'Rietje Vergeet-me-nietje', about a not-so-ordinary princess

Once upon a time, there was an elf king and an elf queen. They were expecting their fourth elf child. On a beautiful winter day, toward noon, the baby was born. It was a girl. Princess Rietje was her name. That it was no ordinary elf was written in the stars.

As the little princess grew up, it soon became apparent that she actually enjoyed doing tough and boyish things much more, resulting in many scuffed wings. Especially together with her 3-year-old elven brother, Prince Marcus. For example, she loved playing football with him in the royal garden until not a blade of grass or flower could be seen, to the great drama of the elf queen, but that didn't stop them.

Not only was Princess Rietje fond of playing soccer, but she was a real "water rietje", which was very exceptional for an elf. And if she did something, it was not just any old thing, no, Princess Rietje wanted to be the best, and so she often achieved a place of honor on the podium of the royal swimming competitions.

One day something magical happened: the princess was secretly followed by an elf prince, not just any prince, ... it was Prince Andreas, a prince with a story. Soon they fell in love, got married and yes, one thing led to another thing ... and 2 years later it became all "Greet".

The 2 little princesses grew up carefree and loving in a warm nest, because that was oh so important for Princess Rietje. The girls were allowed to learn music, of course learn to swim, skate, even learn other gnome languages, you name it. They were also spoiled with good food every day. The "Straw Fries" were a real staple.

When the little princesses got a little older and could keep themselves occupied a little better, Princess Rietje learned to play tennis with Prince Andreas. While the prince could only hit a ball once, the princess soon had a game here and a game there ... yes, she still had that winner's mentality.

One day, when the princesses were already princesses themselves, the wicked witch was suddenly at Princess Rietjes door: she tried to poison her, but Princess Rietjes managed to stop the poison. Out of frustration, the wicked witch also went to visit Rietjes older brother, Prince Marcus. He had less luck. This caused Princess Rietje much grief.

A few years later, Princess Rietje became a real fairy queen: her first fairy grandchild was born! Never had she imagined that her royal urge to see and feel that little girl as often as possible was so great. Soon 2 more little princess children were born, much to her delight. There was even an elf prince among them! She would have loved to have one herself.

She liked to go out with her little princess children, no, not like a real fairy queen with the fairy carriage and the winged horses, but with the walking shoes on, the tennis balls at hand, the picnic always at hand, ... but always with beautiful red lips.

What the queen did not expect at all was that after a few years there would be 4 more pairs of little pointed elf ears. She was overjoyed that she was able to witness all this.

One day, when no one was expecting it, the wicked witch was at Queen Rietjes door again. This time the witch took a more subtle but no less efficient approach. Nevertheless, the queen again did not give in and made it a point to once again become elf champion of the royal tennis tournament. No opportunity was missed for her to whack the balls from left to right with her new wings, with success.

That made the wicked witch furious. She devised a plan that could not fail. When the wicked witch was again at the queen's door, the queen knew that this time it was serious. Still, she did not give up.

Day by day King Andrew, the princesses, the little elf princes and princesses saw that the queen was losing a little of her magical powers. This made them angry and very sad. It even made the wings of the eldest elf princess completely dull and partly bald. Fortunately, they got a lot of help and support from the other princess families and gnome friends, because Queen Rietjes, she was liked.

When the queen was visibly weakened, the eldest elf princess asked her, "How are we to manage, so without you?" Then the elf queen spoke, "Dear girl, whenever you need it, I will send you a feather. Keep them well until you can make beautiful, powerful wings from them to spread. So look around carefully ..."

And so it happened ...

And Rietje? She did not live very long, but she lived happily ...