The Princess of Canterbury

The Princess of Canterbury

Once upon a time in northern England, a nobleman had three sons. The two eldest thought themselves very clever. They liked long words, offered advice whether anyone wanted it or not, and believed they could answer any question.

The youngest was Jack. He spent most of his time with the sheep, knew every path among the hills, could smell rain coming, and noticed little things his brothers passed without a glance.

His older brothers often made fun of him.

“Jack thinks differently from everyone else,” they said.

“Maybe that’s why he sometimes sees things that you don’t,” his father answered.

One day, the news spread throughout the district: the Princess of Canterbury, known for her sharp mind and love of riddles, was organizing a great competition of wits.

The king announced:

“Whoever can answer the princess’s three unexpected questions may attempt a second challenge. If both agree, the winner may stay at court and help her with the kingdom’s affairs.”

The older brothers immediately began to get ready for the journey.

“Now that’s a task for us!” said the eldest.

“Indeed. They need truly clever people,” added the second.

“I’ll come too,” said Jack.

The brothers looked at each other.

“You?”

“And why not?”

Though they spent a long time urging him to stay with the sheep, Jack took his bag and went along.

The journey was long, but Jack was not bored. Near the hedge he suddenly bent down and picked up a small egg that lay in the dry grass.

“Look what I found!”

“It’s only an egg,” his brothers said dismissively.

Jack carefully put it in his bag.

A little further on he came across a curved hazel twig.

“And this might come in handy.”

“What do you want a crooked stick for?” laughed his brothers.

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m curious.”

Finally he found a nut under an old tree.

“You’re taking the nut too?” sighed his eldest brother.

“You never know what little thing may be useful on a journey,” Jack replied.

At the palace, the great hall was already full of people eager to test their wits. The princess sat by a tall window, chatting cheerfully with her guests.

The older brothers went first. They explained their thoughts at such length that they tangled themselves in their own words. One argued with himself; the other tried to guess which answer the princess wanted.

Soon both of them stepped aside, a little sad.

Then Jack stepped forward.

He looked around the hall and smiled.

“What a warm welcome!”

The princess decided to test his skill at wordplay straight away.

“Indeed,” she answered. “There’s such warmth here, you’d think each of us carried a little fire beside our heart.”

Jack took an egg out of his bag.

“If there’s a fire, perhaps we could fry an egg?”

Everyone in the hall laughed.

The princess was not flustered.

“Very well. How would you take it out of its hot shell without using your hands?”

Jack showed a curved hazel twig.

“With this hook.”

The princess raised her eyebrows.

“Where did you find such an odd hook?”

Jack took out a nut.

“On a hazel tree. Here’s its signature.”

The princess laughed first.

“Three questions, three answers. And you didn't prepare any of them in advance.”

“I don’t prepare much in advance at all,” Jack admitted. “But I do try to notice what’s around me.”

The king was also pleased.

“You’ve passed the first challenge. Come back in a week for the second. You must spend the whole night in this hall and stay awake until dawn. If you cannot, you’ll simply go home. If you can, we’ll declare you the winner.”

Jack agreed.

All week, Jack tended his sheep and wondered how to keep awake in a warm palace at night. But the more he thought, the less sure he was of a plan.

“I’ll see when I get there,” he decided at last.

When the day of the test came, Jack set off for Canterbury. On the way he had to cross a shallow river. He took off his shoes and stepped into the cool water. Small fish were splashing around the stones.

Jack caught a few in a simple cloth container filled with water, which he had brought for the journey.

“You will also be my helpers today,” he said and went on.

That evening, he was given a comfortable chair in the great hall. Pies, fruit, nuts, and a warm spiced drink stood on the table. The princess sat opposite him.

“Ready to stay up until morning?”

“Ready to try.”

At first they talked about roads, sheep, books, strange court rules and why people are so afraid to say “I don’t know.”

Toward midnight, the fire burned low and rain pattered beyond the windows. After his hearty supper, Jack began to nod off.

The princess noticed this.

“You seem to be falling asleep.”

Jack opened his eyes in an instant.

“Not at all. I’m fishing.”

“In the palace hall?”

“Right here.”

“And where is your river?”

“In my bag.”

He slipped a hand beneath his cloak, secretly took a fish from the container, and displayed it solemnly to the princess.

“Here’s the catch.”

The princess was so surprised that she forgot about the test.

“Really? Show me more!”

“Fish are fussy. We must wait.”

Jack pretended to cast an invisible fishing line beside his chair. Both of them could hardly keep from laughing.

Some time passed.

“A bite!” whispered Jack, producing a second fish.

“This is the strangest fishing I’ve ever seen,” said the princess.

“But it is not boring.”

They debated, invented rules for palace fishing, made up riddles, and counted the clock’s chimes. Jack stayed awake for the rest of the night.

When the sky outside the windows turned gray, the princess announced:

“Dawn. You have passed the test.”

In the morning the king came.

“They say you fished all night right in the hall?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” answered Jack solemnly.

The king looked at the dry floor.

“And where is the water?”

“Sometimes imagination is all a good trick needs.”

“Then catch a fish for me too,” said the king with a smile.

Jack asked him to hide his hands behind his back and close his eyes. Then he discreetly placed the last small fish in the wide sleeve of the king's robe.

“Now look for it.”

The king put his hand in his sleeve and suddenly felt something cool move.

“It's really here!”

The whole hall burst into laughter.

Jack carefully picked up the fish and carried all three back to the river that same day.

“Thank you for your help,” he said as he released them into the water.

After the competition, the king suggested that Jack stay at court.

“You’re no conventional learned adviser,” he said, “but you can find an answer using whatever is at hand. That’s a rare gift.”

The princess added:

“And he's not afraid of a funny answer, if it works.”

Jack stayed in Canterbury for a while. He and the princess solved riddles together, listened to people, argued, and often looked at the same problem from different sides.

In time, they discovered that they enjoyed each other’s company as much as their contests. Then, of their own free choice, without decrees or competitions, they decided to marry.

The older brothers came to the wedding. They struggled to understand how Jack, whom they thought the least educated of them, had become someone the whole court listened to.

And Jack only smiled.

Jack had long known one simple truth: wisdom does not always carry a heavy book under its arm. Sometimes it walks the road with an egg, a crooked twig, and a nut in its pocket, simply paying attention to what is around it.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨