The Ruby Heart

Once, a long, long time ago, an old man and woman  were outside their little stone cottage when they saw a fairy that was caught upon a spiders web and bound up in threads of spider silk.

“Oh help me, please!”, begged the fairy, weeping, “Set me free before the spider comes home”.

With a little pair of pruning shears, the woman cut the fairy free and so grateful was the fairy that she said she would grant the couple any wish they wanted.

Now the old man, because the couple were very poor asked for jewels and riches but the old woman, because she could not have children, wished to have a child.

“I cannot grant both your wishes”, said the fairy, “But I will try my best”.

And, not long afterwards, the old woman gave birth to a girl; a girl with a flawless, bright red ruby for a heart that the old woman called Rubina and the fairy told her that if the girl ever met the man she was to marry then the heart would glow bright red.

Now many years passed since her birth and, one day, Rubina was walking through the forest when her heart began to glow.

And, looking around, she saw that there was an old cave nearby over which a white waterfall was rushing, noisily down into a river and, because her heart glowed brighter the closer she walked towards the cave, she went into the cave and there she saw a young man who was fast asleep slumped against a wall of the cave.

She tried hard to wake him, even shaking him but he would not wake up.

But then, because her heart was glowing almost as brightly as a star and lighting up the cave with a red glow, she thought he must surely be the man who she was destined to marry and so it would be alright to kiss him, just once.

And when she kissed him the man awakened.

He said that he was a prince, named Erico, who had been put into a deep enchanted sleep by a witch named Ziadora and left in the cave.

Now, the prince, falling deeply in love with Rubina, took Rubina to his palace and soon after they were married and, on her head, he placed a crown made of a dozen rubies carved into roses.

However, the witch that had put the prince to sleep heard about Rubina and she craved to possess her ruby heart which she was sure must possess great magical power.

And so, turning herself into a monstrous black rook she flew to the princes palace; turning herself into a shadow, she crept inside and turning herself into a huge black ape with a horn in the centre of its head she kidnapped the prince, knocking him unconscious and throwing him over her shoulder before carrying him off and then she chained him to an oak tree and sent word to Rubina that if she did not wish the prince to have his own heart cut out then she would have to give up her ruby heart.

Now, without the Ruby heart, Rubina would die but she loved the prince so much that she agreed.

“Have it”, she said, going to meet the witch, “If it will save the life of the man I love then I will gladly give it up”.

And so, eagerly, the witch reached out to grab hold of the ruby heart, however, the moment that her fingers touched it the witch burst into flames of scarlet.

“The fire of love”, she screamed, “That burns within the ruby heart has burned me”.

And, running to a nearby lake, she leapt into it to try and put out the fire but drowned instead and the moment that the witch sank beneath the lake, the chains which bound the prince, turning first to rust and then to dust, disappeared.

Now the girl with the ruby heart and the prince were reunited and lived happily ever after.