The princess who is passing by the fountain is well-named “Fairer-than-a-Fairy.” A fairy could never surpass her tender mortal beauty.

She is surprised when I speak to her. I tell her that I am the son of a powerful king, and that the wicked old fairy Lagree imprisoned me in the form of a rainbow. I don’t know why the fairy cursed me, except that she has some sort of grudge against my father.

The princess sits with me for as long as the sun’s rays fall on the water, and in that time, we become so attached to one another that, just before I fade, I confess that I will no longer pine for freedom if she will come again.

Prince Rainbow in Fairer-than-A-Fairy, Yellow Fairy Book. Painting by Euan MacLeod.