Literature
Treasure Trove: The Little Prince
(642 words)
The Little Prince and the Paper Crown
There once was a prince who was not really a prince, though he wore a crown and a cape and spoke as if the stars themselves had elected him noble.
He lived on a stage, though he called it a kingdom. The stage had velvet curtains and lights that always shone in the right places. There were costumes for everyone, roles and scripts and careful cues. Each person who came near him—whether a friend or an admirer or a woman with eyes like frost and dawn—was given their roles and lines. Their entrances and exits were written with a flourish of ink that smelled faintly of old longing.
But the little prince did not know this was only a stage. Not really. He thought this was what love looked like—people clapping from the dark, telling him he was brave and good and beautiful.
He thought if he wore the boots high enough, and swept his cape with just the right flair, then one day he would become the noble he pretended to be.
But one day, a
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