Tale 107: The Wise Little Tailor (Misty)

(real tale: The Story of a Clever Tailor)


"Once upon a time, there lived an exceedingly proud princess--we'll call her Valencia." Misty begins. "If any suitor for her hand ventured to present himself, she would give him some kind of riddle or conundrum to guess. If he failed, he was ran out of town. She sent out a proclamation that all comers were welcome to try their skill, and that whoever could solve her riddle would be her husband."

"Interesting..." Ash muses.

"Now it happened that in a certain village lived three brothers that made their trades as tailors." Misty explains. "The two elder ones thought, that after having successfully put in so many fine and strong stitches with never a wrong one amongst them, they were certain to do the right thing here too. So they set out for the palace, telling the youngest--we'll call him Timothy--to stay home."

"Pi pini pini pi!" Happini protests.

"Yeah, Timothy deserves to try too." Brock agrees.

"But Timothy wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, and headed out for the palace himself." Misty assures the boys. "The three of them arrived at court, and Princess Valencia asked them 'I have on my head two different kinds of hair--what colors are they?'"

"Hm..." Ash contemplates a possible answer to the riddle.

"The first tailor guessed black and white, but he was wrong." Misty replies. "The second tailor guessed red and brown, but he was wrong too."

"So what did Timothy guess?" Brock is piqued in Timothy's answer.

"Then Timothy stepped boldly to the front and guessed one silver and one golden hair on her head." Misty replies. "When Princess Valencia heard this, she turned white as a Gastly, and almost fainted, she was so surprised that someone managed to guess her riddle. When she had recovered herself, she told Timothy to spend a night with an Ursaring that lived in the forest by the royal stables. If Timothy was still alive the next morning, she would have his hand in marriage."

"I have a feeling she only wants to get rid of Timothy..." Melody mutters.

"You'd be right, Melody--the Ursaring had never left anyone alive before." Misty replies. "But Timothy accepted Princess Valencia's challenge anyway--he was not afraid at all."

"Pika chu?" Pikachu asks, sparking with excitement.

"When evening came, Timothy was taken to the Ursaring's cave." Misty intones. "The Ursaring tried to get at him at once and to give him a warm welcome with his great paws. But Timothy took a handful of pecans from his pocket and began cracking and eating them as though he had not a care or anxiety in the world. When the Ursaring saw this. he began to long for some nuts himself. So Timothy reached into his pocket again and gave him a handful of rocks."

The boys laugh as they picture the Ursaring struggling. "Try as the Ursaring might, he could not manage to crack them." Misty continues before retrieving the fiddle case and checking her instrument's tuning.

Once sure she is tuned, she continues. "Meanwhile, Timothy took up a fiddle his father had made for him, and began playing all kinds of airs and dances to pass the time." With that, she plays the tune "Juice For Breakfast" for effect, with Brock backing her on guitar.

Ash leads the applause when the song ends. "When the Ursaring heard the music he could not help dancing, and after he had danced some time he was so pleased that he begged Timothy to teach him how to play the fiddle." Misty continues. "So Timothy showed the Ursaring that you press the strings with the fingers of one hand..." She demonstrates this on her own instrument. "and with the other, you drew the bow across them." She demonstrates by stroking a few notes.

Brock chuckles in anticipation of what Timothy will do. "But then, Timothy saw the Ursaring's claws, and that they had to be cut if he wanted to sound good on the fiddle." Misty explains. Then he retrieved some chains, telling the Ursaring he was going to get his scissors--which was a ruse for Timothy to get some sleep without the Ursaring harming him."

Everyone is on the edge of their seats to know how the princess would react. "The next morning when Princess Valencia looked out towards the forest, there stood Timothy, safe and sound." Misty goes on. "So she fulfilled her promise, and they were married that very day."

"It goes without saying they lived happily ever after." Brock smiles as he applauds....