Once upon a time 🎵, there lived a prince who dreamed of finding true love. He wanted to meet someone he could talk to about everything, go on adventures with, and laugh with even on the gloomiest days. He was also quite sure that his chosen one must be a real princess.

So, he traveled through many kingdoms, from the freezing North to the sunny South. He went to balls, walked through royal gardens, and met young ladies with crowns so shiny 🎵 he had to squint. But he didn’t fall in love with any of them.

Finally, he returned home.

“Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places?” he sighed 🎵, looking out the castle window.

One autumn evening, a terrible storm rolled over 🎵 the kingdom. The wind pulled at the tree branches 🎵, the rain drummed on the roofs 🎵, and lightning 🎵 lit up the sky again and again.

Suddenly, there was a loud sound 🎵:

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Is that the wind again?” asked the old king, looking up from his book.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“The wind probably wouldn’t knock so politely,” the prince pointed out.

The king ordered the doors to be opened 🎵.

Standing at the gate was a young girl. Her wet hair stuck to her cheeks, water dripped from her cloak, and her little shoes squished with every step 🎵.

“Good evening. My name is Eleanor, and I am a princess from the kingdom beyond the hills,” she said, her teeth chattering. “The storm caught me on my way. I saw the light in your windows. Could I please take shelter here?”

“Of course!” cried the prince.

He brought a warm blanket and led her to the fireplace. The queen ordered dry clothes and a mug of hot tea to be prepared, though she raised her eyebrows when she heard the stranger was a princess.

Meanwhile, a maid came into the room with a basket of wood. She tripped over the threshold, and a few logs rolled 🎵 across the floor.

Eleanor crouched down beside her right away.

“Wait, let me help you. We can pick them up faster together.”

The prince bent down for a piece of wood that had rolled under an armchair.

“And with three of us, it will be even faster,” he added.

Soon the fire was crackling happily in the fireplace 🎵, and Eleanor, now in dry clothes, held her hands out to the warmth. Her soaked shoes were drying next to the hearth. A final little stream of water trickled out of one.

“I think I brought a piece of the storm in with me,” she said.