Once A Tale (MXM, BXB)

The Bear

Once upon a time, there lived a prince in a faraway land to the north. He was shaggy and unkempt, often mistaken for a ruffian or a kidnapper, and caused his noble father and mother and elder sister much grief.

One day the king took him aside and said to him, "Borenz. Could you kindly act more princely? There are rumours beginning to spread of you."

Ashamed, the prince replied: "Well, I'll give it a shot, Father."

However, the prince found that changing was utterly unbearable, though he did the best he could when he attended the royal gatherings.

Truth be told, the prince found it so much more fun to prance and dash through the woods, teasing the folk he found there. He enjoyed listening to the stories of dwarves, rogues and mercenaries in the pubs all about the town, places princes should not step foot. His sister would sigh and bury her face in her hands, shaking her head when he came back covered with dirt and twigs. He would often mix up travelers or other people in his mischief (though they always had fun) and the rumours grew larger and larger, whispers passed between maids and servants of the royal palace itself.

In the face of his uncontrollable son, the king resorted to the last thing he could think of.

"Until you are resolved to act like the prince you are, you will not leave this room," the king told his son solemnly.

"What the hell, dad," exclaimed the prince, aghast, as the lock clicked with a terrifying finality.

With him was his nurse, at the very least, and he spoke to her of all his troubles: "I don't know what his problem is. I tried, but does he expect me to be a completely different person? This is so stupid. This is imprisonment, you know. I bet this is illegal in other kingdoms."

The nurse, who shared his opinions, pitied the free-spirited prince (and harboured a secret of her own) said: "I have an idea, Your Highness. Should you wish to escape, you must get a bearskin and a wheelbarrow from your father."

"Well that's weird," the prince said but asked his father for such. "Since you've locked me up in my room forever anyway, you might as well give me something."

Pressured by guilt, the king gave him the wheelbarrow and the bearskin and left he and his nurse be. The prince gestured at both of the items and asked of his nurse, "Well, now what?"

"Now, I enchant them for you. The wheelbarrow will take you wherever you might wish to go, and if you don that bearskin, you will take another form that no-one will see through," the nurse replied and, with a flash of light, she revealed herself to be a magnificent witch!

"Whoa, cool," the prince exclaimed.

When he pulled on the bearskin, he found his form huge and beastly and he delighted in his newfound strength and shape. "Cool, cool!" he exulted. When he climbed into the wheelbarrow and it flickered with magic, beginning to float, he said once more, "This is awesome! Thanks, nana!"

"No problem, honey, be careful out there," the witch replied and, like a shot, the prince-turned-bear flew out of the window and to freedom.

Knowledgeable as he was with the forests and with foraging, the prince found it no trouble at all to get by on his own. However, one day in a forest far from his kingdom's, he heard the baying of hounds and soon they appeared with someone riding a magnificent horse on their heels. The man--a prince, by his circlet--levelled a bow and arrow at him but, when the prince-turned-bear spoke, the man nearly fell from his horse in shock.