Leo Tolstoy once
said that all the happy families resemble one another and that each of them is
miserable in its own way. This is a tale of a royal family. As in every family,
the happiest are the days when babies are born. Bells were heard in the kingdom
that day; a big celebration, not yet seen, was about to take place. The soft
crying of the children was heard in the royal chambers. The Queen was smiling
gently and the King was overwhelmed by feelings of happiness because of his two
heirs. Beautiful gold coins, very carefully designed for that day, glittered
beside their little heads. The King even opened the door of the dungeon,
thinking that it was the right way to show his gratitude to God for being
blessed with two sons. Everybody was happy, even the court beasts roared,
contributing to the general celebratory mood that had been created. The
celebration went on for days...until one morning, everything suddenly became
still. In the royal chambers only the cry of one of the children was heard. The
other Prince disappeared without a trace. The King alerted the entire army;
everyone was in search of the Prince like mad, but with no success. As the time
went by, the little Prince grew up and the King, living in fear that he might
lose him too, treasured him like the apple of his eye. Even though the Prince
had everything he wished for at the court, he was lonely and miserable. He would
sadly stand beside the window for days and watch the mountains in the distance.
He dreamt of other people, other kingdoms. He even fell in love with a beautiful
Princess; yet, he was miserable because he could offer her nothing besides his
sadness and an enormous wealth. The King, seeing his son's grief, decided to
offer a big reward to the one who could make him happy. Many people from other
kingdoms gathered. The Prince was awaiting eagerly for this day, hoping his life
would change at last. And just when everyone thought that nothing could be done,
a quiet voice was heard: "Your Royal Highness, would you like to change places?
Maybe this new experience will change your life." A beggar, in rags, stood
humbly in front of the Prince and watched him constantly. - And who are you? -
the Prince asked. - I'm a beggar, master - he answered. The Prince found this
idea so interesting that he accepted it. He put on the beggar's clothes and, at
the break of dawn went into the unknown. Thus, the Prince became the beggar and
the beggar became the Prince, and both of them began wholly new lives. The
Prince wandered around for days and nights, begging for some food. At first, his
best friends were stray dogs but after a while he started meeting other beggars
who told him different stories which were mostly half-true. It was quite a new
world in which hunger and coldness prevailed and the Prince felt that, apart
from everything, sadness was slowly fading away from his heart. He had some new
desires that he hadn't been aware of before. He was fighting for his own life
and survival. Having discovered that he possessed new abilities, he felt
happier. He had his freedom, he made decisions about his life on his own, and
that seemed very interesting to him. At the same time, the beggar enjoyed the
benefit of the court; he even made the land of the kingdom larger. Leading the
life of a beggar taught him not only to make something out of nothing, but also
that wisdom is the greatest virtue of all. The King and the Queen loved him as
their own son. One day, a beautiful Princess, who was once loved by the Prince,
came to the court and fell in love with the beggar. Upon seeing her, the beggar
was stunned by her remarkable beauty...and fell in love at once. He told her
about various adventures from his life until, one day, he decided to reveal his
greatest secret to her. - I have something to show you - he said, and pulled out
a beautiful, wrapped gold coin. - The man on his death bed, who took care of me
when I was little, left me this, saying that I shouldn't show it to anyone; the
truth will come out when the time is right. The Princess immediately told her
nanny everything and soon the Queen herself heard the story which helped her
find her missing son after so many years. The bells were heard in the kingdom
again, announcing the wedding, and the King decided to be righteous; he looked
at the mountains in the distance, waiting for the Prince. During that time, the
Prince had many adventures while wandering around the world until one day he
realized that he wanted to come home. He dreamt of his Princess, of his
kingdom...Does this tale have a happy ending? You decide. Someone once told me
that everybody should know when to stop. This is the right moment, isn't it?
The Prince and The Beggar, author Suzana Stojanović, 02.18.2007.
The Prince and The Beggar, author Suzana Stojanović, 02.18.2007.
۞
Lav Tolstoj je rekao da sve srećne porodice liče jedna na drugu a da je svaka nesrećna na svoj način. Ovo je priča o jednoj kraljevskoj porodici. Kao i u svakoj porodici najsrećniji su oni dani kada na svet dolaze nova bića. Toga dana u kraljevini zvonila su zvona, pripremalo se veliko nezapamćeno slavlje. U kraljevskim odajama začuo se tihi plač Kraljevića. Kraljica se blago osmehivala a Kralj nije znao šta da radi od sreće, dobio je dva naslednika. Predivni kovani zlatnici, veoma brižno rađeni za taj dan treperili su kraj njihovih majušnih glava. Kralj je čak otvorio i vrata tamnice, misleći da će se na taj način odužiti Bogu što ga je tako bogato darivao. I svi su se radovali, čak su i dvorske zveri urlale i na svoj način dale doprinos opštem metežu koji je nastao. Slavlje je trajalo danima...a onda jednoga jutra sve je iznenada utihnulo. U kraljevskim odajama čuo se plač samo jednog Kraljevića. Drugi je nestao bez traga. Kralj je digao na noge celu vojsku, svi su jurili kao pomahnitali u potrazi za Kraljevićem ali bez uspeha. Prolazile su godine, mali Kraljević je rastao, a Kralj, živeći u strahu da i njega ne izgubi, čuvao ga je kao malo vode na dlanu. Kraljević je na dvoru imao sve što se poželeti može ali je bio nesrećan u svojoj samoći. Danima je tužno stajao kraj prozora i posmatrao planine koje su se nazirale u daljini. Maštao je o drugim ljudima, o drugim kraljevstvima. Čak se i zaljubio u jednu prelepu Princezu ali je opet bio nesrećan jer ništa nije imao da joj pruži osim svoje tuge i ogromnog bogatstva. Kralj, videvši duboku nesreću na licu svog sina odluči da ponudi veliku nagradu onome ko uspe da ga usreći. Okupiše se mnogi ljudi iz raznih drugih kraljevina. Kraljević je sa nestrpljenjem čekao ovaj dan, nadajući se da će se njegov život napokon promeniti. I onda kada su svi mislili da je sve izgubljeno, začu se jedan tihi glas: "Vaše Visočanstvo, da li biste hteli da se menjamo? Možda bi ovo novo iskustvo promenilo vaš život." Prosjak, zavijen u krpe, stajao je skrušeno pred Kraljevićem i netremice ga posmatrao. - A ko si ti? - upita Kraljević. - Ja sam prosjak gospodaru - odgovori ovaj. Kraljeviću se ova ideja učini veoma interesantnom i on pristade. Prerušio se u prosjaka i već u ranu zoru krenuo na put u neizvesnost. I tako Kraljević postade prosjak a prosjak Kraljević i svako od njih započe sasvim novi život. Kraljević je lutao danima i noćima proseći za koru hleba. U početku mu najbolji prijatelji bejahu očerupani i gladni psi a onda je polako počeo da upoznaje druge prosjake koji su mu pričali razne priče, uglavnom poluistinite. Bio je to sasvim novi svet u kome su carovali glad i hladnoća, a Kraljević je osetio da i pored svega što ga je snašlo, tuga polako nestaje iz njegovog srca. U njemu su se rodile neke nove želje za koje nije ni znao da postoje. Borio se za sopstveni život i opstanak. Otkrio je neke svoje nove sposobnosti i počeo je da postaje srećan. Imao je svoju slobodu, sam je odlučivao o svom životu i to mu se učinilo veoma interesantnim. Za to vreme prosjak je uživao u blagodetima dvora, čak je i proširio kraljevstvo. Njegov prosjački život naučio ga je da od ničega stvori mnogo, da je mudrost najveća vrlina. Kralj i Kraljica zavoleli su ga kao rodjenog sina. Jednoga dana prelepa Princeza, koju je nekada voleo Kraljević, dođe na njihov dvor i zaljubi se u prosjaka. Prosjak, kada je ugleda, umalo se ne sruši pred njenom raskošnom lepotom...i rodi se ljubav. Pričao joj je svakojake dogodovštine iz svog života i jednoga dana odluči da joj otkrije svoju najveću tajnu. - Želim nešto da ti pokažem - reče on i iz zamotuljka izvuče predivan kovani zlatnik. - Ovo mi je ostavio čovek na samrti koji me čuvao kada sam bio mali i rekao mi da nikome ne pokazujem, pokazaće se samo kada za to dođe vreme. Princeza to odmah ispriča svojoj dadilji i tako ubrzo priča dođe i do Kraljice koja je posle mnogo godina pronašla svog nestalog sina. I ponovo su u kraljevini zvonila zvona, najavljivalo se venčanje, a Kralj je odlučio da bude pravedan i dugo je posmatrao planine u daljini čekajuci svog Kraljevića. Za to vreme Kraljević je lutao po svetu, prošao je razne zgode i nezgode i jednoga dana poželeo da se vrati kući. Maštao je o svojoj Princezi, o svom kraljevstvu... Da li ova priča ima srećan kraj? O tome vi odlučite. Neko mi je jednom prilikom rekao da svako treba da zna kada treba da stane. Ovo je pravi trenutak zar ne?
Kraljević i prosjak, autor Suzana Stojanović, 18.02.2007.
