The Peasant and the Princess

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      Once upon a time, in the little village of Ysuolaej [soo-lah-zh], there lived a peasant. The peasant girl lived with her mother and her father in a small log house. The peasant was not a pleasant sort of person like one might expect. She was, on the contrary, a rather grumpy sort of person. She did not like being poor, and she did not like to do any sort of task. As the peasant woke up one morning, the sun was just beginning to rise. “Please fetch me a bucket of water from the stream.” The peasant’s mother asked.

      “But, Mother!” The peasant girl proclaimed. “I don't want to fetch you water, I have just woken up!”

      “You will do as you are told.” The mother said. She did not say it in a mean way, because she was a very patient mother and she was not one to raise her voice.

      The peasant girl, however, thought differently. “Do not tell me what to do!”

      “Go now. And fetch me water from the stream so that I may start breakfast.” The mother pointed her finger towards the door.

      The peasant girl slowly walked out the door. She, being unpleasant as always, did not want to take the order from her mother. It took her a long time to get to the stream, but she did not care.

      Down the village road, there sat a castle. The village houses could see the castle, and the castle could see all of the village homes. Much like the peasant, the princess was not a pleasant sort of princess, and she too was a rather wishful person. When the princess woke in her bed, it was quite late in the day. A maid came into the room with a plate full of cooked eggs. “It is time for your breakfast.”

      “Why have you made breakfast again? I have asked several times that you wake me up early, so that I may learn to make my own breakfast!”

      “But, ma’am, there is no need for you to make breakfast.”

      “I do not want everything to be done for me! I want to learn to be independent!”

      The maid went out of the room with the breakfast, because it was clear that the princess would not eat. The princess looked out her window to the village. But she could not look long before the Queen came into the room. “My dear, it is time for your lessons in horseback riding.”

      But, Mother!” The princess proclaimed. “I do not want to horseback ride, I have just woken up!”

      The princess and the Queen quarreled, but alas! The princess went down to a field near the stream for her horseback lesson.

      The peasant girl was by the stream, fuming about the matter of the water, and the princess was there, fuming about her early lessons in horseback riding.

      The peasant saw the princess in her pink lace dress, sitting properly upon a chestnut horse. The peasant looked at her in admiration. I wish that I could be a princess. Her life is so uniform and easy. If I was the princess, I would not have to fetch the water. I could learn to ride a horse instead.

      The princess also saw the peasant girl in her simple, hand-sewn dress, holding a pail of water. I wish that I could be a peasant. Her life is so simple and plain. If I was the peasant, I would not have to horseback ride. I could fetch the water for my breakfast instead.

      The village of Ysuolaej was a rather happy place for all the people living there, except for the peasant and the princess. For years to come, they thought of each other. As both of the girls grew, they were still not content. 



      More years passed. The princess soon became the queen, and the peasant soon became in charge of her own home. But still, the peasant wanted a uniform and easy life, while the princess wanted a life of simplicity and hard work.

      The queen and the peasant grew old, yet they were still discontent. Slowly, they formed more and more wrinkles, and Ysuolaej itself grew weary. 

      The queen came to her bedroom window and looked down at the house of the peasant she had never met.

      The peasant came to the only window in her house, and looked up at the castile.

      “I wish I was the queen.” The peasant said.

      “I wish I was the peasant.” The queen said.

      The peasant looked up at the queen, and the queen looked down at the peasant. And together, they sighed.

THE END 
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