There was once a princess who could never leave her bed. She was sick most of the time. When she wasn’t sick, she was weak and recovering from sickness. So all she could manage was to lie down and stare at the view outside her window.
The King and Queen decided they could not watch their daughter suffer like this, day I and day out. They got the Princess the best doctors, healers and herbalists from across the world. After much discussion, they came up with a way to cure the sick princess in a year.
Another year? The princess was angry and refused to take all medicines. If anyone tried forcing her, she would either scream or spit it out and create such a huge fuss. Soon she had to be shifted to another building because the palace couldn’t function with all the shouting.
The princess stubbornly refused to take the medicine in this new room. She told her parents she was happy to die instead of living in this condition. The King and the Queen wept in despair. The entire kingdom was gloomy over the condition of the royal family.
Her parents tried to cheer her up be saying,” But look at the view, darling. You can see the entire sky!”
“I wish I were up there in it and not here with you.” snapped the princess. The King and Queen walked away, heartbroken.
One night the princess was angrily staring at the view outside. She heard a small noise from outside her door. She ignored it at first but then she started hearing the same noise every night around midnight. It couldn’t be her father’s guards or any of the other attendants. They never made such noises.
She was consumed with curiosity. She spent all her time wondering who this midnight visitor was. One night she came up with a plan and waited for the noise to come again. She sprung the door open to catch the mystery noise maker.
To her surprise, she saw a younger girl sitting on a wheelchair. The little girl was startled and immediately apologized for disturbing the Princess.
The Princess found the little girl in the wheelchair interesting. She invited the little girl inside to play with her. They sat and talked for hours. The little girl knew a lot of fun games to play, where neither of them would have to move from their seats. The princess could not remember ever having this much fun.
The princess found out the girl was the caretaker’s daughter. She asked her about the noise and the late night trips she made.
The girl look embarrassed but told her the truth.” I’m sorry m’lady, but the noise comes from the anklet my father made for me. The doctors told him I will die in a year. My family cannot afford the treatment. So he gave me this as a gift. I like coming outside your door every night because through the cracks I can see a view of the stars. I have never left the palace, so it is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life. I want that to be the last thing I see before I die.”
The next morning, the King and Queen woke up to sobbing summons from their daughter. They ran to their daughter’s room to be greeted with the sight of their daughter holding on to her new friend and crying her eyes out. When she saw her parents, she wiped her eyes and smiled a sweet smile they had not seen in years.
She said she was ready for treatment, only there was one condition – She wanted her friend to be taken care of as well.
