The Music that went Missing

In a kingdom far away, there once lived a princess. She was incredibly dexterous and could knit and embroider beautifully. Her embroidered animals looked like they were alive, and her father always wore the scarf she had knitted for him, even during the hot summer months.

When the princess wasn’t knitting and embroidering, she would usually be looking after the horses in the royal stables, or dancing in the flowery meadows. She had many talents, but there was something else she longed to master – singing. She tried as best she could, but she didn't realise that she was tone deaf. The royal bandmaster, who gave her lessons, would always secretly cover his ears whenever she opened her mouth to sing, trying not to offend her.

Despite this, the princess sang merrily to anyone she met. She sang to the gardeners in the garden, the cooks in the kitchen, and the laundresses in the laundry. They all acted as if she had a lovely voice, just to flatter her.

The queen also praised her. “Oh, my dear child, what a wonderful voice you have,” she gushed, whenever the princess started her out-of-tune croaking. How come the queen couldn’t hear that? Or was it merely her motherly love that prevented her from telling the truth?

The one person who didn’t pretend to like the princess’s singing was her father, the king. After all, what kind of a king would he be if he lied?

“Have you all gone deaf?! The howling drives me crazy. Whenever she starts singing, all the birds in the garden fly away,” he complained.

“Oh, dear husband, you’re old and your ears aren’t what they used to be,” she protested, defending their daughter.

“I might be old, but my ears…