Most of the stories I write are sci-fi and just for the fun of it. This short story strays from that pattern. This is a fairy tale vaguely inspired by Antoine St. Exupéry's The Little Prince. It was also a school assignment, but an enjoyable one. See if you can guess what class I wrote it for.

On a small planet not so very far away, there lived a Prince. He lived on His little world with His Father, the King, and a Great Spirit that watched over them. The Three were happy together, and would have been quite content to rule over universe forever and ever, for the King was the most powerful Being of them all, so much so that the stars and planets themselves followed His every whim.

But one day, as the Prince was sitting in His Father's lap, gazing out at the stars, He asked the King, "Why is it that We alone can marvel at the stars?"

"It is because We are the only ones Who have the Great Spirit's life within Us," the King replied. "Only those with the life of the Spirit can comprehend the true beauty of the stars."

The Prince looked out at the stars and the planets, and noticed one world in particular: the Earth. This planet was perfect for supporting life, he thought. So he said to the King, "Let Us make man in Our image; We can put him on the Earth so that he may live happily."

"No," the King answered, "for the Great Serpent would surely become angry and destroy the man."

The Prince had forgotten about the Great Serpent. The Serpent lived on the Earth, roaming in its darkest depths and devouring anything that got in its way. Surely it would wish to harm any man that the Prince put on Earth. But no, the Serpent could not ruin the Prince's plan.

"Order the Spirit to give His life to the man," the Prince asked. "I will guard man against the Serpent."

"If You wish to leave Our planet and dwell among men," the King decided, "You must become one." And, of course, whatever the King said was law.

"Very well," the Prince agreed instantly, "I will do whatever it takes. Father, create the Man. Spirit, give him life. When the time is right, I shall go and save him from the Serpent."

The King looked lovingly at the Prince for a moment, proud of His Son's self-giving mindset, but also dreading the day when He would leave to save the man, for the King knew what would happen on that day. He had always known. That was His way.

"So let it be done," He ordered. And the King created man in His Own image, in His image He created him; to reign over the Earth He created him.

And the Prince saw the man that He and His Father and the Great Spirit had made, and He thought him to be very, very good.

But the Serpent saw the man as well, and did not think him good. The ruthless Snake looked with contempt upon the man, and made up its mind to destroy him.

When the Serpent was almost ready to carry out his plan, the Prince said to His Father, "It is time for Me to go."

"No," the King replied. "Before You can join the Man, You must become one. And to do that, You must be born of a woman."

The Prince was puzzled. This had not been a part of the original plan. But the King had known it all along. That was His way.

"What is a woman?" he asked.

"You shall see," was the King's only reply.

As the Prince watched in amazement, the King put the man into a deep sleep, and removed a part of him. From that, He created a whole new being. This was the most beautiful, most perfect creature the Prince had ever seen. Once she was completed, the Spirit produced a bright blue light, which the King placed in her heart. This light was something new and confused the Prince.

As the Spirit breathed His life into her, the Prince asked, "What was that light? What is it for? What does it do?"

"You shall see," was the King's only reply.

And the Prince accepted it. That was His Father's way.

"Now, I think," the Prince sighed, "is My time."

"Yes," the King answered sadly. "You must go now. The Great Spirit will send You to the woman, and she will bear You within her body for a time, and then You will be born of a woman; You will be truly man."

"Goodbye, Father," was all that the Prince could say. Then, the Spirit came over Him, and sent Him to the woman.

She was wonderful; she was perfect; she was… immaculate. She held the Prince for nine months close to her heart, and the light shined so brilliantly that there was not a crevice of her soul that was unlit.

Then, the Prince was born. He lived with His mother for a long time, for she fascinated Him so. She was the most beautiful thing He had ever seen, and she loved to marvel at the stars just as much as He did. And so did the man, who visited them often. The man was different. He seemed to be not as wise as the Prince's mother, but almost as loving. They lived together happily for many days and nights.

But it was not to last. One day, as the Prince was playing, he saw the Serpent. It glared at Him fiercely, but soon passed Him by, not realizing who He was. It moved on to the man.

Now was His time. The Prince watched as the Serpent spoke to the man, luring him into a trance, distracting him with its beauty and grace. Suddenly, the Serpent opened its mouth wide, revealing a vast array of sharp teeth dripping with the deadliest of poisons.

Now was His time.

"Stop!" the Prince screamed. "Look!"

The Serpent turned, shocked that this little creature dared to defy it. It hissed angrily, but did not stray from its dark mission.

"I am the King's Son!" he screamed. "I created man! I am the one you want, not the man! Leave him! Bite me! BITE ME!"

The Serpent now saw the little man with new eyes, and recognized the Prince, the Son of the King.

"I am ready," the Prince said to His Father.

Then the Serpent struck Him down, using every drop of poison it possessed.

The woman saw all of this, and rushed to defend her Son. But she arrived too late. She turned to the Serpent, and seemed to glow more brightly than ever before. Down came her foot, and she crushed its head. And the Serpent fled, barely alive. Never again would he dare defy the woman.

She then turned to the Prince, who looked at her with a new understanding. "I see," he realized. "I see! The light that made you so perfect, it was from Me! It was from Me…" He looked at her, and He looked at the man, and with His last bit of strength, He whispered, "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit. Give it to the woman, so that she may be perfect, as We are perfect."

And, bowing His head, He died. The Prince's spirit soared up to the Great Spirit, who, in turn, gave it to the woman at her creation all those years ago. Through His death, she was given the power to crush the Serpent, to send it away so that the Prince could destroy it forever.

The Prince would rise again, conquering death and the Serpent forever, and finally returning to the King, who would receive Him home with the greatest of joy. All of this came to pass after three days had gone by in the darkness of death. In dying, the Prince conquered death; in rising, he restored life to man's soul, helping him to be like the woman.

"One day," the King decided, "they will join us here on our planet. But first, the man must face many trials and learn to resist the Serpent without Your being there with him."

"Someday, though?" the Prince asked.

"Someday, My Son," the Father smiled. "Someday…"

For that was His way.

"O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

This was a project I had to do for my religion class. I am Catholic and this story was written to explain the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. It's not to be taken too literally, though. The man, for example is not Adam, but Joseph. The woman is obviously Mary and not Eve. The King is God the Father, the Prince is God the Son, and the Great Spirit is God the Holy Ghost. The Prince's planet is Heaven, and the Serpent is both Satan and the power of sin personified. Christ paid the price for our sins, and through His sacrifice, He preserved Mary from sin – Immaculate Conception. That's what the blue light was, whereas the life of the Spirit was the human soul. Hopefully, those two didn't get mixed up in your brains while you were reading. I hope you enjoyed this little catechism lesson! Let me know if you'd like any more of these!