Knotted (an adaptation of Rapunzel starring Princess Zena)

December 11, 2012 by Zena 44 Comments

Once upon a time there were two TT’s (Tibetan Terriers) who desperately wanted a litter of puppies. The father TT wanted a son to carry on his genes, the mother TT wanted a puppy to love.

One day Suprize (for that was the father’s name) was walking in a local park and met a wizard called Prissy Paws. For some reason he confided his dilemma to Prissy Paws and the wizard had a great idea.
He promised to give Suprize a magic potion to give to Stormie his wife so that they would have puppies, but only if he could have one female puppy from the litter.

Wizard Prissy Paws has a plan

Suprize agreed. He would have agreed to anything but in truth he was only interested in the male puppies and giving away a female was nothing to him, just another mouth that he wouldn’t have to worry about feeding.

When he went home he gave Stormie the magic potion but he didn’t tell her about the deal he had made. He knew she would be cross. Soon afterwards on one cold and wet night two puppies were born. One girls and one weak boy.

Suprize was furious but he wasn’t going to double cross the wizard so he grabbed the girl who was Princess Zena and went out to meet the Wizard. Stormie cried and Princess Zena cried but Suprize took no notice.

He met Wizard Prissy Paws in a cold and lonely wood and handed over little Princess Zena who was shivering with fright and the cold.

Wizard Prissy Paws was delighted. He was an ambitious wizard and so far because he was so small the other wizards had not really taken him seriously.

He devised a plan to make them notice him. He was going to embark on a psychological study and perform experiments on the lovely and gentle Princess Zena. When he wrote up his work the other wizards would be forced to acknowledge that he was the cleverest wizard of them all. He would probably be feted and become famous.

Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws dreams of his fame

Wizard Prissy Paws had found a tower in the middle of a forest where he was going to keep Princess Zena all alone. Once a day he planned to visit her and give her a little food and tell her scary tales. Then he would write down everything that he observed and he would be recognised as a true scholar and highly educated wizard.

Princess Zena’s tower

Each day the Wizard Prissy Paws would visit the tower for his social experiments.

There was no door to the tower so he shouted up to her:
‘Princess Zena, Princess Zena let down your long and fluffy tail that I might climb up without fail’

Then the Princess, who did indeed have a beautiful long, fluffy tail, let her tail dangle out of the window and Wizard Prissy Paws climbed up.

Once in the tower he gave her food and drink and then he made up stories about what was happening outside her prison walls.

He told her that her brother had died and she was very sad even though she didn’t know her brother very well. The next day he told that far from being dead, that her brother was living happily with her parents and no-one missed her. Then he would ask her how she was feeling so he could write it all down.

Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws experiments on the gentle Princess Zena

He would return home to his comfortable bed each night to write up his latest experiments on his laptop delighted at the progress he was making.

Princess Zena meanwhile grew more beautiful and sadder but she could see no way out.

She became more and more timid and was so frightened of the wicked Wizard Prissy Paws that she didn’t even think about escaping.

Each time Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws left her she would promise herself that she wouldn’t let down her tail again, but each day when he appeared she was so lonely and hungry that she would let him climb up.

Then one day a prince from a foreign land was wandering through the forest and saw the tower where the Princess Zena was being held.

Prince Jet finds the tower

He was bored. All the dragons had been slain and there seemed no more heroic deeds to be performed. He didn’t really want to return home to rule his kingdom without having had at least one adventure.

Whilst he was sitting quietly pondering these things he heard a distant sobbing. He stood at the edge of the forest and saw an island in the middle of a lake. The crying seemed to come from the tower on the island.

Intrigued he sat at the edge of the wood and waited.

Eventually he saw wicked Wizard Prissy Paws approach and say some magical words which made a little bridge appear over the water.

Wizard Prissy Paws crossed the bridge and cried up:
‘Princess Zena, Princess Zena let down your long and fluffy tail that I might climb up without fail’

Prince Jet, for it was the handsome Jet himself, crept to the edge of the trees and was amazed to see a beautiful long, black tail be lowered from the tower window and the nasty wizard climb up it.

He watched for a couple of hours and heard the wizard ranting and shouting nonsense and heard the sobs of Princess Zena. His chivalrous heart was moved. What in earth was going on?
 He waited until Wizard Prissy Paws left and then crept to the edge of the lake.

Hero Prince Jet swims the lake

He dipped a paw in. Just water. He didn’t need a bridge. He swam easily to the island and shouted up:

‘Princess Zena, Princess Zena let down your long and fluffy tail that I might climb up without fail’

The Princess did as she was asked and imagine her shock and delight when it wasn’t Wizard Prissy Paws but the handsome Prince Jet who climbed in through her window.

She fell in love with him instantly, and because this is a fairy tail and it was meant to be, Prince Jet no sooner looked into the beautiful brown eyes of Princess Zena than he lost his heart to her too.

From being so sad, Princess Zena was suddenly very happy, but there was still the problem of Wizard Prissy Paws to overcome. How were they to break the evil contract he had made and set the Princess free.

Prince Jet had an idea. He looked at the tail of the Princess and his own tail and he discovered that they were not dissimilar.

Prince Jet and Princess Zena curled up together that night and the Princess slept properly for the first time since being locked in the tower.

The next day they talked and played a little together and Prince Jet told Princess Zena about his large and friendly family and about his kingdom of which she was to be queen.
Princess Zena was enraptured.
Then when it came near to the time when the Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws was expected Prince Jet helped Princess Zena to escape the tower and hide in the forest until he, Prince Jet, called her.

Princess Zena hides in the forest

‘Princess Zena, Princess Zena let down your long and fluffy tail that I might climb up without fail’
Prince Jet grinned and lowered his tail for wicked Wizard Prissy Paws to climb up.

As Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws climbed in through the window Prince Jet leapt at him and grabbed him by the throat. The wicked Wizard Prissy Paws shook with fear because like many bullies he was actually very cowardly at heart.

Prince Jet Leaps at Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws

Prince Jet dragged the bedraggled Wizard to the bottom of the tower and Princess Zena joined them.

Princess Zena’s kind heart was wrung. He had been very wicked but she could not see him torn to pieces in front of her.
‘Wait’ she said to Prince Jettie, ‘I know he has been very wicked, but is there some other way of punishing him without taking his life?’

Prince Jet, who had never intended to kill the wicked wizard only to frighten him into letting the Princess go, decided to give Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws a lesson he would never forget.

‘I could have my wizards turn him into a bunny.’ he said

Bunny Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws

Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws paled and begged them not to turn him into a bunny. ‘Not that I have anything against bunnies,’ he said hastily, it’s just that I would hate to have to live in a small burrow. I’m claustrophobic you see.’

‘Well okay,’ said Jet. ‘I won’t have you turned into a fluffy bunny. How would you like to be banished to the desert?’

Wizard Prissy Paws in the desert

‘Please, not the desert.’ he pleaded. ‘My eyes hurt in the bright sun.’

‘Okay,’ said Jet. ‘I won’t have you sent into the desert. How do you feel about snow?’

Eskimo Prissy Paws

‘The snow!’ gasped Prissy Paws. ‘I could never survive in the cold. You had better kill me now and get it over with.’ And he looked so dejected that Jet decided that he had learnt his lesson and stopped teasing him.

He stripped the wicked Wizard Prissy Paws of his powers and his laptop and then they did something which made Prissy Paws shiver with fear.

‘Henceforth’ announced Prince Jet. Who has a very regal way of talking. ‘Henceforth, you shall be known as Devon, Prissy Paws and your care has been entrusted to two faithful subjects of this land of OZ who are kind and understanding and will help to reveal to you the error of your ways.’

Devon, aka the Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws begged the Prince not to make him into a house pet, but Jet insisted and he was sent to his new home.

Princess Zena with stars in her eyes travelled with Prince Jet to his kingdom where she was welcomed and adored and she was never locked up, mistreated or alone ever again.

Princess Zena and Prince Jet lived happily ever after

As for the ex Wicked Wizard Prissy Paws, something very strange happened. He actually enjoyed being Devon Prissy Paws and living in a house with a couple of slaves to feed him, walk him and make him comfortable.

‘Breakfast? A croissant, chicken and some bacon on the side please.’

He discovered that a life of ease suited him much better than a life of striving to excel in academia. In fact it was the best thing that had ever happened to him. So there!!

Sucks to Princess Zena and Prince Jet says Prissy Paws

And so they all lived happily ever after

Love Zena, and thanks to Jet who requested a part in my next production. I hope he enjoyed it.