Tale 217: The Language of Pokemon (Misty)

(real tale: The Wise Princess)

"Once upon a time a king had one daughter whose name was Marla." Misty begins. "He wished her to be the wisest woman in the world, and so he sent far and wide for the finest scholars. Teachers came from everywhere. Daily they taught Marla all they knew, such as math, science, literature, history, and the arts."

"Wow..." Ash sighs dreamily as he imagines what Princess Marla looks like.

"Marla loved learning, and most of all, she loved the many languages of the world." Misty goes on. "In addition to her native tongue and English, she learned Greek, Spanish, French and Japanese. She also learned Portuguese, Latin, German, Chinese, and even a few mystical tongues. Before long, Marla knew more than all her teachers combined. She could speak to every visitor in his own language."

"COOL!!!" Brock is especially impressed.

"The king soon understood that Marla must find a husband who was as wise as she was." Misty explains. "He sent out a proclamation: 'Princess Marla will marry the man who can speak a language she does not know. Beware, suitors: Anyone who dares to seek the hand of the princess but cannot speak a new tongue will be thrown into the wintry sea.'"

Melody swallows hard as Misty continues "Princes and dukes, knights and lords heard the proclamation and sighed. They shook their heads and grumbled among themselves. "No one knows as many languages as the princess," they all agreed. And so no one came to seek Marla's hand in marriage."

"I don't think gibberish counts as a new language..." Ash agrees.

"Marla grew lonely and sad." Misty adds before assuming the role of her heroine. "Father, will no one marry me?" she asks Brock, in the role of the king.

Brock takes Misty's hands in his. "I fear that may be true, my child," he sighs as the king. "There seems to be no man wise enough for you."

"Meanwhile, outside the palace, a young shepherd carrying a leather satchel on his back appeared at the gates." Misty narrates.

"I am Martin," Ash jumps in the shepherd's role. "I have come to seek the hand of the wise princess Marla."

"Run to your flocks, boy." Brock jeers as a guard. "You are a simple shepherd. You could never hope to win so marvelous a woman. Run before the king throws you into the sea."

"Open the gates," Ash retorts. "I can speak many languages the princess has never heard before."

"Give up, boy," Brock shoots back.

"I will not," Ash proudly replies in character.

Misty stiffles a giggle at how well the boys are getting into their roles. "And so at last the guards led Martin to the king's throne room. There the lovely princess sat beside her father. When she saw the lad, she smiled, for she liked the gleam in his eye."

"Your majesty," Brock announces, "this lad has come to woo your daughter." He makes a grand gesture to Ash for effect.

"Father," Misty whispers in character to an imagined person. "Please don't harm him. He seems kind, and so very brave."

Brock, now back in the role of the king, frowns at Ash. "If you dare fail to speak an unknown language, son, do you know what will happen to you?"

"I do," Ash replies. "And I am not afraid of the sea. Besides, I believe you will find that your daughter does not know all there is to know."

Brock shrugs. "Speak your language, then," he sighs, a note of frustration in his "king" voice.

Ash, meanwhile, walks to Misty's side. "Beautiful princess, listen closely." he instructs as he pulls out a pantomime object from his own bag.

"He reached into his satchel and pulled out a tiny Taillow. 'Biyo-biyo,' the Taillow chirped." Misty narrates as herself.

"Do you understand?" Ash asks in character. When Misty shakes her head no, he balks. "But princess, "you claim to understand all languages. The Taillow asks if he can sit upon your shoulder."

"He let go of the Taillow and whispered, 'Tsiii, tsii,' and the Taillow flew to Princess Marla and landed on her shoulder." Misty continues as herself.

"Wait!" Ash interjects in character, raising his hand.

"He again reached into his satchel and pulled out a shiny Murkrow." Misty narrates as herself. "'Ah-eh-oh,' the Murkrow cried."

"You understood, of course?" Ash asks in character.

"No," Misty softly replies in character.

"He wants his freedom," Ash explains as Martin.

"...and he walked to the door and opened it. 'Kaa-kaa,' he cried. When the Murkrow heard these words, he flew out the door to his freedom." Misty narrates.

"How do you know what they say?" she gasps as Princess Marla.

"I have spent my days in the forest, listening carefully. I can speak the language of Pokemon. If you marry me, I will teach you, for there are many languages even the greatest scholars do not know." Ash explains as Martin.

"I thought you were the smartest person in the world!" Brock protests as the king. "How can you let a lowly shepherd make a fool of you?"

"Sire, your daughter is wise beyond words," Ash assures Brock in character. "for only the wise can admit that they do not know everything."

Misty concludes as herself "Marla was so pleased with Martin's understanding that she begged her father to allow her to marry him. Martin and Marla were married, and lived happily ever after, always surrounded by the bird and beast Pokemon, always seeking wisdom, always wise enough to know that they could always learn more."

Melody leads the applause. "Well done! I wasn't expecting that to become a full dramatic production!"