Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess facts for kids
Prince Hyacinth and the Dear Little Princess is a French fairy tale. It is the second story in Andrew Lang's famous collection, The Blue Fairy Book.
Contents
About the Story's Origins
This fairy tale was originally written by Madame Leprince de Beaumont. Her version was called Le Prince Desir et la Princesse Mignonne. Other writers have also translated this story into English. For example, Laura Valentine called her version Prince Desire and Princess Mignonnetta. Another translator, James Planché, named his translation The Prince Désir and the Princess Mignone.
The Story of Prince Hyacinth
A Prince with a Secret Nose
Prince Hyacinth was born to a Queen who had lost her husband. He was a very handsome baby, but he had one unusual feature: a very, very large nose. No one at court knew that this big nose had been predicted even before his parents got married!
The King's Promise and a Wizard's Curse
Before Prince Hyacinth was born, his father, the King, needed help to win the Princess he loved. He asked a kind Fairy for help. The Fairy told him a secret: to break a spell, he needed to step on the tail of the Princess's large cat. The King did this, and the cat instantly turned into an angry wizard! The wizard tried to spoil the King's happiness. He warned, "You will have a son who will be terribly unhappy. He will be miserable because he won't know how huge his own nose is!" The King was confused. How could anyone not know about their own nose?
Growing Up with a Big Secret
As Prince Hyacinth grew up, he had no idea his nose was so big. His mother and everyone in the palace worked hard to keep it a secret. They made him believe that a long nose was normal and even beautiful! Only children with long noses were allowed to play with him. Courtiers would even pull on their own noses to make them look longer. His history teacher always described handsome people as having especially long noses.
Falling in Love and a Sudden Disappearance
When Prince Hyacinth became old enough, he saw a painting of a lovely Princess. He fell in love with her right away! But he noticed her nose was very small. His mother told him that small noses were actually okay for women. So, messengers were sent to ask the neighboring King for the Dear Little Princess's hand in marriage.
The Princess's father agreed, and the happy Prince traveled to meet her. As he got close, ready to greet her, the angry Sorcerer suddenly appeared! He quickly took the Princess away.
Meeting the Fairy Again
The Prince was very sad and told his helpers to leave him. For the first time, he was completely alone. He soon met the kind Fairy, who looked like a little old woman. She took a long time to adjust her glasses to see him. Her nose was so short that her glasses kept falling off. As they looked at each other, they both burst out laughing!
The Prince was shocked that the Fairy thought his nose was funny. He thought everyone else was just flattering her, making her believe her tiny nose wasn't a flaw. He thought, "How silly some people are, not to see the truth about themselves!" At dinner, he was very hungry, so he put up with her many comments about his nose. Finally, he asked her to stop. She agreed, promising to try and believe he had a normal nose, even though it looked big enough for three! The Prince had heard enough and rode off. Everywhere he went, searching for the Dear Little Princess, people told him his nose was huge. He thought they were all crazy.
The Crystal Palace and a Big Realization
The old Fairy, who had liked his father, decided to help Prince Hyacinth. She put the Dear Little Princess inside a crystal palace. Then, she placed the palace where the Prince would surely find it. The Prince was overjoyed and tried hard to free her, but he couldn't break through the crystal walls.
The Dear Little Princess reached her hand through a window for him to kiss it. But no matter how he turned or twisted, he couldn't get his lips past his nose to touch her hand! For the very first time, he truly understood how long his nose really was. It was too long!
The Spell Breaks
As soon as Prince Hyacinth realized the truth about his nose, the crystal palace shattered into tiny pieces! The old Fairy then brought the Dear Little Princess to him. She told him, "You see how loving yourself too much stops us from seeing our own flaws. We don't want to see them until they get in the way of what we really want."
Right after this, Prince Hyacinth's nose shrank down to a normal size. He married the Dear Little Princess, and they lived happily ever after.
