SCENE X

The Storytellers step out in front of the curtain.

STORYTELLER #1: The next morning the Prince decided not to say anything…

STORYTELLER #2: Rather, he decided to follow the Princesses again the next night…

STORYTELLER #3: and the next.

STORYTELLERS (all): Everything happened just as it had that first night.

STORYTELLER #1: Each night the Princesses would rise…

STORYTELLER #2: Put on their finest gowns and dancing shoes…

STORYTELLER #3: Descend the hidden stair and meet their Princes.

STORYTELLERS (all): They danced each time until their shoes fell apart.

STORYTELLER #1: Several times the Prince came close…

STORYTELLER #2: Very close…

STORYTELLER #3: Frighteningly close…

STORYTELLERS (all): To being discovered.

STORYTELLER #1: However, luck was with him…

STORYTELLER #2: And though he was often almost caught

STORYTELLER #3: He never actually was discovered.

STORYTELLER #1: Each night the Princesses’ would return

STORYTELLER #2: To find him exactly as they had left him

STORYTELLER #3: Snoring away peacefully.

STORYTELLERS (all): Or so it seemed to them.

STORYTELLER #1: However, the dawn of the final day came…

STORYTELLER #2: And Prince Antraig was out of time.

STORYTELLER #3: That morning he was summoned before the King…

STORYTELLERS (all): For his once chance to save his life.  Could he solve the Riddle of the Worn-Out Dancing Shoes?

Curtain opens on Throne room. King, Princesses, Knights are all assembled. As the lights come up, Prince Antranig strides in confidently. The Princesses whisper amongst one another. Prince A presents himself before the King and bows.

KING: So, have you solved the Riddle of my daughter’s mysterious activities?

PRINCE: Your Majesty, I have.

The Princesses all gasp in astonishment.

PRINCESSES: No. Impossible. He must be lying in order to try and save his head. No. No. Etc.

KING: Silence! I will hear what this man has to say!

PRINCE: Your Majesty, this will sound hard to believe, but every night your daughters dress in their finest clothes, put on their dancing shoes, and then knock at the headboard of Princess Alusair’s bed. The mattress lifts up to reveal a set of stairs going down. These stairs lead to an underground kingdom ruled by three Princes. In this kingdom are great forests of trees whose leaves and branches are made of purest silver, gold or diamonds. The Princes live in a fantastic underground palace on an island in the middle of a lake. They eat food off golden plates and drink from jeweled goblets. It is they your daughters go to every night, to dance with, to wine with, and to dine with.

ALUSAIR: He’s lying!

AURORA: Honestly father, are you going to believe such a preposterous fairy tale?

KING: Your tale is indeed somewhat fantastic. I don’t suppose you have proof?

Wordlessly Prince A pulls forth the goblet he stole from the palace as well as the branch of silver, the branch of gold, and the branch of diamonds. The Princesses gasp in dismay and astonishment. The King reaches out and takes them, examining them carefully.

KING: It seems you do indeed have proof. Is this true?

ALUSAIR: But father!

AURORA: Such a ridiculous story!

ANASTASIA: (softly) It’s true father.

ALUSAIR: Anastasia!

ANASTASIA: Fair is fair! He outsmarted us all. That should earn him his life at the very least!

AURORA: But what of our Princes! How will we ever free them from their curse now?

KING: So. You have indeed succeeded where so many other have failed. Congratulations. You may marry whichever of my daughters you wish, and you shall be my heir. Which of my daughters will you take as your wife and future Queen?

The Princes turns to the Princesses, and slowly walked over to them, looking over each in turn. Finally, he reaches out and takes the hand of Alusair.

PRINCE: This is my choice your Majesty. I am far to old for Aurora or Anastasia, but I will gladly and lovingly take the hand of your eldest and fairest daughter, the matchless Alusair.

He draws Alusair to him, and the scene freezes. The Storytellers emerge from the wings.

STORYTELLER #1: And so it was, the Riddle was solved…

STORYTELLER #2: The Prince gained his Princess…

STORYTELLER #3: Who in time came to love him, and they lived…

STORYTELLERS (all): Happily ever after. And as for the Princes of Under Mountain, they were doomed to live under their curse for as many nights as the had danced with the Princesses.

THE END

SCENE IX

The Princes are rowing the Princesses back across the lake. Alusair’s boat crosses first. Her prince is struggling with the boat this time.

ALUSAIR: What’s wrong? Why are we moving so slowly?

PRINCE #1: I don’t understand it. The boat is much heavier now. I have to try with all my strength just to keep us moving at all.

ALUSAIR: It must have been that last set of reels. You must have overexerted yourself a bit. I know that if I’m not careful I always end up exhausted after a good reel.

Alusair’s Prince does not answer. He merely grunts and rows to the other side, the other two Princesses follow in order of age. All entrances and exits are opposite what they were during the approach to the underground palace.

ALUSAIR: Farewell for now, my sweet Prince!

AURORA: We’ll return tomorrow evening!

ANASTASIA: Thank you again for the dances!

The Princes and Princesses exchange farewells. After some excessive lovey-dovey goodbyes, the Princesses turn and move offstage, as the do so, the curtain falls. The Storytellers step out from behind the curtain.

STORYTELLER #1:As the Princesses made their tired way home…

STORYTELLER #2: Prince Antranig skipped on ahead of them…

STORYTELLER #3: Ran up the stairs and resumed his post in the chair.

STORYTELLER #1: So that by the time the Princesses stumbled in…

STORYTELLER #2: Tired but happy from their night of dancing…

STORYTELLER #3: He was snoring away…

STORYTELLERS (all): As if he had never left the spot.

Curtain opens on the Princesses’ bedroom. The mattress is up once more and the Princesses climb step out from behind it and it lowers back down. From offstage the Prince can be heard snoring.

ALUSAIR: (laughing) Do you hear that?

AURORA: He sounds like a waterfall!

ALUSAIR: We definitely don’t have to worry about this one.

The Princesses begin to take down their hair and each of them removes her dancing shoes and places them at the foot of her bed.

AURORA: How much sleeping potion did you put in his wine Alusair? I’ve never heard any of them snore so loudly before.

ALUSAIR: I gave him the same amount we give everyone. Maybe he just has a weak constitution.

ANASTASIA: (yawning) In any case, he hasn’t moved an inch. Our Princes are safe. Although I can’t shake the feeling that something is going to go horribly horribly wrong.

ALUSAIR: Go to sleep Anastasia. It’s just your imagination.

AURORA: We could all use some rest.

ALUSAIR: (crawling into bed) Truer words were never spoken. Goodnight!

AURORA: (doing likewise). Goodnight.

ANASTASIA: (as her sisters) Goodnight Aurora, Alusair.

AURORA & ALUSAIR: Goodnight Anastasia.

The Curtain falls.

SCENE VIII

Curtain rises on the interior of a magnificent palace. The lighting should suggest a very ‘otherworldly’ atmosphere. The stage is clear, reminiscent of a grand ballroom. Music is playing in the background and the Three Princes are dancing with the three Princesses, each with corresponding colors. Prince Antraing is there as well, dancing around behind/with each of the couples. None of the other actors see or acknowledge his presence.

PRINCE #1: Are you hungry, my lady?

ALUSAIR: I suppose I am, a bit. The walk through the woods does tend to make one so.

PRINCE #1: Then I’ll summon you something to eat at once.

The Prince pauses in his dancing and claps his hands three times. Servants appear, all dressed identically.

PRINCE #1: Bring food and drink for the ladies.

Aurora and her Prince dance closer.

AURORA: Thank you. I was feeling a bit parched from the long walk.

In the background the servants scurry about, carrying on a table and dressings for it, food and drink, including several very fine goblets for wine. Anastasia and her Prince move over to the table, which has been place fairly center stage, convenient for the individual blocking needs of the show.

PRINCE #3: May I pour you some wine?

ANASTASIA: Oh yes please! That last dance was wonderfully fast!

PRINCE #3: (pours her some wine) You are a wonderful dancer. It’s as simple as that.

He hands the goblet of wine to Anastasia. She accepts and is about to drink when

ALUSAIR: Anastasia!

ANASTASIA: Yes?

She puts the goblet down and turns to walk over to Alusair. As soon as she sets the goblet down, Prince Antraing picks it up and downs the whole thing. He quickly sets it back down as soon as he finished.

ALUSAIR: Oh, nevermind dear, I got it. (she finishes fixing her hair)

Anastasia turns back to her goblet and picks it up. She attempts to drink from it, but fails. She examines the goblet in puzzlement, then simply reaches over and refills it.

PRINCE #3: More wine already? Are you sure you want to do that? Too much wine and too much dancing could leave you lightheaded.

ANASTASIA: Just being around you leaves me lightheaded.

Prince Antranig stands behind them and makes vomiting faces at the tone of the exchange. The Princes pull their Princesses out onto the dance floor again and they dance some more while Prince Antranig eats the food, drinks the wine, and plays tricks on the servants who come and go bringing food and wine.

PRINCE #2: Come love, let us dance some more.

They dance for a bit, and then a huge clock is heard tolling three. At this the Princesses end their dance and laugh breathlessly.

ALUSIAR: (examining her soles) There goes another pair of shoes. The soles are completely worn through.

AURORA: (giggling) Father will simply DIE when he finds out. More new shoes!

ANASTASIA: You’d think that by now he’d be used to it!

PRINCE #1: (kissing Alusair’s hand) Shall we row you back across the lake then?

ALUSAIR: Yes. I’m feeling a bit tired, and I’m sure Aurora and Anastasia are as well.

AURORA: I am feeling a bit tired, yes.

ANASTASIA: But we’ll return tomorrow might!

PRINCE #3: (laughing) Of course you will!

AURORA: I wish you could come with us!

PRINCE #2: Soon love, soon we will be free of the curse which binds we three to this underground palace.

The Princes each offer their arms to their respective Princesses and trail offstage. Prince Antranig looks about as they go, begins to leave, snaps his fingers, runs back and grabs a goblet, and them rushes offstage following the Princesses.

Curtain falls.

SCENE VII

Curtain up. The lights should be on the setting for the silver forest. Here and there smaller fake trees should also be present. One, slightly larger than the others should be present center stage. The columns onstage should be making up the boles of the largest trees. Alusair and Aurora enter smoothly. Anastasia stumbles onstage after them. Looking behind her she exclaims

ANASTASIA: Something had hold of my dress! I nearly tripped off the last step! Someone was holding my dress!

ALUSAIR: Don’t be so silly! You must have just caught it on a snag or a hook! Now hurry up! We don’t want to miss the start of the ball.

The Princesses gather their skirts and make their way across the stage at slightly more than a walk. As the exit, Anastasia glances once more over her shoulder. Seeing nothing, she follows he sisters out. As soon as she exits, The Prince sneaks onstage, blending in as best he can with the black backdrop. Around halfway to center stage he throws back the hood of his cloak and moves further downstage, looking about in wonder.

PRINCE: What IS this place? I could have sworn we followed those stairs downwards for hundreds of feet! We should be deep underground! And yet, there is light, of a sort, and trees the same as any you would find in the greenwood.

He notices a glitter and walks over to inspect the tree at center stage.

PRINCE: What is this? Well. Well ,well ,well. These trees are made of silver! Not exactly the oaks and beeches of the greenwood then! Amazing! Who would ever have imagined such a thing could exist!? A forest of living silver… The King will never believe me! Perhaps I should take a piece of evidence.

The Prince reaches out to snap a twig from the trees, making sure to get a branch with leaves and snaps it off. There is a thunderous crack and the branch comes loose in his hand. The Prince looks about in fear, and pocketing the branch, whirls the cloak about himself once more and follows the Princesses offstage. As soon as he is out of sight, the Princesses walk back on, from the direction they originally entered. The loud crack is heard once again.

ANASTASIA: Something’s wrong! Didn’t you hear the noise?

AURORA: It came from behind us!

The Princesses all look behind them in confusion.

ALUSAIR: It was a burst of joy from the forest! It knows that soon we will be setting our princes free from their terrible curse! Hurry! We must reach them!

The Princesses rush offstage, lights fading as they do so. The lights fade back up with the gels set with amber, which should give the tinfoil trees the appearance of being gold, rather than silver. The Princesses enter again, progressing linearly as always, appearing Stage right and exiting stage left.

ALUSAIR: Oh, I cannot wait! Soon we will be dancing in the arms of our Princes!

As the Princesses near stage left and their exit, another crack is heard, exactly like the first.

ANASTASIA: There it is again! Something must be wrong!

AURORA: It’s like something is following us.

ALUSAIR: Nonsense! It is merely the forest expressing it’s joy because our Princes will soon be free. The trees must be bursting with it.

The Princesses shrug and, with one or two glances backwards, continue offstage. As soon as they move offstage, the Prince moves across the stage, following them. About midway past he throws back his hood and marvels at the trees around him. He is clearly clutching a golden branch as well as the silver one.

PRINCE: First silver, now gold! A lumberjack in this forest would be richer than any king! In this forest of dreams, what strange trees may come? As I wander along over this enchanted soil?

ALUSAIR: (from offstage) Anastasia! Quit looking back over your shoulder! Nothing is going to leap from the trees and grab you! You’re perfectly safe! The magic of our Princes will ward us from any harm!

The Prince hurriedly swirls his cloak about him once more and goes off in rapid pursuit. As he exits, the lights fade. They come up again as the Princesses enter. This time with the blue gels to give the effect of a forest of diamonds. As they cross the stage, the crack is heard once again.

ALUSAIR: Joy, Anastasia. It is joy!

The Princesses move offstage and the Prince appears.

PRINCE: Diamonds! Great clusters of diamonds like cherry blossoms! Diamond trunks, diamond leaves!

The Prince exits, curtain falls. Storytellers step out from behind the curtain to cover while scene change is made backstage.

STORYTELLER #1: And so they passed through the forests

STORYTELLER #2: Of silver, gold, and diamonds…

STORYTELLER #3: And the Prince took a branch from each of the woods as he passed through them.

STORYTELLER #1: Then the woods thinned…

STORYTELLER #2: And they arrived at a large lake where…

STORYTELLER #3: Three mysterious figures waited.

STORYTELLER #1: There were three figures…

STORYTELLER #2: There were three Princesses…

STORYTELLER #3: And on the shore were three boats…

Curtain rises. The trees are gone, and have been replaced with upright blue cutouts representing waves.

STORYTELLER #1: One by one…

STORYTELLER #2: Each Prince took his Princess…

STORYTELLER #3: In their own private boat…

STORYTELLERS (all): And rowed them across the lake to a beautiful palace.

STORYTELLER #1: The Prince followed close behind…

STORYTELLER #2: With his cloak wrapped tightly about him

STORYTELLER #3: He slipped into the boat carrying the youngest princess…

STORYTELLERS (all): and was carried along with them to the Palace of the Mysterious Princes of Under the Mountain.

Alusair and her Prince cross the stage in their boat first. It glides along smoothly. Then Aurora’s boat crosses. It also moves very smoothly. Finally, Anastasia’s boat begins to cross. Anastasia’s Prince is quite obviously having trouble poling the boat, and has to stop a few times before he makes it across the stage.

PRINCE #3: I don’t understand it, but the boat is much heavier today. I’ll have to row with all my might to get it moving.

ANASTASIA: It’s probably due to the warm weather. I feel quite hot too.

Eventually the finish the crossing over to the other side of the stage.

Curtain falls.

SCENE VI

Curtain rises on Princesses’ bedroom. The bed which was the Prince’s remains, but it should now be more suitably covered, something fitting for a Princess. Each of the other Princesses has a bed as well. They are seated on their beds, brushing hair and tying on dancing shoes. A particularly loud snore comes from offstage, from the direction of the Prince’s “room.” The Princesses laugh.

ALUSAIR: He too could have done better things with his life.

AURORA: Yes. I wish they’d stop coming!

ANASTASIA: It seems such a waste!

ALUSAIR: Yes, but it must be done! If we are caught, we shall never manage to free our Princes!

AURORA: True. Are we ready to go?

ANASTASIA: I don’t know. You’re all happy, yet I have a strange feeling. I’m sure that something bad is going to happen to us.

ALUSAIR: You’re a silly goose. You’re always afraid. Have you forgotten how many princes have already tried in vain? I didn’t really need to give this one a sleeping potion. The lout would never have awakened even without it.

AURORA: Just in case, we should check again.

ALUSAIR: I suppose you’re right. Go and check, will you Aurora?

Aurora goes offstage, in the direction of the snoring. After a moment she returns.

AURORA: Not so much as a twitch. His eyes are shut tight and he’s neither moved nor stirred so much as an inch since we last checked.

Alusair nods and gestures for her sisters to gather around her bed. When they are ready, she grandly knocks three times on the headboard. Slowly, the mattress rises up, such that it is standing balanced on the foot of the bed, obscuring the audience’s view. A stage hand should be able to hide under the bed and do this. As the mattress rises, the sound of footsteps is heard making their way across the stage.

ANASTASIA: What’s that?

AURORA: What’s what?

ANASTASIA: I thought I heard footsteps!

ALUSAIR: It’s just your imagination! Come on, we mustn’t keep our princes waiting!

One by one the Princesses step into the vacancy left by the mattress. The head of the bed should be close to the backdrop curtain, such that the Princesses can crawl out under it and make room for the next one. After the last Princess disappears, the footsteps resume, with a slight pause before the mattress slowly begins to lower itself back down.

Curtain.

SCENE V

Curtain. Princess Alusair and the Prince walk onstage, as if they have just exited a room. There should be the trapping of a guest bedroom onstage, nothing expansive.

ALUSAIR: And here is your room. As you no doubt noticed as we walked through the door, it connects directly to ours. Father has decreed that you have the right to leave the door open and watch us all night if you so desire. However, you are still expected to respect propriety.

PRINCE: Of course.

ALUSAIR: Do you need anything for the night?

PRINCE: Could I get a chair, possibly?

ALUSAIR: Of course. I’ll fetch you one directly.

Alusair exits. The Prince quickly pulls a sponge from his pocket and ties it to his neck, and then hides it within the lack at his chin. The Prince wanders around, inspecting the trapping of the room. Upstage center is a large bed with a masculine coverlet. Anastasia enters with a handful of flowers, not seeing the Prince at first.

PRINCE: Hello.

ANASTASIA: Oh! I didn’t see you there! (drops her flowers)

PRINCE: Here. Let me get those for you.

ANASTASIA: No, No, I’ll get them.

Predictably, they both go for the flowers at the same time. This results in the smacking of heads and falling to the ground in a heap and other such physically comedic actions. They sit on the ground for a moment, staring at each other and rubbing their heads, and then they begin to laugh. At this point Alusair returns with chair in hand and Aurora in tow. Aurora is carrying a silver tray with a goblet of wine on it.

AURORA: Anastasia!

Anastasia and the Prince hurriedly get to their feet, attempting to return themselves to some semblance of order as they do so.

ALUSAIR: Your chair.

PRINCE: Ah…thank you.

ALUSAIR: I see you have met Anastasia. She’s the youngest. This is Aurora. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call for any one of us.

PRINCE: Th…thank you.

The Prince sets the chair down facing the “doorway.” Alusair takes the goblet from Aurora.

ALUSAIR: Here. We brought you a goblet of wine. We thought you might like something to drink before bed.

AURORA: We spiced it ourselves, with mother’s secret recipe.

ALUSAIR: I DO so hope you like it!

The Prince smiles and takes the goblet. Raising it to the Princesses, he tips it back. He spills a bit, pulls out a handchercheif and throws the goblet back, letting the wine run into the sponge. If this fails mechanically, then adapt the staging such that the Prince is sitting by a potted plant and he can slip it into the soil with a brief distraction of the Princesses.

PRINCE: Delicious. (after a moment he yawns hugely)

ALUSAIR: Well, we shouldn’t keep you up.

AURORA: It’s time we turn in.

ANASTASIA: Good Night.

The Princesses file out through the “doorway.” The Prince moves over and sits in the chair. He yawns melodramatically a few times, then allows his head to droop. After a moment or too he begins to snore loudly. Cautiously, Alusair looks in on him. When there is no response she enters and gestures behind her. Her sisters trail in after her. Cautiously they approach the figure of the Prince. Alusair gingerly reaches out and prods him. The prince moves, and the Princesses all jump back. However, the Prince remains asleep, letting out a particularly loud snore. The princesses approach again, and gently prod poke and generally muss with the Prince, to see that he really is asleep. This scene should be very physical and animated, with the Princesses shrinking back at about every loud snore or random sleep movement. Finally, they laugh triumphantly and exit the stage.

Curtain.

SCENE IV

Curtain opens. The Prince and the King stand onstage.

KING: Yes yes! Quite welcome! Now, I’ll have one of my daughters show you to your room. (he yells into the wings) Alusair! You have another guest!

ALUSAIR: (entering) Yes father?

KING: This is Prince Antranig.

PRINCE: Charmed. (he kisses her hand)

KING: The Prince will be your charge for the next three days. Make sure you take good care of him.

ALUSAIR: Don’t I always father? Now sir, if you would please follow me, I’ll escort you to your room.

PRINCE: Lead the way.

They exit. The King watches them leave and then walks offstage in the opposite direction.

Curtain.

My 50-word-story, Thursday, has been published by 50 to 1!

You can read the story here!

SCENE III

The three Storytellers enter in front of the curtain. As always, they speak smoothly, one line flowing into the next, a continuous narration. The ellipses are not pauses!

STORYTELLER #1: Time passed…

STORYTELLER #2: Word of the King’s proclamation spread.

STORYTELLER #3: Far and wide, and from every corner of the kingdom…

STORYTELLER #1: even from beyond the kingdom…

STORYTELLER #2: Brave men came…

STORYTELLER #3: To try and solve the riddle of…

STORYTELLERS (all): The worn-out dancing shoes!

The curtains part to reveal a finely dressed man kneeling before the King. He pantomimes pleading, begging the King. The King’s face remains stony, and he shakes his head gravely, gesturing to one of his Knights (two onstage, the third doubling as the man before the King) to have the man removed.

STORYTELLER #1: One after another brave men came…

STORYTELLER #2: To try and solve the riddle of the worn-out dancing shoes…

STORYTELLER #3: But to no avail. They all failed.

STORYTELLERS (all): They all died.

The Knights drag the struggling man away from the King, who looks grave. Curtain.

STORYTELLER #1: But the Princesses continued to dance,

STORYTELLER #2: And the men continued to try and uncover their secret…

STORYTELLER #3: And so it went, until one day…

Spot to central aisle to focus on Prince Antrainig. He carries a piece of parchment in one hand and is staring at it intently, reading aloud to himself.

PRINCE: …And so let it be known throughout the land that whosoever solves the Riddle of the Worn-Out Dancing Shoes may marry whichever of the Princesses he so desires and in so doing be named heir to the Throne. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to make my fortune… Although there is the slight drawback that if I fail, my head is forfeit. Three days… Perhaps it is better not to risk it…

The Prince makes his way up the aisle. As he does so, an old woman steps out from the crowd. She is being harassed by two young punks (Knights doubling on parts again). They jeer and shove her. She slips and falls, loosing her walking stick in the process. The Prince rushes to her aid, drawing his sword and beating the punks with the flat of it, driving them off. He helps the old woman to her feet.

PRINCE: Are you alright?

OLD WOMAN: A bit of a bruise but nothing that won’t heal, given a little time. Thank you young man.

PRINCE: Think nothing of it madam. It was a pleasure to be able to help.

OLD WOMAN: What is such a finely dressed young man such as yourself doing out here on the road today?

PRINCE: My father demanded that I go out into the world and make my way in it alone, before returning to him. He wishes me to prove my worthiness before he will allow me my inheritance.

OLD WOMAN: Well, I’m glad he did. Who knows what those rapscallions would have done if you hadn’t been walking by. Is there anything I can do to repay you?

From the stage the Storytellers speak. The Prince and the Old Woman freeze as the Storytellers say their piece.

STORYTELLER #1: Unbeknownst to the Prince…

STORYTELLER #2: The Old Woman was actually…

STORYTELLER #3: A good fairy in disguise.

STORYTELLERS (all): In reward for his kindness…

STORYTELLER #1: She decided to help the poor Prince…

STORYTELLER #2: Which only goes to show…

STORYTELLER #3: You should always help someone in need…

STORYTELLER #1: Not only is it the right things to do…

STORYTELLER #2: But you never know when a fairy might be lurking about…

STORYTELLER #3: Watching you to see if…

STORYTELLERS (all): You do the right thing.

The Prince and the Old Woman reanimate, as if nothing at all has occurred and no time at all has passed.

PRINCE: (jokingly) I don’t suppose you could tell me how to find out where the king’s daughters go dancing and where they wear out their shoes so I could become king. (he laughs) But in all seriousness madam, no thanks are necessary. It was my pleasure to help.

OLD WOMAN: Oh come now! I insist! If you really want to find out the Princesses’ secret, it is not so difficult! Just don’t drink the wine that’s brought to you in the evening, and then pretend that you’ve fallen asleep.

The Old Woman then pulls a large black cloak form somewhere on her person and hands it to the Prince.

OLD WOMAN: Here take this cloak. It’s a magical Cloak of Invisibility. When you put it on and speak the words, nunc me videre potestis, nunc me non videre potestis. You’ll be invisible, and you’ll be able to follow them if you’re careful.

The Prince looks astounded, but accepts the gift. He looks about to see if anyone is watching, the swirls the cloak about himself and speaks the magic words.

PRINCE: Nunc me videre potestis, nunc me non videre potestis.

The Spotlight on the Prince should go off at this point, leaving him only a slightly darker shadow in the darkness of the theatre. The Prince moves around the circle of light still on the old woman to her other side (if possible given the theatre in question, if not, the Prince may stand in one place). The prince throws off the cloak and the light returns at the same moment. The Old Woman ignores his presence/movement.

PRINCE: Amazing! How can I ever repay you! (his jaw dropped in amazement).

OLD WOMAN: Come now! This is my thanks to you! No need to thank me for thanking you! What are you waiting for? Don’t just stand around! There are Princesses waiting! And close your mouth, you look like a halibut!

The Old Woman turns and hobbles off, leaving the lighted area and disappearing into the darkness. The prince looks after her for a moment, then turns and continues down the aisle where he disappears from view, leaving the light before he needs to find his entrance to backstage.

STORYTELLER #!: After receiving such good advice…

STORYTELLER #2: The Prince resolved to present himself before the King as a serious suitor…

STORYTELLER #3: Regardless of the consequences…

Curtain.

My short short story, Smokin’, has been published by The Short Humour Site!

You can read the story here!