De Verstekeling

Cees Krijnen

Once upon a time there was a boy, who happily lived with his father and mother. His mother was a beautiful princess, his father a sailor at sea. One day the father left home and sailed the seven seas. He took another wife and never came back. The marriage was over. The divorce took more than seventeen years.

The boy and the mother were alone and unhappy. Money ran out but the boy was too young to earn it. The boy loved his mother very much. He could not stand seeing her miserable. He became an artist and, together with his mother, he told the world the story of their tragedy. They travelled the globe, stood on stages and their pictures were hung on the biggest walls in the biggest museums. Fame fell upon them. The boy and the mother blossomed again. Happiness was reflected in their blue eyes.

The father and the stepmother disliked this turn of fortune. The stepmother was jealous of the fame. She became very wicked. She startedfollowing the boy whenever he stood on stage, trying to blind him with her bloody eyes. The boy was afraid and angry. He felt threatened. He tried to chase the wicked stepmother away but she called the police. The boy was judged by the public prosecutor and he had to pay the price. Only money could save him from being thrown in jail. Justice was hidden behind a very dark cloud.

One day, when the sun was shining bright, two pleasant pixies invited the boy to the city where all people sang sentimental songs. The boy was struck by one singer in special, a big girl who sang about her mother. The boy had to cry when he heard her song. The pixies saw the real tragedy behind the boy’s tears. They did not like seeing the boy unhappy. They whispered a secret plan in his ear.

He had to make a song himself and sing his trouble away. The boy told them he could not sing. Through all the troublesome years he had almost lost his voice. But, the pixies said smilingly, we know nice people who will save you.

And so it happened. A wise wizard turned up, who was delighted to write a song. A corny song about the wicked stepmother. A beautiful fairy with a voice of gold promised to sing the song. The boy hurried home to tell his mother. They both cried from joy.

One day the song was ready. The fairy flew to the city of sentimental songs and, with her golden voice, sang the song. The sun grew bright and the stars fell out of the sky. The boy and his mother, the wizard and the pixies, and all the people, everybody had to smile and shed tears at the same time. When the song was sung the boy and the mother had golden hair. Everybody started to sing in one voice.

Far up north a terrible scream could be heard. It was the wicked stepmother. She was hit by a falling star. She lost both legs and one bloody eye. She fled on a broom, wandering from country to country, but no kingdom welcomed her. She kept wandering for the rest of her life.

The new song was heard all over the world. It caused a raving revolution. It became the new international anthem. It made the boy and mother king and queen of the world. It made the wicked stepmother deaf. The father never saw her again. Nor did the boy and his mother, who brought peace to earth and lived happily ever after.

The end.