The Wishbird by Gabrielle Wang

Author:Gabrielle Wang
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781742538433
Publisher: Penguin Group Australia
Published: 2013-06-24T04:00:00+00:00

‘A girl?’ Oriole whispered. Tears clouded her vision. ‘A girl who sang like a bird?’

Lord Taku’s eyes fell on Oriole and he nodded gently. ‘She was sixteen years old with long dark hair and brilliant green eyes. She wore a dress of golden thread that shimmered as she moved.’

Oriole touched her own dress without thinking.

‘The Prince watched the girl, hardly daring to breathe. The girl tiptoed forward, looking at the bun the Prince had left in the lasso. Then she stepped inside the rope.’

‘And did he get her?’ Boy asked.

‘The manservant nudged the Prince to draw tight the rope, but the Prince did not move.’

‘Why?’ Boy said. ‘Didn’t he want to catch her?’

‘Yes,’ Lord Taku replied. ‘But the Prince had fallen in love. When the girl saw the Prince hiding behind the tree she turned to flee.

‘“Wait,” the Prince called out in the gentlest voice he could. He did not want to frighten her. “Please, do not go.”

‘To his surprise the girl stopped and turned back slowly. She was not afraid of the Prince even though he was a hunter and had brought weapons to her forest.’

‘Why was she not scared of him?’ asked Oriole.

‘In the night she had gazed upon him while he slept. And do you know what had happened?’ Lord Taku smiled.

Oriole and Boy shook their heads.

‘She had also fallen in love. With the Prince.’

Lord Taku rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. He took a sip of tea and put the cup down gently. ‘The Prince sent his manservant home to tell the King that he had fallen in love and that he would not be returning to the Palace.

‘“Who is this girl?” the King demanded of the manservant. “Is she of royal blood?”

‘“No, Your High One,” the servant replied. “She is a girl who lives alone in the forest and sings like a bird.”’

Oriole touched her fingers to her lips.

‘The King turned to his Wishbird. Mellow had been sitting perched on the arm of the throne, listening quietly the whole time.

‘“What do I do, Mellow?” the King asked. He and the Wishbird were very close and he trusted Mellow completely. “How will I bring my son back?”

‘“You must not use force,” Mellow said. “That will only drive the Prince further away. Welcome this bird girl into the Palace.”

‘But the King was angry and this time he did not listen to his Wishbird’s advice. He ordered ten soldiers to go and capture the Prince and bring him home.’

‘Did they find him?’ Oriole asked.

Lord Taku shook his head. ‘The King, in desperation, then asked for my advice.’

‘You?’ Boy said confused.

‘I was Lord Chancellor in those days,’ he replied.

Oriole and Boy looked at each other in shock.

‘“Agree to their marriage,” I told him. “That is the only way.” But he sent his soldiers out again to try and bring the Prince back by force, for he believed that his son had been bewitched by the girl who sang like a bird.

‘Three more weeks passed. The soldiers once again returned empty-handed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.