THE BASEBALL CAP Once upon a time, in a faraway land that was known for its natural beauty and exquisite meadows that glimmered with a dewy mist there lived a very wise King and his very sensitive wife, The Queen. They were much beloved by all the people of their land because they ruled fairly, using all of the King's wisdom of mind and all of the Queen's sensitivity of feelings. After they had been married for a few years, the Queen found herself with child. She and the King proclaimed the day a national holiday, so happy were they with the news. All the people rejoiced at the good news. Eight months later the Queen gave birth to a remarkable baby boy. Unlike most babies who come out from their mothers' bellies crying, this baby Prince came out laughing, so happy was he to be born, so eager was he to embrace life. Another national holiday was declared, and the people danced in the streets, sharing their joy with their beloved King and Queen. The years fell away gracefully as Prince Eric grew from a toddler to a boy to a fine young man. As a toddler, he crawled from one end of the town to the other, shaking his rattle, laughing all the way and making everyone who crossed his path smile. As a child, he played Little League with the town team and hit a homerun that won them the regional championship. As an adolescent, he frolicked at the swimming hole with the rest of the land's teenagers. As a young man, he rode the countryside on his Palomino pony, always stopping to chat with the people in the land who were his subjects as well as his friends. One day, as the Queen was sipping her carrot juice on the verandah, she realized that Eric was now of an age when he needed to settle down with a wife. After all, she and the King were no longer in the bloom of life and they wanted grandchildren while they were still young enough to walk in their land’s glimmering meadows with them. They wanted to teach their grandchildren all that they had learned about being wise of mind and sensitive in feelings. So the day arrived when Eric and his Queen Mom and King Dad began a search for Eric's wife. Now this may sound a little strange that Eric wanted the help of his parents in choosing a wife, but as the story goes, remember that the King was very wise in mind and the Queen was very sensitive in her feelings, and these were two qualitites that Eric felt would be very useful in choosing the right wife. So the search began. There was only one complication. Over breakfast Museli one morning, Eric confided in his mother that he had been having dreams at night. The dream was always the same; he dreamt that he was riding his Palomino pony, and off in a distance he saw a lovely figure of a woman. In the dream, he rode closer to get a good look at her, but just as he approached her, she began running in the other direction, and suddenly, as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished. Eric never got a good look at her, but as she was running, he noticed her hair. Her hair was long, luscious and brown, and it waved in the wind, bouncing up and down as she ran, as though her wavy ringlets were dancing with the wind. Her hair reminded him of the brown velvet pillow that he laid his head on every night to go to sleep. He decided that this woman, the woman of his dreams, the woman with the long, luscious, wavy brown hair was the woman he would marry. In search for the woman of Eric’s dream, the King and Queen asked all the women of the land to come to the castle for one night. The King thought it a wonderful idea that Eric would find the woman of his dreams to marry, but he also wanted to be sure that the woman Eric selected would have the same compassionate sensitivity that his lovely wife had. The Queen also thought it a wonderful idea that Eric would find the woman of his dreams to marry, but she wanted to be sure that the woman Eric selected would have the same wisdom of mind that her husband had. The King, in his wisdom of mind, knew that the true wife for Eric would find sleeping with a small pea under her mattress intolerable. He knew that if his son’s wife were to have the same sensitivity of feelings as his own lovely wife, then she would feel the tiny pea under the mattress, and instead of its feeling like a small pea, her sensitivity of feelings would make the small pea feel like a much larger baseball. The Queen, in her sensitivity of feelings, knew that the true wife for Eric would find sleeping in the castle to be quite an unremarkable experience. She knew that if her son’s wife were to have the same wisdom of mind as her wise husband, then she would not be particularly impressed by the splendor of the castle and would, instead, prefer the exquisite meadows with their dewy mists and would honor love of family and friends, all the virtues that they had raised Eric to cherish. Eric, in his youthfulness, knew that his true wife would have long, luscious, wavy brown hair that danced in the wind. So, one by one, all of the women of the land came to the castle. The first woman was very pretty. She had medium-length, jet black hair that matched her eyelashes. Eric's Mom, the Queen, said: "Eric, this is Samantha." Eric looked at Samatha and whispered to his mother: “But she has black hair, not long, luscious wavy brown hair that dances in the wind.” Eric’s Mom, the Queen, said: “But, Eric, maybe she went to the beauty parlor just before she came here and got her hair dyed.” The King, of course, invited Samantha to spend the night at the castle. In the morning, as the King, the Queen, Eric and Samantha gathered for breakfast, the King asked Samatha how she had slept. Samatha said: “Oh, like a dream. So soundly. I never woke the whole night.” And the King knew that Samatha could not be the wife for Eric because she had not felt the pea under the mattress. Then the Queen asked Samantha how she was enjoying her stay at the castle and she answered: “Oh, it’s so magnificent. If I lived here I would miss my mother and all my sisters and cousins but it would be worth it to live in this magnificent castle.” And the Queen knew that Samantha could not be the wife for Eric because she was too impressed with the castle and too willing to abandon those she loved. The next woman, Eloise, had short, auburn hair. Eric’s Mom introduced Eloise to Eric. Eric looked at Eloise and said to his mother: “But she has short hair with reddish highlights, not long, luscious wavy brown hair that dances in the wind.” Eric’s Mom, the Queen, said: “But maybe she went to the beauty parlor just before she came here and got her hair cut to make it short.” The King, of course, invited Eloise to spend the night in the castle. In the morning, as the King, the Queen, Eric and Eloise gathered for breakfast, the King asked Eloise how she had slept. Eloise said: “Oh, the bed was so unbelievably comfey. It was so soft and cushiony.” And the King knew that Eloise could not be the wife for Eric because she had not felt the pea under the mattress. Then the Queen asked Eloise how she was enjoying her stay at the castle and she answered: “Oh, this castle is like a fairyland. I never dreamt, even in my wildest imagination that anything could be so beautiful. I would never have another wish or desire if I lived in this magnificent castle.” And the Queen knew that Eloise could not be the wife for Eric because she was too impressed with the castle and thought it even more beautiful than anything in her imagination. The next woman, Priscella, had long, straight, blonde hair. Eric’s Mom introduced Eric to Priscella. Eric looked at Priscella and said to his mother: “But she has staight, blonde hair, not long, luscious wavy brown hair that dances in the wind.” Eric’s Mom, the Queen, said: “But maybe she went to the beauty parlor just before she came here and got her hair ironed to make it straight and streaked with that tin foil process to make it blonde.” The King, of course, invited Priscella to spend the night at the castle. In the morning, as the King, the Queen, Eric and Priscella gathered for breakfast, the King asked Priscella how she had slept. Priscella said: “Oh, I loved the bed. It was the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.” And the King knew that Priscella could not be the wife for Eric because she had not felt the pea under the mattress. Then the Queen asked Priscella how she was enjoying her stay at the castle and she answered: “Oh, there are so many beautiful things here. I’ve never seen such finery and lace and velvet. If I lived here I would miss my comfortable rocker and all my old sundresses but it would be worth it to live in this magnificent castle.” And the Queen knew that Priscella could not be the wife for Eric because she was too impressed with the castle and was willing to give up all things familiar and old. The next woman, Winnifred, had curly, flaming red hair. Eric’s Mom Eric to Winnifred. Eric looked at Winnifred and said to his mother: “But she has curly hair, not long, luscious wavy brown hair that dances in the wind.” Eric’s Mom, the Queen, said: “But maybe she went to the beauty parlor just before she came here and got her hair permed to make it curly.” Of course, the King invited Winnifred to spend the night in the castle. In the morning, as the King, the Queen, Eric and Winnifred gathered for breakfast, the King asked Winnifred how she had slept. Winnifred said: “Oh, I just sank into that bed, it was so soft.” And the King knew that Winnifred could not be the wife for Eric because she had not felt the pea under the mattress. Then the Queen asked Winnifred how she was enjoying her stay at the castle and she answered: “This castle is the most splendid place I’ve ever been to. If I lived here I would miss the star-lit nights when the breeze comes in from the south but it would be worth it to live in this magnificent castle.” And the Queen knew that Winnifred could not be the wife for Eric because she was too impressed with the castle and thought it more beautiful than nature itself. Eric and his Mom and Dad were beginning to despair that they would ever find the woman of Eric’s dreams. None of the women seemed right. They sent out a footman to search all the land to see if there were any women they had overlooked. All the women the footman found had already been to the castle, and either their hair was too short, or too long, or red, or black, or blonde, or too straight or too curly. Then, as the footman was about to begin his journey home, he noticed that there was a baseball game going on at the local baseball field. He had heard that this year the land’s baseball team was the best ever, and that it was all because of a phenomenal short-stop that had just started playing for the team. He stopped to watch for a minute, and watched the short- stop catch a ball that was way high in the sky. The short-stop seemed to leap in the air like a gizelle. As the short-stop spun around to throw the ball back to the pitcher, the footman noticed a long pony-tail hanging out the back of the short-stop’s baseball cap. He realized that the short-stop was a woman, and that it was a woman who had not yet been brought to the castle. He quickly found that her name was Molly and that she had just moved from another town. That’s why she had eluded the search so far. He invited her to the castle, but she said she was too busy to come. She had many many things to do to prepare for the next baseball game. The footman realized that the way to this woman’s heart was to appeal to her love for baseball. He told her that the King was sponsering a special baseball game that evening and he was especially interested to become acquainted with women who could play baseball. Well, the footman had Molly pegged right. She would go anywhere for baseball. So sure enough, that night she showed up at the castle to meet the King and to talk about the baseball game he wanted to sponser. All of the people of the land came to see the baseball game that night. They watched as there was magic between the new short-stop and their second-baseman, who just happened to be Prince Eric. It seemed every time someone on the other team hit a ball, the ball would fairly fly right into the mitt of the short-stop, and then she would throw it right over to the second baseman. They won the game that night and all the people rejoiced and danced in the streets. Because it was late by the time the game was over, Molly decided to accept the King’s invitation to sleep in the castle that night. In the morning, as the King, the Queen, Eric and Molly gathered for breakfast, the King asked Molly how she had slept. Molly said: “That was absolutely the most uncomfortable bed I have ever slept in. What do you put in your mattresses here, rocks and stones?” The King knew instantly that Molly would make a wonderful wife for Eric because she had the same sensitivity of feelings as his wife. Then the Queen asked Molly how she was enjoying her stay at the castle and Molly answered: “The castle is a pretty enough place, but not as pretty as my favorite meadow when the gentle rain makes a dewy mist on the grass.” And the Queen knew instantly that Molly would make a wonderful wife for Eric because she showed the same wisdom of mind as her husband. The King and the Queen immediately made plans for a wedding. Molly was quite willing because she had loved playing short-stop to Eric’s second-base. But Eric wasn’t so sure. He said to his Mom, “But Mom, I can’t even see her hair because she’s always wearing a baseball cap. How do I know if she has long, luscious wavy brown hair?” The Queen answered that sometimes what is not seen is more alluring that what is seen and with that, Eric became exceptionally interested in knowing exactly what Molly’s hair looked like underneath her baseball cap. He was even willing to marry her in order to find out. The day of the wedding Molly decided that she would wear her hair in her usual pony tail with her baseball cap on. She looked resplendent in her shimmering gown and even underneath her baseball cap, her hair shone like the first-evening stars. They got to the part of the wedding ceremony where Molly said “I do,” and then it was Eric’s turn to say “I do.” He hesitated just a moment, thinking about the importance of the words he was about to say and just then a strong wind came up and blew Molly’s baseball cap off her head, and there, dancing in the wind, was the most beautiful head of long, luscious, wavy brown hair that you have ever seen. Eric quickly said, “I do” and Molly and Eric lived happily ever after, he playing second-base to her short-stop in all things in life and love, as well as in baseball. |
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