Princess Aurora's Adventure

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. She was so beautiful that her mother gave her presents all the time. One day her father announced that every prince in the land should see to marrying his daughter.

“It is only right to give her an opportunity,” he protested.

So, the royal coach gave word to all the castles in the land.

“What do you think they will look like?” the princess asked.

“Like every prince should, tall, handsome, nice, and funny,” said the queen.

The royal tailor worked furiously to make the best gown for the princess. It ended up being green with gold sparkles and ruffles at the bottom. It truly was the best gown in the land.

“It is perfect for you,” said the queen with delight.

Even the king was impressed. “You look splendid, Aurora.”

So the whole kingdom was paying attention to Aurora.

“You look great, your highness,” said the maids.

“Something is fishy about the maids,” thought Aurora. “They normally don’t act like this.” Aurora decided to listen in on her parents’ conversation.

“What to do? None of the princes can come!” roared the king. “What am I going to say to my daughter?” asked the king angrily.

Then Aurora went to her room. “So that’s why the maids are being nice,” she thought.

The next day, when the maid came to wake Aurora up, she was not there! On the bed was a note. It read, “Went out. Hope you do not mind. Aurora.”

“What will I tell the queen and king?” sobbed the maid.

“What’s all the commotion?” asked the king.

“Well…Aurora…isn’t…here,” said the maid, slowly.

“What!!!” screamed the king. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know, your highness,” said the maid softly.

“Dear, please don’t yell like that,” said the queen, butting in.

“Well that will be hard to do; Aurora’s gone!” screamed the king the third time.

“Oh my word! What shall we do?” asked the queen in dismay.

* * *

Aurora was happily going from her castle to another. By the third day, she was at a castle. She decided she needed a new dress and money. So she looked for jobs at that castle. She got the cooking job. She had never ever cooked in her life! How will she cook for royalty? This she pondered for a long time (until the first meal, at least). So she made up her own meals.

Then she went to the attic. That is where they had made her room. It was like her room in the tower, very big and roomy.

She got her first daily payment. Twenty cents. And on and on. She was missing for at least one month. The king and queen were worried sick. “Where could she be?” they screamed. So they continued on their search. Then they got a letter from Aurora. It read, “Dear Mom and Dad, I am out on the search for a husband. Well, bye! Your princess, Aurora.”

The next day Aurora was washing dishes. Then she met a boy that looked her age. He told her he was a man-of-all-work. She told him she had gotten hired as a cook, even though she didn’t really know how. He looked like a nice boy, so they chatted until she was tired and had to sleep.

“I brought this rose for you,” he said.

“You shouldn’t have…” she muttered. “Where did you get it?” Princess Aurora asked in surprise.

“I will show you tomorrow, if you can get off work.”

So Aurora asked for the day off. “Go ahead. We have extra cooks,” they said. So Aurora followed the man-of-all-work. Aurora called him that because he hadn’t yet given her his name. “Okay,” said Aurora. Before her eyes was a beautiful tree house. She slowly climbed the rope ladder.

“Haven’t you climbed a ladder before?” asked the man-of-all-work. She didn’t want to tell him that she was a princess and had not climbed a rope ladder. So she lied and said that she had, but was too tired to climb quickly. Finally she finished the climb. It turned out that the man-of-all-work brought lunch.

“What is your real name?” asked Aurora.

“George. What’s yours?” asked George.

“Aurora,” replied Aurora.

“Aurora, what a beautiful name,” stammered George.

They continued their lunch, and then walked slowly back to the castle. When could Aurora say she was a princess? she wondered. What if things didn’t go smoothly? All that had to wait till the time came, was her final decision.

“I had a wonderful time with you Aurora,” said George.

George, now that she thought of it -- the name sounded familiar. She thought she had heard it at the castle. So Aurora thought maybe it was another George. So she dropped the matter.

Now that he thought of it, Aurora sounded familiar, like he had heard it before, thought George. Once at the castle, they chatted for a while more. They talked about favorites, like food, flowers, and stuff like that.

The next day, Aurora found it hard to cook. She kept daydreaming. She really didn’t know why, because she had never daydreamed before. Could she be changing? She thought about this for a while. She thought of going down to her own castle, but punishment would be waiting for her there. She knew possibilities were endless: her parents might not punish her, but they might. She was beginning to think she shouldn’t have left home.

She often had picnics with George. Long, endless picnics. She worried more about how she could ever tell him that she was a princess. She delayed more and more.

* * *

Back at the castle, the king and queen were quite worried. It was stretching to four months since they had heard from Aurora. They were worried that she would never come back. They had a high reward for the person who found Aurora. They stayed by the door all day, but still nobody responded to the search. They had almost looked at all the castles in the land.

“Where could she be?” asked the queen.

“Anywhere,” replied the king.

They had given up hope of finding their daughter. It seemed impossible. They felt like it would never ever happen, even though they wished it to happen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aurora was cooking a dessert for the king and queen. She was cooking a strawberry cheesecake. It turned out okay, except for some burned parts, where some of the strawberry leaked out of the cheesecake. She carefully cut the non-burned pieces and put them on plates. Then she decorated the pieces. They turned out like real cheesecake pieces, so she gave them to the butler. Then he went silently away. He came back telling her how good the cheesecake was. So she made more. They ordered more pies to be baked so Aurora baked the cheesecakes and had to cancel some picnics with George. He got disappointed and had not come to see her in weeks. Then she got disappointed too, because she like George’s company. So her cheesecakes got less decorative, and the queen and king got mad. So she took a week to relax. She took long walks by herself. She knew George would not want to join her. She passed the fort, and to her surprise, George was there. It looked like he had been there a long time.

“It’s you,” said George.

“Correct,” said Aurora in anger. Then she began to walk again.

“Wait,” said George; then he caught up with her. “Want to go on a walk?”

“All right,” she said.

* * *

The king and queen were now more worried than ever! They called out brave soldiers to search the land for Aurora. “Not yet your highness, maybe tomorrow,” they said. Word got out about the missing princess.

* * *

Aurora heard about it and hid in her room. “What will I do if George tells them I’m here?” she thought. So the next day she packed up and left the castle so she would not get caught. As she predicted, George told the soldiers where she was. They searched the castle, amazed. She was not there!


Aurora found a place well hidden from sight. She carefully picked up moss in the area to make a bed. By sundown, she was cozily in her new camp. She would have to get some berries or something to eat tomorrow.

* * *

Now the king had lost his rage, one look and not finding her was okay, but seven? He began to shout and scream. “IT’S ONLY ONE GIRL, FIND HER!” he screamed.

* * *

Now that she was all cozy, she slept. She had never put a camp up before. Then, when she was dozing off, she heard footsteps. Suddenly, she froze. Who could it be? She slowly saw that it was only George. She recognized his tan face. But there was a very firm look on his face.

“You must go. The soldiers are after you,” he said bravely. “They will check this forest. You must go.”

Slowly, she and George put back the materials she had used to make camp. It was fairly easy. They decided to take the food.

“They have already checked the castle. We can go there,” said George. So they rushed back to the castle. “They are sure not to look that way again,” informed George. So, they snuck in near the castle quietly. It looked busy. They weaved in and out of the crowds of guests.

“What’s going on here?” whispered Aurora. She did not want anyone to recognize her sweet voice.

“The king is having a very special occasion,” said George. He led her into a room she had never been in. “Come,” said George, pulling Aurora close to him. The room was decorated with gold banners.

“Why are we here?” asked Aurora impatiently.

“I told you the king was having a special occasion,” said George. “I’ve been wanting to tell you this sooner, but I’m the king in this castle.”

“I’m the princess of the castle that is closest to here,” said Aurora.

“Honey!” said two familiar voices. Aurora looked behind her and there were her parents. She had almost forgotten what they looked like. Then she saw that the banners said, “Welcome Home, Aurora.” The party had long tables for eating and a feast was prepared for the special occasion.

“I watched you leave and followed your footprints to come there, so I could bring you back here. Aurora, will you marry me?” asked George.

“Of course, Man-of-all-work,” replied Aurora.

Soon the word of the wedding got out. Now everyone was planning a royal wedding. Plans of everything else were forgotten. The castle was now full to the brim. No one else could fit in it. The royal tailor was now working over-time restoring all Aurora’s clothes and making her a silk, white, wedding dress. The king was so happy. His daughter was home, and she was getting married, and now everything was almost the same.

Everyday something or someone new came. The king was busy making plans with Aurora and George in one room, cooks were making a cake in another, the tailors were working furiously in another room. All rooms were packed and busy. The chapel where the wedding was to be held was decorated. The tailors finished the silk dress as the wedding day neared.

Aurora and George were falling in love more each day. That was good, Aurora’s mom said, one night as they talked. Everyone else in the town was busy making or buying fancy clothes for the wedding. Aurora was now eager for the event. The people in the town were eager, too, she thought. Everyday someone new popped up and asked, “When will the wedding be?” And every day the answer was, “Saturday, at three in the afternoon, at St. Michael’s chapel.”

The queen was so happy to see her daughter in the lovely white, silk gown that ran down five feet behind her. It looked beautiful on her. The front had some lace on it. So did the sleeves. On the day of the wedding, Aurora had her hair in a pretty braided bun with a vail made out of lace. She was so pretty that George had to give her a kiss. Even though it made it bad luck, he did it anyway. He couldn’t help it.

“If we have bad luck, it’s your fault,” warned Aurora.

“I promise nothing bad will happen,” assured George.

Now she remembered where she had heard his name. He was the only king without a queen. And George knew where he had heard her name; the cooks were discussing why she had not married sooner. She was nineteen. The normal age for marriage was seventeen. But Aurora thought that was too young, so she waited. Now was the perfect time for her to get married. George also thought the time he was supposed to marry was too young, so he too waited. But now was the perfect time for him.

The wedding went smoothly, even though it was crowded. They raised money for a beautiful honeymoon in Silver Town. It was the most beautiful place in the world! thought Aurora as she lay in the hot sun. It was often hot there. She and George had a lovely time. They sat in the sun almost all day. They went to see a band play a lovely song, and they were happy the whole time.

The king and queen were happy, because all their dreams had come true. Their daughter was married and happy and was expecting a baby. It was a cute little thing, and the queen spent time with the baby.

Aurora looked back on how it had all happened. It was strange and weird. But she was happy. And she thought George was happy, too. And all was well at the castle, for everyone was happy.

The end.