THE SONG of THE MORROW
by Robert Louis Stevenson · from Fables
Adapted Version
Princess Lily lives by the sea. She is happy every day. She does not think about tomorrow.
One day, Princess Lily walked by the sea. The sun shone brightly. She saw an Old Woman. The Old Woman spoke. She said, "Think about tomorrow now."
Princess Lily went home. She thought about tomorrow. Her mind was full. She wanted to know its magic. She thought only of tomorrow.
She called her Nurse. Nurse was sad. She looked worried. Nurse said, "Do not think much." Lily wanted to know. She was very determined.
Princess Lily stayed in her house. She stayed for many years. Time passed slowly. She thought only about tomorrow. The sea made noise outside. She did not go out.
After many years, Lily heard a sound. It was music from a pipe. The music was soft. She went to the beach. Nurse went with her.
They saw the Old Woman again. She danced on the sand. Her steps were light. She said, "Tomorrow is here!" She disappeared. She turned into sand and sea.
A man was on the beach. The man was tall. He wore a hood. He had a pipe. He played music for tomorrow. He had magic now.
Princess Lily asked for magic. She wanted to see it. She said, "Show me now!" He played his pipe. Nurse stood near him. Nurse turned into leaves. The leaves blew away.
Princess Lily took the man home. The house was quiet. They sat in her house. They sat for many more years.
Every year, the man spoke. He said, "This is now!" Lily answered him. She said, "Play tomorrow!" He played for tomorrow.
Many more years passed. Princess Lily was old. Her hair was white. She stood up slowly. She said, "Show me the magic of now!"
The wind blew hard. The wind howled loudly. It blew the man's hood. He was not there. Only his clothes were there. His pipe was there too. Some leaves were there.
Princess Lily was very old now. She went to the beach. The sand was soft. She sat in the same spot.
A new princess came to the beach. She was young and happy. The sun warmed her skin. She played by the sea. She did not think about tomorrow.
Original Story
XX.—THE SONG OF THE MORROW.
The King of Duntrine had a daughter when he was old, and she was the fairest King’s daughter between two seas; her hair was like spun gold, and her eyes like pools in a river; and the King gave her a castle upon the sea beach, with a terrace, and a court of the hewn stone, and four towers at the four corners. Here she dwelt and grew up, and had no care for the morrow, and no power upon the hour, after the manner of simple men.
It befell that she walked one day by the beach of the sea, when it was autumn, and the wind blew from the place of rains; and upon the one hand of her the sea beat, and upon the other the dead leaves ran. This was the loneliest beach between two seas, and strange things had been done there in the ancient ages. Now the King’s daughter was aware of a crone that sat upon the beach. The sea foam ran to her feet, and the dead leaves swarmed about her back, and the rags blew about her face in the blowing of the wind.
“Now,” said the King’s daughter, and she named a holy name, “this is the most unhappy old crone between two seas.”
“Daughter of a King,” said the crone, “you dwell in a stone house, and your hair is like the gold: but what is your profit? Life is not long, nor lives strong; and you live after the way of simple men, and have no thought for the morrow and no power upon the hour.”
“Thought for the morrow, that I have,” said the King’s daughter; “but power upon the hour, that have I not.” And she mused with herself.
Then the crone smote her lean hands one within the other, and laughed like a sea-gull. “Home!” cried she. “O daughter of a King, home to your stone house; for the longing is come upon you now, nor can you live any more after the manner of simple men. Home, and toil and suffer, till the gift come that will make you bare, and till the man come that will bring you care.”
The King’s daughter made no more ado, but she turned about and went home to her house in silence. And when she was come into her chamber she called for her nurse.
“Nurse,” said the King’s daughter, “thought is come upon me for the morrow, so that I can live no more after the manner of simple men. Tell me what I must do that I may have power upon the hour.”
Then the nurse moaned like a snow wind. “Alas!” said she, “that this thing should be; but the thought is gone into your marrow, nor is there any cure against the thought. Be it so, then, even as you will; though power is less than weakness, power shall you have; and though the thought is colder than winter, yet shall you think it to an end.”
So the King’s daughter sat in her vaulted chamber in the masoned house, and she thought upon the thought. Nine years she sat; and the sea beat upon the terrace, and the gulls cried about the turrets, and wind crooned in the chimneys of the house. Nine years she came not abroad, nor tasted the clean air, neither saw God’s sky. Nine years she sat and looked neither to the right nor to the left, nor heard speech of any one, but thought upon the thought of the morrow. And her nurse fed her in silence, and she took of the food with her left hand, and ate it without grace.
Now when the nine years were out, it fell dusk in the autumn, and there came a sound in the wind like a sound of piping. At that the nurse lifted up her finger in the vaulted house.
“I hear a sound in the wind,” said she, “that is like the sound of piping.”
“It is but a little sound,” said the King’s daughter, “but yet is it sound enough for me.”
So they went down in the dusk to the doors of the house, and along the beach of the sea. And the waves beat upon the one hand, and upon the other the dead leaves ran; and the clouds raced in the sky, and the gulls flew widdershins. And when they came to that part of the beach where strange things had been done in the ancient ages, lo, there was the crone, and she was dancing widdershins.
“What makes you dance widdershins, old crone?” said the King’s daughter; “here upon the bleak beach, between the waves and the dead leaves?”
“I hear a sound in the wind that is like a sound of piping,” quoth she. “And it is for that that I dance widdershins. For the gift comes that will make you bare, and the man comes that must bring you care. But for me the morrow is come that I have thought upon, and the hour of my power.”
“How comes it, crone,” said the King’s daughter, “that you waver like a rag, and pale like a dead leaf before my eyes?”
“Because the morrow has come that I have thought upon, and the hour of my power,” said the crone; and she fell on the beach, and, lo! she was but stalks of the sea tangle, and dust of the sea sand, and the sand lice hopped upon the place of her.
“This is the strangest thing that befell between two seas,” said the King’s daughter of Duntrine.
But the nurse broke out and moaned like an autumn gale. “I am weary of the wind,” quoth she; and she bewailed her day.
The King’s daughter was aware of a man upon the beach; he went hooded so that none might perceive his face, and a pipe was underneath his arm. The sound of his pipe was like singing wasps, and like the wind that sings in windlestraw; and it took hold upon men’s ears like the crying of gulls.
“Are you the comer?” quoth the King’s daughter of Duntrine.
“I am the corner,” said he, “and these are the pipes that a man may hear, and I have power upon the hour, and this is the song of the morrow.” And he piped the song of the morrow, and it was as long as years; and the nurse wept out aloud at the hearing of it.
“This is true,” said the King’s daughter, “that you pipe the song of the morrow; but that ye have power upon the hour, how may I know that? Show me a marvel here upon the beach, between the waves and the dead leaves.”
And the man said, “Upon whom?”
“Here is my nurse,” quoth the King’s daughter. “She is weary of the wind. Show me a good marvel upon her.”
And, lo! the nurse fell upon the beach as it were two handfuls of dead leaves, and the wind whirled them widdershins, and the sand lice hopped between.
“It is true,” said the King’s daughter of Duntrine, “you are the comer, and you have power upon the hour. Come with me to my stone house.”
So they went by the sea margin, and the man piped the song of the morrow, and the leaves followed behind them as they went.
Then they sat down together; and the sea beat on the terrace, and the gulls cried about the towers, and the wind crooned in the chimneys of the house. Nine years they sat, and every year when it fell autumn, the man said, “This is the hour, and I have power in it”; and the daughter of the King said, “Nay, but pipe me the song of the morrow”. And he piped it, and it was long like years.
Now when the nine years were gone, the King’s daughter of Duntrine got her to her feet, like one that remembers; and she looked about her in the masoned house; and all her servants were gone; only the man that piped sat upon the terrace with the hand upon his face; and as he piped the leaves ran about the terrace and the sea beat along the wall. Then she cried to him with a great voice, “This is the hour, and let me see the power in it”. And with that the wind blew off the hood from the man’s face, and, lo! there was no man there, only the clothes and the hood and the pipes tumbled one upon another in a corner of the terrace, and the dead leaves ran over them.
And the King’s daughter of Duntrine got her to that part of the beach where strange things had been done in the ancient ages; and there she sat her down. The sea foam ran to her feet, and the dead leaves swarmed about her back, and the veil blew about her face in the blowing of the wind. And when she lifted up her eyes, there was the daughter of a King come walking on the beach. Her hair was like the spun gold, and her eyes like pools in a river, and she had no thought for the morrow and no power upon the hour, after the manner of simple men.
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Story DNA
Moral
To dwell solely on the future or to seek power over time leads to a life unlived and ultimately, dissolution.
Plot Summary
A beautiful King's daughter, living a carefree life, is cursed with the 'thought for the morrow' by an old crone. She isolates herself for nine years, seeking 'power upon the hour.' She then encounters a mysterious piper who embodies time and the future, demonstrating his power by dissolving her nurse. The King's daughter spends another nine years with the piper, always choosing to hear the 'song of the morrow' instead of seizing the present 'hour.' Ultimately, the piper is revealed to be an illusion, and the King's daughter, now an old crone, finds herself back on the beach, encountering a new young King's daughter, thus completing a tragic and cyclical tale about the human struggle with time and fate.
Themes
Emotional Arc
innocence to existential dread to dissolution
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Robert Louis Stevenson often drew on Scottish folklore and a sense of the uncanny in his fables and stories, exploring themes of human nature and fate.
Plot Beats (15)
- A beautiful King's daughter lives a carefree life by the sea, unburdened by thoughts of the future.
- She encounters an old crone on the beach who tells her that the 'longing for the morrow' has come upon her.
- The King's daughter returns home, now consumed by the thought of the morrow and the desire for 'power upon the hour'.
- She consults her nurse, who warns her against this new thought but agrees to her pursuit of power.
- The King's daughter isolates herself in her castle for nine years, constantly thinking about the morrow.
- After nine years, she hears a mysterious piping sound and returns to the beach with her nurse.
- They find the crone dancing widdershins, who explains her own 'morrow' has come, and then dissolves into natural elements.
- A hooded man, the 'comer' who pipes the 'song of the morrow' and has 'power upon the hour', appears.
- The King's daughter tests his power by asking him to perform a marvel upon her nurse, who then dissolves into dead leaves.
- Convinced, the King's daughter invites the piper to her castle, where they sit for another nine years.
- Each year, the piper declares 'This is the hour,' but the King's daughter always asks for the 'song of the morrow' instead.
- After the second nine years, the King's daughter demands to see the power in the 'hour'.
- The wind reveals the piper to be nothing but clothes, pipes, and dead leaves.
- The King's daughter, now an old crone, returns to the beach and sits where she first met the crone.
- A new young King's daughter, identical to her former self, appears on the beach, completing the cyclical narrative.
Characters
The King's Daughter of Duntrine ★ protagonist
Of fair complexion, with delicate features. Her build is not explicitly stated but implied to be graceful, as befits a princess. She is described as the fairest King's daughter between two seas.
Attire: Initially, she would wear fine garments befitting a princess, likely made of wool or linen with some embroidery, in colors like deep blues, greens, or reds, possibly with a simple circlet or headpiece. After nine years of seclusion, her clothes would be simpler, perhaps a plain, unadorned gown, though still of good quality.
Wants: To gain 'power upon the hour' and understand 'the morrow', driven by the crone's words.
Flaw: Her initial naivety and susceptibility to the crone's unsettling prophecy. Her relentless pursuit of 'power upon the hour' leads to nine years of isolation.
Transforms from a carefree princess into a solitary seeker of knowledge, enduring nine years of intense contemplation. She ultimately confronts the ephemeral nature of 'power upon the hour' and 'the morrow', becoming a figure of wisdom and perhaps a new crone-like entity herself.
Initially carefree and naive, she becomes deeply contemplative and driven by a quest for understanding. She is persistent and ultimately courageous in facing the unknown.
Image Prompt & Upload
A young woman standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has long, wavy golden blonde hair reaching her waist, styled simply. Her eyes are deep blue, like still pools. Her skin is fair with a hint of rosiness. She wears a simple, flowing gown of undyed linen, possibly with a subtle woven pattern, and a plain, dark wool cloak draped over her shoulders. Her posture is thoughtful, with a slight tilt of her head, and a serious, contemplative expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Crone ⚔ antagonist
Gaunt and frail, with a body that appears to be barely held together. Her form is so insubstantial that she eventually dissolves into sea tangle and sand. Her lean hands are noted.
Attire: Composed of rags that blow about her face, indicating extreme poverty and dishevelment. These would be coarse, faded, and torn fabrics, likely dark or muted in color.
Wants: To fulfill a prophecy or a cycle of fate, perhaps to pass on the burden of 'the morrow' to another. She seems to gain power as her prophecy comes to fruition.
Flaw: Her physical form is fragile and tied to the fulfillment of her prophecy; once her 'morrow' comes, she dissipates.
Serves as the initial catalyst for the protagonist's journey. She appears, delivers her prophecy, and then dissolves once her own 'morrow' arrives, signifying the cyclical nature of the story's themes.
Mysterious, prophetic, and unsettling. She is a catalyst for the King's daughter's transformation, possessing ancient knowledge and a cruel sense of humor.
Image Prompt & Upload
An extremely elderly woman sitting hunched on a desolate beach, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. Her body is gaunt and skeletal, appearing almost translucent. Her face is mostly obscured by tattered, dark grey and brown rags that are wrapped around her head and shoulders, blowing in the wind. Her visible skin is wrinkled and pale, almost grey. Her hands are lean and bony. She wears multiple layers of threadbare, patched garments in muted, earthy tones, barely clinging to her frame. Her posture is slumped and weary. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Nurse ◆ supporting
Her physical description is not detailed, but she is old enough to be a nurse to an adult princess. She is described as 'weary of the wind' and eventually falls apart like 'two handfuls of dead leaves'.
Attire: Practical, modest clothing suitable for a royal nurse in a Scottish-inspired setting. Likely dark wool or linen dresses, possibly with a white coif or cap.
Wants: To care for the King's daughter and to lament the changes that befall her.
Flaw: Her weariness and inability to resist the forces of fate or the 'song of the morrow'. She is easily overcome by external powers.
Starts as a comforting presence, then becomes a mournful observer of the King's daughter's seclusion. She ultimately becomes a demonstration of the Piper's power, dissolving into dead leaves, symbolizing the fragility of life and the passage of time.
Loyal and caring towards the King's daughter, but also fatalistic and prone to despair. She is a figure of traditional wisdom and caution.
Image Prompt & Upload
An elderly woman standing, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. Her face is kind but deeply lined with worry, and her eyes are downcast. Her hair is white, pulled back neatly under a simple white linen coif. She wears a practical, dark grey wool gown with long sleeves and a plain white apron over it. Her posture is slightly stooped, conveying a sense of weariness. Her hands are clasped loosely in front of her. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Piper ⚔ antagonist
His face is always obscured by a hood until the very end, when he is revealed to be nothing but clothes and pipes. This suggests he has no true physical form, or his form is beyond human comprehension.
Attire: A hooded garment, likely a dark, flowing cloak or robe, which completely conceals his form. The clothes are the only physical manifestation of him.
Wants: To play the 'song of the morrow' and demonstrate 'power upon the hour', fulfilling a cosmic role rather than a personal desire.
Flaw: He is not a 'man' in the traditional sense, and his existence is tied to his function as a piper of fate.
Appears as the culmination of the Crone's prophecy and the King's daughter's quest. He demonstrates his power, sits with the King's daughter for nine years, and then dissipates, leaving only his clothes and pipes, signifying the abstract nature of the concepts he represents.
Mysterious, powerful, and enigmatic. He is an embodiment of 'the morrow' and 'power upon the hour', bringing both understanding and dissolution.
Image Prompt & Upload
A tall, slender figure standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. The figure is entirely shrouded in a dark, heavy wool cloak with a deep hood that completely obscures the face. No skin or features are visible. The cloak is long and flowing, reaching the ground, and appears to be made of a rough, dark fabric. Under one arm, he holds a simple, unadorned wooden pipe. His posture is still and mysterious. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
King's Daughter's Castle
A stone house with a terrace, a court of hewn stone, and four towers at the four corners, situated upon the sea beach. Features a vaulted chamber and chimneys where the wind croons.
Mood: Initially carefree, then becomes somber, isolated, and filled with deep thought.
The King's daughter lives here, later spends nine years in solitary thought, and eventually confronts the piper here.
Image Prompt & Upload
A rugged, ancient Scottish stone castle stands directly on a windswept sea beach. Its grey, rough-hewn stone walls are weathered by sea spray, with four squat, round towers at each corner. A wide, exposed stone terrace overlooks the turbulent, dark grey sea, where white foam crashes against the base. The sky is overcast and dramatic, with gulls circling the turrets. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Lonely Sea Beach
The loneliest beach between two seas, where the sea beats on one hand and dead leaves run on the other. It is described as a place where strange things had been done in ancient ages. Sea foam runs to the feet.
Mood: Bleak, desolate, mysterious, and foreboding, with a sense of ancient, strange power.
The King's daughter first encounters the crone here, later witnesses the crone and nurse transform into natural elements, and finally meets the hooded piper.
Image Prompt & Upload
A desolate, windswept Scottish sea beach in late autumn. Dark, turbulent waves crash onto a grey shingle shore, leaving trails of white sea foam. Piles of sodden, dark brown dead leaves are scattered and blown across the sand by a strong, unseen wind. The sky is a dramatic, bruised grey, with fast-moving clouds. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
