Once upon a time, in two kingdoms on two opposite sides of the world, there were a prince and a princess. They had something in common, in that their parents each wished that they would find a suitable match to carry on the family name. But both youngsters had other ideas. The girl wanted adventure, to see the world, while the boy wanted to bury his nose in his books, not blinking an eye at the suiters his father would arrange. 

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Also in these two very separate kingdoms lived two jinnis. These jinnis happened to meet up now and again whilst on their midnight adventures through the stars. It was on one such night that the jinnis started to talk about their respective royal families. “‘I have the most beautiful prince in my kingdom. So solemn and gentle he is, such a fine nose and deep eyes. He must be the most beautiful human in all the world,” said one.’. “Rubbish!” said the second. “Our princess is the most beautiful human in the world! She has rose red lips, jet black hair, a sparkle in her eye and such vivacity.”  

 

They argued like this for a while, before settling on an agreement. Now jinnis like a bet, so they each decided to bring the prince and princess in the dead of night (while the poor souls were sleeping) to compare and come to an agreement.  

That night, they did just that. They laid the prince and princess next to each other to compare them, but of course they couldn’t settle their contest and spun off in to the night bickering. Whilst they were distracted, the prince woke up. Feeling cold, he was confused as to where he was, but his heart stopped when he saw the sleeping girl next to him. He didn’t know why, but he was enraptured. He didn’t want to wake her, thinking that they could speak in the morning, but wanting to show some form of gratitude to her for making him feel so happy he decided to place his ring on her finger. He then fell back to sleep, happy in the knowledge that he would wake the next day and get to know this beautiful girl. A few minutes later, no doubt stirred by   the ring being put on her hand, the princess awoke. She too was shocked to find herself in a strange land, but then her eyes fell upon the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Even in his sleep, she could tell he was kind. The little lines on his face showed that he had a beautiful smile but there was also a gentleness about him. She felt the ring on her finger and knew it must be his. Her heart fluttered, much to her surprise, and so she decided to tenderly place her ring on his little finger. She was confused at the feelings she had but couldn’t wait until morning, when she could ask him so many questions. Maybe he would like adventuring too! She fell asleep thinking of these things and the two young humans lay sleeping happily. Something wonderful had awoken in their hearts and minds. 

 

A little while later, the jinnis grew tired of their quarrels. It was nearly morning and they had better take the two humans back to their separate kingdoms. 

 

As the birds sang, the princess awoke. Where had her handsome prince got to? She got up and asked the maids, the guards, her parents, the court. Nobody knew what she was talking about and they certainly didn’t believe her. But she knew it was true! She had the ring to prove it!

 

The prince in his distant kingdom awoke to the same response. His father thought his son had gone mad over night. He didn’t believe the little ring actually belonged to a girl.  “No son, there’s no girl with black hair in the entire kingdom. You must have been dreaming.”

 

The two bickering jinnis never knew what they had done. They found new things to disagree about. And so it was that the two young humans had to endure two halves of a broken heart, nobody ever believing their tale. And what happens to a heart that cannot be reunited with its other half? I don’t know. Luckily, I don’t know any jinnis…