Tale 159: The Princesses in the Sand (Misty)

(real tale: The Three Princesses of Whiteland)


"There was once a fisherman who lived by a palace and caught fish for the royal table." Misty begins. "One day, he was out fishing, but didn't catch a thing. Try as he might, there was never even so much as a jerk on his hook; but when the day was done, he heard a voice from the water, which said: 'If you will give me what your wife shows you when you go home tonight, you will catch plenty of fish.'

"Uh oh..." Ash swallows hard.

"This does not bode well..." Brock agrees.

"So the man--we'll call him Hiro--said yes, and before long was catching fish like no tomorrow." Misty goes on. "But when he got home that night, his wife showed him a baby which had just been born, and he broke down and cried when he told her what he had done."

'I would break down too if I were Hiro." Ash muses.

"It wasn't long before this reached the royal ears of the king." Misty continues "When he heard what had happened, he said that he himself would take the child and see if he could somehow save it. The baby was a boy, and the king brought him up as his own son until the boy--who had been named Kaitou--grew up."

"Kaitou...what a nice name." Melody sighs dreamily.

"One day, Kaitou asked to go out with his father to fish." Misty intones. "The king was reluctant at first, but he finally gave his okay. Everything went well, until they came back to shore in the evening."

"Did they run into a monster?" Ash wonders. Pikachu sparks excitedly, eager for a quest.

"Kaitou discovered that he had lost his hanky in the water." Misty replies, making Pikachu sigh. "So he got back in the boat to try and find it; but no sooner had he got in the boat did it begin to race so quickly that it was surrounded in wakes, and all that Kaitou did to keep the boat steady was to no avail, for it went on and on the whole night.

"So where did Kaitou end up when the boat finally stopped?" Brock is worried for Kaitou.

"When the boat finally stopped, he came to a land that lay far, far away." Misty assures Brock. "when Kaitou had walked on for some time he met an old man on the beach, and asked him where he was. The old man replied that Kaitou had arrived in the far away region of Kalos, and listened as Kaitou told him everything that had happened."

"Azu?" Azurill asks.

"The old man told Kaitou that if he were to walk on farther along the beach, he would come to three princesses who were buried so far in the sand, he would only see their heads." Misty explains. "The first would call him--as she was the eldest--and beg him to help her, The second would do the same, but he was not to go near either of them. But if he helped the third, it will bring him fortune."

"Hm..." Ash is intrigued. "Is Kalos a real place?"

"Yeah..." Brock shows Ash a map of the world, and points out a star-shaped continent. "Right there is Kalos."

"I hope I get to go there soon!" Ash smiles, motioning for Misty to continue.

"Kaitou went on his way, and everything happened as the old man said." Misty continues. "When he went up to the third princess, she said 'If you will do what I tell thee, you will choose among us three,' So Kaitou said that he would do whatever she said, and she told him that three trolls had buried all three there in the sand, but they had once lived in a castle, which Kaitou could see way off in the distance, past a forest."

[Then what did the princess tell Kaitou?] Mai asks.

"She told him that if he went into the castle and risked his like by having the trolls beat him and survive, he would set them free." Misty explains.

"What else did she tell him?" Brock wonders.

"She told Kaitou that when he went in, two Enteis would be standing by the doorway, but if he went between them, they wouldn't hurt him." Misty replies. "He would then come into a small dark chamber; where he would lie down. Then the troll will come and beat him, but when the beating had ended, he was to take a jewel hanging on the wall, and invoke a mystical song that would heal him, as well as do other things. Then he he was to take the sword hanging next to the jewel and kill the troll."

"There's your quest..." Ash smiles at Pikachu.

"Kaitou did everything the princess--we'll call her Marin--had told him." Misty continues. "He walked straight in between the Enteis, and then into the small chamber, and lay down on the bed. The first night, a troll came with three heads and three rods, and beat Kaitou senseless, but Kaitou held out until the troll was done, and then he took the jewel, a ruby, and sang the mystical spellsong..."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Brock fills in the spellsong.

"Once he was good as new, Kaitou took the sword and killed the troll." Misty continues, making a dramatic slashing motion for effect. "In the morning when he went to the beach, the princesses were only buried up to their waists. The next night everything happened in the same way, but the troll who came then had six heads and six rods, and he beat him much more severely than the first had done but when Kaitou went out the next morning, the princesses were in the sand up to their knees."

"I'm sure Kaitou had to be at least three different colors before he healed himself..." Ash chuckles.

"On the third night, a troll came who had nine heads and nine rods, and he beat Kaitou for so long, that at last he passed out; so believing Kaitou to be dead, the troll took him and flung him against the wall." Misty intones, making the Pokemon gasp. "The ruby fell into his hands, so he mustered what little strength he had left to sing the spellsong..."

Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... Brock sings again.

"and he was healed, as if nothing had happened at all." Misty continues. "Kaitou wasted no time in killing the troll, and in the morning when he went out of the castle the princesses were standing there entirely out of the sand."

She concludes "He took Princess Marin as his bride, and lived with her very happily for a long time, where they had many more adventures. But that is another story for another day!"