THE SUNFLOWER PRINCESS
Once upon a time, there lived a Prince. He was fond of traveling and visiting distant lands. One day he mounted his horse and rode away to some places. On his way, he passed by a field of fully bloomed sunflowers. There stood a big and shady tree at the edge of the field. The Prince decided to rest under it for some time. He dismounted from his horse and tied it to the tree. The Prince lay down and was soon fast asleep.
The Prince woke up at sunset. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful Princess walking towards him from the field. He welcomed her with a charming smile and said, "Welcome! Welcome, O beautiful Princess! Will you marry me?"
The Princess smiled and said, "Thank you, O Prince! I am all alone in this world. I will marry you, but on three conditions."
The Prince was so captivated by he beauty that he said,"I agree to fulfill all your conditions. Three or three hundred - it makes no difference to me.
The Princess said, "Then listen to me carefully. My first condition is that after you marry me, you will not go back to your palace. My second condition is that I will not stay with you from dawn to dusk. The third condition is that you will never ask me any question and you will not stop me from going out anywhere. If you fail to fulfil even one of these conditions, I will leave you and go away forever."
The Prince readily agreed to all the conditions laid down by the Princess.
The Prince married the Princess. They built a palace, near the field and began living a happy life. At dawn, every day, the Princess would leave the palace and return only after sunset. This went on for days together. The Prince was always curious and eager to know about the Princess" activities. But he remembered the strict conditions laid down by her.
One day, the Prince woke up before the Princess but he pretended to be asleep. The Princess woke up got ready and kissed the sleeping Prince on his forehead. Then, as usual, she left the palace quietly.
The Prince got up and followed her secretly. The Princess went to the field of sunflowers and disappeared! There was no place to hide in that field. Where could she go? The Prince was puzzled. After thinking for a while, he realized that the Princess must have turned into a sunflower.
The Prince went from flower to flower and observed each flower carefully. At last, he came to a sunflower and stood looking at it for a long time. Gathering courage, he plucked that flower. And lo! There was a miracle. The sunflower disappeared from his hands and there stood before him his beloved Princess. The Princess said, "O Prince! You have finally freed me from the curse of a wicked witch. But tell me, how did you recognize me from among so many sunflowers?"
The Prince's joy knew no bounds. He had got back his Princess. He said, "All the flowers have dew drops on their petals early in the morning. But only one flower did not have any dew drops on it. So I was sure that it could be no one but you."
The Prince then took the Princess to his palace and they lived happily ever after.
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