The Vintner

Once upon a time in the land of Tuscany, a noble King, Queen, and their beautiful young daughter, Alessandra - meaning protector of humanity, lived happily in a castle within the rolling hills of a spectacular vineyard. This vineyard overlooked the Kingdom of Arezzo. The King's wife was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. Sadly, she was in a tragic accident that left her on the bridge of death. Right before she died she said to her husband, "You have loved me well, and I know you will remarry, but promise me you shall only marry a woman who is more beautiful than me, otherwise I shall curse you from the other side."

The King, loving his wife more than everything in the kingdom combined, burst into tears and was unable to speak. At last, he looked into her beautiful green eyes and said, "My dearest, I shall take my own life if I were to ever fall in love with another woman. Do not believe in your wildest dreams that I could ever love someone as much as I have loved you. You are my one true love, and you shall take all my love with you when you leave this earth." As he spoke these words, the beautiful queen looked into her husband's eyes and breathed her last breath. The King, devastated, let out a cry of sorrow so loud the whole kingdom knew that fate had sadly occurred, and the kingdom was now without a queen. The King cursed the heavens and all the stars that had sent him such misfortune.

Many years passed and the King mourned continuously. Every time he looked into Alessandra's green eyes, whose eyes were just like her mother's, he was saddened. He couldn't believe that his wife had left, leaving him nothing but his beautiful daughter. Each day she was growing up to look more and more like her mother. Her hair was the color of fresh honey, long, and wavy. Her olive skin was flawless, adding to her natural beauty. Alessandra was tall like her father, but had her mother's nose. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman in the entire kingdom.

Eventually, the King realized he had no way of having a son who would be the heir to the throne, and knew he needed to start looking for means of having a son. He was puzzled. "Where between the heavens and the earth am I supposed to find a woman as beautiful as my wife? Every woman I see is a witch compared to her. Is there such a woman in existence as beautiful as my wife was?"

The King commanded all the beautiful women to come to his castle, and he would take the most beautiful one and marry her. Women from Arezzo and many other kingdoms traveled quite far in hopes of becoming the new Queen of Arezzo. When the town was filled with women, the King had them all lined up, shoulder to shoulder. As he walked down, looking each woman head to toe, he found a flaw for every woman. One appeared flat-faced, another had too many freckles, another thick-lipped, another short and stumpy, and yet another taller than the castle doors, and so on. None of these women were satisfying his taste. At the end of the end, he sent them all away. As he watched them walk away, his gaze landed on his daughter who sat by the exit of the castle, thanking the women for coming. The King thought, "Why do I seek the impossible when my daughter is made of the same beauty as my wife? I have had this face in my house and have yet been looking in the kingdom for deliverance. She shall marry me and we shall create an heir to my kingdom!"

When Alessandra heard this, she immediately ran to her favorite spot in the vineyard and lamented about her ill-fortune. As she was sobbing, the elderly vintner who had been like a mother to her over the years came to ask what was upsetting her. After hearing the news, she replied, "My sweet friend, do not fret for there is a solution against all evil. Place this grape from the purest vine into your mouth and instantly you will be changed into a vintner like me, unrecognizable to anyone who knows you as you appear today. You can live a life with me, safe from your father. When you want to return to your true form, all you have to do it take the grape out of your mouth."

Alessandra went back to her room to collect her things with the magic grape clenched tight in her hand. As she was collecting her things, she heard her father coming to summon her, so she quickly put the grape in her mouth and was transformed into a vintner, dressed in overalls, boots, and a worn shirt. When the father entered the room, Alessandra froze with fright, afraid of being recognized. Her father said, "Servant, what are you doing in here? It's harvest season. You should be in the fields collecting while the sun is still high! Begone!"

Princess Alessandra, relieved that she had escaped unrecognized, returned to the old lady. She was soon settled into her new life peacefully harvesting, working, and enjoying the company of the other vintners in the evenings. No one knew her true identity except the lady who had given her the grape in the first place.