Kalon

Once upon a time, there lived a very ordinary couple. One day, the wife became pregnant with a baby girl. Parents, cousins, and friends gathered and prayed for the girl’s health and happiness. They named her Kalon. The husband and the wife hummed songs for Kalon, read, and bought inexpensive but loving clothes to prepare for her birth.

The day of her birth finally came. Kalon had the glimmering eyes of her mother and the golden hair of her father. She was very beautiful.

One concern was that Kalon was smaller than other infants. However, no one gave it a second thought, thinking that she would surely grow under the care of her parents. And Kalon did grow, but very, very slowly. She seemed to be a little shorter than the other girls until the age of eight, at which point she ceased growing altogether, and the height difference between her and the other girls became larger as she aged. When she was sixteen, closer to the age of becoming an adult, she was still the height of an eight-year-old girl. Because of this, Kalon was always lonely. No one wanted to get along with her. 

“You will never marry since men think of you as a little child!” exclaimed the other girls.

“Kalon should play with babies!” the girls chattered. 

The poor girl wept and prayed, hoping to be ordinary like everyone else. She heard worthless words every day and felt pain in her innocent heart, but she never blamed her parents and smiled all the time. She was the kindest and most selfless creature in the world. However, her short height remained a big tragedy in her heart. 

There was a prince, a year older than Kalon, in the kingdom where she lived. He was loved by all the people, especially by the girls.

One day, the prince went to the forest, with several assistants, where he would usually hunt birds. The forest was also a place where Kalon would enjoy her free time, among beautiful flowers and trees, often watching the prince behind the bushes. The forest was the only place Kalon felt peace and freedom from the judgmental eyes of those in the kingdom.

The prince arrived in the forest and prepared to hunt. As he looked around, trying to find a good place, he saw Kalon humming a song under a tree.

“Oh, how amazing would it be if I was this tall?

Oh, how my life would change if I was born ordinary,” she sang. 

The prince quickly hid himself behind a huge palm tree and listened to her song. He peeked at her behind the tree and fell in love with her.

“Your Highness! Where were you?” asked one of his assistants in a loud voice.

“Shhhh,” the prince whispered, “don’t make a sound.” 

The prince walked away so that his subordinates wouldn’t notice that he had fallen in love.

The next day, the prince coincidentally met Kalon at the palace marketplace. His face turned red and his heart fluttered, but he bravely went towards her. He grabbed her wrist and ran as quickly as he could to a dark corner of the marketplace. 

“Your Highness!" said Kalon in a surprised voice. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No, absolutely not. I… I… uh… fell deeply in love with you and I hope that you will be my bride,” stammered the prince.

Shocked and overwhelmed, Kalon freed herself from the prince’s grip and sped off. However, he caught up to her with ease. 

“Don’t you like me? I am loved by everyone in this kingdom,” said the prince.

Kalon did like the prince. Actually, she had secretly loved him ever since she was little. Kalon turned as red as the prince and admitted that she loved him. She agreed to be his bride and then they were engaged.

Meanwhile, a few naughty girls had overheard the conversation between the prince and Kalon in the marketplace. They were so jealous of Kalon that they plotted to rid her of the town by teasing her more severely.

Kalon, without knowing their plan, painfully suffered through the hate. Unable to keep it in her heart, she cried loudly on the roof of her house. One day, a rabbit climbed up the roof and sat next to her, staring at Kalon with its huge, shining red eyes.

“Kalon, do you want to become normal like the other girls?” the rabbit asked.

“Yes, I would like to… But who are you?” asked Kalon.

Allagi swirled around with glitters circling its body. Soon, Kalon was not only taller, but she was also wearing a beautiful dress like that of a princess. "Go ahead, Kalon. Be someone you want to be,” whispered a voice near her. Then, came the sound of wicked laughter. Suddenly, the rabbit was nowhere to be seen. 

Kalon ran to find the prince, smiling from ear to ear. She wanted to brag about her now ordinary height. She found him in the forest, humming the song that she used to sing.

When she stood in front of him, she expected him to smile at her. However, his face suddenly darkened. The prince asked her what happened with disappointment. His reaction was unexpected. She explained about the magical rabbit. The prince cried with temper when she mentioned Allagi. He told her that the rabbit is an animal form of an evil spirit that makes unique things ordinary, preying on those who think that being unique is wrong.

“I loved you, all of you, and your height was not an exception,” whimpered the prince. “It is part of you and you should have been proud of it,” he continued.

At first, Kalon didn’t understand the prince. All she wanted was to be like the other girls, who were taller than her. However, after listening to the prince, she realized that she’d only wanted to change her appearance because she had been influenced by what others thought of her. Kalon felt deep regret.

The prince took Kalon to the best magician he knew. The magician used all his magic to change Kalon back to her normal appearance. At last, Kalon was herself again. The prince cried, but happily this time. Kalon and the prince danced and lived happily ever after.