A Different Sort of Princess Story

Before there was #metoo or the rise of #RBG, there was a little girl whose heroes were few and far between. She searched for examples of women whom she could relate to, ones who fought with swords or words, who wore pants to Sunday school, or who decided motherhood wasn't the only option after marriage. This little girl struggled to subjugate her inquisitive mind with instruction in “acting like a lady.”

It was impossible for her to see both Joan of Arc and Cinderella in the same universe, and the idea of waiting in a tower like Rapunzel infuriated her- “why couldn't she cut her own hair and climb down?” she would ask her parents, “why couldn't Cinderella leave, she doesn't even know the prince!” On and on the conversations went until one day the parents found a treasure.

This treasure was a dusty copy of “The Paper Bag Princess.”

At first, the little girl wasn't all too impressed with the mention of the word Princess, but her father, holding the book, promised her that this story was different. So, the little girl, brimming with questions, sat still and waited, anticipating a different sort of princess story.

Her father opened the book, his voice settled into a calming rhythm-the one he used for stories. The little girl relaxed into her fluffy pillow, her hands patting down her Care Bear comforter.

And so, the story began as most fairy tales do, with a princess and a prince who are destined to fall in love. But, unlike most fairy tales, when the inevitable dragon appears to destroy the castle, he carries off prince Ronald and leaves princess Elizabeth without even a dress to wear. Luckily, this princess is resourceful and is able to locate a paper bag to cover her exposed skin. She then decides to rescue her betrothed and follows the dragon to his lair. Princess Elizabeth, always resourceful, follows the clues the dragon has left on his trail, horse bones and burnt trees.

Soon, Elizabeth arrives at the dragon’s lair and is greeted by a large door barring her entrance. She knocks on the big knocker and is at once dismissed by the dragon who nearly slams her nose in the door. Princess Elizabeth doesn’t give up easily. She knocks until the dragon is forced to come out and face her. Though the dragon could easily burn her alive, Elizabeth thinks only of how to outsmart the dragon. She flatters the dragon into using all of his fire on pointless tasks, telling him she is impressed. Once his fire is used up, Elizabeth remembers hearing that the dragon can circle the earth in ten seconds. Of course, the prideful dragon must prove her right and he ends up doing it twice. The dragon is exhausted by all the flying and must settle in for a long nap.

At this point in the story the little girl, who is now hanging on to her father’s arm to get a better view of Princess Elizabeth, is completely enthralled. This princess knows how to use her brain and the little girl is intrigued.

Back to the story, Elizabeth has tricked the dragon into a long sleep and now can finish her quest to save Prince Ronald. She enters the Dragon’s keep and finds the prince, but to her utter horror, he at once remarks on her appearance, telling her to come back when she is dressed like a real princess. Shocked, Princess Elizabeth tells the prince that even though his clothes and hair may look like a prince, he is actually a bum. She breaks the engagement and leaves the prince.

The little girl stares at the last picture in the book- the princess, paper bag and all, is jumping for joy in the sunset, her crown still on her head. The little girl takes the book from her father and goes to look at all the pictures once again. Her father smiles and asks if she liked the book. The little girls face beams, she laughs, “the prince is a bum! She probably just ruled the kingdom on her own! And she tricked the dragon!!” Humming to herself she lovingly began memorizing each picture.

Years later, that little girl has grown up into a woman, yet she still remembers The Paper Bag Princess. Now instead of worrying about being “ladylike” she worries about real problems like global warming and feeding the hungry. She realizes that not all fairytales are fantastical because they paint magical kingdoms full of dragons and mermaids, but because they tell of a world where little girls can become heroes through their wit and bravery.