The Picky Princess

Once upon a time

Princess Dillanda wouldn’t eat

Her dinner

The Queen was at her wit’s end

With her daughters

One of whom had an irregular sleep schedule

And another who had turned

Into an apple tree

But Dillandra not eating

Her dinner?

That was much too much

Her mother explained to Dillandra

That while she was a princess

Even princesses must eat

What the Royal Chef

Makes for them

The Queen consulted

With her royal advisors

And they advised

(Because that’s what they do)

That Princess Dillandra

Should be forced

To sit at the dinner table

Until she eats the food presented to her

That night was the perfect time

To try this new way

Of getting Dillandra

To eat her dinner

Because the chef would be serving

Cabbage-stuffed tomatoes

A delicacy loved by all in the royal family

...Except for Princess Dillandra

When the dinner was served

Princess Dillandra asked

If she could be excused

From the table

And she was told by her mother

That no, she could not be excused

Because she needed to eat her dinner

“But mother,” she said, “You know

I do not like cabbage-stuffed tomatoes”

Her mother told her

That many people outside the kingdom

In less fortunate places

Do not have any food to eat

And so Dillandra should be grateful

That she’s able to eat anything at all

And that she would not be allowed

To leave the table

Until her plate was clear

Dillandra sat quietly

As her family finished their dinner

And when they were done

They all retired to their rooms

For the night

But Dillandra

Stayed right where she was

The next day at breakfast

When the family was served

Eggs and pancakes and juice

There was Dillandra

And her sad-looking cabbage dish

From the night before

Her mother, the Queen,

Felt bad for the little princess

But trusted the advice

From her advisors

And believed that the only way

To break the picky eating habits

Of the princess

Was to force her to learn

To eat things

She’d rather not eat

More meals came and went

And still, Dillandra would not eat

The Queen recalled

That Dillandra was often said

To have the stubbornness

Of her Great-Great-Great Aunt Dessedra

And so the Queen paid a visit

To the Royal Cemetery where all the royal ghosts

Visit with each other and hold court

The Queen made her way

Through the tombstones

To where Great-Great-Great Aunt Dessedra was buried

And there was her ghost

Sitting atop her stone

Playing her ghost trumpet

When the Queen explained

The problem to her dead relative

Dessedra was horrified

That her little great-great-great niece

Was sitting at a table

Starving and tired

“Just let her eat what she wants,” Dessedra screamed

Starting all the other ghosts in the cemetery,

“When she’s an adult she’s going to be able

To eat whatever she wants anyway

So what are you teaching her?

To do things she doesn’t want to do

Even if it doesn’t feel good

And makes her unhappy?

What a horrible lesson to teach a child

What kind of Queen are you?”

Dessedra went on ranting and raving

And the Queen slunk away

After about an hour of this

Returned to the dinner table

And sat next to her daughter

Who did look very tired and very hungry

“Dillandra,” said the Queen,

Putting her hand

On her daughter’s hand

To show that she was sorry

But also, unsure of what to do

As many parents are

“I never want to make you

Do something you don’t want to do

But the fact is, when you get older

You have to do all sorts of things

You don’t want to do

Like force your daughter

To sit at a table

In front of a sad cabbage

Because it’s what you think

Is best for her”

Princess Dillandra thought this over

And then said--

“Mother, I don’t like cabbages

And I don’t like tomatoes

But I suppose I could learn

To like cabbages

If I had to

But never tomatoes”

The Queen thought about it

And decided that

Her daughter did not need to learn

To love every food

But that learning to like more food

Would be in her best interest

And it would teach her

The importance of negotiation

So from then on

The princess would eat

Cabbages if they were served

But never tomatoes

And nobody pushed her

To learn to like them

Because not everybody

Needs to like everything

Not even princesses