My Own Fairy Tales

The Snake Girl

The Snake Girl

          Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom, there lived a king, who had three daughters and a son. His wife the queen had died several years ago and his four children were all he had for comfort. His daughters the princesses were older than their young brother the prince and had gotten married to fine young princes. They now lived with their husbands in different kingdoms. There was only the prince living with his father now. The prince hadn't gotten married yet and that worried his father. The prince was still a young man but his father wanted him to get married. The reason for that was because the king was getting old and had to give his crown to his son soon. He also wanted a queen to be by his son's side when he became king. This made the prince really fed up. He had no objections to getting married, but he hadn't fallen in love with any girl yet. The prince wanted to marry for love like his father did when he married his mother the late queen.

          One day the prince was riding his horse into the forest. The forest was the prince's favourite place to go to for some peace and quiet and to get away from his troubles. What he didn't know was that trouble was heading straight to him. A black wolf that lived in the forest was hunting for food and had seen the prince. It crept out of the bushes. The prince saw the wolf and grabbed his sword to defend himself. The wolf was just about to pounce on the prince when it suddenly let out a howl. An adder snake had bitten it on the back left leg and the wolf was now limping from the snake's poisonous fangs. This gave the prince a chance to kill the wolf with his sword. After the wolf died the prince looked at the adder snake that saved his life. The adder snake was green with brown patterns and brown eyes. The prince was about to thank the snake for saving his life but it slithered away into the bushes.

          That evening at dinner the prince told his father all about what happened in the forest.

          "It's rather unusual for an adder snake to save someone's life" said the king "but it's a good thing that it bit the wolf before the wolf bit you".

          "I agree father" said the prince "I was going to thank it for saving me but it slithered away".

          "Snakes get frightened easily by humans my son" said the king "but maybe you may see the snake again soon".

          Suddenly there was a loud scream coming from the hallway. The king and prince ran to see what had happened. In the hallway there was an adder snake slithering across the floor and it was scaring the servants. When the prince saw the snake he recognized it at once. It was the same snake that saved his life from the wolf in the forest. The king was about to ask someone to destroy the snake when the prince stopped him. He walked over to the snake and picked it up with his hands.

          "Father this is the adder snake that saved me from the wolf" he said "and if you please I will like to keep this snake at my side".

          The king was surprised that his son wanted to keep a snake for a pet, but since it saved his son's life he agreed.

          "But don't let it go scaring anyone" he said "or let it slither around the castle alone and make sure that it won't bite anyone".

          From that day on the prince kept the adder snake with him at all times. The adder snake would coil itself round on one of the prince's arms and not let go. Wherever the prince went he had the adder snake with him for company. The servants were frightened of the adder snake whenever they saw it, but the prince just kept it with him and didn't care. He was attached to the adder snake like a child attached to his favourite toy.

          One evening the prince was sitting in his room, sighing a lot. The adder snake didn't know what was wrong and slithered to him. The prince saw the adder snake coming towards him and picked it up.

          "I'm sorry if I'm worrying you with all my sighing" he said, stroking the snake's head "it's just I have problems on my mind. The truth is my father wants me to get married but I haven't found the right girl to marry yet. I want to marry for love not for status. Ah adder snake I wish I was a snake so I could have you as my mate. You always listen to what I have to say and you give me great company. I adore you". He kissed the adder snake on the head.

          Suddenly a glow of light surrounded the snake, then it magically transformed into a human girl. The prince was speechless at what just happened and he was amazed by her beauty. The girl had brown hair and brown eyes and was wearing a green dress.

          "Who are you dear beautiful lady?" the prince asked.

          "My name is Hannah your highness" the girl answered.

          Hannah explained to the prince that some time ago she was turned into an adder snake by an evil witch because she was more beautiful than her. She then said that the spell could only be broken if she found someone who would love her as she was.

          "I'm sorry that I could not tell you as I couldn't speak when I was an adder snake".

          "It's all right" said the prince "since you are a human girl I can have you as my mate, actually as my queen". He kissed her.

          The prince and Hannah ran to the throne and told the king what had happened. The king was speechless after hearing that the adder snake was really a beautiful girl, and was more surprised about her being under an evil spell. The prince asked his father if he could marry Hannah. The king agreed and embraced them both.

          A few days later their wedding was celebrated. The prince's father was relieved that his son had finally gotten married. The prince's sisters were at the wedding too and were happy that their younger brother had finally found true love. The king then gave his crown to his son and gave his late wife's tiara to Hannah. Hannah and the prince were now the new king and queen of the kingdom and ruled their kingdom in love and happiness for the rest of their lives.