'THE PRINCE'
When a fatuous person gets carried away by the slightest
breeze of fame and acquires an overly high estimation of his
own worth, his ridiculous vanity soon makes him a laughing-stock.
There was a flute player named Prince who was more or less well-known, since
he provided the musical accompaniment for Bathyllus the dancer. At one of their
shows, I don't remember precisely which one, the stage machinery unexpectedly
swung around and Prince tumbled down onto the stage. He broke his left leg and
fell flat on his face (he must have been playing in the key of B-flat). They
picked him up and carted him off the stage as he moaned and groaned. It took
him several months to recover. Given that theatre-goers are such a sentimental
and devoted lot, they began to miss him; after all, his flute playing had always
roused the dancers to greater heights. A prominent citizen was about to stage
a public performance and now that Prince was again able to walk using a cane,
the man persuaded him with invitations (and a fee) to at least put in an appearance
on the day of the show. As soon as Prince arrived, rumours of the flute player's
return buzzed throughout the theatre: while some swore he was dead, others claimed
that he was about to show himself to the entire audience in just a moment. Then
the curtains parted and there was a thunderous clang announcing the arrival of
the gods who made their usual speech, and then the chorus started in with a song
that Prince did not recognize, since he had been away from the theatre for several
months. The song's refrain went like this: 'Rejoice, O Rome: you are safe now
that the prince is well!' The audience stood up to applaud. The flute player
blew kisses to them, thinking that his fans were congratulating him on his recovery.
The people in the front row seats realized the man's foolish mistake and with
a roar of laughter they demanded an encore. The song was repeated, and our hero
prostrated himself at full-length on the stage. The front rows continued their
mock applause, while the crowd thought Prince was simply bowing in honour of
the chorus. Eventually, however, the entire audience realized his mistake and
at that point the 'Prince,' dressed in a white gown, his leg wrapped in a white
bandage -- he even had white shoes on his feet! -- was tossed headfirst off the
stage. His exit met with universal approval, since he had appropriated for himself
the honours being paid to the prince of Rome, the divine Caesar himself. |