The Storyteller and the Princess

I went away at the weekend - I went on my third visit to Scargill House.

(You can read about my first and second visits by clicking on these links - Holy Mess and Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey)

This particular visit was for a special writing weekend organised in conjunction with the Association of Christian Writers.

While away I wrote absolutely NOTHING, but that's a whole other story.

However we were asked to bring a short piece of writing about us and as fairytales seem to be my favourite genre at the moment I wrote this story.

The Storyteller and The Princess


Once upon a time there was a Storyteller who crafted a marionette with blue grey eyes and golden hair. She liked to believe she was a princess – well she was given the name Sarah so that’s pretty much the same thing! 

The Storyteller travelled the land performing tales for those who would listen. The Princess loved all his stories but preferred the fairy tales best of all and wherever they went she was always searching for her very own happy ever after. 

One day they rode to the north east of the Kingdom. It was a strange land with fire breathing dragons that lit up the night sky and wild raging seas that stole their breath away. The Storyteller and his favourite creation were welcomed and the decision was made to stay.

The princess was particularly overjoyed at this because she had met a clockwork engine driver who had set her heart a flutter.

One day engine driver sent her a note

Would you like to go out to dinner - no strings

“Papa, please can I go?” She begged the Storyteller.

He nodded, He had engineered their meeting and this was part of his plan.

“With no strings?” she pleaded.

Her father looked at her, all grown up now but not really worldly wise, he worried she’d get hurt but the time had come to let her go. He knew the clockwork man to be hardworking, good and honest so he gave them his blessing.

In return after they married the Storyteller was invited to live with them in their new home and together they created two perfect little clockwork princes’, blonde haired, blue eyed and absolutely adorable (most of the time).

Despite the ups and downs of everyday ordinary non fairytale life the Princess often believed she had at last found the happy ending she’d searched so long and hard for.

However one day she returned home to find that her clockwork husband had wound down, no matter how much she turned the key to wind him up again she couldn’t get his heart to tick. 

She looked to the Storyteller but he sadly shook his head, the main spring had snapped making the clockwork mechanism irreparable.

“It’s not fair,” she shouted stamping her feet before slumping to the floor in an unravelling puddle.

Moved to tears the storyteller tenderly lifted her up and surveyed her torn and tattered heart. It would take a lot of careful mending to repair it fully, for now he decided to patch it up with scraps of rainbows each piece a promise that he would write her a new happy ending … one day!