beautiful things in the kingdom — Princess Success and her aging but kindly father, King Wisdom.

Princess Success was very beautiful. The flowers bowed to her fragrance. Gloom shied away from her sweet and captivating smile. Her twinkling eyes were kind and inspiring. Her lips were velvety and moist like a rose petal kissed by the morning dew. Her brown skin was soft and silky as the fresh air blowing from the mountains. Her long black hair glittered when draped by the golden moonlight.

News of the Princess’s beauty reached as far away as the wind traveled when it blew. Princes from kingdoms near and far journeyed to Happiness to win her heart. But the Princess was not wooed by the jewelry and gold that her suitors brought. She was not impressed by the splendor of their escorts. She did not even notice the colors of the chariots and parade uniforms their soldiers wore. She seemed to require more than wealth and power from the man her young heart would love.

The Princess enjoyed her youth very much. But she would soon come of age. It was time for her to get married to fulfill her duty as heir apparent to the throne. This bothered the Princess a little, for although there were several men that she liked, she was not sure who was best for her. She wanted someone who not only loved and deserved her, but could also help her rule the kingdom wisely. She dreamed of having a man who would give her good little princes and princesses to fill the palace with laughter.

The Princess thought hard and long on how to find the right man. One night, she went to her sagely father and told him what was in her mind. Together, father and daughter devised a series of tests to try the characters of Princess Success’ suitors.

Every eligible man in the land participated in the tests. But the tests were very difficult that soon, only two were left for the final phase — Prince Dud and Prince Victor. The two princes were both handsome and intelligent. They were both majestic in their full armor. They were respectful towards the Princess and the King. Princess Success has heard that they were both kind and just to their subjects. Indeed, it was difficult to choose between them without a final test.

On the morning when the last phase of the test was to begin, the King himself told the two princes the rules of the contest. “Congratulations to both of you for getting this far,” the King who was sitting majestically on his throne beamed at the princes standing smartly before him. “We are now in the final part of the test to determine who shall wed Princess Success.”

The two princes bowed, but said nothing.

The King shifted his eyes from the two contestants to the crowd who came to witness the event, then to the scroll of orders in his hands. “In this test,” the King went on, “you and your aides shall go back to your own kingdoms and shall continue to rule your subjects. From time to time, my only trusted messenger, Lord Opportunity, will be knocking on your door. Every time he knocks, you are to invite him in. Once inside your palace, Lord Opportunity shall hand you a slippery ball the size of a fist. That ball is called Chance.”

The King paused, anticipating questions from the princes. But the princes remained quiet and unmoving, so he continued, “You are to play the Chances you are given with your aides by fitting them in holes called Risks. Now, remember that the Chances are fragile. Be careful in playing with them. If you play them wrong, they will break. Each Chance you play correctly will bring you a step closer to Princess Success. Each Chance you break will bring you a step away from the Princess. Are there any questions?”

“None, Your Highness,” the princes chorused.

King Wisdom went on. “Now, remember that Lord Opportunity will linger on your door for only a few moments each visit. Within that time, you should already be able to decide whether to let him in or not. If after the allotted time for him to stay, you still haven’t invited him in, he is to leave without handing you any Chance.”

A deafening silence lingered among the audience for a while until Prince Victor and Prince Dud managed to muster an answer. “Yes, Sire,” the two princes replied, and smiled at the Princess who was sitting next to her father. The tiara on her head sparkled against the rays of the early morning sun as she nodded slightly to both of them.

“Now, be extra careful. Not everyone who knocks on your door is Lord Opportunity. Remember that there may be other messengers living near your place. They might feel like playing with your door from time to time. You are not to invite them in on any occasion.”
 
The princes looked at each other before answering. “Yes, Your Highness.”
 
“Very well then, my friends. You may go home now and live with your people. The task lasts for thirty days. It starts this morning and ends on the next full moon. On the day of the full moon, I shall gather all my subjects to announce who best deserves the heart of my daughter.”

Both princes bowed to the king, then started for their own kingdoms. A line of honor guards in their full ceremonial dress led them to the open gates. The princess, on the other hand, stood at the highest tower of the castle, watching them leave. She waved a white handkerchief to wish them good luck.

 

FOR THE NEXT DAYS, Prince Victor and Prince Dud awaited the coming of Lord Opportunity. There was not a single moment that they did not pay particular attention to their doors. They asked their aides to keep a constant vigil to wait for Lord Opportunity’s arrival.

On the fifteenth day of the trial, Prince Victor had already collected 10 Chances. Of the 10 Chances he had collected, he successfully played eight, he and his aides. Prince Dud, on the other hand, had gathered only three Chances. Of the three, he and his aides managed to play two successfully.

When Prince Dud learned that Prince Victor already had 10 Chances, he was very angry. He suspected that Lord Opportunity was favoring his rival. How else could he explain that he had visited Prince Victor much more often than he had visited him during the first fifteen days of the test? Feeling betrayed, Prince Dud decided to talk to King Wisdom about it. When the King granted the prince’s request for an audience, the prince lodged a complaint against Lord Opportunity. He claimed that Lord Opportunity was not fair in doing his job. The King instructed his soldiers to fetch Lord Opportunity. When Lord Opportunity arrived, the king bid Prince Dud to speak.

Prince Dud gave Lord Opportunity a sharp glance before addressing the King. “Your Highness, Lord Opportunity here had not been doing his job properly. He had not visited me as often as he had done with my rival, Prince Victor. Every day, we waited for him to come to our door, but he had come only but three times thus far. Whereas, he had gone to Prince Victor at least ten times since the test began.”

The King nodded thoughtfully. He signaled his trusted messenger to defend himself.

Lord Opportunity spoke confidently. “I am sorry that Prince Dud has collected only three Chances thus far, Your Highness. But I beg to deny his charge that I had not visited him as often as I did Prince Victor. The truth is that I had knocked on either place 12 times since the start of the contest. Prince Victor managed to invite me in ten times. Prince Dud, on the other hand, invited me in only three times. There were times when Prince Dud’s door would open, but he or his aides often hesitated to let me in. It usually took them a long time to decide whether or not to invite me, so that by the time they’d made up their mind, it was time for me to leave.”

Again, the king nodded thoughtfully. “Well, Prince Dud?” he looked at the Prince who was momentarily lost for word, not expecting Lord Opportunity’s response to his accusations.

Prince Dud cleared his throat. “What Mr. Opportunity said might be true, Your Highness,” he began. “But I still have a problem with him. I find it difficult to know it’s indeed him who’s on the door. He had been showing up looking differently each time he came to my kingdom. He loves disguises. How can we be sure it’s indeed him and not a phantom who’s at our door, when many times he’d come in the company of those shady creatures, Ms. Deception and Mr. Betrayal?”

The king turned his attention to his trusted messenger. Lord Opportunity calmly replied, “There are no disguises, Your Highness. I always knocked on doors looking the same way I always do. And I never went to either place with Ms. Deception and Mr. Betrayal. Prince Dud sees them whenever he and his aides open their door because those creatures live next to everybody’s quarters. It is Prince Dud’s aides — Mr. Fear and Ms. Doubt — that often lodged themselves between the Prince and me, so the Prince often failed to see me clearly.”

At this, the Prince looked blankly at Lord Opportunity, not having a ready acceptable answer. He was afraid of laying the blame on his aides. The truth was that during the last fifteen days, he always asked Mr. Fear and Ms. Doubt to accompany him whenever he opened his door. He was afraid that Ms. Deception and Mr. Betrayal would hurt him if they’d see that he was alone and defenseless. Prince Dud chose to remain quiet.

Having heard both sides, the King told Prince Dud to resolve the matter with his aides. “Only when this matter with your aides is resolved will you be able to see Lord Opportunity clearly. Until then, you will continue not being able to seize the Chances that he brings with him,” he advised. “Go, noble Prince, and talk to your aides. The test continues. You still have time to catch up with Prince Victor. Do well.”

Prince Dud was very sad and extremely confused as he returned to his castle. He had grown to depend so much on Mr. Fear and Ms. Doubt. He always felt defenseless without them by his side. He did not believe he could manage without them. They were his closest, most trusted aides. Weren’t they the ones who kept reminding him to be very careful in playing his Chances, fearing they might break? Weren’t they the ones who had been so wise to advise him to wait a little while longer before playing all his Chances? They tried to play two of the three Chances they got, and they have been successful on both tries. But they want to be more adept at playing with the balls before they’d play the rest. No, they don’t want to break any of his Chances. How wise! So how could he dismiss them? He couldn’t afford to, he was sure of that.

 
ON THE EVE BEFORE THE LAST DAY of the contest, the moon was almost perfectly round as it rose above the mountains. Princess Success was walking around the rose garden. She took a deep breath and sat down quietly by the nook facing the rising moon.

“Are you unhappy, my lovely Princess?” asked the moon as it inched a little higher from its crest above the majestic mountain in the east.

“No, my dear friend. I am only a little worried,” the Princess bent to kiss a pink rose touching her flowing robe.

“Please don’t worry so much, my Princess,” encouraged the now brighter moon.

“I’ll try not to, my friend. I asked God to bless this Kingdom and the man that I will love forever,” sighed the Princess as she walked back to her bedroom.

“God is always with you because you are a good Princess. I am sure everything will turn out fine. Sleep now,” whispered the moon and continued to shine its peaceful golden light throughout the kingdom.

 

EARLY THE FOLLOWING DAY, everyone was busy preparing for the biggest event in the Kingdom of Happiness. This was the day that the king was to announce the lucky prince who would marry their beloved princess. The farmers brought their best harvests to the palace. The womenfolk cooked bountiful food. The musicians played the merriest of music. The clowns and magicians in the kingdom entertained the children. Everyone was in a festive mood.
When dusk set in, the trumpets blared and the drums boomed. King Wisdom and Princess Success came out of the palace and joined their people in the festivities. When the full moon started to climb above the highest peak of the mountains, the bells rang loud and long. The King stood majestically in front of the people, all of whom were excited to know who shall wed their princess, and called for Prince Dud and Prince Victor to report their achievements.

Prince Dud walked slowly toward the king. When he was a few paces before His Majesty, he stopped and curtsied to the King and the Princess. His face was pale as he spoke. “I have here, Your Highness, eight Chances, five of which I played successfully,” reported Prince Dud sheepishly, his voice almost inaudible with the murmuring of the crowd. He bowed then went back to where his aides were standing.

The crowd fell silent as Prince Victor walked to where Prince Dud stood earlier, right before King Wisdom and Princess Success.

Prince Victor glanced at his beaming aides, Mr. Trust and Ms. Confidence, then turned his attention to King Wisdom and Princess Success. When he spoke, his voice was loud and clear. “Your Highness,” he began. “I am honored to present to you 20 Chances. Seventeen of them were played successfully,” he bowed to the King and to the Princess who was smiling at him.

Hearing the prince’s achievement, the crowd broke into a riotous applause. The cheering became even louder when Princess Success walked to Prince Victor and offered him her hand.

“You are my success and I love you so much. Will you be my Princess?” declared Prince Victor, his face radiant.

Princess Success happily nodded. “Yes,” she smiled sweetly at the victorious prince.

Prince Victor gently kissed the back of the hand of the beaming Princess. Then, they both turned to the King for approval.

“Very well, Prince Victor,” declared the King. “You did a good job. Good job, indeed!” he beamed, then beckoned the Prince and the Princess to kneel in front of him.

The King pulled out his sword and held it over the bowed heads of Prince Victor and Princess Success. “You are now man and wife and the future King and Queen of the noble Kingdom of Happiness,” he pronounced.

The crowd cheered much more loudly. They danced and celebrated all night long. And as the full moon gave way to the bright morning sun, all creatures in the kingdom joined in the celebration. The rainbows became brighter and the birds sang in unison with the humming of the breeze and the bees. The leaves of the trees swayed and danced, while the animals playfully raced with the wind. The lake became a giant canvas reflecting the heavens and the beauty of God’s most wonderful creation on earth, the Kingdom of Happiness.
//Sherma E. Benosa
08 April, 2008

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My very first attempt at writing short story for children. This one was based on my earlier parable, “Humanity Versus Opportunity” written in February, 2008.

Last 10 posts by Sherma E. Benosa

• Dagiti Babassit nga Alipugpog - January 2nd, 2009
• Nangina ti Balligi - December 5th, 2008
• Underneath the Sheaths - November 27th, 2008
• Truth vs Deceit - November 20th, 2008
• Happy 74th Birthday, Bannawag! - November 3rd, 2008
• Life is a Performing Art - October 29th, 2008
• Timpuyog in Diversity - October 22nd, 2008
• Kuliapis nga Ay-ay - October 2nd, 2008
• Alona - September 20th, 2008
• Alona - September 19th, 2008