Princess Dora and the jade of knowledge

By Harvey David Heilbrun 2001

The Task

Long ago and far away there lived a King who was getting on in years. It was customary for a son to follow his father's footsteps. His only child, his daughter Dora, would have to be married.

Princess Dora addressed the issue of her marriage with the king.

“Father I do not wish to marry just anyone.”

“I agree,” exclaimed the king, “We must find someone suitable for you and the kingdom.”

Together with the king, a plan was made.

By royal proclamation, whoever finds the “Jade of Knowledge” and brings it to King Edmund shall wed the beautiful Princess Dora and inherit the entire Kingdom.

Eligible men throughout the kingdom tried to find the jade, but to no avail. Finally it came down to three brothers, Tyler, Bryan and Will. The princess knowing that these three were the last, decided to discover herself if one of them was the one. Having studied for years under the guide of the kingdom’s greatest wizards the princess acquired the ability to change form. She chose to use that ability to disguise herself in order to observe the three.

To solve the riddle of the jade the three decided to seek the advice of the oldest and wisest person in the village. Grandfather Quentin was almost 90 years old. He had spent a lifetime as a bard traveling the world until finally settling down to live in their village.

“Where do we begin?” pleaded Tyler.

"Are there dangers to be concerned about?" Bryan whined.

"Will you help us?" asked Will of the old man.

Grandfather Quentin listened and thought carefully. The three had good hearts, so he decided to assist. He sagely professed, “I know not where the jade is, however I have heard that the trail to the jade is found on the island of Ambur. You must be good listeners and think about the choices you're given.”

Thanking the old man and with very little in the way of provisions in their packs, they chose to take Grandfather Quentin's clue and sailed off to Ambur.

Ambur

The journey, though long was nothing of note. Bryan complained mostly of the conditions, Tyler seemed to daydream a lot and Will focused on the task of getting them there.

They anchored their ship off the beach and rowed to shore. Tired but determined, they headed for the nearest village. The sun was just beginning to rise. On their way they passed a brown haired, shabbily dressed boy, at the side of the road. He wore a ring with the image of a crown on the third finger of his right hand. He sang a familiar tune, though the words were new to them.

When time is right your fortune’s made,

If all you have to own is jade.

The first is clear you reach a height

To Ambur’s hills in dawn’s first light.

To find the knowledge is a quest,

Be sure you do your very best.

Don’t be fooled by your sense of sight,

The harder road is the one that’s right.

It took the three a while to realize that the word jade was in his song. They turned as one to question the boy, but he had disappeared.

Recalling the words, Tyler said, I know what to do. We must climb the mountains.” And off he went.

Bryan wasn’t too sure. “How do we know this has anything to do with the Jade of Knowledge we're looking for? It could be a trick. I don’t think we should try; we could get hurt. What if we’re wrong! Grandfather Quentin said think about our choices.” He sat down in the middle of the road and thought of every reason not to go.

Will wasn’t sure either, but figured that they had nothing to lose. He followed Tyler’s footsteps.

Soon, Tyler reached a fork in the road where he could see the mountain stretched out before him. The left fork seemed untraveled, overgrown with weeds, vines, and fallen trees. The right fork was a clear path that headed straight up the mountain. Without hesitation, Tyler set out on the path leading right. Several minutes later the road forked again identical to the one he passed. Again, he chose the fork to the right. Ten minutes later he approached another fork similar to the others. This continued throughout the day, with Tyler getting nowhere.

When Will reached the fork in the road he too, chose the path leading to the right. When he reached the second fork he stopped and thought about the words of the boy’s song. Don’t be fooled by your sense of sight, The harder road is the one that’s right. This time he chose the road to the left. He hacked and pulled to get through the tangle of weeds and limbs in front of him before he discovered a clear path that led straight to the mountaintop. At the peak of the mountain he discovered a small green box. Will looked inside the box and discovered a small triangular green piece of jade and a piece of paper with a single word inscribed, Incha.

Will returned from the mountain, rejoined his two brothers and explained his discovery. The jade was so small and held no indication that it had anything to do with knowledge. Convinced that this jade was not the one they were looking for, Will offered it to his brothers.

Bryan quickly responded, “No, thanks. We don’t know where that has been. It could be covered with who knows what disease?”

Tyler also quick to respond asserted, “Why would I want something that has no value. Keep it yourself.”

So, Will tucked the jade in his pocket.

They returned to the village and stayed for three days. Searches of the village found nothing. They decided to take the slip of paper from Will's discovery as a clue. Tyler was anxious to leave; Bryan wanted to spend more time thinking, and Will not sure, again decided to side with Tyler. The brothers traveled to their next destination, the plains of Incha.

Incha

The uninhabited Plains of Incha were divided by the River Wiser, a treacherous body of water, with raging currents and boulders that might shatter a man’s skull. Weary with travel, the three arrived at a gathering of tents at the north end of the plain.

A strange brown haired maiden all dressed in colorful rags approached them as soon as they arrived. She wore a ring with the image of a crown on the third finger of her right hand. She spoke in riddles.

“What goes forward and never back?”

The three brothers were confused. None knew what to make of her. Bryan said, “Leave us alone, we don’t have the time to talk to the likes of you!”

“Correct,” she replied. “Time is the key. Now what’s wet and wide and very fast?”

Tyler spoke up this time. “Why all the riddles? They’re not very hard. The river is the answer to that one.”

“You are Wiser than you know. To find what you are looking for, across one you must go.” she retorted.

This time it was Will’s turn to speak. “The Wiser is a dangerous river to cross. How is one to do it?”

“The choice is yours.

A bridge to take.

Trust in the older.

It will not break.”

The woman quickly turned around and disappeared among a maze of tents. The brothers stopped and looked at each other. Tyler was quick to respond, “Sounds like a simple task, find the bridge that crosses the river and we’ll find the jade.” So off he went.

“This is crazy. We don’t know who that woman was. How do we know that anything she told us has to do with the jade? It’s too dangerous, what if something happens?” cried Bryan. He sat down right where he was in the middle of the road and thought of every possible reason not to go.

“It does seem rather mysterious, but as we have no other clues to follow, we might as well see where this one leads,” remarked Will. He headed in the direction of the River Wiser.

When Tyler got to the river two bridges spanned it. One was a beautiful bridge that was well made. The planks that made the base of the bridge were solid wood. The ropes that held it up were taut and firm. In contrast the other bridge was fragile. It was missing planks and was held up by the merest of cord. There was no doubt in Tyler’s mind; he chose the well-built one. He put his pack down to lighten his load and started across. Approaching the other side, he noticed his pack on the road. He was back where he started. He crossed again and returned to the same spot. No matter how slow, fast or carefully he walked, he never made it to the other side of the river.

Will reached the river and found similar bridges. He too, put his pack down and crossed the well-built bridge. When he reached the other end, his pack was on the ground. Before crossing the bridge again he thought back to the maiden words, “Trust in the older. It will not break.” Though he had concerns, he crossed the frail bridge. Though a bit shaky, he made it to the other side and found another small green box. It had a similar triangular piece of jade in it. Inscribed on the inner lid of the box was the word Airebis.

Will returned to the tents, found his two brothers, shared his story and again offered this piece of jade to them. Both brothers had similar arguments as before, so Will pocketed it with the first piece. Three more days passed without any luck at finding clues.

Again the three turned to the word inscribed on the box Will found. With little debate and discussion, they set off on the arduous journey to the forests of Airebis.

Airebis

Airebis was densely covered in forest. A maze of trees challenged all who entered to survive. Many became lost. As the three brothers reached the edge of the forest an old woman with long silver streaked brown hair, dressed in clothes that looked as if they had seen better times delayed them. On the third finger of her right hand was a ring with the image of a crown on it.

“Be gone old woman,” yelled Tyler, “Leave us be, we are on a quest and can’t be bothered by the likes of you!”

“So young and impatient. Your quest will go for naught without the seed of truth to follow,” muttered the old woman.

Bryan complained, “All these people that don’t speak normally. Something’s wrong, I’m sure of it. If we listen to her she’ll just lead us in another wrong direction. This is the third place we’ve been to and we haven’t found anything useful yet. Something bad is going to happen this time for sure!”

“I’m not sure what to believe anymore,” Will said doubtfully, “but if you have a clue to help us find the Jade of Knowledge, please let us have it.”

The old woman with some hesititation handed Will a scroll of paper. “Within this scroll lies the answer to your quest. Once you’ve discovered its meaning, bring what you have to the king. It will be up to him to decide your fate.” With a hidden smile on her face, she hobbled away.

Will opened the scroll and stared at its contents. He read aloud the poem that was written.

Your path is straight and very near,

You seek a tree that sheds a tear.

The tear is green just like the jade,

Within its shell, your fortune’s made.

To come back out do not go back

A step beyond is the right track.

The three as one made strong and sound

Will make you be the one that’s crowned.

Though he was the first to tell the woman to go away, Tyler was quick to react to the writing. “That seems pretty easy. Go straight in and find a tree and look inside of it to find the jade.” Without waiting for the others he rushed right into the forest.

Bryan just froze in his tracks. “A tree that sheds a tear! That makes no sense. This is a trick...it has to be. If we go in we’ll never come out again. The task is too hard, we never should have come in the first place, too many things could go wrong.” Afraid to make any mistakes, Bryan finally decided to give up the quest and go back home. He wished Will luck.

Unlike Bryan, Will knew that this clue was connected to the Jade of Knowledge. Tired of making mistakes he decided to read the poem very carefully again before he ventured into the forest. “There appear to be three parts to this poem,” he reasoned to himself. “One has to do with finding the jade, another with getting back out of the forest and the third on how to become crowned.” He decided to take one set of clues at a time. After much thought he walked straight into the forest.

There were many forks in the path that lay before him, but following the words of the poem, Will kept walking straight ahead. It appeared that Tyler had been there before him. On both sides of the road lay trees that had been cut down with gaping holes in them. Will finally reached the place where Tyler was. He was sitting under a pear tree. He picked up one of the fruits from the ground and was eating it. “This is stupid. There’s no Jade of Knowledge. This whole thing has been a trick. I’m going home!” He wished Will luck, picked up his pack and headed back along the path Will had just come from.

Before Will could warn Tyler about a clue in the poem, Tyler disappeared into the forest. As Will sat down to re-read the poem again, a ripe green pear fell out of the tree into his lap. Will picked it up and was about to cast it aside when he stopped and looked more closely at the pear. What an odd shape this pear is, he thought to himself. Narrow at one end and wider at the other, sort of like a drop of water…or a tear! He took out his knife and very carefully sliced it in half. As expected the center contained a jade triangle, similar to the other two he had found.

Returning to the scroll he looked at the words of the poem, “To come back out do not go back A step beyond is the right track. Tyler had gone in the wrong direction. Will stood up and took a step beyond the tree in the direction that he had been going. All of a sudden, a haze fell over the forest. All the sounds of animals and birds disappeared. As the haze got thicker and thicker, the forest began to disappear. He heard soft music in the distance, getting louder and louder. Then without warning, the haze began to lift, the music stopped and before he could take another step he found himself in front of the King’s palace.

The Jade

Shining spires of light confronted his view. The palace was glorious. It stretched for as far as the eye could see. In front was a beautifully manicured garden with lush green shrubs and colorful flowers creating a vision of power and serenity. Will was approached by one of the King’s attendants and asked to follow. He was led through an immense door laden with gold into the castle. He walked through halls with portraits of ancient rulers and sculptures of knights and warriors past; passed large banquet rooms and smaller storage holdings and ended up at the royal reception room itself. The walls were 20 feet high shrouded in red velvet drapes. Other than that there was little furniture except for the royal throne centered on the far wall, upon which sat King Edmund. Cautiously Will walked forward.

“So you are the one that seeks the hand of my daughter and wishes to be my heir?” declared the king. “To do so you must have for me the Jade of Knowledge.”

Will was speechless. Having followed all the clues and ending up here with the king, he knew that he had something but was not sure of what it was. As he was thinking about what to say Princess Dora glided into the room. She was beautiful. She had long, silky brown hair and wore a gown that shimmered in the light, reflecting all of the colors of the rainbow. On the third finger of her right hand, she wore a ring with the image of a crown on it. His eyes locked on that ring. Where had he seen it before? His mind started to wander. It was the crown on the ring that held his attention. It seemed ordinary except for the strange color of it. Three green triangular points, not gold or silver as one would have expected of a crown. As his mind began to focus he recalled the last two lines of the poem: The three as one made strong and sound, will make you be the one that’s crowned.

Will reached into his pocket and took out the three triangular pieces of jade. He placed each one next to the other. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and the three pieces fused together and became one. The crown that formed was identical to the one on the princess’s ring. It was this crown that he handed to the king. “I know not why this is called the Jade of Knowledge, but I believe that this is what you sought.”

The king smiled. “Tell me son, how did you alone come to find the jade?”

“I would like to take credit for its finding, but alas I had help.” Will replied. He continued, “A boy, a young maiden and an old woman gave me clues to its whereabouts. I made many mistakes in its seeking but in the end I figured out the meanings of all the clues.”

“It is a wise man that learns from his mistakes. Therein lies the truth of the Jade of Knowledge. Are you ready to rule a kingdom and marry my daughter?” inquired the king.

“No.” was Will’s startling reply.

Confused, the king could but babble, "Why not?"

Will was confident in his reply. “I could never rule a kingdom by myself. If there is one thing that I’ve learned it is that to be successful you always can use the advice and guidance of others. As for your daughter, she should not be forced to do anything because of a proclamation or king’s order, it should be of her own free will. I would truly like to marry her if she would take me as her husband and, with her help, rule the kingdom.”

For the first time since entering, the princess spoke, “You have found more than the Jade of Knowledge. The proof is in the wisdom that you have gained. As for marrying you, how could I not? I have watched you for some time now, as you might have guessed, and would love to share my life with you.”

And so it was.