THE CAPTIVE PRINCESS INTRO

This time I bring my online edition of a particularly unsung epic of Victorian Britain, by forgotten poet and tale author Laurence Housman.
The story tells of a crown princess dethroned and plunged into a coma by her wicked stepfamily, skilled in the dark arts. So far, damselling is overrated. And the rescuer who arrives in these dire times of need is, sadly, no action heroine... bur neither a dashing knight. Simply an awkward-looking and naive boy with an unusual name (Who on Earth would name their child Noodle?).
Yet what strikes the reader, young, old, or in between, is the allegorical level of the tale.
A magic ring that makes water feel like good wine, any food taste like sweetmeats, and toil feel easy to carry on: that is Noodle's only resource from the start, a reward for an act of kindness towards complete strangers. This ring I interpret as a symbol of good karma and optimism.
From that moment on, we readers (regardless of gender, orientation, or ideology) embark on a thrilling gotta-catch-them-all quest through the realms of earth, water, fire, and air: taming unusual beasts and befriending waterfolk, entering a living body to get our grip on a fire rose (this is one of the earliest instances of a Fantastic Voyage plot in the history of fiction!), plunging into an icy lake, dark and cold and deep as Hell itself, to get the only bubble exhaled by the lake's resident monster (even though it may involve kissing the serpent's lips!)... Each challenge harder than the previous. But luckily, Noodle has got his ring...
Will this forgotten fairytale end with a "happily ever after"?
Start reading on this blog to find out!