Thursday Throwback

This is not a throwback to an earlier post, but to a childhood memory. 

I remember my mom always had a bleeding heart in one of her flower beds. My plant was planted a couple of years ago, and currently flowering. I pulled one of the blooms yesterday, thinking about my Nan (maternal grandmother).

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I don't recall how old I was when she told us this story, but I'm certain I was less than ten. The story has stayed with me for many years. I'm sure I'm not telling it word for word as it was told to me, but it went something like this:

Once upon a time, there was a prince who lived in a far away land. He had fallen in love with a princess who lived in a nearby kingdom and began sending gifts to her in the hopes of winning her heart and hand in marriage.

The first gift he sent was a pair of rabbits. Sadly, the princess wasn't impressed and the rabbits ended up in a stew.

The next gift was a pair of beautiful dangling earrings. Again, the princess spurned the gift and gave them away.

The final gift was a pair of dainty slippers. These too, were rejected.

When the prince realized he would never win the love of the princess he died of a broken heart. I recently read a post on FB that told a similar story, but it ended with the prince stabbing himself in the heart with his sword, hence bleeding heart. Perhaps my Nan didn't want to share the gory part of the story.

I'm curious, did any one else hear this story (or something similar) when they were a child? My Nan has been gone for over 50 years now, but I will never see a bleeding heart without thinking of her.