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Once upon a time, not long ago, in a land not far from here, a princess was in search of her Prince Charming. Princes traveled from near and far to meet the princess. Some were brave and some were kind. Some were honest and some were handsome. But she sent them all away. For none of the princes that she met were quite right.
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She sat alone in the castle, sad and tired. She needed a prince who was each of those things, and he was nowhere to be found!
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One evening the princess awoke to a horrible storm. The wind howled, thunder crashed, and rain splashed. The princess hid under her blankets as she heard a knock at the door. She called for the king to see who it was.
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The queen opened the gate and there stood a prince. "Good lady, may I please spend the night in your castle?" he asked the queen. "I am a prince, honest and kind. I am brave, yet the weather is miserable, and I fear my horse will not make it home." The queen led the prince inside to meet the king, hoping that this might finally be Prince Charming.
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The king stared the prince up and down. "We will soon find out if he is indeed the prince for our dearest daughter," he thought, but he said nothing. He simply lead the prince to a special room and left him to sleep.
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Soon after the king left, the prince awoke to a loud ROAR. He opened his eyes, startled to find a lion staring back at him. The prince calmly got out of bed and reached out to pet the lion. He then bravely led the lion out of the room, back to the castle menagerie, and returned to bed.
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The prince again awoke, this time to the sound of squeaking. He opened his eyes to find a mouse with his tail caught in the door. He quickly got out of bed and kindly freed the mouse. As the mouse scurried away, the prince returned to bed.
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This time, however, the prince found himself tossing and turning on a lumpy pillow. He finally lifted the pillow only to find a sack of gold hidden underneath. There was enough in the sack to make him a rich man for the rest of his life. He set the gold aside and returned to sleep.
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In the morning, the prince awoke to join the royal family for breakfast. The king immediately asked the prince how he slept. "It was quite strange, actually," the prince replied. "I first awoke to find a lion that had escaped from the menagerie. After guiding him back to his cage, I awoke to find a mouse stuck in the door. After freeing the mouse, I couldn't fall back to sleep, for this was hidden under my pillow!" The prince pulled out the sack of gold and handed it to the king.
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The king, queen, and princess looked at each other and smiled. The prince had passed their test! He was indeed brave and kind and honest, and of course handsome. He was perfect for the princess!
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Soon after, the princess and the prince were married. To this day they live happily in the castle, often laughing about that first night the prince arrived.
