The resplendent vase seemed unscathed by the sea,
Encrusted with crystals that shimmered like rain.

But within the bottle a box could be seen,
A small wooden coffer, dark, dusty and plain.

Just how it got in there, or how it could be
That something so ugly such beauty contained

Was of no care to the king's only daughter, you see,
For her thoughts of beauty were surface and vain.

Yet, how to remove it vexed her to no end,
As to free it the delicate bottle would rend.

The parchment inside was translated to read
As a curious clue in a simple quatrain:

"Shatter the glass with a single word,
Melt it like ice with a single tear.

The promise within can only be shared,
That which is hidden is often most dear."

The princess cared not, as she only could see
The drabness inside she'd no wish to obtain.

And so the flawed treasure, as forgotten as could be,
Sat high on an old shelf, dusty and stained.

The years passed, when one day the princess, soon queen,
Told servants to throw out old trinkets unseen.

So into the trash heap the bottle did end,
When spied by a pauper in the dying king's land.

He dusted and polished it, hoping to see
Delight in the eyes of his trothed bride to be.

No ring could he trade for it, but true love he'd seek,
A warm tear of joy on the rose of her cheek.

Her tear fell and melted the glass as she spoke
And confessed, "How I love you." With that, the vase broke.

The box, amid the worthless shards was revealed
To be carved of fine wood, fixed with the royal seal.

They dared not remove it, the seal of the throne,
It was off to the castle, the treasure to be shown.

When the princess saw them with relic in hand
From the bottle she'd found long ago in the sand,

She said, "I don't even wish to see it once more.
Whatever was in that old fly trap is yours."

As they slowly opened the musty old box
Their eyes lit up brightly, to their knees they dropped.

Wrapped in the casket was a fine jeweled ring,
A seal of gold, and a note from the king

Reading, "Unto the bearer of this seal I decree
The throne of the kingdom be given to thee.

Its holder possesses the beauty within
To be used to rule justly, the true treasure given.

Unselfish honesty you have indeed shown,
And love freely shared is the greatest gift known."

The two reigned together, long ruled king and queen,
He with the seal, she with the ring.

And one day their young prince came home; in his hand
Was a bottle he'd found on the shore, in the sand.