The Magic Necklace

By Mark Neese

There once was a King who had a very beautiful daughter. He loved her very much.

When the Princess was a young child, the King lost his Queen to an unknown illness. This caused him to constantly worry about the welfare of his daughter. As she grew older, he would lecture her about the dangers of the world. “It is full of disease and death,” he explained. He warned her about the untrustworthy people in the world, especially men. “Men want only one thing,” he expounded.

He also worried about what would happen to her when he was gone. “You can never have enough gold and jewels,” he would tell her almost daily. “You need to prepare for the calamities that are sure to befall you.” As such, she was afraid to spend even a small coin and enjoy her money.

In fact, she was afraid of almost everything. She was afraid of death, of failing, afraid of the future and living alone, and afraid of living itself. Most importantly, she was afraid of being happy and finding love.

But as the Princess grew older, despite her fears, she grew lonely. She desired a companion.

The King, however, feared that if the Princess found a companion, she would leave his safety and eventually fall victim to an illness or other misfortune. He determined to imprison any suitor that attempted to see his daughter. Suitors came from all over the region and beyond because of her exotic beauty, but they were captured en route and imprisoned.

One day, while the King was holding court, a Huntsman presented himself before the King and the Princess. The Princess was immediately enthralled with the Huntsman. She was taken by his earthiness, by his simplicity, and by his self-confidence. But what was most consoling about him was his fearlessness.

When the King noticed her response to the Huntsman, he immediately went into a panic. He imprisoned the Huntsman; and to ensure that the Princess would never again come into contact with another potential suitor, he had her taken into the wilderness. She was taken to a small cabin and she was provided with the provisions necessary to live.

There she lived in fear. Out of fear, she would not venture from the cabin. She did not see the Sunrise or Sunset. She did not see the Moon or the stars. She did not see or hear the small creatures outside the cabin. For the longest of time, she sat almost paralyzed, in that small cabin in the wilderness.

Then, one day, there came a knock on the cabin door. The Princess opened the door and noticed a kind-looking old woman standing at the threshold. She invited her in, and they shared a meal and warm drink. When the meal was over and as they sat together, the princess shared her story and her fears with the visitor. She began to sob, and the old woman came to her and held her tightly. As an act of kindness, she told the princess that she would help, and she pulled a very simple necklace from her pack. “I once feared everything like you do,” she said. “Many years ago this necklace helped me to break free from my fears. Put it around your neck tonight before you sleep. You will dream three dreams. In the morning you will wake, and your fears will be gone.” She kissed the Princess on the forehead and left.

As the young Princess lay in bed, clutching the necklace that was hanging from her neck, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Dream One: The Mountain

In her first dream she found herself on a mountain. She walked to the pinnacle and there she saw an older woman with beautiful flowing gray hair. The woman gestured for the Princess to sit with her and she wrapped the younger woman in a heavy blanket. She pulled the Princess close to her. “Watch what happens,” the older woman said. Soon a panorama opened. Clouds moved in and surrounded the mountain. A cold wind blew in and they watched as the mountain was battered with snow.

The clouds slowly moved on and the sun began to glisten off the snow. She watched as snow melted and formed small streams flowing down the mountain. She watched this repeat itself over and over again.

Then she watched as the days began to lengthen. The sun set later in the day. It was warming. The older woman lowered the heavy blanket from their shoulders. It was still cool, but the trees were sprouting buds and leaves, and eventually flowering. More wildlife was seen scrambling through the brush and green foliage. Thunder clouds would form. Lightening boomed and struck the mountain. The storms raged day after day.

Soon the storms were replaced by warm days and nights. The sun began to radiate off the rocks. “No need for this blanket,” she said and smiled. The evenings produced swarms of insects. The days were full of warm breezes and earthy smells. Playful animals would chase each through the wooded areas.

The days began to shorten, and the nights began to get cooler. When it rained, the droplets were cold. The leaves of the trees began to turn a golden yellow and soon began falling to the ground. They bundled themselves up again.

Soon the leaves began falling, snow fell on the mountain.

As the young Princess sat and watched the seasons come and go on the mountain, the older woman took her hand and said, “It is unchanged by thousands of seasons, thousands of storms, and thousands frozen and sun-parched days.” The Princess felt herself become the mountain, and she drifted off to sleep.

She woke from the dream clutching the necklace.

Dream Two: The Canyon

The Princess drifted off to sleep again and found herself walking down into a very deep and wide canyon. She walked down through the strata of granite and sandstone; walking deeper she went until she came to a river. It was a shallow river with aqua green water. On its sandy bank sat a very small golden man. He gestured for her to come sit next to him on the white beach. She took off her shoes, walked on the warm sand, and sat next to him. “This was my home,” he said, and instantly a small village appeared on the opposite bank of the shallow river. He took her hand and together they crossed the river. Adults were working throughout the village. Some were making pots. Others were making clothing. Still, some sat together telling stories. The princess followed the golden man to the circle of Storytellers, and they sat and listened.

The stories were very old. Hundreds and hundreds of years old. Stories of grandmothers and grandfathers, and of great-great-great grandmothers and grandfathers. Stories about famines and floods. Stories about the healing of sick children. Stories of great hunts. There were stories of friendships and skirmishes with neighbors. The stories were full of hundreds and thousands of thousands of people. Each person lived, and breathed, and loved in this village. Each person had walked on the warm sand and rinsed off in the aqua green water. Each person with a full life and a beautiful story. Each one, now gone for hundreds and even thousands of years.

As the young Princess and the little golden man sat in the circle listening to the stories, the storytellers began to disappear as did the rest of the village. Soon they were there alone, and the Princess was full of sadness because of all the death and loss, and she wept. The little man drew near to her and met her eyes with his eyes. “Do not be sad, sweet princess,” he softly said. “This place was full of life and love. It was full of births and courage. It was lived in and laughed in for centuries.”

“One day,” he said, “hundreds and maybe even thousands of years from now, they will tell your story. They will tell the stories of your love, life, pain, and joys, and yes, even your death.”

“Living is dying,” he whispered. He held her, much like a loving grandfather would hold his grandchild. He patted her back, and she felt every muscle in her body relax, like she was floating in the aqua green water. She drifted off to sleep in his arms.

The Princess woke from her second dream, the necklace still hanging from her neck. She touched it and felt comforted as she drifted off to sleep again.

Dream Three: The Meadow

The young Princess found herself in a beautiful meadow. It was full of tall grass that moved like waves in the wind. Clusters of flowers were everywhere. Insects were buzzing between clusters.

Small creatures were seen nibbling on the foliage. Rabbits and Woodchucks feasted on the lush grass. Hummingbirds hovered over the flowers and were oblivious to everything else. In fact, no creature seemed concerned about anything.

As the Princess walked through the meadow she noticed a beautiful little girl walking toward her. “Play with me,” the little girl said, holding out her hand. And they played.

They ran together through the meadow. They sloshed through the streams and made mud pies. They picked flowers and ate mulberries. They climbed trees.

Later as the sun was setting, they watched as the sky turned red, then orange, then yellow, then green, then blue, then indigo, and finally violet.

When the moon rose, they found a spot and used the grass as a bed. They laid next to each other and felt each other’s warmth. Looking into the sky, they followed the planets as they move through the darkness.

As they lay there together, in the meadow, on the little grass bed, the Princess looked over at the beautiful little girl and she envied her. The little girl did not have a care in the world, she thought. And when the little girl saw this she said, “I have everything that I need.”

The Princess held the little girl, and in that moment, she realized that she too had everything that she needed. She drifted off to sleep.

As the sun began to rise the Princess slowly woke. The necklace was still around her neck. She touched it and smiled.

She gathered her few belongings and traveled through the wilderness, finally arriving home. She immediately noticed a solemn mood in the castle and discovered that the King had died in his sleep the night before.

The princess rushed to the place where the Huntsman and all of the suitors were being held and she released them. With the help of the Huntsman, she laid to rest her father, the King. Wonderful stories would be told about the old King and his Queen for hundreds and hundreds of years.

The Princess became the Queen and the Huntsman, her Prince. And they ruled their kingdom with love and simplicity, and most important, with fearlessness.

And they lived happily ever after.