The kingdom had become a dangerous place for newborn girls. A cruel order had been given from the royal court: whenever a baby girl was born, she was to be killed. No one was permitted to question the command, and families lived in fear whenever a child was expected. Then, one day, a royal baby girl was born. Her birth should have been a moment of celebration, but the command hanging over the kingdom turned it into a secret. The newborn princess had an older brother, a young prince who could not accept what was about to happen. He knew that if the authorities discovered his sister, her life would be taken simply because she was a girl. So the prince made a dangerous decision. He would save her.
Without revealing his plan to everyone around him, he found a way to remove the baby from the palace and hide her from those who were searching for newborn girls. He understood the danger. If anyone discovered what he had done, he could lose his position, his family and possibly his life. But he could not allow his little sister to be killed. He took her away and kept her existence secret. The years passed. The baby grew into a young girl, and the prince continued to protect her. She knew that her brother had always been there for her, but she did not fully understand the sacrifice he had made. To her, he was simply the person who had cared for her when she needed him most.
They grew up together away from the palace and the cruelty that had threatened her life. The prince taught his sister how to protect herself, how to recognise danger and how to remain cautious around strangers. Most importantly, he taught her that the world could not always be trusted. But the two siblings could not remain hidden forever. Eventually, circumstances forced them to travel. During one of their journeys, they encountered a group of dangerous thieves. The thieves were feared because of their violence and willingness to take advantage of anyone who crossed their path. The prince immediately recognised the danger and tried to keep his sister close. “Stay beside me,” he warned her. She obeyed at first.
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As the journey continued, however, one of the criminals began paying particular attention to the young woman. He spoke to her differently from the others. He was charming, made her laugh and told her stories about himself. He promised that life with him would be exciting. The prince noticed what was happening and became concerned. He knew that the man was a thief and that the group was dangerous, so he warned his sister not to trust him. But the young woman did not want to listen. She had spent much of her life protected by her brother, and now she wanted to make her own decisions. The thief encouraged those feelings and told her that her brother did not understand her. He suggested that the prince was jealous of their growing relationship. The more time she spent with the thief, the more distant she became from her brother.
The prince was heartbroken. He remembered everything he had sacrificed for her: carrying her away from danger when she was only a baby, keeping her existence secret and protecting her throughout their childhood. Yet he could see that none of those sacrifices meant as much to her as they once had. Still, he refused to abandon her. When the thieves eventually decided to move against the siblings, the prince tried to protect his sister. He knew that the group could not be trusted and searched for a way to escape. But the danger had become greater because his sister no longer stood completely beside him. She had fallen in love with the thief, and her feelings made her vulnerable to his promises. She began revealing things that should have remained secret.
The prince soon realised that his own sister was helping the people who wanted to harm them. Her betrayal wounded him more deeply than anything the thieves could have done. He could have abandoned her. He could have escaped alone. After everything he had done for her, perhaps he would have been justified in saving himself. But he could not bring himself to leave her behind. She was still his sister, the same child he had once carried away from death. Now she was standing on the opposite side, but he still wanted to protect her.
Eventually, the consequences of the betrayal became impossible to ignore. The young woman began to realise that the man she loved was not the person she had imagined. The charming words he had spoken to her were not proof of kindness. They had been part of his deception. The promises he had made were designed to win her trust, and once he had gained it, he used it against her own brother. She finally understood the truth. The man she had chosen over her brother had never cared for her in the same way. The prince had warned her because he wanted to protect her, while the thief had encouraged her to betray him because he wanted to use her.
The realisation came with painful regret. She remembered the years when her brother had protected her and the life he had sacrificed for her. She understood that the person she had believed was trying to control her had actually been trying to save her. But betrayal has consequences. Trust that has been broken cannot always be restored immediately. The siblings had survived danger before, but this was different. The greatest threat had not come from a weapon. It had come from broken trust.
The prince had protected his sister from death when she was a helpless child. Now she had unknowingly placed him in danger herself. Yet even after everything that happened, the bond between them was not completely destroyed. The young woman understood that she had been deceived and had made a terrible decision. She also learned that love should never require someone to betray the people who have sacrificed everything for them. The prince, meanwhile, learned that protecting someone does not mean controlling every decision they make. He could save his sister when she was a baby, but eventually she had to make her own choices and face the consequences of those choices.
Their story became a lasting reminder that family loyalty is tested during difficult moments. The prince had risked everything for his sister without expecting anything in return. His sister eventually learned, through painful experience, the value of the person who had protected her from the beginning. She had nearly lost the one person who had never abandoned her because she trusted someone who had deceived her. In the end, she understood that genuine loyalty is shown through sacrifice, while blind trust can lead to betrayal and regret.
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Moral Lesson
True loyalty is shown through sacrifice and protection, while blind trust can lead to painful betrayal. We should be careful about believing people simply because they speak kindly or make promises of love.
Knowledge Check
1. Why was the newborn princess in danger?
The kingdom had ordered that newborn baby girls be killed.
2. What did her brother do to save her?
He secretly took her away and protected her from those who wanted to kill her.
3. Why did the prince distrust the group of thieves?
He knew they were dangerous criminals who could not be trusted.
4. What caused the sister to turn against her brother?
She fell in love with one of the thieves and began believing his deceptive claims about her brother.
5. What did the sister eventually realise about the thief?
She realised that he had deceived her and used her feelings to turn her against the brother who had always protected her.
6. What is the main lesson of the story?
The story teaches that genuine loyalty is proven through sacrifice, while trusting deceptive people can destroy relationships and lead to painful consequences.
Source
Adapted from Lee Haring, Stars and Keys: Folktales and Creolization in the Indian Ocean (2007), pp. 344–350, with the tale retransmitted in Seychellois Creole by Penda T. Choppy.
