THE LOST PRINCESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 291, 8 December 1937, Page 26

THE LOST PRINCESS.

(By Winifred Dnviclson, Donovan Street, Blockhouse Bay.) Once upon a time there lived in a fair land across the sea an aged king and his beautiful granddaughter, the Princess Helena. She was famed far and wide for her wondrous beauty, and while very young had received numerous offers of marriage, but the old king had refused them all. And so time passed, until there came a day when the Princess Helena disappeared and none knew whence she hud gone. She bad vanished mysteriously in the full light of Cay. Tn the morning she had been observed going to the stables as usual to feed her pet pony. Then she departed towards the palace and none had seen her since. Klorenzal, the junior groom, had been the last to see her and was naturally under suspicion. He was brought before the king who ordered him to leave the palace and search for the princess under the pain of death if he failed to find her in 40 davs.

"And if I find her?" inquired Floren zal.

"Then you may marry her," replied the king, who was reallv too worried to know wlmt he was saying. The courtiers gasped openly, and many of the court ladiee fainted. A princess to marry a common groom—why, such a thing was unheard of!

Florenzal, light hearted and confident that he would the missing princess, hade farewell to the court. For 20 days he wandered through various parts of the kingdom, but with no success. When he had searched from one end of the kingdom to the other he realised that it was no mere mortal who had spirited Helena away. On and on he journeyed, until he came to a great foseet. . .

Weary, yet ever hopeful, he entered the gloomy depths. For many days he roamed through the forest seeing and hearing of no other man, and sleeping on mossy banks beneath a dark canopy of leaves overhead. One night he awoke to find a large white owl perched on a branch before him. "Surely,'.' thought Florenzal, "this bird must know about the princess, for is not an owl a wise bird?". So lie said, "Oh! wise old owl, could you tell me where Princess Helena is?"* Rut the owl only stared at him, then turning its face to the moon, cried out, "Tu whit, tu whoo-oo-ooo." With a long, eerie cry it spread out its wings and flew into the night.

Next morning Florenz.nl wandered on, until he passed out of the forest and came to a small stream. "Oh! stream," he said, "could you tell me where Princess Helena is?" But the stream only flowed lazily on between its banks overhung with ferns and flowers. He appealed to the birds, but thev did not pause in their flight to listen to him.

But one day, wlicn he flung himself wearily under a tree, what was his surprise to see a small ivory disc half hidden in the grass and right at his feet. He picked it up and saw engraved on its smooth surface, "Where thou comest, touch not that which does not belong to thee."

"Strange," he thought, and slipped it into his pocket and promptly forgot about it. "

At last J:e came to the foot of a long hill, at the top of which he could see a great stone gate. Prompted by natural curiosity and the thought that perhaps Helena might be there, he went on until he found himself before the high, arched gate. As he stood there not knowing what to do next, the gates swung open and after he had passed inside, they closed behind him with a mighty >lang. Florenzal found himself in a wonderful court. On either side of him beautiful red and white roses entwined themselves around an ivory trellis work. He was about to pick some when he remembered the words on the ivory disc. Further on were trees bearing luscious fruit, and vines on which grew the finest grapes. He refrained from picking any of these and presently entering through a marble door found himself in a large, richly furnished room. "

Soon he came to the foot of a narrow, winding stairway. He mounted it and found himself before an iron door which proved to be securely locked. Suddenly, the disc of ivory changed to a key which fitted the lock perfectly. Barely had it turned in the lock before it became a disc of ivory again. The door swung open and he saw before him a small room at the other end of which a young girl was seated, gazing out of the window. It was the Princess Helena! Florenzal rushed forward and seized her hand.

No jooner had he done this than there came a low rumbling and the room was filled with thick, black smoke. Florenzal saw a large white owl fly in front of him. The piece of ivory was withdrawn mysteriously from his grasp. It was then he remembered that the owl to whom he had appealed in the forest belonged to none other than the Great Magician—of whom he had heard many tales. He knew also that if he had touched anything in the wonderful castle of the Evil Wizard he would have been doomed to stay there forever. When the smoke cleared away, the two found themselves a short distance from the old king's palace. There were great ' rejoicings because the Princess Helena had been found. Florenzal was created a prince and married the princess and. like all other fairy tale people, livd happily ever after.