“Oh, nothing,” the Princess jumped, her voice trailing off.
This time she followed the yellow bird with her eyes – and there he was, standing in his full elegance: Cicerello had chosen a striped shirt in dark turquoise and white, combined with a burgundy suit. The matching bow tie was decorated with tiny stones, twinkling in the candlelight. She was mesmerized and couldn’t take her eyes off him, but she had to wait for the dance to end. Swirl after swirl, they exchanged amorous glances. Finally, the music stopped and the Princess rushed to the second floor. But, by the time she arrived, Cicerello was gone.
This time, at dinner the day after the dance, the topic of conversation of the Noble families was no longer who the young man was, but where he was, and if he would be back for the third and final dance? Even in his absence, Cicerello was the topic of the night.
“Can you imagine, mom, last time the Princess refused to dance with anyone else but the young man,” the older stepbrother was sputtering, “and this time she couldn’t switch her dancing partners fast enough.”
“She didn’t smile at me a single time,” the younger stepbrother jumped in, “she was just waiting for the dance to be over.”
“I guess the red stones on the shoes didn’t impress her,” the stepmother commented drily.
At the mention of the red stones, Cicerello and the yellow bird who were listening in from the kitchen burst out laughing. “I can’t wait to see what shoes they will be wearing next time!” Cicerello panted.
“Maybe no shoes at all,” the yellow bird squeaked and couldn’t stop laughing about his own joke.
Chapter 5
And so, as the third dance was approaching, all parties were fine-tuning their outfits and plans for the Grande Finale. The young Noble men of the island were spending hours in front of their mirrors trying on different costumes, Cicerello – taking nothing for granted – was preparing his most glamorous appearance yet, and the Princess was developing a detailed plan that would prevent the young man she desired so much, from escaping from her again. She had the Director of the Royal opera house sending her the floor maps of each floor of the opera house, so she could study them carefully and identify all exit points, including back and side doors. She assigned servants to the staircases of each floor as well as to all exits. And she had carriages waiting on all sides of the opera house, so they could follow the young man if needed. This time, she would leave nothing to chance.
When Cicerello and the yellow bird arrived at the third dance, the Princess was already expecting them. She looked stunning, wearing her most exclusive jewels for the special night. Even her cat was wearing a little crown.
Cicerello, likewise, was dressed to impress. He had chosen a royal purple tailcoat, a white shirt with pearl buttons and pinstripe pants in silver gray. Only the yellow bird felt a little underdressed. But he forgot about it the moment he saw Cicerello and the Princess reunited on the dance floor. They were simply made for each other. And just like their first dance, they became completely lost in each other as the evening flew by. But this time, when Cicerello tried to sneak away during a refreshment break, he was followed.
The Princess didn’t miss a beat when she received the message that the young man had left and was heading East. With her cat squeezed under one arm, she ran down the grand stairs, jumped into her carriage waiting in front of the opera house, and gave instructions to get out of the town as fast as possible. By this time, the octopus express had already made it out of town, picking up speed quickly. Cicerello was confident that with their two horses they would easily outpace the one-horse-carriage that had been trailing them from the Royal opera house. It was a bright night, and visibility was good. Every few minutes Cicerello looked back to make sure the distance kept growing.
But suddenly, there was a second carriage chasing them. The next time Cicerello looked back, the second carriage had overtaken the first one. Cicerello’s heart started beating faster. He looked back again, and indeed the distance kept shortening very quickly. Luckily, they were about to reach the narrow mountain road, so at least the other carriage couldn’t overtake them. But it kept coming closer, despite being pulled by only one horse. Soon the carriage was so close that he could see its details. He had to rub his eyes twice before he was able to believe what he saw: On the top of its roof, there was a golden sphinx shining in the moonlight. Now Cicerello knew who was following him, but he kept wondering what made her carriage go so fast.
The next day, the Princess announced her visit to Cicerello’s family for after-dinner tea. She had observed where Cicerello and the yellow bird had gotten off the octopus express and had spent the following morning writing up a list of all Noble families in the neighborhood with unmarried sons. Of course Cicerello’s family was on the list.
The stepmother couldn’t believe her luck and immediately started with the preparations. Dinner would be served earlier than usual, so the house would be tidy for the Royal visit. And as the servant was off that night, Cicerello would be serving the tea.
While everybody was busy getting ready, Cicerello was sitting at the kitchen table staring into space. The yellow bird had never seen his master like this before and asked timidly: “If I understand correctly, Cicerello, you are just facing another dilemma, right?”
A smile flashed over Cicerello’s face: “Good bird! You learn fast. You are absolutely right: another dilemma.”
The yellow bird blustered his feathers proudly. “But what will you do?” he asked anxiously.
“Good question,” Cicerello was thinking out loud, “there is only one thing I know for sure: I’d rather never see the Princess again than serve her tea in these shabby clothes.”
The yellow bird nodded in agreement: “Yes, we cannot let that happen, ever.”
“Hence,” Cicerello concluded, “somebody else will be serving the tea tonight.” With a smirk on his face, Cicerello stood up from the kitchen table and got busy helping the housemaid.
Chapter 6
When it was time for Cicerello to serve dinner, he entered the dining room balancing four cups of tomato soup on a heavy silver tray. As usual, he first served the father. When walking over to the stepmother, he stumbled and one of the cups fell off the tray, spilling the red soup all over the white marble floor. Everyone was staring at the mess, then at Cicerello.
“How dare you?” the stepmother hissed.
But the father tried to calm her down: “We are all just a little nervous tonight, aren’t we?” And to Cicerello he added, “Why don’t you go and clean it up?”
Dutifully, Cicerello got a mop and started cleaning the floor.
Then it was time to serve the main course. Cicerello made sure he put some extra gravy on the older stepbrother’s plate – just enough for it to spill over when he served it. Now everyone was staring at the greasy brown stain on the stepbrother’s white shirt.
“Enough!” the stepmother yelled, “You will stay in the kitchen for the rest of the evening.”
The father agreed: “I’m sorry, but the housemaid will serve the tea tonight.”
Without looking at anyone Cicerello vanished into the kitchen, silently triumphant.
Soon the Princess knocked at the door, and she was led into the parlor. The housemaid hurried to her attention, making sure to leave the connecting doors from the kitchen to the dining room, and from the dining room to the parlor, wide open so Cicerello and the yellow bird would overhear the conversation.
After the tea was served, the Princess explained why she was here, and described who she was looking for. Unfortunately, no one in the room matched the Princess’ description of the young man. “Is there another young man in the house?” the Princess asked hopefully.
But everyone in the room was shaking their head.
Kindly the Princess switched the topic while finishing her tea. Then she stood up and started looking for her cat who had quietly gone for a little stroll around the mansion without anyone’s notice. Not even Cicerello or the yell
ow bird had seen her entering the kitchen, as they had been so concentrated listening in.
When the cat heard her mistress calling, she started meowing without moving an inch, forcing the Princess to come to the kitchen to pick her up – and to see Cicerello.
Before Cicerello could escape through the back door, the Princess had recognized him. Despite his shabby clothes, the amorous look in his eyes had betrayed him.
“Principessa?” Cicerello asked timidly.
“Here you are!” the Princess cheered. And with a smirk she added, “Finally I’ve found you!”
The amazement and joy was huge, and Cicerello had a lot of explaining to do. He had to explain to the Princess why he was hiding. And he had to explain to his father how he met the Princess. And he had to explain to all of them, who Cicerello was. As it turned out, everyone in the room had heard great things about Cicerello, but no one in the room knew that it was him. The father couldn’t have been more proud of his son, and the Princess couldn’t have been more in love with her Prince. Even the stepmother had to admit that they were a perfect match.
That’s when the yellow bird gathered all his courage and approached the sphinx cat: “Hello. I’m the yellow bird,” he boldly chirped, “I think what you did was pretty cool.”
The cat turned around, surprised: “Thank you, yellow bird, nice to meet you. I’m the sphinx cat.”
As the Princess was walking Cicerello to her carriage to take him home and introduce him to her parents, Cicerello could no longer hold back his curiosity: “My love, what is the secret behind your carriage? What makes it so fast?”
The Princess looked at him with a sly smile: “So you like my prototype, Cicerello?” (4)
“Your what?” Cicerello asked confused.
“My prototype –the first model of a new type of carriage. It’s built in a way that makes it much lighter and much safer, and hence you can go much faster.”
“Sounds too good to be true,” Cicerello responded skeptically, “where did you buy it?”
“I didn’t buy it anywhere,” the Princess answered, “I made it.”
Cicerello’s eyes widened, now she had his full attention: “You made this carriage, Principessa?”
“Yes,” the Princess responded proudly, “I designed it, and I helped build it. Engineering is my passion. Ever since I was a little girl, I have spent countless hours with the engineers in my father’s Royal factories. Look,” and she guided Cicerello around the carriage, pointing at different elements of the construction, “the suspension is based on special springs, the wheels are sanded in a special way, and the cabin is built from a special wood.”
Cicerello was staring at her in awe.
This made her a little uncomfortable, but with a wink she opened the door of her carriage: “Shall we?”
Once in the carriage, Cicerello leaned back, enjoying the ride with the Princess. “This is a completely new travel experience!” Cicerello exclaimed happily, “Not sure how much this is because of you, and how much this is because of the primustype?” he added with a smirk.
“Prototype,” the Princess corrected him with a warm smile and took his hand.
By the time they arrived at the castle, the yellow bird and the sphinx cat had become friends. Cicerello received a warm welcome from his new family, and they all lived happily ever after.
Explanations
(1) Similar to flamingos, the feathers of canary birds can change color depending on what they eat. While baby flamingos are born with gray feathers, they later turn pink from eating pigments called carotenoid through their main food source, shrimp and algae. Canary birds’ normal food doesn’t change the color of its yellow feathers, but they can turn a deep orange if they regularly consume paprika, cayenne or red pepper, which all contain carotenoids. By the same token, if flamingos would change their diet, their pink color would eventually fade.
(2) The word orator comes from the Latin word orare, which means “talking,” more specifically talking in court, defending a person or a cause. Americans who are considered great orators are for example Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr.
(3) The word dilemma comes from the Greek word δίλημμα, which means “two propositions.” It describes a situation in which one has to make a difficult choice, typically between two (or more) equally bad options.
(4) The word prototype is made of a prefix (proto) and a root (type). The prefix prot(o) comes from Greek and means “first in time” or “original.” Hence prototype means the first or original type of something. For example, in the case of vehicles or devices, it is the first full-scale and functional form of a new type or design. The word can also be applied to people. In that case it is the person who is the first to show a distinct set of characteristics that later will be adopted by others. For example, Robin Hood is the prototype of an outlaw hero. Or Barbara Streisand is the prototype of a modern-day diva.
About the author
Elisabeth Glas is the mother of a 6-year-old boy who loves to dress up and style his hair every morning like a girl, and who adores anything that goes on four wheels at high speed like a boy. She wrote Cicerello to offer an alternative to the existing children literature with its pre-defined roles for boys and girls. Born in Switzerland, she divides her time between Milan and Zurich.
Other books by the same author: TOM & SHERRY
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