“This is our gift to the crown prince.” the sage told the king, beckoning to the men who carried three boxes. The king signalled to the prince to open the red box. It revealed a beautiful woman with reddish blond hair and gentle blue eyes. The prince’s eyes shone as he walked over to the blue one. It opened to a svelte Eastern beauty with raven hair and wild dark eyes.
The smitten prince strolled to the white box, his eyes shining with greed. Upon finding the box empty, he went inside. He was calm when he emerged two minutes later. He removed his crown and handed them to his father, “I renounce everything.” he said as he walked barefoot to the forest.
This was written for Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers. Thanks to Rich Voza for the photo.
Oh good one, that’s greed for you. Well done.
Thank you, Summer:)
Dear Nightlake,
Oh, I liked this story very much. The mystery of it all, the magic, the question lingering there at the end. perfect story. Well done.
Aloha,
Doug
Dear Doug, I am so glad you liked it:) Thank you very much. Cheers, Nightlake
Dear Nightlake,
This one left me scratching my head and smiling. I want to know more about the white box.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you so much, Rochelle:) The white box is the mystery here:)
Very good story. It makes you wonder what he found in the white box.
Yes, something or someone very strong to let him give up his greed, power and desire for fun. Thank you, Susan:) Going to try friday fictioneers?
I would like that very much, but I am not sure how to get started. How did you get into it?
A few bloggers I knew were taking part in friday fictioneers. So, I started participating too:) After you write a 100-word fiction with this photo as inspiration, you need to go to Rochelle’s blog and add your link to the link collection. Also, we get to read the other stories:)
http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/27-september-2013/
Thanks I’ll check it out. It sounds like fun.
This is top notch! I love how you left you readers to fill in the blanks as to what made the smitten prince renounce his everything.
Thank you, Uzoma:) Glad you visited
It would be nice if it were so easy to change an errant prince. Well done.
not so easy:) He went through a lIfe-changing experience in those two minutes. Thank you, Sandra
Loved it. 🙂
Thank you, Aesop:)
Argh! I must know what was inside that box. Must have been some seriously powerful stuff in there.
Leave it to your guess:) Thank you for reading and glad you liked it
This story and the instance of an empty box reminds me of a custom of the Yoruba, south-west Nigerians, who gift an empty calabash to any tyrannical king. Which meant suicide for the bearer. Thanks for sharing.
an intriguing custom..Thank you fir sharing here
Great story! I loved the mystery of the piece! 😀
Thank you, Cao:) Hope you are having a great week
Oh man, I want to know what’s in he white box. The first two were awesome. I might’ve stopped there. But whatever is in the white is obviously life-changing. I like the way you leave this to the imagination. Well done!
The thing in the box drew him and changed him forever. Thank you so much for the appreciation:)
What could the prince have seen behind that white box? Oh – the mystery…
Left it to the reader’s imagination:) Thank you, Rosy:)
I like that. Could it be that the Prince found the beauty of the forest? He wanted nothing more than to spend his time with the trees and the birds?
A wonderful story
It is possible. He had not only renounced the life of a prince, but also the pleasures of an ordinary human being. He is on his way to sainthood. Thank you for the comment, Alastair
You’re welcome. Thank you for the inspirational story.
Now that’s some story! What could cause him to renounce everything including those women? Maybe he liked women with no hair?
lol. In those two minutes, he saw and felt something, which was deeper than women, beauty, lust, comfort and money. Hence this decision. Thank you, Perry:)
I fear the evil witch has put a spell on him.
Possible. Do you think his decision was wrong? Maybe to his parents who wanted to him succeed as a king. But, the sage who brought those gifts had achieved his purpose. Thank you, Dawn:)
lovely story. in my mind, he chose a life of freedom and adventure instead of one that’s easily laid out for him. well done.
I feel that he made a better choice too..Thank you, kz
great story and wise choice 🙂
Thank you, Sunshine. Glad you agree with the choice
I wonder how many if offered such a choice chance would take it. I like what you did with this prompt!
Thank you, Jules:)
Wow, really well done! I’ve been thinking of the significance of the third door: perhaps that that was himself and he realized he was empty inside. Very good.
That is a very likely explanation. Thank you so much, David
Wonderful take on age old tale.
Loved it.
Thank you very much, Elephant
This story is perfection… what a wonderful mystery…
Thank you, Bjorn