Seven Stories That Have Shaped My Life: #3 – the one about contentment

I have loved faerie tales all my life.  I still distinctly remember the summer I discovered Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books; I’m not sure I did anything other than read that summer.

But one of my favorite fairy tales isn’t found in any fairy tale anthologies (that I know of).  This one is an annual re-read for sure.  (In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve read it twice already, just this year.)

#3: The Ordinary Princess – by M.M. Kaye

The Ordinary Princess begins with the royal christening of a seventh princess.  Every fairy godmother in the land is invited, and most of them give Princess Amethyst the usual sorts of fairy godmother-type gifts: grace, charm, kindness, etc.  But the Fairy Crustacea decides to give the princess a slightly unusual gift: the gift of being ordinary.

Being ordinary allows Princess Amy a great deal of freedom growing up; no one really notices when she disappears into the forest to play (which she finds much more fun than wearing fancy dresses and heavy crowns).  But eventually, all of her older (and of course, incredibly beautiful) sisters marry off, and her parents begin to consider what might be done about Amy.  Plans and schemes to marry her off in spite of her ordinariness get crazier and crazier, and when the idea is proposed that “getting in a dragon” might help inspire princes to fight for a princess they’ve never seen and trap one into marrying her, Amy decides enough is enough and runs away to the forest, to prevent it from happening.

Unlike most fairy tales, Amy’s “epic adventure” happens in the quietness of the woods and in the clamor of a busy castle kitchen in a neighboring kingdom (where she takes a job as an assistant kitchen maid, to earn some money for a new dress), and her meet-cute happens in the middle of the night amidst hundreds of dirty dishes after a ball.  She and her future husband both work hard and respect each other for it, and on their half-day off every other week, they start to build a little house in the woods, and a solid friendship along with it.  (I won’t spoil the ending for you, but suffice it to say, everyone lives happily ever after.)

The things I have always admired about Amy are her courage, practicality, sheer determination, and her ability to be content with the simple things.  Amy’s life as a princess had been glamorous, but her life as an ordinary kitchen maid was a happy one – for several reasons: she had a job to do, and did it cheerfully, even when she was tired; her positive attitude affected her working environment.  She also valued her down-time, and was purposeful about spending her time off doing the things she loved best with good friends.  She didn’t have much – but she had a roof over her head, food to eat, a good friend to talk to and laugh with, and a beautiful place to run away to every other week.  And for Amy, that was enough.

And for me, her story has always been a reminder that for all that I grew up day-dreaming about meeting Prince Charming and spending the rest of my life in a castle, true happiness isn’t found in wealth, but in friendship, and in the ability to appreciate the beauty (and the gift) of every ordinary moment.

photo courtesy of unsplash.com / Dominik Martin

This post is part of a series entitled “Seven Stories That Have Shaped My Life.” Catch the rest of the series here.