The Curious Princess Breaks the Rules

Karah had a pair of wide gray eyes. They had to be wide for her to see as much as she saw. Adults could not understand why she must look as much as she did, for they had seen it all already. But, Karah was only seven and there was much for her to discover. “She’s too curious to be a real princess,” her nurses would say. Yet, Karah was a real princess, from the tips of her perfect pink toes to the end of every blonde curl atop her head. Nobody could deny that she was one of the prettiest princesses there had ever been.

This pretty little princess was not content to do as princesses should do. She was much happier when she was crawling under bushes to follow a particularly large bug or when she was up to her knees in pond water trying to catch tadpoles. She explored every inch of her home. It was quite a large home, for a princess could not live in a small home.

Her mother understood Karah’s need to explore everything. Mother often explored on their own, only she took a horse and carriage and traveled all over the kingdom. She had explored their home many times over and needed new places to explore. Karah was given only three rules to follow: Never climb trees higher than her nurses could reach, never walk along the banister of the large bridge over the pond and never eat the big red berries that grew beside the fountain.

One day, Karah’s parents, the king and queen, left to go explore their kingdom again. Karah kissed them both goodbye and promised to follow the rules, but, behind her back, Karah crossed her fingers. She had decided it would be a fine day to learn why she could not climb the trees so high, why she must walk in the middle of the bridge, and why the tasty look berries should not be eaten. Karah was a very curious princess.

Her nurses watched her very carefully, but Karah’s wide gray eyes that saw everything knew how to get away. When the first opportunity arose, Karah crawled underneath some bushes and hid there until her nurses went to look for her. As soon as they were gone, Karah hurried to the tallest tree in the large gardens behind her home.

It was a very large tree and she was able to climb very high; so high she could see the whole garden all at once. Karah looked around, seeing everything she could in the way only her wide gray eyes could see them. “Oh, mother must have never climbed a tree so high,” Karah thought. “If she knew what fun it is, she would let me. I will tell her when she gets home.”

She climbed very carefully down from the tree. Her nurses were still looking for her. Karah ran to the pond before they could find her. The stone bridge went across the whole pond. Karah ran to the bridge and got onto the banister. It was very wide and flat, just right for a small girl to walk across. With arms spread wide, Karah walked happily across the bridge. She felt very high. When she looked down, she could see her reflection in the water’s surface.

“Oh, what fun,” she thought, smiling very happily. “Mother must have never walked along the edge of the bridge. If she knew what fun it is, she would let me. I will tell her when she gets home.”

When she reached the other edge of the pond, she climbed off of the banister and ran to the fountain. She could hear her nurses, still calling for her. They would find her soon. By the fountain, big green bushes grew. On each bush were dozens of fat, red berries. Karah picked three and ate them all. They were the sweetest berries she had ever tasted, and she had tasted quite a few.

“Oh, they are very good,” she thought. “Mother must have never tasted them. If she knew how good they were, she would let me eat them. I will tell her when she gets home.”

But when Mother did come home, Karah was not feeling well at all. Her little tummy hurt and her nurses did not know what to do. Mother came to Karah and sat beside her. “Why does your tummy hurt, Karah?”

“Oh, Mother, I do not know, but I do have something to tell you. I climbed a very large tree today, all the way to the top. I could see the whole garden. It was very fun. Why do you not let me climb trees so high?”

Mother did not look very happy that Karah had disobeyed her. “I do not want you to climb the tree so high because you might fall. I know it is fun and I know you can see the whole garden, but it would hurt very much if you fell.”

Karah had not thought of that. The tree had been very high. “What about the bridge, Mother? I walked along the banister of the bridge today and it was marvelous. I could see myself in the pond and I felt so very high. Why do you make me walk in the middle of the bridge when it is so fun to walk on the edge?”

Again, Mother did not seem happy. “I do not want you to walk on the edge of the bridge. If you fell, you would fall into the water and you could catch a cold. I know it is fun and I know you can see yourself in the pond, but it wouldn’t be very fun if you fell.”

Karah had not thought of that. She could not swim very well and she didn’t want to fall into the pond. “What about the berries, Mother? I ate three of them today and they were very sweet. Why do you tell me not to eat them?”

“They are not good berries,” Mother said. “Eating them can make you feel very sick. I know they are sweet, but they make your tummy ache. That is why you are sick, right now.”

“Oh, Mother, I did not know that. You were right to tell me not to do all those things. I do not want to fall from the tree and get hurt. I do not want to fall into the pond and catch a cold. I do not want to eat any more berries and have a tummy ache.”

“Have you learned your lesson then?” Mother asked.

Karah nodded. “I will listen to your rules. You only tell me not to do things because it is better for me.”

Mother smiled. “That’s right. I give you rules because I love you. Soon, your tummy ache will be all gone and then I will show you other fun things to do.” Karah was happy. There were plenty of fun things to do and new things to explore, even with her Mother’s rules. And, with her wide gray eyes, she would find them all.