The Price

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Growing up, tales by the moonlight used to be a lot of fun. It is a time where children gather when it is dark and an adult tells interesting stories where animals are the main characters.

It should be worth noting that during my childhood, I used to think that these tales were just stories to keep our young minds entertained and calm. But as I grew older, I realized that embedded in each of these stories were various lessons and life hacks, ones that, when mastered, makes adulthood a smooth sailing.

We already know the story of the tortoise and the hare as well as the moral lessons surrounding it. In fact, in recent times, "slow and steady wins the race" has been a frequently used slogan, all thanks to the story of the tortoise and the hare. Indeed, there is no hurry in life, especially when one is calculative and strategic.

Moving on, in all the stories that I have been told, especially during my teens, there's this story that stood out for me. It was a story of a very beautiful maiden who caught the eyes of every suitor. She was a princess, and the moment she came of age, she had wealthy suitors come from far and near to seek her hand in marriage.

While it was a thing of joy for the king and the queen, as they thought that their daughter would be married off at any moment, the princess felt otherwise. She was rather disappointed, as the suitors that her family entertained were not up to her standard. It was either they were not attractive enough or their show of wealth wasn't enough to sweep her off her feet.

So after a series of rejected marriage proposals, the inflow of suitors dwindled. The king and queen soon became worried as the princess was not getting any younger. Regardless, the princess would not reduce her standard, as she felt her beauty was ageless.

So one day, a suitor from a far away land arrived at the palace to propose marriage. Immediately the princess saw the nobleman, she was inlove and without further ado, she agreed to the marriage proposal, and a date was fixed. Being that the man was coming from a distance, he stayed at the palace till the marriage day. Luckily, the man came with a lot of gifts and monetary items such that meeting up with the princess's marital requirement wasn't an issue.

After the marriage ceremony, the princess relocated with her husband and his people. Being that she has never travelled out of her village, the journey was quite hectic for her, as she kept complaining of the distance. Although she was being ridden in a carriage by a horse, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

Days turned into night and night into days. They've been on the road, and the princess was no longer enjoying the journey. Her husband was also fed up of her whining and has since gone cold. To cap it all, with each stop they made to rest, her husband's people kept reducing in number as well as their properties. When she asked, the husband would inform her that they have reached their hometown, as they were not all from the same villages due to intermarriage. .

Again, while his explanation did make sense at first, she started to doubt it especially when their horse and carriage was taken away. It was then it dawned on her that everything the husband brought to marry her was for the people who had accompanied him as he had nothing.

Soon, they were left with just her dowry, and the servants who helped them convey it soon alighted from the journey in the middle of nowhere, taking the dowry with them. Just as the princess was about to stop them, she saw her husband's head floating in midair with no body.

Apparently, her prince charming was a spirit whom had heard of her activites and how she turned down suitors. So in other to teach her a lesson, he planned with other entities of the forest to disguise as humans and accompany him to marry her. Upon hearing the confession, the princess passed out never to be heard from again.

You see, this particular story always reminds me that not all that glitters is gold and also we should look before we leap to avoid getting in situations that will cost us dearly.