The Willow Trees

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The Willow Tree Princess

An Original Fable By

Bonnie Ward and Marcia Ward

Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a far away land, there lived a lovely little girl and her loving Father. The Father was King Zhu, the King of the country in which they lived and he was a good man, kind and just, but he was also sad, because his wife, Queen Ji, had passed away shortly after giving birth to their only child. This child was the light of her Father’s life. She had dark brown hair that shone like silk, and big black eyes that were as deep as pools and twinkled with delight when she smiled. And what a smile she had! When she smiled, her dimples crinkled and everyone around her would have to smile, too, for they could not help themselves. The daughter’s name was Liu, and her Father called her LiuLiu.

But, as I said, the Father was sad. He was the King and as such had many important duties to which he must attend, and he felt that his daughter needed the love and attention of a mother. And so the King searched for someone to marry, who would love his daughter as he did and watch over her, guide her, and help her to grow into the woman he and Queen Ji had dreamed she would be.

Well, as often happens, the woman the King chose to be his new wife and Consort, Lady Wu, was not exactly as she had appeared to be. Oh yes, she was beautiful, and yes she was educated, graceful, skilled in all of the womanly arts, and was an excellent hostess, but there was a dark side to her as well, kept hidden from the King, but there nonetheless.

Over time, as Princess Liu grew, she became ever more beautiful. Plus, because she had a kind and generous heart, she was easily well-liked by everyone. Everyone, of course, except Lady Wu. And, as these things happen, Lady Wu became more and more jealous of Princess Liu with each passing year.

When Princess Liu marked her 16 th birthday, King Zhu became quite ill. The prospect of King Zhu dying frightened both Princess Liu and Lady Wu, but for very different reasons. The Princess, of course, was worried about her Father’s health because she loved him dearly. Lady Wu was concerned that should King Zhu die, she would no longer be allowed to lead a life of luxury, indulgence and social position. Lady Wu decided she needed a plan to secure her place in the kingdom regardless of King Zhu’s health.

After much thought, Lady Wu determined that the best way to ensure she would be left in charge of the kingdom after King Zhu’s death was to ensure that Princess Liu was not able to become Queen. Lady Wu knew the best way to ensure that was to kill Princess Liu, but, as evil as she was, Lady Wu could not bring herself to murder the young princess. So she decided to make Princess Liu disappear.

Lady Wu lured the young Princess into the fields beyond the castle walls by inviting her on a picnic. At first, Princess Liu did not want to leave her Father’s side, but Lady Wu insisted that the Princess needed to relax and the King, thinking of his daughter’s welfare, agreed. And so Lady Wu had a large basket packed with all of Princess Liu’s favorite foods and treats. The basket and picnic things were packed onto the back of a pony and Lady Wu and Princess Liu set off for an afternoon of quiet solitude in the countryside.

After settling in a grove of trees to have lunch, Lady Wu told the Princess that she looked tired and perhaps should take this chance to close her eyes and rest. The Princess agreed, as her eyelids were quite heavy and the meal had been quite filling. The Princess did not know that Lady Wu had laced her meal with a sleeping potion, which would put the Princess into the deepest possible sleep. Once asleep, Lady Wu put the rest of her plan into action.

She carefully repacked the picnic things onto the pony’s back and then turned to check on the Princess, who remained fast asleep. She looked carefully around and after assuring herself that no one was around, she took a vial of magic powder from her pocket and sprinkled it over the sleeping Princess. Then she slowly walked away. When she turned back, the Princess was no more, but in the place where she had been resting now stood a young, tall, willow tree. Lady Wu smiled and headed to the other side of the field.

When night approached and neither Lady Wu nor the Princess had returned, King Zhu sent soldiers and household staff out to search for them. After several hours, the soldiers came upon Lady Wu, laying at the edge of the field, where the forest began. Her clothes were torn, her hair was tangled and she was bruised and battered, as if she had been in a fight. But Princess Liu was nowhere to be found. The soldiers revived Lady Wu and asked her where the Princess was and what had happened. Lady Wu told them a tale of wild men attacking their picnic and carrying off the Princess. She said she had fought valiantly but to no avail and then wept loudly that Princess Liu had been kidnapped!! Lady Wu ordered the soldiers to search the forest and the Captain of the Guard instructed the household staff to carry Lady Wu back to the castle and tend to her wounds.

Days went by without any news of Princess Liu, and King Zhu’s heart was broken. At the end of a month, his health had worsened, and at the end of 2 months, he lay at death’s door. Finally, after 3 long months of the search for the Princess, the King was so saddened by the idea that his beloved daughter was dead, that he, too, let go of life. Lady Wu was now a widow, and as the Princess was nowhere to be found, she assumed the throne.

Meanwhile, the Princess, embodied in the willow tree, heard the stories of how she had been ‘kidnapped’ and how Lady Wu had tried to save her from the many servants and citizens who roamed the fields searching for a clue to the Princess’ whereabouts. When she overheard them speaking of the death of King Zhu, she wept, and as she was now a tree, her branches bent low towards the ground and her leaves grew as tears flowing from her eyes. She was so saddened to think that her Father was no longer of this Earth that for many weeks, she could do nothing but weep in this manner.

However, one day, as the servants from the castle were tending to the fields, she overheard them speaking of Queen Wu and how she had run the kingdom into financial ruin. Her spending had stripped the royal treasury, and she was taxing the villagers to ensure her extravagant lifestyle could be maintained. The Princess was horrified to hear this, but what could she do?

Time went on and the villagers became poorer and poorer. There was precious little to eat and people had to burn their furniture to keep warm. The Princess watched and prayed for an answer to help her people.

Then one day, a handsome young man from a neighboring kingdom rode into the village. His name was Prince Xiong and he was the most brave, the most valiant, and the most handsome prince in all the land. He had been sent by his parents to propose an alliance between the two kingdoms and ask for the hand of Princess Liu in marriage to create an unbreakable bond between the two peoples.

The Queen, Lady Wu, was interested in this alliance, as she saw it as a means to ensure her place on the throne, but without Princess Liu what could she do? She told the Prince that the Princess had been kidnapped a long time ago and that the only way to ensure the alliance was if she married the young prince herself.

Prince Xiong did not want to seem impolite, but he did not want to marry the Queen. She was still an attractive woman, but she was much, much older than the Prince and there was something in her eyes that the Prince did not trust. He told her that he was honored by her suggestion and would bring this proposition to his Father and Mother, and return in a fortnight with their answer. The Queen agreed and sent Prince Xiong on his way.

But the Prince did not leave. Instead, he stayed in the village disguised as a traveling merchant, to see just what this kingdom was like and try to gather a better understanding of whether or not an alliance with them was the best thing for his people.

After 3 days, the Prince knew this would not be a good thing for his people, but he also knew that he could not leave the villagers to be ruled by this wicked Queen Wu. As he set out for home, he tried to think how he could help the villagers, when his horse stumbled over a tree root. The Prince tumbled off his horse and lay on his back, under a willow tree, looking up at the stars.

A villager came running to be of help, and as the Prince thanked him he asked what the villager was doing out this late in the evening. The man explained that he had come out to chop down the willow tree, as his family needed firewood, and he decided to do this at night because he felt so bad about needing to cut down such a beautiful tree.

The Prince looked at the tree. The tree branches seemed to shiver in the night air. He looked at the villager and told him that he would help, as it was the least he could do.

Prince Xiong took the axe from the man and hoisted it above his head, and as he brought down a blow against the willow tree trunk, there was a loud crack and a noise that sounded like a young woman’s cry. The Prince and the man looked at each other and then at the tree and fell back, scrambling away, for what appeared at first to be steam was coming from inside the split trunk.

Then they heard a soft voice say “Please don’t stop now. You must help me.” The two men looked at each other and then at the tree. Then the Prince picked up the axe again and sent another blow into the tree trunk, and then another, and then finally, a last blow that split the trunk wide open.

In the center of what had been the tree stood a beautiful young woman, with long dark hair and large black eyes. The Prince stood back in awe. The villager bowed low and exclaimed “Princess Liu”!.

The Princess stepped out of the remnants of the tree trunk and explained what had happened to her and how Lady Wu had tricked her and King Zhu. The villager was happy to see the beloved Princess and Prince Xiong was mesmerized by both her beauty and her story. Together, the 3 devised a plan to oust Queen Wu from the castle and return the throne to Princess Liu.

The Prince took the Princess to his kingdom, where they explained the story to his Father. Prince Xiong and Princess Liu were married, and the couple returned to the castle of Queen Wu when the fortnight had passed.

Prince Xiong entered the great Hall and told Queen Wu that his family agreed to an alliance of the kingdoms and that he would happily spend his life with the rightful heir to the throne of King Zhu. As the Queen smiled and reached out her hand, Princess Liu stepped into the Great Hall and announced “I accept your offer Prince Xiong, and will gladly join my life and our kingdoms together for the good of our people”.

Queen Wu was astounded … but the people, having been told of the great secret by the villager, rallied around Prince Xiong and Princess Liu and the Lady Wu knew that she had lost.

Prince Xiong and Princess Liu lived a long and happy life. They had many children and their united kingdom prospered and remained at peace for many centuries. Lady Wu was sent to live a solitary life in a monastery in the mountains, and as it is said that the good die young, Lady Wu is probably still living there to this day.

NOTES:

Zhu is pronounced joo and means OAK

Ji is pronounced jee and means MAPLE

Liu is pronounced loo and means WILLOW

Wu is pronounced woo and means WITCH

Xiong is pronounced sheong and means BRAVE