A/N: Part of a short stories project I had to do for English class. As always, feedback is appreciated.
And of course I'm not posting this to distract you from lack of posting for Gabe's story.
Once upon a time, there lived a carpenter. While he was talented, he was not rich; he was not poor, either. He made just enough to clothe himself, and to keep him and his dog fed. He was young and happy with his life.
One day, the daughter of the king visited the carpenter's home. The carpenter saw her, and fell in love with her in an instant. Before she and her guards left, he approached her.
"Please marry me!" he pleaded. "I am a fine carpenter, and I will build you the grandest house in all the lands."
The princess hid her disdain. She had no desire to marry the carpenter, not when she had a dozen of much more handsome and wealthy suitors. But she did not want him follow after her, so she quickly thought up a plan.
"There is a dragon," she said, "in the borderlines of the neighboring kingdom. If you slay the dragon and bring me the most beautiful jewel from its cave, then I will marry you." She left without another word, knowing that the carpenter would never be able to complete such a quest.
The carpenter went home to prepare for his quest without a second thought. Anything to have her hand, he thought, hurrying back. He tossed clothes and a little food into a cloth sack, and, since he had no sword to slay the dragon with, he took his biggest hammer and a chipped old kitchen knife; he put both in his belt. The carpenter donned his thick leather vest over his shirt, and his warmest coat. Then, whistling to his dog, he started off in the direction of the neighboring kingdom. He traveled all day, stopping once to eat a bite of food, and finally came to the separating border. His feet were very sore, and he was beginning to wish he had brought a walking stick along with him. Luckily enough, he soon spotted a woman on the dusty road ahead of him, holding a walking stick. He raced to catch up with her.
"Miss!" the carpenter cried out. "Miss, could I buy your walking stick?"
The woman grinned. "You may have it for free…but only if you carry me all the way to the toll bridge."
"Very well," the carpenter agreed. He lifted her onto his shoulders and continued down the road with the aid of the walking stick. One hour later, when they arrived at the toll bridge, the woman jumped off his shoulders with a short "thanks", and walked down a different road.
The carpenter approached the bridge, which was being guarded by an elderly blind man. "Sir, I wish to cross—just me and my dog." He placed his toll in the blind man's open hand.
"A dog, did you say?" The blind man asked. "Is he a loyal dog?"
"The most loyal in all the lands!" the carpenter declared proudly. The blind man frowned thoughtfully.
"I will let you cross for a quarter of the price if you give me your dog. "I am in need of a loyal dog to guide me, you see, and I can't afford one."
The carpenter, although the dog was his only friend, took pity on the blind man. "Very well," the carpenter agreed. He took the right amount of money away, bid his dog farewell, and crossed the toll bridge alone. Soon, the road led him into the dark, ominous forest. Now without his dog for company, he began to hum a song. It wasn't long before a thief, hearing his humming, jumped out into the road.
"Give me your purse," he ordered.
"It's all the money I have!" the carpenter exclaimed, forgetting all about the hammer and knife under his coat.
"A thief has to eat, the same as anyone," the thief said simply, and put a dagger against the carpenter's throat.
Well…I can't marry the princess if I am dead, he thought. "Very well," the carpenter agreed, and gave the thief his money. The second the purse was in his hand, the thief melted back into the woods.
The carpenter walked all night, until the sun came up. When he left the woods, he came upon an inn.
"I can't give you a room if you have no money," the innkeeper told him.
"I can not sleep outside," the carpenter argued. "It's damp, and I will catch cold!"
"Hmph!" the innkeeper said. He thought a moment. "That's a fine coat you have there. I'll accept it as payment for one night."
"Very well," the carpenter agreed. He slept until nightfall, and continued on his journey, leaving behind his coat. This time, he walked for two days, eating and dozing on his feet. By the time he reached the borderlines of the neighboring kingdom, he had no food and only the clothes on his back and his walking stick. He had given his cloth sack with his spare clothes as another toll.
Finally, just as he was near collapse, he spotted the enormous cave where the dragon lived. He left his walking stick outside and, brandishing his hammer in one hand and the kitchen knife in the other, stepping into the gloomy, damp cave.
The dragon slept lightly; as soon as the carpenter had set one foot into the cave, it awoke with a roar so loud, it half-deafened the carpenter. It crouched on the top of a gigantic pile of gold and jewels. It lashed it powerful tail forward and punctured one of the carpenter's eyes. The carpenter, who was now scared out of his wits, ducked and rushed foreword, toward the dragon's chest. Fire from its mouth singed his vest and shirt. With a final jump, the carpenter blinded it with his hammer, and drove the knife into its heart.
The carpenter tied a strip of cloth from the bottom of his shirt over the empty socket of his eye. As the dragon lay dying, he sifted through the treasure. At last, he found what he judged to be the most beautiful jewel, and ran out of the cave. He grabbed his walking stick, slipped the jewel into his pocket, and ran as fast as he could. He stopped four times to sleep, and by the afternoon of the fourth day, he arrived at the king's castle. The carpenter was allowed an audience with the princess, and when he saw her, he dropped to his knees.
"Princess! I have traveled for many days. I am starving; I am half-deaf. I have given up my best friend, my money, and my eye—and I have slain the dragon! Here, here's the most beautiful jewel from its cave! Will you now marry me, my beautiful Princess, as you promised?" He held out the jewel in his sooty, dirty hands.
The princess first looked at the carpenter, and then at the jewel he held. The carpenter shivered in anticipation, waiting for her to speak. And at last, she did.
"It's the ugliest thing I have ever seen."