Though the world sometimes looks upon those with good character as comical “try-hards,” the value of good character is incalculable. Good character and a truly faithful and loving heart bestow upon the individual a loveliness that mere physical beauty cannot.
In a kingdom next to Fairy Land, the king and queen wish they could have a child. One day, while in the garden, the king meets a dwarf who promises that they will have a child, if they will give him “Niente” in return. Desperate for a child, the king promises to give the dwarf all that he asks for.
Upon returning from a war, the king is overjoyed to hear that a princess has been born. But he is both shocked and sorrowful to discover that she is named “Niente.”
When an ugly dwarf demands that the king give him the Princess Niente, the king and queen send their daughter away to save her from the dwarf. However, the only way to get their daughter back is for a brave prince to find and bring her back.
Prince Comical
Among the princes is Prince Comical, so called by the other princes because he’s “ugly, and he looks old, and odd.” Yet, out of all the princes, he possesses the truest, most honorable heart.
As Prince Comical makes his way through fairy land, he finds three little boys tormenting a Daddy Long Legs. He scares the boys away, then carefully nurses the Daddy Long Legs’ hurt leg.
Seeing such kindness, the appreciative Daddy Long Legs offers his services to the prince. The prince asks: “Oh, help me ... find the Princess Niente! You fly everywhere; don’t you know where she is?”
The Daddy Long Legs unfortunately doesn’t know where the princess is, but he takes the prince to the knowledgeable Black Beetle, who agrees to guide the prince. Yet Prince Comical exclaims that he won’t leave the other princes behind: “He would not take advantage of his luck, and run away from them.”
The beetle agrees to guide them through Mushroom Land, but strictly warns Prince Comical to be cautious and never rest underneath a mushroom. Should he do so, he will fall asleep and never wake up again.
Commendable, Not Comedic
With the beetle’s help, he finds a Blue Bird and gets him to take them to the Queen of Mushroom Land. Upon arrival, the Queen of Mushroom Land appraises Prince Comical’s looks and says that he’s not handsome enough for the princess.Yet she sees his goodness and kind heart. She touches him on the head with her wand and sends him on his way to Princess Niente.
Through his fairy tale, Lang demonstrated that a true, kind, honest heart and character are worth cultivating and, likewise, winning. Lang showed how a good character and honest heart render the individual beautiful and wonderful where the world sees ugliness and a comedic “try-hard.”
As Thomas More wrote in “Utopia,” “A pretty face may be enough to catch a man, but it takes character and good nature to hold him.” Lang’s story can inspire in readers the desire to uphold Goodness, Truth, and Beauty and so radiate these virtues, becoming commendable, not comedic.
