The Sad Princess and The Heart’s Desire Wish

One upon a time there was a beautiful kingdom set on the western edge of the world overlooking the sea.  The creative spirits — the immortals — such as elves, fairies, witches, goblins, djins, gods and goddesses had made this place for their own home.

A mighty mountain rose up from the glistening blue sea and upon its sides ran babbling brooks and tumultuous waterfalls.  Hidden valleys housed ancient redwood trees who were older and wiser than any other living creature.

The meandering meadows that dotted the landscape were covered with a multitude of flowers.  As this was the home of an untold number of spirits, one would not expect to find humans.  But as it happened, humans were much loved by the creators as were horses, dogs, cats, chickens, mountain lions, fish, insects, birds, and butterflies.
And so it came to pass that a particularly good human king and queen lived in this paradise where they were the stewards of the land caring for all its mortal creatures –that being the true work of humans.  They had a daughter. She was a princess. Her name was Babette.

The Princess Babette was as beautiful as the land and certainly wanted to be as creative, but she was terribly sad.  And year after year, as all around her the kingdom fluorished and sent forth a continual flow of new wonders: nightly sunsets always fresh and colorful, dramatic storms of wind and rain, lightning and thunder, cloud shapes of every conceivable and inconceivable formation, the delight of spring, summer, winter and fall when the land and its creatures altered their colors and shapes and behavior to match the different weather, Babette remained sad.

The king and queen tried their best to console her, showering her with even more love and affection than was usual, and that was quite a lot to begin with, for they did truly love her, but she was inconsolable.  Deeply concerned for her well-being they sent for the wise women and men.
One examined her from tip to toe to see if she was ailing from a physical illness or injury. But he found her to be quite intact.
Another examined her with questions and tests to see if she was ailing from a sickness of the mind. But he also found her to be perfectly sound.
None could find the reason for her sadness.

Now as was only natural, when her birthday came her fairy godmother attended her celebration and as she’d done every year of the princesses life, she gave her one wish, a wish for the coming year.
But this year Babette didn’t know what to do.  The doll she’d wished for the year before hadn’t made her happy for very long, nor had the swing set, or the games, or the bicycle.  She had discovered that her heart was capricious.  That is, it always wanted something new.  But the princess didn’t understand why her heart should always want new things.  Why was it not satisfied with one thing forever, she wondered? When she thought about the disappointments she’d suffered as a result of her wishes, she didn’t want to wish. Wishes made her sad.
When her fairy godmother heard this she understood what had been ailing the poor princess.  She’d lost the joy of wishing and without that anyone would be sad.
Wouldn’t you?
“Little princess,” said her godmother. “This year you must look deep inside to find the wish that will make you happy.  It must come from your heart.  You must find your Heart’s Desire Wish.”
Mirari squinched her eyes closed tight and listened as hard as she could to her heart, but all she could hear was that it was beating, and that it was sad.
Godmother asked, “What would make your heart glad?”
“I don’t know,” said Babette and she began to cry, very big, very sad tears that came from her heart. “I wish to know what will make my heart glad,” she said.
Her fairy godmother smiled. “Ah, now that is a wish worthy of a princess of this creative land.  As you wish princess.  This year, to know what will gladden your heart, each day you must look for the answer.  It is a creative wish.  Each day will open to you like flowers in the garden that open with the sun and reveal their secrets.”

The very next day when Babette woke up, she ran excitedly to her window and pushed it open to see what she would find there that might gladden her heart.
As it happened, her fairy godmother had told the other spirits of the land about the princesses wish, and so they had prepared a special show for her.  Because the land was inhabited by creative spirits, everyday was new and offered different experiences, but today the spirits did show off just a little.

The sun was rising through billowing banks of fog that clung to the tall redwood trees like wet smoke.  As the sun touched the damp air it glowed with all the colors of the rainbow.  When the wind moved the fog, the rainbow colors swirled like jewels caught in the branches and leaves of the trees.  Babette gazed enthralled.  The sound of water from the stream gurgled gently.  Birds sang morning songs as they woke and greeted the day.  She could hear the voices of people talking in the room below as they prepared breakfast.  The sweet smell of fresh bread wafted up through her window.

Her view of the morning was so wonderful she could hardly wait to see what more would come of the day.  What people she would meet; what things she would do; what games she would play.  Already her heart was glad.
As time passed, and Babette continued to greet each day with her question, she saw that indeed every day was different than any other before it.  She also saw that she was different. That she was growing, and as she grew, what might have made her heart glad days before, would no longer satisfy her.  It was only natural.
And so that year, every day, the princess woke with the question as to what would make her heart glad, and every day she discovered new answers to her question.  The day had only waited for her to ask.  The land and its spirits of color, light, weather, shadow, animals, creatures and friends were all a part of what the day had to offer her.  It was always a different day.  And since the heart is capricious, always wanting something new, the princess was glad.