The Tailor and the Prince - Part Six

The king took his swiftest horse and he rode off alone into the forest a little distance away from his Kingdom. 

There was a fairy who lived in this forest. The fairy often helped the kings of his race, and the king, and all his ancestors had always followed the good advice given by the fairy. 

“Help me.” The king said as soon as he reached the middle of the forest.  

He had hardly finished speaking when one of the cedar trees opened and a veiled figure in white stepped from it.

The fairy smiled at the king. “I know of your troubles, king. Take these two ivory boxes and let the two men who claim to be your son choose between them.” The fairy nodded to herself. “The real Prince will not make any mistake.”

The two little ivory boxes were set with gold and pearls and on the lid of each box was an inscription in diamonds.  One of the boxes read as “Honour and glory” and the other as “Wealth and happiness.” 

“That would be a hard choice,” the king thought and he rode back into his castle from the forest.

He lost no time and sent for the Queen and all of his court to assemble, and then he called for Labakan and the other man. 

The king asked Labakan  to choose one of the boxes. 

Labakan looked at the two boxes and thought aloud. “There was nothing better than the happiness of being the king's son and nothing more noble than the king's love.” 

Therefore Labakan chose the box of “Wealth and Happiness”. 

The other man was brought into the court and he looked at the two boxes. “The last few days have shown me that happiness is uncertain and riches vanish easily. So I will choose “Honour and Glory”. 

The two men opened the boxes, and the one which the real Prince had opened had a little gold crown and a scepter on the velvet cushion.  

In Labakan's box was a large needle with some thread.

The king took the small crown and even as he took it the crown became big enough so that the king could place it on the head of his real son. 

Everyone in the court now realized who the real Prince was. 

However, the tailor unhappily fell at the feet of the Prince. “Please forgive me Prince. I wanted to live life like a Prince.”  

The prince was forgiving in nature, and he did not harm the tailor and asked him to go back to his own kingdom.

Adapted from Egyptian Folk Tales