Tale 21: Princess Furball (Misty)

(real tale: Allerleirauh, or, The Many Furred Creature)

"While we're on the subject of variations on tales Disney has made into movies, here's a variant on 'Cinderella' Lilly once told me." Misty explains before beginning "In a far away land, a king prepared to say goodbye to his dying queen. The last thing the queen told her beloved was that if the king remarried again, he choose a wife that matched her in beauty and wits. If he did not, then his successor was to do the same."

"This isn't one of those variants where the dad wants to marry his own daughter, is it?" Ash winces at the thought of the king marrying his own princess.

"Thankfully, no." Misty assures Ash. "The king couldn't bear to marry another, but he did have a daughter that matched her mother in beauty and wits. As the years went by, the king called his advisors together, and told them that as he had no sons to succeed him, one of them would inherit the throne when he died. The princess, who we'll call Luna, wasn't fond of any of the advisors, but her father forced her to marry the high chamberlain."

"So what did Princess Luna do?" Melody asks.

"The night before her wedding day, Princess Luna packed four treasures of hers. Three of those were dresses--one was as gold as the sun, one was as silver as the moon, and the other appeared to be make of crystal, so it glittered like the stars. The fourth treasure was a thick fur coat made from all kinds of Pokemon furs that her mother had made for her. She wrapped herself in the fur coat and left at nightfall, while everyone else was asleep."

"Did her father figure out she was gone?" Brock is concerned.

"Luna traveled all through the night until she came to the palace of another land." Misty replies. "She told the king that she was a wandering traveler in search of work. The king felt sorry for Luna, and offered her a job in the kitchen. Since Luna told no one her name, and always wore the fur coat as she worked..." She adds as an aside "since it got pretty cold down in the kitchen...everyone just called her Furball."

"Wonder how long it took for them to figure out Furball was really a princess..." Ash muses.

"Some months went by, and before long, it was time for the summer festival." Misty continues. "The castle hosted a ball to celebrate, and Princess Luna wanted to go. The head cook said okay, provided she be back in an hour for cleanup duty. After washing the soot from her face and putting on the golden dress, Princess Luna went out to enjoy the festivities. She enjoyed herself immensely, and the hour flew by as she danced for the crowd, who were awed at the lovely lady that shone like a golden sunbeam."

A click gets Misty's attention--she gasps as she sees her fiddle case open on its own. "What the..." she gasps as the fiddle and bow land in her lap.

"If we're talking about a ball, I wonder what it was the band was playing that Princess Luna danced to." Melody explained.

A trill of a whistle and an expectant D chord make Misty sigh--not from annoyance, but nostalgia--the three of them haven't played together at all this night. "Okay, we can play a set to give you an idea of what Princess Luna danced to." With that, she sets to work tuning up.

Once Misty is tuned, she leads the boys into a set appropriately titled "The Golden Heart Set". "The hour flew by quickly, but as Luna raced back to the kitchen, she didn't know the prince of the land had his eye on her." Misty continues as the last note dies. "Some more months went by, and the anniversary of the kingdom's founding drew near. The castle again held the best party in the kingdom, and Princess Luna again asked the head cook if she could enjoy the festivities. The cook said okay, provided she be back in an hour for cleanup duty."

"Azu?" Azurill asks.

"Princess Luna washed the soot from her face, put on the silver dress, and went out to enjoy the festivities. Many were awed by the lady in silver that glowed like moonlight." Misty replies as she prepares to play again. "The hour went by quickly as Luna enjoyed the many reels and dances, one set of which went something like this...."

"I'll start it this time." Brock volunteers. After snapping a few times to count his friends off, the three of them play "The Silver Moonlight Set".

Pikachu leads the applause when the set ends. "Some more months went by, and it wasn't long before the prince's birthday drew near." Misty continues. "By now, the prince was beginning to think that the maiden in gold and the maiden in silver were one and the same, but he wasn't quite sure. Princess Luna, after receiving the okay to enjoy an hour of the festivities, washed her face, put on the crystal gown, and went out to dance. Many in the crowd were awed by the lady in crystal that sparkled like the stars. Even the prince wanted to dance with her!"

With that, Ash leads the charge into "The Wishmaker Polkas". Pikachu sweeps Melody into his paws as she shifts to Pirouette form, and the two of them dance by the fire to the spirited tunes, as if they are the prince and Princess Luna.

After the Vermilion Polka races to its conclusion, Misty continues her tale. "When the hour was up, the prince followed Luna to the kitchen. He arrived as she changed into the fur coat, but the glint of crystal clued him that the maiden he had danced with, plus the maids of gold and silver, were one and the same."

"So what did the prince do?" Ash asks, nervously fingering his whistle.

"He listened as Princess Luna told her story from start to finish, and why she had to hide her identity." Misty concludes. "When she finished, he confessed his love for her, and explained the situation to his father the next day. It wasn't long before they were married, and they all lived happily ever after."

"Aw..." Brock smiles.

"I believe it's bedtime for the little ones." Ash notes when he spots Azurill asleep by his feet. Melody yawns in agreement.

"We'll tell more stories tomorrow, okay?" Brock assures Happini as the group puts away their instruments for another night.

(what the gang plays: this, this, and this)