A Strawberry Kiss of Death

Strawberry Land was a kingdom where strawberries were grown all over the land and the people make a living by planting strawberries and by selling strawberry-made products. The strawberries grew there were sweet and juicy, and they were used to make jams, pies, chocolates, candies, breads, cakes and yoghurts. The King and Queen of Strawberry Land Kingdom were childless and they have longed for a child for years. After much pining, they finally got a precious gift from God - a beautiful daughter and Amber Rose was her name.

The King and Queen were very much delighted to have a child of their own after the long awaiting and all the people in Strawberry Land were very happy to have a princess borne into their kingdom. Some people were saying, "Thank goodness, we had finally had a princess in our land." Others were saying, "We are happy that the King and Queen are gifted with a beautiful daughter," and also "Princess Amber is very beautiful and she is going to be a good queen in the future."

A grand party was held to celebrate the princess's birth and fairies were invited to attend the party. The fairies were there to offer their gifts, such as beauty, wisdom and intelligence to Princess Amber. The Purple Fairy said, "The princess is going to be a beautiful lady." The Blue Fairy said, "Here, I offer you, Princess Amber, with wisdom." "Princess Amber is going to be an intelligent lady," said the Green Fairy. The party was very much celebrated and everyone was having fun.

All of a sudden,the sky turned dark and strong wind blown. Everyone was suprised and shocked to see an ugly-looking and evil witch appeared. The witch walked to Princess Amber and said, "You will eat strawberry and die at the age of 18." She cursed the princess and then disappeared into thin air. The King and Queen were afraid and did not know what to do. The fairies calmed everyone down and asked them not to worry. The Blue Fairy altered the curse that Princess Amber would not die but would instead remain asleep for life upon eating strawberry.

The King then ordered his men to burn down all the strawberry trees and no strawberry trees can ever be planted in the kingdom again. The people in Strawberry Land burned each and every single strawberry, and also all the strawberry-made products in the kingdom because they wanted to protect their beloved princess from the curse. From then onwards, they have changed from planting strawberry trees to planting apple trees. People have substituted strawberries with apples. Apple jams, apple pies, apple breads and apple cakes were being produced.

18 years have passed and Princess Amber was now a young lady with porcelain-white skin, big and starry eyes, a sharp nose and small, cherry red lips. Princess Amber was an intelligent, cheerful, kind and talented girl. She had beautiful voice, and she can sing and dance very well too. Princess Amber was loved by all the people in Strawberry Land because she was very polite and was very kind to everyone. She has grown up healthily and happily under the protection of the King, the Queen and the people in her kingdom. Nobody has ever told her about the curse that the evil witch had casted on her and she had never seen a strawberry in her whole life.

One day, Princess Amber was singing ad dancing in the garden. Prince Ethan Jacobs, a young and handsome prince from the neighbouring kingdom, Banana Land passed by and heard her singing. He was curious and therefore went to have a look at Princess Amber. He was suprised to see a beautiful young lady singing with a sweet voice and dancing gracefully in the garden. Prince Ethan could not help himself but to walk over and try to get to know her.

Princess Amber was dancing and when she turned around, she saw Prince Ethan. Her eyes met with his and it was love at first sight. He apologized to her for interrupting and then introduced himself. "I am very sorry for interrupting your dance, my lady. My name is Ethan Jacobs and I am from Banana Land. May I know your name please?" said Prince Ethan. Princess Amber replied, "Apology accepted. Amber Rose is my name. And what are you doing here?" "I am on a hunting trip and just happened to be passing by this garden," answered Prince Ethan. Princess Amber then said, "Well, welcome to Strawberry Land and if you do not mind, I would be happy to take you around visiting our kingdom." That was how they met and started becoming friends.

Princess Amber took Prince Ethan around and brought him back to the castle. She introduced him to the King and Queen. The King said, "Your father, King Joseph was a good friend of mine and I am happy to see you here. Please send my regards to him and do come to Strawberry Land for visits. You are always welcome here." Ever since then, Prince Ethan had always come to Strawberry Land to meet up with Princess Amber. They sang and danced together. They spent so much time together and they were very happy to have each other as company.

It was Princess Amber's 18th birthday, and the King and Queen threw her a birthday party. King Joseph, his Queen and Prince Ethan were invited to the party. The fairies were also invited and all of them attended the party. Prince Ethan brought Princess Amber to the garden where they first met, and he presented to her a big and red strawberry as birthday gift. She told him that she had never seen a strawberry before and did not want to try the strawberry. Prince Ethan then said it was alright and therefore ate the strawberry himself. They then danced together and after the dance, Prince Ethan kissed Princess Amber on her lips. After the kiss, he was shocked to see her falling onto the ground.

Prince Ethan carried Princess Amber back to the castle. He told them what had happened. The King and Queen asked the fairies for help. "I am sorry. But there is nothing we can do to help the princess," said the Purple Fairy. "Princess Amber is only asleep, not dead. I am sure there will be miracle and she may wake up one day," added the Blue Fairy.

Prince Ethan told the King, "I am really sorry for what had happened. But I do believe that Amber will wake up some day. May I ask for your permission to marry your daughter, Amber?" "Ethan, are you sure you really want to marry my daughter? Now that she is asleep for life. Are you willing to take on the responsibility to take care of her for life? To protect and to love her unconditionally?" replied the King. "Yes, Amber is my true love. And I am willing to take care of her, to protect and to love her as long as I live. Please, give us your blessing," said Prince Ethan. The King dropped some tears and nodded his head, "Son, you have my blessing." Everybody there had their cheeks wet by tears. They were touched by the prince's love for the princess.

Prince Ethan maaried Princess Amber and took her back to Banana Land. He carried her to their room and laid her down on the bed. "I am sorry, my love. I did not know that strawberry can make you fall asleep forever. That was a strawberry kiss of death to you, my dear. I am really sorry. But I promise you, I will take care of you. I will also continue to love you till the day I die," confessed Prince Ethan. He then kissed her on her lips gently, and his tears dropped on her cheeks. A miracle had happened. Princess Amber opened her eyes. She had woke up. It was the power of their true love that broke the curse.

Prince Ethan and Princess Amber live happily as a married couple in Banana Land. A few years later, King Joseph passed his throne to Prince Ethan and Princess Amber bore him a pair of beautiful twins. King Ethan was a good king and the people in Banana Land live happily ever after.