The Lovely Princess Serena - A Parable

The lovely Princess Serena lived in a beautiful castle, surrounded by a lush countryside with babbling brooks, gently flowing hills, and green forests perfect for walking, picnicking, and playing.

She had everything a Princess could want: Loving parents and siblings; playmates who would happily spend hours with her playing in the fields and woods on the castle grounds; tutors who taught her all about the world and marveled at her attentiveness and desire to learn; a magnificent home with endless rooms to explore; an incredible array of fresh, delicious foods and drinks; and the seemingly unlimited potential to do anything she wanted now, as a child, and throughout her life.

Everyone saw in her the great Queen she would become one day, but what Serena wanted for herself was to be a Knight.

Her parents, siblings, playmates and tutors knew that Serena was an exceptional girl, and always spoke encouraging words to her, praising her for her competitive fire, her willingness to work hard in all endeavours, her sharp mind, her keen sense of humour, and (of course) her overall loveliness. They often marveled at the possibilities for the young lady, and talked with her about all that she could do in her lifetime as a Princess and future Queen. But when she shared with them her dream of one day becoming a Knight instead, they just shook their heads and said she couldn't do that.

At costume balls, all the other girls in the castle dressed up like princesses, fairies, and cute little farm animals. Serena wore chain mail and a helmet.

When she played tag or hide-and-seek with her playmates, Serena always changed the game so that the other children were being chased by dragons or wolves, and she was the brave Knight sent to rescue them.

In her lessons, the tutors taught her how to run a Kingdom, but she just wanted to hear about the daring exploits of the Knights who protected it.

She loved her parents, siblings, playmates and her tutors, but didn't understand how they could praise and encourage her in all things except her most precious dream. This led her to decide one day that if those around her weren't going to support her hope for her future, she needed to find someone who would.

The problem was that almost everybody in the castle was a parent, sibling, play-mate or tutor, or someone who served her family and would never stand with her in defiance of their wishes.

The only other person she could think of was the sullen and unfriendly stable-boy, Myron.

Myron wasn't like the rest of the people in Serena's life. He didn't fawn on her. He didn't seek her approval. He didn't smile. He didn't praise her. He didn't give her attention of any kind. In fact, he usually didn't even say "hi". Myron stood out to her as a potential ally exactly because he was so different from the rest in how he treated her.

Putting aside her usual discomfort with the stable-boy, she approached him one day and asked him to come riding out into the countryside with her so they could talk. He refused. The next day, she asked him to join her for one of her amazing meals in the castle. He declined. The day after that, she all but ordered him to sit with her while he ate his meager lunch during his brief mid-day break. He said no.

Giving up on Myron, she decided instead to enlist her father, the King, as the ally she sought. He, amongst all the others, at least didn't say she "couldn't" be a Knight, just that he'd "rather" she not. With that in mind, she confronted him a few days later as he was mounting up to tour the many villages around the castle.

He, of course, disappointed her as well. Impatiently, he said: "Serena. I don't have time to talk of this right now, but surely you know that this childhood fantasy of yours to be a Knight is something you will outgrow with time. You're a girl. Girls can't be Knights. You will one day be a Queen and that should be more than enough to make you happy." And then he rode off.

As Serena stood there, crestfallen, she heard Myron (off in a corner of the stable sweeping out a stall) mutter: "That's pretty cool that you want to be a Knight instead of a Princess."

Serena, embarrassed and angered by Myron having witnessed the scene with her father, spun on him in a rage: "What do you know about these things? You're just a lowly stable-boy!"

Myron lifted his head and answered her with quiet dignity: "No, Princess Serena, that's not true at all. I'm a Prince who always dreamed of being a stable-boy. I had to leave my own castle to become one, but here I am happily doing what I always wanted."

Serena and Myron never spoke again. They didn't have to.

Serena didn't need an ally or another friend. She had enough friends and family to last a lifetime. What she needed was the courage to do what she really wanted, even if she was the only one who believed she could.

And she did.