The Story of the Prince and the Magician

A beautiful, but not entirely easy story for the basic understanding of the NLP truth concept: The world is our subjective construction.

Once upon a time, there was a young prince who believed in everything – except for three things: He did not believe in princesses, he did not believe in islands, and he did not believe in God. His father, the king, told him that these things did not exist. And since there were no princesses, no islands, and no sign of God in his father's realm, the prince believed his father.

But one day, the prince ran away from the paternal palace. He came to the neighboring country. There, to his astonishment, he saw islands from every coast – and on these islands strange and confusing creatures that he did not dare to name. While he was looking for a boat, a man in a tailcoat approached him on the coast.

“Are those real islands?” asked the young prince.
“Of course, they are real islands,” said the man in the tailcoat.
“And these strange and confusing creatures?”
“Those are very real princesses.”
“Then God must exist too!” cried the prince.
“I am God,” replied the man in the tailcoat and bowed.

The young prince returned home as quickly as he could. “I have seen islands, I have seen princesses, I have seen God,” the prince said reproachfully. The king was unmoved: “There are neither real islands, nor real princesses, nor a real God.” “But I have seen them.” “Tell me, how was God dressed?” “God was dressed festively, in a tailcoat.” “Were the sleeves of his coat turned back?” The prince remembered that it was so. The king smiled. “That is the uniform of a magician. You have been deceived.”

Then the prince returned to the neighboring country and went to the same coast, where he again encountered the man in the tailcoat. “My father, the king, told me who you are,” said the prince indignantly. “You deceived me last time, but not this time. I now know that these are not real islands and not real princesses – because you are a wizard.” The man on the coast smiled: “No, you have been deceived, my boy. In your father's kingdom, there are many islands and many princesses. But you have been enchanted by your father, so you cannot see them.”

The prince returned home thoughtfully. When he saw his father, he looked him in the eyes. “Father, is it true that you are not a real king, but just a wizard?” “Yes, my son, I am just a wizard.” “Then was the man on the coast God?” “The man on the coast was another wizard.” “But I must know the real truth – the truth beyond magic.” “There is no truth beyond magic,” said the king.

The prince was filled with sadness. He said: “I will kill myself.” The king conjured death. Death stood at the door and waved to the prince. The prince shuddered. He remembered the wonderful, but unreal islands and the unreal, but glorious princesses. “Well then,” he said. “I can bear it.” “You see, my son,” said the king, “that you are about to become a wizard yourself.”

from: John Fowles, The Magus, Munich 1969, p. 607 f.