Love And Be Loved Poem by Margaret Alice

The Princess was given a gift;
she would love and be loved
her whole life long, when the
evil fairy came with her curse
to the christening, saying the
Princess would be turned out
of her kingdom; she could not
take away the gift of love

Though the curse was fulfilled,
the Princess lost her kingdom,
love went with her in the form
of a Prince turned into a Hedge-
hog who loved the Princess
more than life; the Princess
grew to love the Hedgehog
also and her kiss revealed

Her love to him, turned him back
into a Prince; all the evil fairy had
done was to make sure that the
Princess had an adventurous life,
married her true love who had laid
down his life to save hers when he
became a Hedgehog to serve…

E Nesbit - The Princess and the Hedgehog -
Abelard-Schumann 1974