xcgirl08:

fairytalemood:

&quot;The Lindworm&quot; by Naomi Butterfield

AMAZING OBSCURE FAIRY TALE, MUCH? OKAY OKAY OKAY, HERE:
A King and Queen ruled in a time of peace and abundance; the only mar upon their happiness was that they had no children, through their youth and even into their middle age, despite many fervent hopes and prayers. One day the Queen went walking on a forest path without her attendants. There, in the dark quiet of her despair, an old woman found her.&nbsp;
&quot;My dear,&quot; asked the woman, &quot;why are you so sad?&quot;
&quot;It doesn&rsquo;t matter,&quot; answered the Queen, gently. &quot;It wouldn&rsquo;t make a difference if you knew.&quot;
&quot;You may be surprised.&quot;&nbsp;
&quot;The King and I have no children. He lacks an heir, and I have always wanted a child of my own to care for. But you see, that&rsquo;s not something you can help.&quot;
&quot;Of course it is,&quot; nodded the woman, for naturally she was a witch. &quot;Listen and do as I say; take a drinking cup and place it upside-down in your garden tonight. In the morning, you will find two roses beneath it - one red, one white. If you eat the red rose you shall give birth to a son, and the white rose shall give you a girl. But remember that you must not eat both.&quot;
&quot;Not both?&quot;
&quot;No,&quot; the woman said.&nbsp;
Astonished, and not a little suspicious, the Queen agreed. That night she did as the old woman had instructed, and in the morning she discovered two small roses under the cup&rsquo;s brim.&nbsp;
&quot;But which one should I choose?&quot; thought the Queen. &quot;If I have a son, he may grow into a man who marches off to war and dies. If I have a daughter, she may stay longer with me, but I will have to see her given away in marriage. In the end, I may have no child after all.&quot;
At last she decided on the white rose, but it was so sweet to the taste - and the thought of losing a daughter to marriage was so bitter - that she ate the red rose as well, hardly remembering the old woman&rsquo;s warning.
Shortly afterwards, as happens in such stories, the Queen was found to be with child. Her husband was traveling when the time came for her to give birth, and so he did not bear witness to what happened, which was this:
The Queen&rsquo;s first child was no child at all, but instead there tumbled forth from her body the long, scaly one of a lindworm,&nbsp;a hideous dragon with a venomous bite. It scrabbled out the window on its two legs, even before the terrified midwives could move to do anything, and amidst the chaos the Queen delivered a second child as well. This one was a fine, handsome boy, healthy and perfectly formed, and the Queen made her midwives swear that they would tell no one what they had seen. And when the King arrived home, joyous at the news of his son&rsquo;s birth, not a word was said.&nbsp;
Years passed, so that the Queen wondered if it had not been a terrible dream. Soon enough it came time for the prince to find a wife, and he set out with his guard to a neighboring kingdom to ask for its princess&rsquo;s hand in marriage. But suddenly a great lindworm appeared, and laid itself before the prince&rsquo;s horse, and from its jagged-tooth mouth came a voice:
&quot;A bride for me before a bride for you!&quot;
The prince and his company turned about to flee. The Lindworm blocked their passage and spoke again.
&quot;A bride for me before a bride for you!&quot;
The prince journeyed home to tell his parents. Distraught, the Queen confessed that it was true. The Lindworm was indeed the elder brother of the prince, and so by rights should marry first. The King wrote to the ruler of a distant land, asking that they send their princess to marry his son: but he did not say which one.
A lovely princess journeyed to the kingdom, and 