At the first light of dawn, I set out to see the princess Goldilocks. I have promised the king that I will use my charm to persuade her to marry him. I am trying not to remember the king’s cruelty to me. Focus on the good things, I tell myself.

I ride alone, thinking of nothing but what might inspire the affections of the princess. Whenever I have a happy thought, I dismount, sit under a tree, and write it in the book that I carry in my pocket.

All these happy thoughts will go into my speech!

Charming, in The Story of Goldilocks, Blue Fairy Book. Painting by Albert Ranney Chewett.