Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Gabriella from the kingdom of Wellington. King Zephyr and Queen Galswintha loved her more than any daughter on earth. She played the piano in the castle, and the music echoed throughout its grand halls. Her stunning voice carried throughout the rafters and brought her favor with many suitors.
Although she was only a child, Prince Francis from the neighboring kingdom of Mirth visited her often. He brought her flowers and jewels in his youth, hoping one day that she would be his queen. She would sing him a song that she made up herself: “I gave my love a diamond, I gave my love a rose, and she gave me her heart, and everybody knows.”
Even though Gabriella’s parents loved her, Queen Galswintha’s sister, Princess Morgana, envied her talents. Princess Morgana had three sons who chose to waste their lives in folly in the fields. The three sons pillaged the neighboring villages and never told the truth, especially the oldest son, Howard.
One afternoon, Princess Morgana told Howard to take Gabriella in the field to ride horseback. At first, the ride went smoothly, and Princess Gabriella wrote a new melody in her mind while galloping, but then Howard took Gabriella down a sharp cliff and put a knife to her throat. Princess Gabriella fought Howard back until she got away, and she ran all the way home.
When she burst into King Zephyr’s chambers, she fell to her knees, weeping. “I thought I was going to die,” she cried. “Howard tried to kill me, and I barely escaped.”
King Zephyr called Princess Morgana into his chambers at once, demanding to know of Howard’s whereabouts. When Howard couldn’t be found, King Zephyr decreed Howard would be executed for attempted murder.
As Princess Morgana left the castle, she couldn’t bear to think of life without her eldest son. So, she visited the home of a witch named Acantha who knew how to cast evil spells. Princess Morgana explained to Acantha about her predicament, hoping Acantha knew what to do.
“By noon tomorrow, I’ll turn Princess Gabriella into a sea urchin and cast her deep within the ocean. Only true love can break the spell, but love will never find her on the ocean floor.
If anyone finds her, they won’t be able to touch her without being poisoned to death,” Acantha said. “For this, you must give me your second and third born sons as payment for the life of the first.”
“So be it,” Princess Morgana said, crying. “Whatever you want, I’ll give to you.”
The next day, when Princess Gabriella was brushing her long dark hair at her bedroom mirror, she was thrust into crashing waves and sent to the bottom of the ocean floor with a bolt of lightning. In an instant, Princess Gabriella shrunk into a sea urchin with many spines. Sea urchins were also known as hedgehogs, usually eaten by sea otters, wolf eels, and triggerfish.
“What has become of me? Father, where are you? Mother, come save me!” she cried. Princess Gabriella sang to calm the ocean and keep predators at bay. Motifs of every kind filled the sea.
As the years went past, King Zephyr and Queen Galswintha never found Howard to execute him. The witch hid him in her home as a servant, after taking the life of his two brothers to keep them quiet. However, when Gabriella went missing, they deduced that Howard must have killed her and then himself.
King Zephyr and Queen Galswintha became so brokenhearted that they died younger than most. Since they had no child to take over their kingdom, Wellington feared grave danger from its enemies. The subjects of Wellington thought it was a miracle when Howard suddenly appeared after so many years. Howard escaped Acantha after his mother Princess Morgana and Acantha killed each other in a fierce struggle.
Since Howard was the only royal family member alive, Princess Gabriella’s fate was never mentioned. Soon King Howard wreaked havoc in all of Wellington. His subjects were starving and wanted him overthrown. Nearby in the prosperous kingdom of Mirth, King Francis had never forgotten the beautiful Princess Gabriella. Sometimes, he would sit by the sea and listen to the waves crash on the shore, wondering how she disappeared. Occasionally, he would imagine hearing a lovely soprano voice singing above the waves.
At the chance that Princess Gabriella was floating on a raft somewhere in the ocean, King Francis charted the royal navy to search for the long-lost love of his youth. He braved the ocean waves day and night with his sailors, who spied throughout their looking glasses. Then one morning, he woke up to the crystal-clear sound of an aria, crooning across the sea.
“Princess Gabriella, is that you? Can you hear me? I have come to save you!” King Francis called. He dove into the waves and scoured the ocean floor, only to come across a singing sea urchin. As he reached out to touch it, he stopped short, realizing the sea creature could poison him with its venom.
“Love expels every trace of terror!” King Francis declared, and magically Gabriella returned to herself. King Francis embraced Gabriella beneath the waves and kissed her until they floated to the surface. Although Gabriella was many years older than the last time Francis saw her, she was more graceful with age.
“You’ll be my Queen, and we’ll overthrow the ruthless Howard, who stole your father’s kingdom. We’ll return the kingdom of Wellington to you, my love, and our kingdoms will join together.”
King Francis and Queen Gabriella swam through the ocean, frolicking in the waves. Every time Gabriella thought of the sea, she was grateful, for the witch’s evil spell backfired. Becoming a sea urchin had saved Gabriella’s life from the evil Howard who surely would have killed her. King Francis and Queen Gabriella exiled Howard to a faraway land and ruled the new kingdom with love.
Copyright 2014 Jennifer Waters
https://soundcloud.com/jen-waters/the-legend-of-a-sea-urchin-spoken-word-narrated-by-jen-waters
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