The Music Box – Part 1

Once, in ages long ago there was a kingdom called Silveria that was struck by a terrible drought that dried up all the lakes and rivers and killed all the crops in all the fields, leaving all of the people in the kingdom dying of hunger and thirst.

The old ruler of that kingdom, whose name was Alderbar, had no idea what to do. Though he tried his best to provide food and water for his people by importing it from outside, it was not long before his treasury was empty and he could not even afford a drop of water or a crumb of bread for himself.

Then, however, an old man who lived high up on the top of a black coloured mountain, whose name was Vlados, came down from his mountain in a flying rowing boat that was driven by invisible oarsmen, and he told the king that he could end the drought but that he would only do so if the king promised to give him his only daughter, Alicina, in exchange.

In desperation, the king agreed to the wizards terms saying that if the wizard could end the drought then he would have not only his daughters hand but the kings blessing.

Happy that the hand of the Princess Alicina was as good as his, the Wizard then took out a small music box made from gold, silver, crystal and pearl and wound it up with a small silver key.

Suddenly, the lid of the golden music box sprang open and, inside, a tiny mechanical ballerina holding an umbrella began to pirouette and skip and dance to a tinkling tune and, hearing the music and seeing the little mechanical dancer, the heavens became so happy that they began to weep with joy.

At first the old king was astonished and overjoyed to see tiny drops of rain falling down all over his kingdom and embraced the wizard.

But then the Wizard reminded the king of his promise that the Wizard would have his daughters hand in marriage and the king, remembering what he had agreed to, and thinking of how unhappy his daughter would be if she were married to the ugly old wizard, was horrified and, angrily, he now refused to keep his promise.

“Never!”, yelled the King, “Not even if you flood the whole kingdom with rain will I give you my beloved daughter”.

Hearing this, the Wizard picked up his music box and, scowling, he swore to the king, “Very well. Then I shall flood your kingdom. From this day forward, I promise, it shall rain, all through the day and night and without end until your whole kingdom is buried under water”.

Then, stepping back into his magical rowing boat with its invisible oarsmen, the Wizard flew back up to the top of his black coloured mountain.
And from that day on, it did rain; an ocean full of rain that poured all day and all night without end, just as the evil wizard had promised until, to the kings horror, his entire kingdom was flooded and, even in his palace, that was built upon a steep hill, the water came up above the kings knees.

“What shall we do?”, he asked his wife and all his ministers, those who had not fled on homemade rafts and rowing boats, “Before long my kingdom will drown and the map makers will have to call it the Sea of Silveria”.

But then his daughter, who cared very much about her father and her kingdom, pleaded with him,
“Please, father. For the sake of the kingdom, agree to the wizards terms. I will marry him, no matter how old and ugly he may be. Send a messenger and summon him and I will go with him and live on his dark mountain then, at least, the kingdom will be spared, for a kingdom is worth more than the pride and honour of a princess”.

And so the King, sadly, weeping upon the water of the flood, agreed to let the wizard marry Alicina
and a dove was sent with the message of his agreement to the Wizards castle high on the mountain top.

But, unbeknown to the king or the old wizard, among the kings courtiers was a young nobleman called Frederick who was very deeply in love with the princess and had sworn to himself to do anything to ensure her happiness and he now pleaded with Alicina, “Please, do not marry that ogre of a wizard. I could not bear the thought of you as his prisoner and I would gladly give up every drop of my blood to prevent that monster from taking you”.

But Alicina was too selfless a person to change her mind.

“No, I will not watch my father’s whole kingdom drown and all his poor subjects with it”, she said, “For then I would be as heartless and cruel as the Wizard”.

But Frederick was too much in love with the princess to give her up so easily and so he pleaded with her father, “I ask nothing but to serve your daughter and protect her happiness and if she is to go with this wizard to his mountain home, then let me go with her. Let me hide within one of her trunks and, once I am in the Wizards castle then will I find and destroy the cursed wizards music box and drive a sword through his evil heart, thus saving the kingdom and the princess in one”.

Though the king feared the Wizard greatly, he also felt ashamed that his daughter was forced to marry him and deeply sad because he loved his daughter so very much and so, reluctantly, he agreed to Fredericks suggestion.

And when the Wizard, who had received the message brought by the dove, arrived in his magical flying rowing boat, the King insisted that the princess take large trunks filled with jewels and dresses.

“She will not need those things”, said the Wizard, “I shall provide for her. With my power I shall conjure her up a mountain of jewels and silken dresses, finer than any owned by any princess in the world”.

But the King would not be dissuaded, “These dresses and jewels have sentimental value”, he said, “A value that cannot be conjured up by spells. They belonged to my wife, Alicina’s mother, and should be passed on to Alicina and also, among them is the wedding dress and diamond tiara worn by my wife at our wedding that she would like Alicina to wear at hers and several wedding gifts for the bride and groom”.

The Wizard relented, “Very well”, he said, “Anything that might make my new bride happier would be of help”.

And then, waving his hand across the bow of his magical rowing boat, he transformed it into a sailing ship with an invisible crew and room enough for a hundred trunks filled with jewels and dresses and, as the weeping princess was taken on board, so too were all her trunks, including the one in which Frederick had hid himself.

Then, upon the commands of the wizard, the sails of the magical ship filled with a strange supernatural wind and, as he stood on deck and steered it, the ship lifted itself up high into the air and sailed across a wide ocean of sky, taking he and Alicina back to his castle on the mountain.