Writing Assignment #1, draft 2

Prince Parsley & the Choice
Once upon a time there was a fellow named Prince Parsley. He was very happy in all respects but one: he was obsessed with beauty. Every morning when he woke up, he would command his servants to pick hundreds of bouquets of primroses and petunias and peonies and put them on pedestals in his palace. During breakfast, he would command (with his mouth full of porridge and plums) that his knights ride out to all the corners of his kingdom to find the most beautiful animals and birds and paintings and clothes so he could surround himself totally with exquisite things. If Prince Parsley saw anything ugly or drab, he would command his servants to take it away so he wouldn’t have to look at it. If one of his servants grew ugly or plain, he would fire them. And if his flowers were wilting, he would command that they be replaced. The Prince wasn’t cruel, he was just silly.
One day Price Parsley’s parents decided it was time for him to get married. The Prince didn’t mind in the least, as long as his bride was was beautiful. So every princess from every kingdom was invited. And then the choosing started. Prince Parsley decided that he would spend one hour with each princess in his garden, and then decide if he liked her or not. He was pleased because all of them were pretty , but was perturbed because all of them had something wrong with them. Princess Pipi liked to pull the wings off butterflies. Princess Poppy had a laugh like a braying donkey, and was rude. Princess Pepper was so boring, that when she was talking to him he fell asleep. Princess Paprika had the habit of burping whenever he tried to say something important, and so on.
Finally, after hours of disappointment, Prince Parsley was close to tears. He had been pushed, pestered, pinched and on one occasion, punched. The Prince was tired and perplexed. How could such beautiful princesses be so ugly inside? He was just about to go in, when one last girl came out. She was not beautiful, in fact, she was plain. She told him her name was Princess Penny, and asked him why he was crying. The Prince was to upset to notice she was ordinary, perhaps his vision was blurred with tears. She spoke to him so kindly, and was so sweet and caring, that the Prince pulled himself together. Princess Penny gave the Prince her purple pinafore so he could blow his nose on it, asked him about his pet pandas, and made the him laugh with her jokes. Prince Parsley found that he didn’t mind her appearance one bit, it was her spirit and her personality that he liked. He found that he had fallen deeply in love with her. When the Prince asked Penny to marry him, she was surprised, and said that she had heard he only wanted a beautiful wife. Then Prince Parsley got down on his knees amid the pansies and palm trees and the soiled pinafore and said that he had realized that true beauty is what is on the inside, and that she was beautiful to him. Princess Penny realized she loved him too, and accepted his proposal. They were married the very next day, and lived happily and prosperously ever after.