User:Spring51111/sandbox

Plot Summary
This fairy tale opens with a wealthy King and Queen. The Queen was prideful and disdained the fairies. When the Queen had a baby girl named Joan, the fairies stole her heart. Joan grew up to be the most beautiful girl in the land, but loved nobody. In the neighbouring country, there lived a Prince named Michael – the most gracious man of all. He came across a picture of Joan in an old wizard’s tower, and asked for her hand in marriage. The wizard warned him to avoid Joan, but Michael ignored him. Despite his love for Joan, he disguised himself as a beggar and went to see what was wrong with the Princess. He found she was cold hearted and ruthless. He spoke to Joan’s mother, the Queen, and learnt about her missing heart. He told the Queen he would save Joan by retrieving her heart. If he were not to return in seven years, Joan could marry someone else. The wizard learned of these plans and gave Michael a special piece of glass. If he followed the blood-red star through the glass, he would be led to Joan’s heart.

Michael traveled for ages, across land and water. His boat eventually drifted into some land which housed a castle he could not enter. Beside the castle there were an old man and a snake. The old man agreed to show Michael the way into the castle if he agreed to be his slave until the snake hatched its eggs; Michael agreed. Years passed and Michael became angry. He attempted to destroy the eggs but was not successful. As he cried, his tears fell upon the eggs and the shells cracked open. Michael found his way into the castle and vowed to accept nothing else but the heart of his beloved. A witch of many disguises encouraged Michael to eat enchanted food, but he was never fooled, since he could see who she really was through his piece of glass. Finally, the witch gave him the heart of Joan along with some magical words to repeat when seeing her. When Michael returned, he laid eyes on the Princess, repeated the words, and the heart in his hand fluttered into Joan’s chest. She immediately recognized Michael, insisted they get married, and kissed him in front of all to see. They were wed and the people were happy. “For now we are sure of a good King,” the people said. “See, he has already shown what he can do. Surely no one else could ever have found the heart of Princess Joan.”