Once upon a time, in another when and where,
Could be seen a young lady, the fairest of the fair.
The sun would often shine on her hair of golden hue,
Mimicking the yellow flecks in her eyes of blue.
Many a prince charming would have sought her love,
But she was a peasant girl, frowned on from above.
Every day she prayed for a shining-armor knight,
But her wish-upon-a-stars seemed a hopeless plight.
She had no fairy godmother to grant her lifelong plea,
Nor evil witch to stop it from coming to be.
A curse all her own she carried every day;
And a tear she shed each night, that luck should come her way.
Tons and tons were lost, and then a thousand more,
Each one for a love that never came to her door.
The tears began to rain on her simple town,
Showing everyone a grief not seen in a frown.
They formed a gaping river that wore itself down deep,
Into a sorrow valley, which would her secrets keep.
Many days villagers would use that river well
But unknowingly would leave behind the secrets theyd never tell.
The river began to swell into a mighty lake,
Filled with the towns sadness, which it willingly would take.
One day the prince descended, dressed in a peasant disguise.
He fetched a drink from the lake, then let sadness pour from his eyes.
He thought that he would never love a girl fit for him to marry
The only love hed ever known was quite the contrary.
A village girl he saw one day, with hair that shone like the sun;
More beautiful than the countryside, but royalty she had none.
He lay upon the grass as her face entered into his head;
A face he would keep to himself, out of simple dread.
But as he lay there and wondered, he felt lost no more.
The lake seemed to steal his hopelessness, and let his spirit soar.
He made up his mind to seek this girl out,
Despite the opposition he would meet without doubt.
He journeyed to the marketplace, looking for this girl.
And the faces of the villagers all became a whirl,
As he spotted the one he was seeking there:
Golden hair, eyes of blue, fairest of the fair.
He approached her shyly, unsure of what to say
But that didnt matter, his heart would show him the way.
When he reached her she was startled, but he quickly calmed her fear.
Do not worry, maiden. It is you I seek here.
I once spotted you among the village crowd.
It seemed you were surrounded by a golden cloud.
Please maiden all I ask of you, my one true love,
Is the name of the girl smiled down on from above.
The girl was quite surprised; her love had finally came.
And to the stranger she replied, Josanna is my name.
Suddenly the crowd hushed, but a bugle shouted on.
The king was approaching; the prince needed to be gone.
He quickly took off, with a hurried farewell,
As Josanna pondered what this act could tell.
Many days after that the happy pair would meet,
Hidden by the lake, their secret it would keep.
The day was approaching when the prince would have to choose
A princess for a bride, and his true love hed lose.
The lake gladly swallowed up their sorrowful tears.
It gave them hearts of hope in exchange for all their fears.
Meanwhile, in the village, a wizard had arrived;
Master of the mountains, King of countryside.
He was drawn to the village by a feeling of suspicion.
He sensed a body of sadness, and he took it as his mission
To clear away all sorrow, with his magic as his guide,
And leave all lands he entered with their joy multiplied.
He was called to see the king who took help willingly,
And sent the wizard off to clear out misery.
He traveled through the village, puzzled; for he found
Not one of them was sad. Their joy should be renowned.
But suddenly he sensed that sad body once again.
He followed it down streets, through forest, hill, and glen.
He broke into a clearing where he sensed the sadness dwelt.
Why, it wasnt even human! It was a lake that felt
Every villagers sorrow and took it as its own.
But there also was the Prince and Josanna, who was known
As the poorest of the poor, low class, peasant filth.
To think that she would try to woo the Prince through her stealth!
Guards! called the King, but his son quickly put them apart.
Dont blame her for my choice, Ive loved her from the start.
A more beautiful maiden I never saw, nor a kind or true.
He defiantly placed his arm round her. Father, if only you knew,
We came each day to this valley, and shed our tears of love.
No, she is no princess, but an angel from above.
Silence, you defiant wretch! angrily called his father.
Your heart shall be set to a princess, royalty and none other.
You cannot set my heart, replied back the Prince,
And to prove his love swept Josanna up in a kiss.
No, wait, thought the King. Surely it cant be.?
It must, it is the Reine's child, lost or so thought we!
For the resemblance was true, and the truth now plain as day.
The King remembered clearly the story of that day.
La Reine was a beauty, unsurpassed by all who were there,
With golden hair, eyes of blue, fairest of the fair.
This Dame raised her child loving, as she was her only one,
With every inch of her heart, but then one day she was gone.
At two years old she wandered off down to the nearby stream.
Everyone thought her lost, and so she would have been,
But for a peasant lady, who chanced to catch a glimpse,
Of this lost royal daughter, now found, and chose to take her in.
Thus Josanna, royalty for a time, still grew up in her place,
But the King, after all those years still remembered that shining face.
Of course, said the Prince, if she once lived high class,
Then she would be true royalty, a right proper lass!
Let us get married this very day, for all the land to see
And then the royal crown shall be passed to me.
And I shall make a new law for generations to come,
That you should marry they who you love, no matter where they are from.
And so it came to pass. Happily lived the two,
With a daughter, golden haired, eyes bluest of the blue.
She was fairest of the fair, but loved a poor farm hand.
I would go on, but that is a different tale for a different land.
