YAY!

A few days ago, the dull, ill-mannered suitors finally left my estate, thank goodness. None of them met my standards. They were all drunkards and unworthy for a proper lady as myself to be their wife. After giving them the cold shoulder and avoiding any form of social interaction, not one of them attempted to solve my father's riddle. Good thing too because I would have protested such nonsense.
Yesterday, a promising man came to my door and explained how he wished for us to be married. He introduced himself as the Prince of Morocco. He was handsome and I could see us getting along very well; but before he began telling me of his life accomplishments, I informed him of the box test and its guidelines. He accepted the challenge so I led him to the chamber containing the mystery boxes. Sadly, I was not graced with his presence for much longer because he picked the wrong box.
Wait a second. Have I mentioned the guidelines of the riddle? That might be helpful to be informed of so you now what I'm talking about. Silly me. So basically, there are three caskets to choose from. One is gold, another silver and the last is made of lead. Each has an inscription on top; a clue to help guide them in the right direction and assist in their process of elimination. However, only one contains my picture which gives them the key to my heart. But there is a catch. Before the men can see what the riddle entails, they must make a promise. If they choose incorrectly, they must never talk of marriage with another woman. My father's goal for adding this detail was that only the truly committed men would be willing to take this risk at my expense. Therefore determining who is worthy of my bountiful love and who is not.
Anyways, back to my story. Another man came by later that day in the hope of making me his wife. He introduced himself as the Prince of Aragon. He was up for the challenge but like the first wooer, the box he chose did not contain my picture.
But today my luck turned around. My days of longing for a husband are over! My beloved Bassanio traveled all the way from Venice to ask for my hand in marriage. He was aware of the riddle and immediately requested to be led to where the boxes were kept. I insisted that he stay a few days before attempting the riddle but he refused. He said, and I quote, "Let me chose, for as I am, I live upon the rack". I showed him to the boxes and reminded him of what was at stake. Bassanio seemed confident and began pondering over each of the caskets. He decided to choose the lead box and by Jove, my picture was inside! I then presented him with a ring to signify our love. We are thrilled and plan to be wed as soon as the preparations are made. There is so much to do in so little time! This has been the best day I've had in a long time. :)
Here is a picture of the ring I gave him; simple, but meaningful.


CC image posted at Flickr by praptak