A prince was cursed by a wicked witch to speak only one word per year. However, the spell had a loophole: if he didn’t speak at all for a year, his word count would roll over and accumulate.
One day, he fell deeply in love with a beautiful woman. He wanted to sweep her off her feet with the perfect proposal, but he needed enough words to do it.
So, the prince embarked on a grueling, multi-year vow of absolute silence:
He waited two years to save the words: “My darling.”
He waited three more years to add: “I love you!”
He waited four final years to finish with: “Will you marry me?”
Finally, as the ninth year of agonizing silence came to an end, the prince led the lady to the most breathtaking, romantic cliffside in the kingdom. With his heart pounding, he looked deep into her eyes and poured his soul into his hard-earned, nine-word sentence:
“My darling, I love you! Will you marry me?”
The lady adjusted her hair, smiled blankly at him, and replied:
“Pardon? I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?”
