Week 10: Storytelling - The Maiden and the Mad Magic Man

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young maiden. She had many young suitors throughout the land, but the maiden was very picky and had her heart set on marrying the king's son. However, she knew that she was not a suitable match for the young prince because her parents were but humble peasant farmers and had nothing to offer in terms of a  dowry except for a few skimpy sheep and a sick looking cow. Every night, the maiden wept into her pillow, wishing that something or someone could change her circumstance so that she may be eligible to marry the prince. One night as she sat weeping on her straw tick bed, there was a great flash of light and there suddenly stood before her a strange looking man with a top hat and erratic green eyes. The maiden was so surprised she couldn't even scream. She stared at him open-mouthed until the man finally spoke.

"Hee-hee-hee! Goodness, milady, you spend so much of your time jabbering jabbering jabbering that you can't catch a man, and now you don't have a word to say. Hee-hee-hee!"

The Mad Magic Man (image source: 32 Learning Journey)

The maiden blinked. He had said all of this so quickly that it took a maiden a moment to process what he had just said.

"Who-who are you?" she asked slowly

"Me? I'm just your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill magic man. And you, I presume, are an owl? Who-who-who! Hee-hee-hee!"

The maiden was so stunned by this strange little man that she could not find her voice to speak. The man seemed to sense this and continued.

"Could it be that I am the answer to your sad little prayers? I am here to make all of your dreams come true, missy! I can not only make you into a princess, but I can also make the princey-boy fall in love with you. For a price, that is."

At that moment, the maiden finally found her voice.

"Name the price! Anything I have, it's yours! Just give me my prince and my happily ever after!"

"Hee-hee-hee!" The magic man laughed maniacally, "My my, aren't we desperate. Alright then, dearie, here's my price: your first child with your little princey-poo belongs to me."

"Done!" said the maiden almost before the magic man had finished speaking. She smiled to herself, commending herself for striking such a deal. What did she care for children? She would have her prince and that was all that truly mattered. The magic man smiled deviously and gave one final cackle before snapping his fingers. The maiden suddenly found herself standing before her beloved prince as he knelt down in front of her with a ring in his hand. The maiden smiled, triumphant, certain that she now had everything she had ever wanted.

Some time after the now queen and her prince, now the king, were married, the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Much to her surprise, she loved the boy instantly - no mother loved her son better - and the promise she'd made already far from her mind, was forgotten completely in the midst of the all consuming love she felt for her child.

The next day, it was announced that the queen had a visitor. The queen ordered that the visitor be received in the throne room. She entered the room holding her child, whom she never let be more than a few feet from her, and much to her horror and surprise, there stood the mad little magic man with a malicious grin stretched across his face. At once, the memory of the man and the promise that she had made to him flooded the queen's mind, and she let out a scream. The mad magic man only smiled wider. The queen turned on the spot and ran as fast as she could, clutching the baby to her chest. She ran from the castle and through the woods as fast as she could. Finally, when she felt that she couldn't run anymore and was sure that the magic man was not following her, she slowed her pace. It suddenly occurred to the queen that the sudden flight may have frightened her poor child. She looked down at the bundle in her arms, ready to comfort the baby, before realizing that the baby was gone - all she held was a bundle of blankets. The queen let out a choking gasp and collapsed right there in the middle of the woods. She never returned to her husband and was never seen again. It is said, however, that if you go to the woods where the woman lost her child, you may catch a fleeting glimpse of an old woman  wandering the wood and singing a lullaby to the wind.

THE END

 

Author's Note: This is a retelling of the story An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods from the Legends of the Pacific Northwest Unit. In the original, an Indian woman is told in a vision that she must give up her first born child to the Thunder Gods. When she fails to do so for love of the child, the Thunder Gods strike the child dead, claiming his life for their own. I decided to put the story in a fairytale setting because the original reminded me of the story of Rumplestilskin. In fact, I even used the Rumplestilskin character from the show Once Upon a Time as the inspiration for the magic man character. I added on the entire first part of the story about the woman wanting to marry out of her class in order to give a reason for her to owe her child to someone. I also changed the part about the child being struck dead when the woman did not comply with the agreement because the idea of a child dying was a bit too macabre for me.

 

Bibliography: "An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods."  Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon. Katherine Berry Judson. 1910.