Happy Shirt (Italian Folktale) Adapted and retold
by Storyteller Grace Wolbrink
The King spends his nearly night-less days pacing palace floors, twittering his feet and mopping his head. What happened? What did he do? What did he miss? What went wrong? What could he have done differently? Maybe he should have . . .? If only he could have . . .? What if he would have . . .? So many unanswered questions swarm his mind.
His son, his precious son, sleeps, unaware, in the prime of his young adult life. He spends his days sitting on the soft red chair, aimlessly staring into the distance. He refuses to leave the palace and lies restlessly awake during night-time hours. Trance filled days blend into sleepless nights, nights blend into trance filled days. The cycle continues.
Something has to be done – but what? How? The Kings calls together the wisest of the wise counsels through out the land. He even provides them with their requested allotment of indoor pacing space, away from the pacing palace regulars. Here in this space the wisest of the wise murmur, pace and ah hum. Following many restless hours, many countless days and hole ridden heels, a decision is made.
“Go out into the world and bring back the shirt of someone who is truly happy. Take this shirt and put it on your son and he too will be truly happy.”
That’s it! That’s all! They nodded unanimously. Yes!!!!!! Wow! This is so incredibly easy! I can do this!!!!!!!!!!!!
Promptly disposing of his vast collection of self-helping reference books, the King gathers together his most trusted Royal Advisors. Sending them out, the King calculates, hum, with that with all the happy people in the world his Royal Advisors might bring back enough shirts for his son to wear every day of the year. This would cure his problem for sure!
Adviser after Adviser began returning to the Palace. Expecting a pile of shirts, the King received something very different.
“Happy, I mean truly happy, are you really, honestly, truly happy?” they inquired.
“Yes! Yes of course. Well almost, my parents really want me to become a Doctor. I feel so guilty . . . but . . . ”
“Yes! Yes of course. Well almost, my boss would not give me that promotion I really deserved. He gave it to . . . They did not work as hard as I . . .”
“Yes! Yes of course. Well almost, we had to pass up our dream home because we could not afford it. It was all because of the economy. If my boss had given me that raise, then we could have . . .”
“Yes! Yes of course. Well almost, I didn’t get very good grades in school, so I can’t do what I really want to do with my life. My parents were right, it’s only the people who go to the good schools and get a good education that get a good job.”
“Yes! Yes of course. Well almost, I’d be a lot more successful in life if it wasn’t for my parents and my ex-husband. You know my parents, they just did give ma change in life. If they had been like my best friend’s parents, I would have turned out like the kids in their family.”
The list continued.
“Is there not one single happy person in this entire Kingdom,” fumes the King. “Obviously I have mistakenly sent a mere man to do a King’s job.”
Setting out the very next morning the King arrives in a small town. He asks an older man if he is happy, if is he really, honestly, truly happy.”
“Yes, of course I am happy, why do you ask?” “Hum. Wouldn’t it be nice if you won the lottery?” inquires the King. “Oh yes, if I won the lottery, then I would be truly happy!” exclaims the older man.
The King, thanking him for his time, continues on this journey. Meeting a young woman along the road side, the King again asks if she is really, honestly, truly happy. “Of course, I am truly happy.”
The King, noticing that she is not married or with child, asks her what would life be like if she had a child to care for. A tear fills her eye, “Yes, then I would be really happy if only I had a child. My whole life I have wonted nothing more than to be a wife and a mother.”
The King nodes his head and continues on his way. Walking along he meets person after person, their story is always the same . . . Yes, if only . . . Yes, when I get . . . Yes, someday I will be . . .”
Losing all hope and feeling faint with hunger, the King aims at a small rabbit. Pausing for a moment the King starts his own “Yes, if only . . . then I would be truly happy thoughts. He fires a shot nearly missing the creäture he managers to injure its right leg. Following the injured animal, he finds himself in a part of the Kingdom that he has not seen before. Looking out into the distance he sees a young man working in the field wearing a simple coat over his work pants.
Wow! The King’s eyes light up, hope fills his heart and mind. For this young man is also wearing a smile that is almost brighter than the sun.
“Hey you, young man!” calls the King. The Young Man stops tilling the land.
“Young Man, are you happy, are you really, honestly, truly happy?” inquires the King.
An even bigger smile flashes across the young man’s face. “Yes I am really happy,” his smile getting bigger and brighter the more he spoke.
Just to make sure, the King continues. “Yes, but wouldn’t you want to be a King someday and live in a palace ruling this fine land?”
“Me? No. There is not a thing on all this world that I would trade anything I have or am doing for.”
The King continues, just to make sure. “If you are so happy, how do you stay so happy?”
“That is easy!” Each and every morning, I rise and greet the day. On each new morning I ask myself, “Where will I laugh and how many times will I laugh today? So each day, when I am ready for sleep, I laugh and count the several times,places and events that I was so happy and grateful to experience on this precious life-giving day.”
“Hum, the King, finding the young man and his practices quite intriguing, then realizing that yes, yes indeed, if found someone, someone who is really, honestly, truly happy! Progress, muses the King. A smile flashes across the King’s face. Seeing the genuineness of his words and the joy in his heart, the King races over to the young man. He grabs the very coat that he is wearing. He takes his hand and thrusts it through the zipper. A look of worry crosses the King’s face. Again he takes his hand and thrusts it inside the Man’s coat.
Standing motionless on the land, the King cries out in shock and disbelief, “You, you Young Man, where is your shirt!”
“In my closet, of course.”
In your story development, personal or folkloric in nature, think of your characters. Where are they? What is happening to them and around them? What is happening to or around the other main character’s in your story? What thoughts or internal dialog might be happening to your main character at key points in your story? As you image it, step into it, you might be awesomely surprised at how easily snips of internal dialog begin the flow, even enhancing your image filled story line.
