Once upon a time, there was a young prince who was living far from his home because his culture required princes to grow up far away from home. By doing so, the prince would be able to inherit his father’s kingdom in the future. In order to keep with their culture, the King and Queen sent their young prince overseas. Years went by, and the young prince grew up while his parents were getting older day by day. As a result, the King and Queen called their son to return home so that he could get married and eventually take his father’s throne.

The prince returned home. The old men that are part of the royal house sat down with the prince and told him all their history, and why is important for a prince to marry a village girl because they don’t want to call a stranger their queen. The prince listened to the instruction of his elders and said that he didn’t want the king to send a message to all village girls inviting them to a ball so he could choose his wife. He told them that he wanted to leave the palace and search for his dream wife in the village.

Early the next morning, the prince took off his royal clothes and wore dirty clothes in order to disguise himself as a poor man. He left all his valuables and material objects in the palace so that the women wouldn’t be attracted to his possessions, but to him as a person. He walked and walked without wearing shoes, which caused some people to laugh at him and some people felt pity for him. While he was walking, he saw a shop with four girls sitting outside: the prince greeted them and only one girl greeted him back. The other girls looked him up and down and changed their faces to look like they were about to vomit. The prince didn’t care, he only asked for water, and the girl who responded to his greeting fetched water for him. The Prince thanked the girl for giving him water and he went on his way while the other three girls started to laugh at him.

It was late and cold, and the prince was sleeping on the street. Many people were passing and the prince could hear people talking about the poor homeless man on the street. The next day, the girl who fetched water for him stood in front of him and started conversing with him.

“Where did you come from and why are you here?” she asked.

“I forget where I came from. All I can remember is that I was in a car accident,” the prince answered.

“What is your name?” the girl asked.

“I don’t remember my name or my people,” he said.

The girl felt sorru for him and told the prince to come and follow her.

When they arrived at the girl’s house, the girl welcomed the prince and gave him hope that he would soon recover his memory.

“Why are you living alone?” the prince asked the girl, whose name was Faith.

“My parents died, so, I am the only one left in my family,” Faith answered.

As they were talking, Faith told the prince that he can stay until his memory came back. Every day when the Faith came from work, she found that the prince had cleaned the house and the yard. As time went on, the prince and Faith became close friends. Since the prince never told Faith his name, she gave him prince a new name, Innocent. Faith’s friends made fun of her and said she welcomed a hobo in her house.

Although her friends insulted Innocent, Innocent did not take what they said personally; he just went to his room and smiled. One day, while Faith was at work, Innocent returned to his royal house and left a letter on the table. It said, ‘Dear Faith, you have been so kind to me but now I have to go back to my people: they need me more than you do. I am sorry for lying at you, I am not a homeless man but the prince and I was looking for a wife with a brave heart. You are the one and I hope I will see you soon.’

Faith came home, saw the letter on the table, and read it. After reading the letter, tears flowed down her face. Faith took the letter and showed her friends who felt ashamed and were sorry for how they treated Innocent. Innocent came back for Faith, and he found her at the same spot they were at when she fetched water for him. Innocent went down on one knee, and while everyone was watching with amazement, Innocent asked Faith to be his wife. Faith said yes, and she was filled with tears of joy. Faith became Innocent’s wife and they had a grand wedding. A few days after the wedding ended, Innocent was ready to take his father’s throne.

Tell us: If you were a prince who needed to find a girl to marry, would you go undercover in your village or would you have a giant ball like the men suggested Innocent do? Why?