A Funny Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there lived a handsome prince who was very rich and very bored.

One day his parents told him he would have to marry. So the prince, who didn't want to marry anytime soon, decided to create a challenge for a princess in order to become his bride. He had a very large slingshot that he was given on his birthday, so he decided to come up with an impossible task to keep him single for a long, long time.

He declared that any girl who wanted to marry him would have to be brave enough to be slung in the slingshot, and if she could find her way back to him, he would marry her. The prince was very rich, so many young women flocked to the palace, but when they were given the challenge, not one agreed to be flown across the mountain region that the palace was built on. Even when they were told that they would have a parachute, they refused and left immediately. The prince was satisfied with this plan until one day when a girl requested an audience with the king. She was very smart, and she wanted the king's help to allow her to attend college. The king replied that if she would marry his son, the girl would be given anything she wanted. With that, the girl rose to the challenge and accepted the conditions.

The prince was shocked that someone had accepted this ridiculous task, and he tried to persuade her out of it. As she was given a parachute and sat in the slingshot, the girl only smiled and said, "I've always wanted an adventure." So the prince watched with worry as the girl flew in the air and over the mountain range.

She landed in a village near the mountain and began her journey in determination. On the first day, she came across an old woman with a basket of apples.

"One bite," the woman said, "and all your wishes will come true."

The girl politely refused, never having believed in such things, and carried on. On the second day, she met a fairy with a spinning wheel.

"This wheel will spin the finest gold, and you will be rich," the fairy offered. But the girl refused again, explaining that she wouldn't be willing to give up her child or even prick her finger and fall asleep. The third day, she came across a frog that wanted a kiss. But the girl refused yet again, tired of meeting people. Lucky for her, she arrived at the palace on the fourth day. The people cheered for her bravery and persistence as she went straight to the castle.

The king greeted her with a smile, and the prince was now very surprised that his plan didn't work.

"My dear," the king said with a smile, "You have accepted the task and I will now reward you. What do you desire?"

The princess smiled and replied, "I want to go to college, and I ask a favor of my prince."

The prince, by now, was thoroughly impressed with this girl.

"What do you ask of me?" he asked.

The princess took him to the slingshot, gave him a parachute and with a dazzling smile replied, "Now it's your turn."

The End