Chayla Cryder Writing

Chayla Cryder Writing

9-16-13 Legend

Prince Tipo

Most people fit the name they are given their entire life, but there was once one person who did not match his name for a long time. That man was Prince Tipo, whose name meant ‘kind’ in Italian, and he was the exact opposite of kind. He was greedy and haughty.

This story begins on the princes twenty-fifth birthday. When he was young Tipo had been told several times by his father that he would be proclaimed King when he reached 25 years old or when the king had died. Since then he had become arrogantly prideful and on that day, even before his coronation, the prince began to plan and scheme. His greed had grown severely over the many years, and because of this Tipo had made the expansion of his kingdom, forcefully if need be, his first command as king.

But Prince Tipo was too anxious to wait until after he was crowned King to put his plan into action, and so that same day he left with four of his best knights to bargain with a distant county for support in a battle he planned to wage against a neighboring kingdom for its land (this being the first step in his plan). All was well the first couple of days into their journey, but they had not journeyed far on the third day before they were ambushed by a band of bandits. All four of his knights were killed before Prince Tipo could escape.

The prince had carried no provisions or money, leaving that instead to his knights. Since they were all dead now and their belongings taken by the thieves, Tipo was left with nothing more than his horse and extra clothing in a cloth tied to his saddle. So when the day had passed and he had finally come upon an inn, the prince was devastated to realize that he could not pay the price of a room and food.

Seeing his distress, the innkeeper took pity on Tipo and told him that if he could answer a riddle he would be provided with room and board. Seeing no other choice, the prince agreed to the condition.

This thing all things devours;

Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;

Gnaws iron, bites steel;

Grinds hard stones to meal;

Slays kings, ruins towns, and beats high mountains down

Tipo thought for several minutes, even repeated the riddle out loud to himself, but could not come up with an answer. He was just about to relay his defeat to the innkeeper when he heard a feminine voice (he was later told it was the innkeepers wife) call out a question to the innkeeper.

“John-“Tipo supposed this was the innkeeper’s name, “would you be kind enough to tell me what time it is?”

Before John could reply, Tipo suddenly gasped and exclaimed excitedly, “Time! The answer is time!” The innkeeper smiled warmly and beckoned him inside as he called the answer to the woman’s question. John, true to his word, provided Tipo with room and board.

The next morning Tipo woke early, thanked John for his kindness, and continued his trek to the distant county. But as the day lagged with no sign of the county, the prince decided to stop at an inn and try his luck again. Same as before, the innkeeper took pity on him and gave him the same challenge as the previous one, and he was quick to accept.

An eye in a blue face

Saw an eye in a green face

“That eye is like to this eye” Said the first eye

“But in low place, not high place”

Again, Tipo could not think of an answer, and after some time his mind began to wonder and he thought of his home and family.

“I give anything to be in my mother’s daisy garden.” He thought to himself. He stopped reminiscing suddenly, “daisies’, daisies’…” he said over and over again, he was sure that that word belonged in the riddle.

The innkeeper watched as Tipo’s eyes widened and he turned to face him, saying with a grin, “The answer is ‘Sunlight on the Daisies’!” The innkeeper couldn’t help but laugh at the obvious relief on the prince’s face and welcomed him in.

Tipo had remembered the riddle as one his mother had told him once, which had helped him to remember the answer. The prince was beginning to feel pride in himself, and so the following day when he again did not see signs of the county he stopped at another inn on the side of the road.

He walked up to the innkeeper and boldly declared, “I have no money and nowhere to stay. If I answer a riddle you provide correctly, would you provide me with room and board for the night?”

Sadly, the innkeeper was a bitter old man with no family of his own and had no sympathy for those in need. Because of this, he wasted no time in saying “No! No money, no room and board. That’s my policy.” And with that, he slammed the inn’s wooden door closed in Tipo’s face.

Tipo, though tired and hungry, continued down the road, which fortunately was lit by a full moon that night. But his luck soon ran out as only an hour down the road he was attacked and robbed of his meager belongings and was forced to continue on foot.

As night began to turn to day he finally saw the county, and by the time the sun was fully up he had reached its gate. Exhausted from his traveling he fell asleep next to it, as it was still locked to keep intruders out. Tipo was awakened not many hours later to find himself being dragged inside by two guards and tied up and gagged. He was cruelly dragged to the castle and thrown into a metal cell where they removed the ropes and gag. He eventually could not stand the fatigue any longer and he fell asleep again.

“Wake up Thief! His Majesty would like a word with you!” Following these harsh words came a terrible kick to his side. Disoriented, he sat up and followed the guard. They rounded a bend and arrived in a beautiful throne room, but Tipo did not stop to admire the grandeur, focusing his sights instead on the man sitting on the one thrown at the back of the room, which he took to be the king. The guard left and Tipo was left alone with the man.

“I wanted to ask you a few questions before I sentenced you.” Came the voice of the king. “First, why did you rob those innocent people?”

“I have stolen nothing, I am not the thief you speak of.” Replied Tipo

“Then why were you outside the gate sleeping on the ground instead of inside?”

“I am not from your county, merely a visitor here on business.”

“Business of what kind?” Asked the King

“I am Prince Tipo. I have come to bargain for the support of you, your people, and your army for a siege against a neighboring kingdom.”

“And why, may I ask, are you going to do battle against this kingdom?” Inquired the King, intrigued.

Tipo thought, but could not think of a reasonable answer. Then he spoke. “My original reason was for the land it would afford my own kingdom, but that reason has cost me four good knights, has caused me to be robbed and then thrown into jail. Now, to say the least, I have no reason to battle them.”

“If you are who you say you are, then I apologize, your circumstances did seem suspicious and we’ve had a long line of robberies throughout this land.” Said the king

“I understand and accept your apology. Though I believe I can be of service with your robbery problem.” The night he had been robbed he had caught sight of the man’s face and told the king the description. The king thanked him, and sent a group of his knights to search for the man that fit the description. The thief was soon found (ironically he was in the process of robbing an elderly man of his belongings). To show his gratitude the king gave Tipo a new steed to ride and the assistance of six of his knights.

When he returned home, he found, to the delight of his parents, that he had changed and after his coronation was complete, he returned to the two inns that had given him refuge and paid them for their trouble. In the following years King Tipo led his kingdom with kindness and wisdom, instead of with greed and haughtiness, and became known as the greatest king known to man-kind.