Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-02-16
Gales xnD SketfRfs.


nr;nceae Who was very fond Of almonds.
and would not marry. In order 70 carry
On, these intentions she hit upon the fol.
lowing plan: When . prince presented
himself rs a sutton for her hand (and
leeions of princes camel she would oiler
him an almond with twin kernels. The
nr;nee had to eat one of the kernels and
sbe would eat the other. Now. she would
saw, IF your highness can induce me 10
accept anything out Of your hands without
NV saving, Il remember shall marry
Won but If l can induce your highness TO
accept ANYTHING from my hands without
your saving the saving words, then
your princeiy head shall be clean-snaven.
and y,u shall be dismissed forthwith from
my dominion"
There ~as . trick in this proposal, for
court etiquette forbade any one-under
penalty Of death-to present any object
directly to the beautiful princess. The
object had to be handed first to the maid
of honor. who would then hand it herself
TO her roval mistress. But, on the other
hand. If the princess chose to take herself
auy object, or hand it to anyone. who
could forbid it? Thus the poor sultors
had miserable time Of it. Try as hard
as they would to tempt the princess to &C.
cept anything from their hands. the maid
of honor was sure to step in and spoil their
very best laid plans. Should the princess
on her side, wish to get rid of a sutton,
she had only to be gracious to him and
bewitch him with her beauty and kind
ness. She would offer him seat by her
side, and picking up something lying near
her, a pomegranate or an egg, che would
present it with sweet smile, and whisper
softly, keep this in memory of me-" As
soon, however. as the prince. intoxicated
with delight, would take the object in his
hands, and whilst ready. perhaps, to say
the saving words, all at once would the
object burst open. and out of it would
Jump frog, or hornet or bat. and fly in
his face causing him so much surprise and
CONSERVATION that he would forget to say
the words. His head would be shaved at
once, and off he would be dismissed ignO-
miniously.
This had gone on for several years and
all the palaces of the land were filed with
young princes wearing wigs (the fashion
OF wearing wigs at court dates therefrom)
when foreign prince, travelling incogni-
to, happened to see this beautiful almond
princess. He found her beauty equal to
her fame, and being determined to win
her for himself, he soon discovered the
ruse which she had employed hitherto.
Now, this prince, more fortunate than the
former suitors, had talisman of his own,
in the shape of an apple given him by an
old Wizard, friend of his family. If in
case of great difficulty, he would smell
the apple, a bright thought would rush to
his mind, and way found out of the diff
ficulty. The talisman operated once a
year only. The occurrence, however, of
one idea in every twelve months, had
properly ensured to the prince fame for
a superior mind amongst all the kings of
his acquaintance! The time for using the
talisman having come round again. he
smelt the apple and this is the idea which
occurred to him: "If you are to win in this
game of giving and taking, you must never.
under any circumstances, either present
anything to the princess or accept any
thing from her." He, therefore. had his
hands firmly tied in his belt and accom-
panied by his marshal he proceeded to the
the palace Of the princess where he brave
ly announced himself ready to lose his hair
and his life for the chance of winning such
a priceless treasure. The princess was
very much pleased with the princes ap-
pearance and with his speech, and she
ordered at once that double almond be
brought in. She ate one of the kernels
and presented the other to the prince. At
once the marshal stepped up, took the al
mond from her hands and placed it in the
princes mouth.
The princess wondered and asked what
this meant; also, why he always carried
his hands in his belt. The prince answer
ed, that, alas, at his court the etiquette
was even more severe than at her own.
He was not permitted to take or give any
thing with his hands. but only with his
feet and head. and that merely in cases of
extreme urgency. At this the princess
laughed. and said: ''In this case, we can
not even engage our forces in the coming
contest" The prince shrugged his should
ers and replied: mot unless you con-
descend to accept something from my
boots" THAT must never be-" exclaim-
ed the whole court with high indignation.
but why did you come here2 ?" added the
princess, angrily. 81 came because YOU
are very beautiful" replied the prince,
gently. land if may not win you'll shall
still have the happiness of feeding nv eyes
upon your beauty" Il can have no OBJ
lection to that" rejoined the princess,
Modified.
So the prince remained at the princess
court and pleased her more and more
every day. But her desire to win was so
great that she would use every means in her
power TO entice him to withdraw his hands
from bis belt and take something from
her. She remained constantly with him,
engaged in sweetest talks, and made him
presents of flowers. bonbons. scent-bottles
and finally she even gave him her favorite
bracelet. Time and again the prince
would feel a twitching in his hands, but
the resistance offered by the belt would
bring him back to his senses. Then he
would nod to his marshal, who would
come and gather up all the pretty presents,
saying: 1--WE remember
AT last the princess grew tired of this
indecision. and one day she exclaimed
suddenly: my handkerchief will no,
your highness pick it up for meP'' The
prince smilingly caught the handkerchief
on the tip of his boot and waved it care
lessly towards her. The princess stopped
down. caught the handkerchief with her
hands, and cried out angrily: IL remem-
ber''
A whole year passed away in this man
ner. and the princess thought: This can