Penrhyn Wingfield Coussens

“ In due time the young prince was christened and his godmother was a princess who was known far and wide for her wisdom and kindness, and everyone called her "the good queen." She named the little prince Varna, and loved him as though he were her own son.
When Varna was three years old the Rajah married a princess of great beauty, but who was hard-hearted and cruel. In the course of time a second prince was born, and the queen was filled with jealous rage at the thought that Varna, and not her own son, was heir to the throne. ”

“ Looking up, they saw a large bird, which said to them: "You seek your prince in vain. Return to your own country and tell the king that many moons shall come and go before his son shall be restored." There was nothing else to do, so they sorrowfully went home, and when they told their sad news to the king he was so deeply grieved that he was stricken with a severe sickness from which he never recovered.
The wicked queen was now happy; her son was the Rajah, and she wielded all the authority. ”

“ But she was very careful not to let the Rajah discover her real feelings.
In the mountain there lived an old witch whom the queen knew well, and she sent to her a trusty servant, asking that she find some way of getting rid of her stepson, who stood in the way of her own son. But the witch replied that she could work no harm against the young prince, because he was under the protection of his godmother, whose power was greater than her own. ”