The Voice & The Angel

Once, in ages past, when kings and queens in golden palaces ruled the world and magic was still a common thing there was a Princess called Arranella who was abducted by an evil magician named Malazar and locked in a tower.

 

And at first the princess would call out for help to passing strangers and Malazar would have to use his magic to fight them off so Malazar took away her voice; in fact, he sealed it up inside an oyster shell and threw it in the deepest part of the ocean.

 

But then one day a poor pearl fisherman caught the shell in his net and, opening it, he heard a beautiful voice come out of it. It was singing a beautiful song.

 

“Though he’s taken my voice somewhere secret to hide;

and I can’t make a noise, I’ll keep singing inside.

 

Though he’s stolen my voice he will not steal my pride

and he won’t have my joys. I’ll keep singing inside”.

 

And when the fisherman heard the voice singing, it was so beautiful that he instantly fell in love.

 

“What an enchanting voice”, he said, “I wonder who it can belong to?”.

 

But then, the Pearl fisherman heard the voice start to sob and say,

 

“Oh, if only someone; anyone would rescue me then I swear I would marry them and make them a prince but Malazar, the evil wizard has locked me up in this high tower in the middle of the barren desert of broken dreams and, so that I may not call out for help, has even locked up my voice in a shell and hidden it far away”.

 

And when he heard this, the Fisherman, because he was so deep in love with the voice, swore that he would find the princess and rescue her from the tower.

 

But he didn’t have a camel or any money and so he went to his father and asked his father if he could have his inheritance early.

 

Unfortunately, his father was so poor that all he had was a battered old brass trumpet; a rusty old sword and seven silver coins

 

Still, the young fisherman took the silver coins; the rusty sword and the brass trumpet gratefully and, with the coins, he bought the best camel that he could; one with a lame leg and set off into the desert of broken dreams.

 

As he was crossing the desert, however, a storm demon rose up made of whirling wind and sand and the pearl fisherman was forced to hide in a cave and, whilst inside the cave, he started to lament to himself about how unfortunate he was.

 

“Why am I fooling myself”, he said, “I am no prince and no hero. All I have in this whole world are a camel with a lame leg, a rusty sword and a battered old brass trumpet”.

 

And taking out the trumpet from the leather bag that he wore over his shoulder he blew into the end of it to see if it could still make a tune.

 

The moment that he did however, a little angel appeared, only as tall as an infant but with two brass wings upon its back.

 

“I am the angel of the trumpet. My wings are brassy and bold but if I can do just three good deeds I shall have wings of shimmering gold”.

 

The fisherman was amazed,

 

“But surely”, he asked, “Others have blown upon this trumpet? Why are your wings still made of brass?”.

 

“Many men have”, the angel replied, “But they all asked for fortune and power and fame and I can only perform good deeds; deeds to help the unfortunate”.

 

“Well I am on a quest, of sorts, to help someone who is unfortunate”, said the fisherman, “A princess who has been locked up in a tower by a cruel wizard and whose voice has been taken away and put inside an oyster shell”.

 

And, taking out and opening the oyster shell, he let the little angel hear the voice which was singing;

 

“Though my voice has been taken ; my spirit hasn’t died

to save my heart from breaking, I’ll keep singing inside.

 

Though my voice has been hidden away somewhere outside;

I won’t weep; that’s forbidden; I’ll keep singing inside”.

 

“My what a beautiful voice”, said the angel, “And such a courageous spirit as well”.

 

And so the Angel agreed that he would help the fisherman save the princess and, flying outside, the angel, whirling around the wind demon that was creating a sandstorm, put it in chains so that, when the fisherman emerged from the cave, it was a peaceful and beautiful day.

 

Then, when the angel had done this, its wings turned from brass into sparkling crystal and even the old brass trumpet turned into crystal.

 

“Ha ha, only two more good deeds”, said the angel, fluttering about and laughing with glee, “And my wings shall be made of gold”.

 

So then, the angel flying into the now crystalline trumpet, the fisherman continued on his way through the desert.

 

But, after, he had rode many miles more through the desert the fisherman came  to a place where there were two giant lions made of stone and, looking at the fisherman, they licked their stone lips and made a hungry roaring noise that sounded like thunder.

 

Now, reaching into his bag, the fisherman blew upon the trumpet again and suddenly, in front of him, appeared the angel; it’s crystal wings sparkling in the sun.

 

“I am the angel of the trumpet. My crystal wings sparkle, but they’re cold. If I can do just two more good deeds then I’ll have wings of glimmering gold”.

 

“Then”, asked the fisherman, “Please perform another good deed and do something about those two gigantic stone lions because they look as if they want to eat me up”.

 

So now the angel breathed in, puffing its chest up to an enormous size and then, breathing out, it blew sand over the two gigantic lions, wearing away the stone which they were made from so that, when the angels sandstorm subsided, the fisherman saw that they had been worn down into two purring stone kittens.

 

“There now”, said the angel, laughing, “Aren’t they cute”.

 

And, when it did this, the wings upon the angels back turned into shiniest silver and the trumpet too turned into silver.

 

“Ha- ha! Only one more good deed”, said the angel, flapping and admiring his silver wings before leaping back into the trumpet, “And my wings shall be made of gold”.

 

But now, after shooing away the two stone kittens that scampered away in fear, because it was getting dark, the fisherman lay down to rest.

 

Unfortunately, the Wizard Malazar, because his left eye was a magical glass eye that could see over vast distances, had seen what had happened to the wind demon and the two stone lions that he, with his evil magic, had placed in the desert and he longed to have the angel trumpet for himself and so, opening a magical bottle, he poured out a long stream of black liquid that became an enormous hissing black snake before commanding the snake, “Go and kill that foolish fisherman and bring me that magical angel trumpet in your coils”.

 

So then the large black snake crept silently through the desert to where the fisherman was sleeping

and, slithering into his leather bag, it coiled its tail around the angel trumpet and started to drag it out of the bag.

 

As it was doing this, however, it disturbed the oyster shell in which the princess’s voice was kept and, the shell flying open, the sleeping fisherman heard the voice singing; singing a beautiful lullaby as, far away the princess gazed from the window of her tower at the sky above,

 

“Bright silver moon

shining above;

I hope that soon

I’ll see my love.

 

My lips he’ll kiss

and make my heart light.

Oh won’t that be bliss

bright as this moonlit night”.

 

And when the fisherman heard the singing, he woke up and saw the snake dragging away the angel trumpet knotted in its tail.

 

Now, all the fisherman had left was an old rusty sword but he couldn’t afford to lose the angel trumpet and so he swung the sword at the jet black serpents tail cutting it off and, when the serpent rose up, standing upon its coils and tried to strike him and bite him with its venomous teeth he swung the sword at it again and again, cutting it into three pieces that then crawled away in fear and hid under a stone.

“Oh, I thank all the stars up in heaven for you, my princess”, he said, kissing the oyster shell, “And, thanks to you, we still have hope”.

 

But now the sunrise came again and the fisherman made his way further through the desert until; his heart leaping over his head with joy, he saw the magicians tower and, sitting in its window stroking the plumes of a little bird and listening to its merry song, the princess he had been searching for and she was even more beautiful than he’d dreamed she would be with long shiny hair of ebony and skin the colour of polished sandalwood and eyes of emerald green.

 

And when the princess saw the fisherman approaching, her heart too leapt up just like a bird, full of hope that she might finally be rescued.

 

But there was no door in the tower and the tower was so tall and made of a polished stone, almost as smooth as glass, so there was no way to climb up to the princess’s window.

 

Not knowing what to do, the fisherman blew into the trumpet and, just as before, the angel appeared, flapping its silver wings.

 

“I am the angel of the trumpet. My silver wings shine but I’ve been told that if I do just one more good deed then I will have wings made of gold”.

 

“Then, if you would do one more good deed”, asked the fisherman, “Bring the princess down from her tower”.

 

“Very well”, said the angel but then, looking thoughtful added, “Remember though, that when I have performed this last good deed, I shall have my wings of gold and will not be able to help you anymore”.

 

“I will cross that bridge when I come to it”, replied the fisherman, impatient to be united, finally with his princess, “Please, just do this one thing for me”.

 

And so the angel made two arms sprout from the side of the tower and, bending and kneeling just like a person, the tower placed the princess gently upon the ground before transforming back into its original form.

 

Then, rushing over to the princess, the fisherman kneeled, presenting her with the oyster shell and saying, “I’ve travelled many miles and faced many perils to bring you your voice, your majesty”.

 

And taking the oyster shell, the princess opened it wide; her voice leaping from the open shell back into her mouth.

 

“I can speak”, she said in a voice bursting with happiness, “I can speak again. Oh, how long I have longed not to be silent anymore; to laugh and to sing and to shout!”.

 

But then, his good deed done, the angels wings turned from silver into pure, shining gold and a staircase of light, spiralling down from heaven, the angel, waving goodbye to the fisherman, began to climb the stairs,

 

“I must go now, my young master”, said the angel, “For I have achieved my golden wings and so may return to the blissful realms of heaven”.

 

“I am very happy for you”, said the fisherman, waving to the angel.

 

“And I for you”, said the Angel.

 

But then ,just as the angel was half way up the spiral staircase and his fellow angels were calling out to him from above, singing songs of welcome to him, the tower behind the princess and the pearl fisherman began to transform again, only this time it turned into a gigantic, glowering  Malazar.

 

“Hah! What a fool you are boy!”, bellowed the evil wizard, in a voice like the sky splitting, reaching down with both his enormous hands and grasping hold of the princess in one hand and the fisherman in the other, “Without your angel you are powerless and now I will squash you like fishbait”.

 

“How can I just leave them to die?”, thought the angel as was approaching the final stair towards heaven, “Surely I must help them?”.

 

“But if you go back down the stairs, my brother”, said an angel from above him, reaching out to him, “Your wings shall become bronze again. Do the sensible thing. You are almost in heaven. Keep climbing”.

 

The angel stood upon the penultimate step and hesitated as he heard the fisherman cry out in pain, the giant magicians hand squeezing him as tightly as an anaconda.

 

But then, suddenly, he heard another sound; the sound of the princess praying to god for help,

 

“Oh, Allah, most merciful. Do not abandon us! Don’t let the magician kill the man that I love and return me to his terrible prison”, the princess was whispering.

 

And hearing this, the Angel could not bring himself to climb any further,

 

“No”, he said, “No angel worth his golden wings should ignore a prayer by the helpless and innocent”.

 

And then, leaping from the stair of the spiral staircase, the angel said,

 

“I am the angel of the trumpet and whether my wings be gold or brass, upon this trumpet, I shall blow and this wicked giant shatter like glass”.

 

Then, placing his golden trumpet to his lips, the angel blew upon it with all his might and, when he did, the evil giant Malazar began to harden and shatter; falling to pieces just like something made from glass.

 

Of course, when this happened, the princess and the fisherman came tumbling down too but, fortunately, snatching a cloud out of the sky, the angel caught both of them in it before laying the cloud down gently upon the ground.

 

“You came back to help us”, said the Fisherman, grateful to see the angel.

 

“Yes”, said the angel, its face becoming gloomy, “Unfortunately, my wings shall now become brass again and I shall have to do twice as many good deeds before they turn gold”.

 

But then, suddenly, to the angels astonishment, a light shone brightly from behind him; so brightly in fact, that both the fisherman and the princess had to shield their eyes and then a voice, booming from above, said,

 

“You have done what few other angels would do and so you deserve to have what very few angels may possess; wings made of something far more precious than gold; wings of pure light”.

 

And, turning his head around, the angel saw that his wings really were made from feathers of bright light then, smiling and waving goodbye, the angel ascended heavenwards without even the need of a staircase.

 

“Goodbye my friends”, he said "And may heaven smile upon your love".

 

But the Princess and the Fisherman had already ascended to their own kind of heaven for, at that very moment, gazing into each other’s eyes, their lips met and they kissed.

 

“Aha”, said the angel, “True love has conquered all”.