Storytelling for Week 11: Who Shall She Marry?

There was once a beautiful girl, known throughout the land for her stunning looks and her amazing voice.  Her family was very proud of her, protecting her from those who sought to marry her and use her for her beauty alone.  They wanted someone that would take care of her.  She also wanted someone who was willing to prove that they would do what was necessary to provide for her and protect her from danger.  In order to do this, she told her family that she would marry someone who embodied the characteristics of bravery, wisdom, or cunning.  One day, each family member met someone who fulfilled her demand.  Without consulting one another, or even talking to the girl about it, they agreed that in one week the man they met could come to the palace and meet the princes in order to marry her.  The princess was stunned when she found out.  She never expected for something like that to happen, especially as she did not think she would find even one man to truly fit the characteristics that she required in order to meet them.  To discover that her family had found someone who embodied each characteristic separately meant that it was an extreme shock to her.  On the day that she was meant to meet the three men, she was kidnapped by an evil man who sought to keep her for his own.  Though she struggled, she could not get away.  In order to rescue her, the three suitors had to work together and build a chariot to follow her in.  The wise man knew how to find the evil man, instructing the others as to where he was.  The clever man built the chariot to follow the princess in.  The brave man, however, went above and beyond, risking his life to defeat the evildoer and save the princess.  When they group returned home, they argued their cases to the king.  He ended up giving the choice to his daughter, as it would be her who was getting married.  She said that while the clever man and the wise man aided in her rescue, it was the brave man who truly was at risk, placing himself in danger of death so that he could help her to escape and regain her freedom.  Without his contribution, she would have been forced to marry her captor, as the other two men were afraid of what might happen to them.  The brave man and the princess were wed and they lived happily ever after.

(Damsel in Distress; Image source Wikipedia)

Brave, Wise, Clever is the tale being retold in this story.