Bardic Tales

The Princess and the Pea Crudite

Not of normal Princess stock

But still of royal blood

She did not sit for needle work,

Played often in the mud

A distant Dukedom, not too large,

This little girl's birth place

A rough and tumble house of men,

Her brothers set the pace

When just a babe, Her mother died,

Her father unconsoled

Raised Her as he would a son,

A fighter brave and bold

With no concession to Her sex,

Her lack of stick and stones

She joined the boys in all they did,

In cuts and broken bones

Without a mother guiding Her

She didn't grow genteel

She learned to master men at arms,

She had a will of steel

You know, that girl could clean up good

Though it was all facade

She could not speak aloud in court

With ladies, she was awed

As often happens in these tales,

There was a Prince at hand

Whose mother thought it well past time

He started His own band

But He was loath to choose a mate

Who could not hunt and ride

He wanted someone strong and sweet

To stand up at His side

When out on hunt with Duke and sons,

He met the little Sister

She shot the biggest deer that day,

To celebrate, He kissed Her

He could not get her off His mind

But then He didn't try

His mother saw the change in Him

And wondered at the why

The Queen could not be out of step,

She had to know it all

She found the Prince's hunting ground

And paid the Duke a call

While touring through the castle

She made the Duke aware

The Prince was looking for a wife

To give the Crown an heir