The Cautious Princess - A Parable

Once upon a time in a faraway land there lived a young princess. Princess Milaeca was a cute little thing, who loved to play, to run, to dance, to sing, and to talk. Her older Princess sisters loved her dearly, as did the King and Queen, her parents. They loved her so much, in fact, that they never wanted to see her get hurt. Whenever she would approach danger of any kind, big or small, they would overreact in order to protect her.

As she grew into childhood, she herself became very fearful of getting hurt, because those around her had always taken such care in attending to her safety.

When she played with other children, she would stand and watch when they did the fun, but potentially dangerous, things that children do. On a trampoline, her feet would barely leave the ground before she had had enough. She feared swings. She wouldn't jump into the fun foam pits that would be set up for children's play during the Kingdom's many festivals. She would always hold hands with a grown-up, and never stray off more than a few metres when they went to the local market.

The people around her began to think of her as cautious, but always acted with her as if she were very, very brave when she would go on a swing and let them push her (just a bit), or stand on a trampoline and carefully lift one leg at a time in a pantomime of jumping, or step gingerly into a foam pit with a look of great accomplishment. So despite being very, very cautious, Princess Milaeca never thought of herself thus.

In fact, in those times when she pushed herself to overcome her fears and get onto the trampoline, the swing, or the edge overlooking the ball pit, she thought of herself as the bravest Princess ever.

And only her father, the King, who was equally cautious as a child understood this. And sure, the King had to live with the memories of having scorn heaped on him by his sisters and his parents and his wicked brothers-in-law (one of whom tried to get him to jump into the pool once for 7 weeks and gave him wedgies), but he nevertheless became a great and accomplished King. (And it never bothered the King that even his mother, his dear, dear mother, the former Queen, who loved him dearly, once called him a 'chicken' to his face. Nor did he remember the incident or refer to it ever again. Even though he sometimes wondered how she could do that to him. How could you? I WAS YOUR SON. YOUR SON...)

Um.

So Princess Milaeca was always safe, always happy, and never ever got hurt. The end.