1. The Cuckoo that brought Spring
Written by Zoe Scalides and Fotini Tsanpra
2. Narrator: How will the Prince of Winter overcome
his illness? How will the symptoms of coughing
and sneezing disappear? The well-known doctor
Dr. Knows-it-All has the answer; if the prince finds
his bride. Hence her Majesty, the Queen of Frost
decides to invite the most beautiful eligible brides
of the Ice Kingdom in order to find a wife for her
son and cure him.
3. Snowflake: Hello to you all. Snowflake is my name
and I am coming from a place far away. Let me tell
you a story. Once upon a time, far away among the
mountains of the North Pole there was a Kingdom,
the Kingdom of Ice. The citizens had all red noses,
their houses were made of ice and the castles from
stalagmites. There was a palace too, that was made of
ice. The Queen’s name was Frost and she had a cold
character, just like her name. The Queen had a son,
The Prince of Winter who suffered from a terrible
illness.
4. Prince of Winter: I have
had it mother. I can no
longer stay locked up in
this palace. I am tired of
feeling ill all the time. I
want to get out and go for a
walk.
Queen of Frost:
My dear Child
where are you
going? Can’t you
see the terrible
weather? You are
going to become
worse.
Queen of Frost: You are driving me insane
my child. Attendants, come, quickly!
Bring him his scarf, his coat, his
thermometer and his cough medicine.
5. The snowflake: Her poor Majesty was so upset. Her son, the
Prince Winter, even though he was 18, had been always sick. He
could go nowhere without his scarf, his thermometer and
without being escorted by three servants who were constantly
giving him his syrup and cough medicine. The Queen of Frost
was so desperate that she decided one day to invite the well-
known and highly reputed doctor, the famous Dr. Knows-it-All
to offer her a cure for her son. She assigned her most trusted
servant Mr. Shivering, to locate the famous doctor.
6. Mr Shivering: My dear Queen. I have travelled all around the kingdom to
find Dr. Knows-it-All. My hands and feet have frostbites but I have finally
found him. Bring me a blanket, please.
Queen of Frost: Attendants bring a blanket for Mr. Shivering immediately! My
dear Shivering. I have no words to thank you. But where is the dear doctor?
Mr Shivering: Your Majesty, he is outside in the hall. The servants are trying to
warm him up. Oh.. I hear him coming. Can I have another blanket please?
7. Dr. Knows-it-All: Your Highness. I am
delighted to meet you. I have heard
about your son’s condition.
Queen of Frost: What do you suggest
my dear doctor?
Dr. Knows-it-All: Your Majesty, you
should stop treating him as a child. He
is a grown up man. His problem is
clearly psychological. The Prince of
Winter is an eligible bachelor and the
only thing he needs is a bride.
Queen of Frost and Mr Shivering: A
bride?
Dr. Knows-it-All: Yes, you heard it
correctly. A Bride! The Prince needs to
find a companion, a wife. With that I
leave you, your Majesty.
8. Queen of Frost: You have heard what he said, Mr.
Shivering. You have to travel around the
Kingdom and bring me the most beautiful brides.
Search everywhere. We have to find her quickly.
Mr Shivering: Your Majesty, your wish is my commandment.
I will leave immediately. Can I have another
blanket before I go?
9. The Snowflake: So the poor Mr. Shivering began
his journey in search of a beautiful bride. He
managed to find five beautiful brides and led
them to the Kingdom. They appeared in the
Great Ballroom before her Majesty the Queen of
Frost and her advisors. At the Ballroom the
Prince of Winter was also present.
10. Mr Shivering: Your Majesty let me introduce the ladies: Snowstorm,
Storm, Fog and Lightning.
Snowstorm: White are my dreams, white is my gown and I fit in just right
in this frozen setting. Hence where is my Prince because I am eager to get
married.
Storm: My dear Prince, as soon as I saw you my whole world changed.
Snowstorm: Ha ha… Do not be dazzled by any of their words. I am the
perfect choice for you.
Fog: Are you the perfect choice? I can’t believe it. I am the most
beautiful of all. The Prince must select me.
Lightning: My dear Prince I can’t bear to look at you. You look so ill. But I
have to tell you something. You cannot marry a woman from another
kingdom.
11. Mr Shivering: And now your Majesty
this young woman with the flowers in
her hair and the cuckoo in her arms. I
cannot recall her name.
Spring: Spring is my name and this bird
is my friend. But something has gone
seriously wrong here. I am not from this
area. There must be a mistake because I
shouldn’t be here.
Cuckoo: We do not wish to get married.
We are not looking for a prince.
Spring: We were strolling and we got
lost.
Cuckoo: We do not wish to get married.
Prince of Winter: Mother, this is the
woman I want. I have never seen before
such beauty. And these blooming
flowers have such a beautiful aroma. I
have been cured. I have found my
health.
Cuckoo: We do not wish to get married.
We are not looking for a prince.
12. The Snowflake: You won’t believe what happened next my dear children.
The Queen of Frost captured Spring and imprisoned her in a high tower
made of ice. She wouldn’t let her go because Spring had cured her son.
Days passed by, weeks and months. The rest of the world was awaiting
for spring to come, but she didn’t appear. The Prince of Winter couldn’t
bear to see his love feeling sad. So he decided to ask from the cuckoo his
help. He asked him to find the sun and tell him to use his sunrays and
melt the tower, so that his love could escape. And he succeeded.
13. Cuckoo: Prince Winter, I am warning you the ice will melt. You
have to leave. Your love is set free. The sun has melted the snow
and everything will be flooded.
Prince Winter: I’ll leave my dear friend. But before I go, I would
like to thank you and talk to my love for one last time.
Cuckoo: Just a few words. Time is running out. Here comes Spring.
From now on you will only see each other once a year.
Prince Winter: Let it be then. It’s enough for me to see her just
once a year if she is happy and that anticipation will keep me going.
I’ll leave you with a poem that I have written.
14. Don’t be sad I am leaving,
I’ll always be here,
Time will pass by quickly
And we shall meet again.
Don’t be sad I am leaving
I only live for the time
We shall meet again.
It is worth waiting for a lifetime
For that single moment we will reunite
And we will fall in love once again
I have to leave my dear love,
Because another season is awaiting
The ice will melt so that you will come
To bring new life
It is worth waiting for a lifetime
For that single moment
We shall meet
And fall in love again
15. • The story «The cuckoo that brought the
spring » from the Educational Magazine
"To Parathiro ", (2004), Publisher Orion
Athens.
was translated by Christiana Barba, school
counsellor and teacher at Konstantinoupoleos
Gymnasium.
• Illustrations By Elena Tsigka, a student from
the 3rd class from the Konstantinoupoleos
Gymnasium.
