"John Morressy - The True History of the Picky Princess" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morressy John)

never be satisfied with anything but the absolute best, especially in her choice of a consort."
The king and queen were delighted. They felt that they could not have asked for more. They lavished gifts
upon the three good fairies, who accepted them graciously and departed on their separate ways.

Within six months, for reasons that were never made completely clear, the sisters had a terrible falling
out. Words were spoken that made reconciliation impossible. They moved to lands far distant from one
another, and were heard of no more.

The king and queen did not care. In truth, they were relieved. The fairies had done all that was expected
of them, and had they remained in the kingdom and seen their gifts come to fruition in the Princess
Infatuata, there was no telling what airs they might have assumed.

For Princess Infatuata grew up to be an extraordinarily beautiful young lady. She exhibited excellent taste
in every choice she made, and her parents, being a king and queen with a royal treasury at their disposal,
were able and willing to indulge her most exacting demands. She was so lovely that the people did not
grumble at the frequent levies placed upon them in order to fulfill her whims. They took pride in knowing
that their little kingdom was home to the loveliest princess in the world.

Infatuata, her parents, and their kingdom got along very happily through the years of her childhood and
adolescence. As long as the little princess appeared in public now and then and the people had a good
look at her, they were content. All things considered, the kingdom was a happy place.

When Infatuata reached the age of sixteen, the king and queen decided that it was time to begin planning
her marriage. It went without saying that Princess Infatuata would settle for no ordinary husband. Only
the finest, boldest, bravest, handsomest of men could aspire to her hand, and he must be nobly born,
wealthy beyond imagining, and renowned for his great deeds and splendid character before he could be
considered a worthy suitor. He must also be besotted with love for the princess; but that, everyone
knew, would follow inevitably from a single glimpse of her.

The king and queen sat down with their wisest councilors to draw up a list of eligible princes. Applying
the most stringent criteria, and always subject to Infatuata's veto, they came up with forty-three finalists.
Messengers were then sent forth to deliver the invitations to a solemn ceremony at which the princess
would be presented and the competition for her hand would be declared officially open.

After the usual delays and complications due to weather, traveling conditions, difficulties of
communication, wars, and mistaken addresses, the eligible princes at last assembled in the palace on
Princess Infatuata's seventeenth birthday. In the courtyard, steeds pranced and golden armor glittered.
Within the great hall, resonant voices crossed and recrossed in brilliant, witty conversation. Eyes sparkled
and teeth gleamed in the light of nine thousand candles and three thousand and eleven torches. The
magnificence and splendor of the scene were unparalleled.

"We have brought together the best and the brightest, the boldest and noblest, the truest and the bravest,
and also the handsomest, richest, and most powerful young men in the world," said the king, looking
down on the assembled princes with Infatuata at his side. "What think you of them, my precious jewel?"

"Passable, Daddy," she said. "Just barely passable."

"I agree, dear, but this is the pick of the lot. I don't believe we'll find any better," said the queen.

The princess sighed. "I suppose not."