Green Pea Princess

There was once a Green Pea Princess who lived in a garden on the hill.  Her name was Guisante.  She was a very sweet and tender pea but very forlorn.  Guisante was loved and admired by many in the garden but there was no one special that touched her heart.  This made her feel very sad and and want to withdraw deep inside of her green pea pod.

In the springtime Guisante watched as all of the other creatures found mates and she wondered if she would ever find one too.  Day after day, she felt more alone.  “Oh if only I had a podner, someone to share this beautiful garden with, someone to make life merry.  Surely I wouldn’t be lonely then.”

Deep within her heart Guisante did not know if a podner would ever find her.  There were several sharp-toothed slugs that guarded the perimeters of her garden.  No one could get in and she could not get out.  She felt trapped in the garden and very glum.  “No one will ever love me.  I will shrivel and become hard and dry like an old maid pea!”

She tried consulting the Sweet Pea Fairies for advice but even they seemed unable to help her.  They simply told her to relax in the sun.  Guisante couldn’t see how that would help her but she had nothing better to do.  So she found a nice spot in the sun and very soon she dozed off.  She found herself in a magical place of dreaming where she met a mystical being of shimmering light, that had the exquisite frangrace of a rose.  The Rose Fairy approached Guisante and told her that she had come with a special message.

“ Guisante you must change your mind.  You believe something that is not true.  You believe that you cannot be loved.  A very special prince is on his way to your garden and you must be ready to let him in.  find your way back to the rose in your heart.  Then all that you wish will come to be.  Don’t delay!”

Guisante awoke from the dream feeling very confused.  She did not know how to change her mind or how to find a rose in her heart.  “No one will ever love me!”

With no more hope and nothing else to live for, Guisante prepared herself to die.  She called in the blackest clouds in the whole universe and asked them to cover her.  The black clouds came and surrounded her.  The tree frogs began to sing a death chant.  “Goodbye dear world, you have been good to me but I am not worthy of living.”

With one last very long breath, she began to close her pod and withdrawal from the world.  But just as her pod was almost shut, she was hit on the head by a big, fat, wet drop of rain.  It felt so good that in spite of herself she giggled.  She giggled and giggled as the rain poured down and filled up her garden with the waters of hope.  As she watched the swirling currents of rain she felt a desire to live.  She realized that there was so much love around her.

“The black clouds loved me enough to call in the tree frogs to make it rain.  And the tree frogs loved me enough to have sung a rain chant instead of a death chant.  They saved my life.”

Guisante felt a stirring of love so profound that a rose burst forth from her heart.  The tree frogs sang an ancient healing song as Guisante bloomed in love.   The garden came to grow and flourish and creatures came from all over to visit the magical Princess Guisante and find healing in her garden.

And yes one day a Green Pea Prince did appear on the horizon and when he saw the sacred garden of Guisante, he knew that he was home.  They lived happy and blessed surrounded by sweet peas, in the beautiful garden on the hill.

* This story was written April 5, 1997.  There will be commentary to follow in next post.  Read on and share your comments.