Short Fiction · Chapter
Hiss! explained
The princess's beloved lake begins to mysteriously sink, causing her great distress.
What happens
The princess's beloved lake begins to mysteriously sink, causing her great distress. The old witch-princess, seeking revenge, uses a White Snake of Darkness to drain the lake from beneath, and later curses all the springs in the land, causing them to dry up.
Themes in this chapter
Vanity and Self-Conceit
The old princess's vengeful obsession with her niece's pleasure in the lake drives her to destroy it, prioritizing her own spite over the well-being of the kingdom.
Suffering and Divine Chastening
The princess and the kingdom suffer as the lake dries up, and the babies cry without tears, reflecting a form of punishment or consequence.
Characters to notice
- The Princess
Grows increasingly distressed as the lake sinks, pining away as her beloved water disappears.
- Prince
Perplexed and distressed by the princess's sudden behavior and the lake's decline.
- Watho
The old witch-princess who orchestrates the lake's draining out of revenge, using a White Snake of Darkness and dark magic.
- Hum Drum
Attempts to discover the cause of the lake's decrease through physics and metaphysics, but fails.
- Kopy Keck
Joins Hum-Drum in trying to find the cause of the lake's decrease, but also fails.
Key passages
“The poor princess nearly went out of the little mind she had. It was awful to her to see the lake, which she loved more than any living thing, lie dying before her eyes.”
The princess was almost driven mad by the sight of her beloved lake slowly disappearing.
Highlights the princess's deep emotional attachment to the lake.
“She laughed a ferocious laugh, that made the hairs on the back of her black cat stand erect with terror.”
The witch's cruel laughter was so terrifying it frightened even her own cat.
Emphasizes the witch's malevolent and vengeful nature.