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Like every fairy tale, this one also begins with,

Once upon a time, a little prince with fluffy white hair lived with his parents in a castle next to the Forbidden Garden. This garden belonged to the evil wizard Metatron, who had abandoned the place many years ago. Although the place had been abandoned for almost twenty-five years, nobody in their right mind dared to set a foot on the Forbidden Garden's ground, as the wizard had been one of the cruellest in the history of the kingdom, and who knew what evil spells might still be lingering around. Therefore, the garden was forbidden territory.

Today had been prince Aziraphale's tenth birthday, and he had gotten many presents from his many friends who had come to his birthday party, but his favourite present of all was the golden ball his Godmother Anathema had given him.

When all his friends had returned home, the prince had asked his father, the King, if he could go outside and play with his golden ball in the castle's garden.

'Of course,' the King had spoken, ‘but beware of the land next to our garden. As you know, my son, that place carries many secrets and is no place for an innocent boy such as yourself.'

Our little prince was a good boy who always obeyed his parents. He had heard the whispers of the servants in the hallways of the castle about the awful things the evil wizard had done. But all this had happened long before the King's son had been born. Prince Aziraphale wasn't afraid. Surely there couldn't be any harm in playing next to the Garden. After all, an immense bush separated the castle's garden from the wizard’s. The prince had played by its side more than a dozen times by now and nothing bad had ever happened to him. He knew where the bush grew thin and he could peek inside. His favourite spot was where he could catch a glimpse of the old fountain, now covered in moss but still sprouting water as it had always done.

It was there that he played with his golden ball on his birthday, throwing it as high in the air as he could and catching it again. When the prince got tired of playing, he went to the bush and peeked inside, his ball safely clutched to his chest. Unfortunately, it had been raining that morning and sometimes the prince hadn't been able to catch the ball in his hands, and it had fallen onto the wet grass. Therefore, the ball had become slippery, and you might already guess what happened next. The ball slipped out of the hands that had been carefully holding it and fell on the ground. It rolled straight through the trunks of the bush into the Forbidden Garden.

'Oh dear,' Prince Aziraphale shrieked and followed it with his eyes. It rolled further and further away. Next to the fountain it rolled, and out of sight. Upon this, the prince started to cry, because that ball had been his favourite present and he surely couldn't return to the castle without it.

Prince Aziraphale got on his hands and knees and crawled under the bush. He was a small boy for his age, and he easily fit between the trunks of the bush. Or maybe the trunks shoved out of his way, their silent invitation into the Forbidden Garden.

Within seconds, the prince stood before the fountain, which still sprayed its greenish water in the air. He looked around and saw his ball floating in the fountain.

How had it gotten there?

Prince Aziraphale didn't wonder. The question never reached his mind as he reached for it with eager hands, but the ball floated out of reach.

And drifted closer again when the prince retracted his hands.

This happened every time the prince reached for it. The ball would float towards the middle of the fountain (and it was a big fountain!) whenever Aziraphale extended his arms and float towards him whenever Aziraphale retracted his arms.

The little prince started to cry all over again.

'This is no use!'

Big tears fell from his cheeks to the ground.

'Why are you disturbing this peaceful silence with your crying, my child?'

Prince Aziraphale looked around but saw no one. Only a big black head sticking out of a hole in the ground. Two yellow eyes stared at him and when the head opened its mouth again, a forked tongue licked the air.

'Well, are you going to answer my question? I'm a very busy snake and I don't have all day.'

'I am crying for my golden ball that has fallen on the ground and rolled into this fountain.'

The snake laughed, 'Balls usually don't roll into fountains.'

'Mine did!' the prince said and stamped his foot on the ground to prove the snake didn't scare him. 'I tried to reach for it, but I cannot, as my arms aren't long enough.'

'I can reach it,' the snake said. 'This fountain is mine and so is everything in it.'

'My golden ball,' the prince sniffed.

'Is now my golden ball,' the snake finished the sentence.

'B-b-but my godmother gave it to me. For my birthday. It's the best present I ever got!'

'Birthday?' the snaked hissed.

'Yes,' the prince nodded. 'I am Prince Aziraphale and today is my tenth birthday.'

'Tell me all about it,' the snake demanded.

'I had a birthday party, and all my friends came by. We ate cake from golden plates and drank apple juice from crystal glasses.'

'I have never eaten cake or drank apple juice,' the snake mused. 'A birthday sounds fun.'

'Oh, it is!’ the prince smiled.

'Tell me, my child, when you have returned home, will you continue this birthday party?'

'Oh no, Mister Snake, when I return home, the servants will have prepared a warm bath for me and then I will sleep in my bed with flannel sheets.'

'The water in my fountain is always cold and the hole I sleep in hard.'

Suddenly Prince Aziraphale felt sorry for the poor snake and an idea struck him.

'If you would be so kind as to retrieve my golden ball, you can come to our castle. I will let you eat cake from a golden plate and let you drink apple juice from a crystal glass.'

The little prince saw hope shining in those yellow eyes and continued, 'You shall be given a warm bath and when night falls, sleep in a bed with flannel sheets.'

The snake slithered a little closer.

'Do you promise?'

'Yes, I promise you all this, if you give me my golden ball.'

'Very well then.'

In one swift motion the snake glided out of the hole in the ground towards the fountain.

He was so big! Longer than the little prince had expected. Longer than he had ever imagined it to be and fear got a hold of the young boy. This snake wasn't anything like he had seen before. The black scaled body was endless. It dove into the green water of the fountain and with its strong tail, the snake tossed the golden ball straight in the boy's hands.

Aziraphale shrieked, turned on his heels and started running for dear life. He heard the creature calling for him as he crawled under the bush towards the castle’s garden.

'Aziraphale! Wait for me! Please, wait for me! You made a promise! Aziraphale!'

***

That same evening, the prince and his parents sat in the library. The boy sat next to his father, listening to his deep voice while the King read from a fairy tale book. At the age of ten, Prince Aziraphale could read, that goes without saying, but both treasured these moments together.

Just before bedtime, there was a knock on the door. The Queen put her paintbrush aside and answered the door.

'Mr. Snake, why are you knocking on our door at this late hour of the evening?' she asked.

The snake bowed its big head, 'Because your son made me a promise, Majesty, but didn't fulfil it.'

'If my son has made you a promise, then he must keep it, even if he is a prince,' the Queen said. 'Before I invite you in, may I know your name?'

'Of course, Majesty,' once more the snake bowed its head, 'my name is Crawly.'

When the creature slithered into the castle's library, prince Aziraphale shivered and moved closer to his father, as he was both a little afraid and embarrassed for not keeping his promise.

'My dear son,' the King spoke, 'please tell us what promise you made and the reason for doing so.'

Afraid to look the snake in the eye, the little prince gazed at the floor.

'My golden ball fell to the ground, father, and rolled onto the grounds of the Forbidden Garden and into its fountain. I promised the snake cake from a golden plate and apple juice from a crystal glass if he retrieved my ball for me.'

'Then, my son, if this is the promise you made then this is what you shall do,' the Queen declared. 'Go to the kitchen and ask the cook to bake the most delicious cake and to make juice from freshly picked apples, as Mr. Crawly is now our guest.'

One doesn't eat or drink in a library, and when the prince entered the castle's dining room, a shiver ran over his spine when he saw the big snake coiled up in his chair, with his golden plate and his crystal glass in front of him.

'Mother!' Prince Aziraphale started but was silenced by her look.

'What are you waiting for, my child? Hand me over the cake, as you promised,' the snake urged him.

The prince took the knife to cut a slice of cake but was stopped by Crawly.

'Don't bother,' he said and opened his mouth wide. Wider, and wider it got, until it was wide enough to swallow the cake in whole as snakes do. 'Now I'm thirsty,' he announced.

Aziraphale poured apple juice in his crystal glass and took a step back.

'Are you a foolish boy?' Crawly asked. 'How do you expect me to drink from a glass? I am a snake and have no arms or hands.'

Another look from the Queen made the prince shuffle forward. He took the glass and gently put it up to the snake's mouth, who drank from it eagerly.

'Thank you, my child. I can't remember that I have ever eaten such fine cake and drank such delicious juice.'

'Is the promise fulfilled?' the Queen asked.

'No, it is not, mother,' prince Aziraphale said in a small voice. 'I also promised him a warm bath.'

'Then lead him to the bathroom and do as you promised, my son.'

'Yes, mother.'

Aziraphale bathed the snake and dried him with the softest bath towel in the entire kingdom.

'Is the promise now fulfilled?' the Queen asked again.

The snake looked with his yellow eyes at the prince who slowly shook his head. Big tears welled up in his eyes as he didn't want to fulfil the next part of his hastily made promise.

'No mother, I promised him a night in a bed with flannel sheets.'

'Very well, tonight Mr. Crawly will sleep in your bed, as it is the only bed in the castle with flannel sheets.'

'But mother!'

'I do not tolerate contradiction,' the mother said sternly. ‘You shall keep the promise you made.'

Prince Aziraphale started to cry, his tears fell on the ground. He didn't want a big ugly snake sleeping in his bed!

'But mother, where shall I sleep?'

'You will sleep on the ground, on the sheepskin at the end of your bed.'

The snake Crawly coiled up in a perfectly round ball under Aziraphale's flannel sheets.

The little prince put on his pyjamas and laid down on the sheepskin.

His soft sobs reached the snake.

'Your bed is big,' he said. 'I surely do not need all the space. You can come and lay with me.'

Aziraphale shuddered at the idea of the snake’s cold body next to him.

"I cannot do such a thing,' Aziraphale answered. 'My mother ordered me to sleep on the sheepskin, and I will obey her.'

'You are a good boy,' Crawly whispered before he fell asleep.

The next morning Prince Aziraphale woke up on the sheepskin, with his head tucked on a soft pillow and his body under a tartan blanket. He looked up and saw two big yellow eyes staring back at him. The snake was watching him with what seemed to be a mocked expression on his face.

'Thank you for the pillow and the blanket,' Aziraphale said. 'That was very nice of you.'

'Shut up,' Crawly hissed. 'I am not nice,' and slithered out of Aziraphale's bed.

That morning, a royal family and a snake sat side by side at the breakfast table.

'I better go back to my fountain in the Forbidden Garden,' Crawly said, not without regret.

'Do you have any friends there?' Prince Aziraphale wanted to know.

'Not really,' Crawly admitted. 'Nobody dares to come on the evil wizard's property. You were the first human being I saw in, well in ages.'

'That's so sad,' the little prince said.

'You will stay with us,' the King declared. 'We cannot send you back and let you live all by yourself. You have proven to be a well-behaved snake. You will stay in our castle and live with us. You will be given your own bedroom with your own bed with flannel sheets. You will receive daily warm baths. You will be given your own golden plate to eat from and your own crystal glass to drink from. This will happen as I am the king and my will is law.'

***

364 days had gone by and on the 365th Aziraphale sat on a bench by the castle's lake. Today was his birthday and he was crying.

Crawly slithered next to him.

'My child, why are you crying?'

'I am not crying,' the prince sobbed. 'And even if I was crying, it is my birthday, and I cry if I want to. Nobody wished me a happy birthday. Nobody gave me a present or baked me a birthday cake. There was a party, but the party was for you, because a year ago on this day you came into our lives. My parents adore you. Sometimes I believe they love you more than they love me, their only son. I should hate you for this, but I cannot. Why did you come to me in my time of sorrow?'

'Actually, I came to give you these.'

In his tail, Crawly held eleven white roses.

'As I am a snake and have no money, I cannot buy you a birthday present, but I hope you like these roses I picked for you.'

'I do. Thank you,' Aziraphale smiled. 'You really are a very nice snake.'

'I’m not nice,' Crawly hissed. 'Nice is a four-letter word. I am anything but nice.'

Later that evening, Aziraphale tucked Crawly cosy and safe into his bed with flannel sheets.

'Thank you for the roses,' the prince whispered, and he kissed the snake on top of his black head.

The snake blinked his yellow eyes.

'Don't mention it', Crawly growled and tucked his head under his tail.

As Aziraphale closed the bedroom door, he whispered, 'I love you, silly serpent. I probably shouldn't, but I really love you.'

Hidden under the flannel sheets a voice nobody could hear whispered, 'I love you too, my child. Nobody in the whole wide world has ever been so nice to me as you have been.'

***

The next morning, Prince Aziraphale went to Crawly's bedroom to wake up the snake as he did every morning.

This morning, however, he didn't find a snake coiled up in the bed, but a sleeping red headed boy about his age.

'Crawly?' The prince looked around but saw no snake. 'Crawly? Where are you? CRAWLY!'

But the snake did not answer him. The boy in the snake's bed yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

'What's happening?' he asked. 'Why are you yelling?'

'CRAWLY!' Aziraphale shouted once more, and it was then that he noticed the scales laying around the boy.

'What have you done with Crawly? Where is he?’ the prince shouted and jumped on the bed. 'What have you done with my snake?' The prince straddled the boy and violently pushed him down. His hands were already on his throat when prince Aziraphale continued, 'I am the heir of the throne and I demand you to answer my questions, or you will be thrown in the darkest dungeon of this castle!'

With his big yellow eyes, the boy looked at the prince in fear.

Prince Aziraphale would recognize those eyes everywhere.

'Crawly?' he whispered harshly, 'Is that you?'

'I didn't mean to scare you, my prince,' the boy said. 'My real name is Anthony J. Crowley. Many years ago, the wizard Metatron put a spell on me and turned me into a snake.'

'Why?' Aziraphale wanted to know.

'It was my mother's birthday, and I wanted to give her the most beautiful bouquet of roses as I didn't have any money to buy her a real birthday present. The most beautiful roses were to be found in the garden of the wizard Metatron. I snuck in, but Metatron caught me. As a punishment for stealing his flowers he turned me into a snake, and he would hold me captive in his garden for eternity. I cried and told him I was sorry. I told him I only snuck in because it was my mother's birthday, and I wanted to give her the most beautiful flowers as a present.'

'My dear thief,' the evil wizard had said, ' today is your lucky day! I will leave this property and marry the witch of the East. Today I am a happy man and therefore I will grant you mercy. If someone would be foolish enough to enter my garden and invite you out, you are at liberty to go. You will be set free.'

'You did that, Aziraphale. You not only invited me out of the garden, but also into your castle.'

'Oh dear,' Aziraphale said. 'But you have been living with us for a year now. Why did you keep your snake form? Why didn't you become a boy again? Why didn't you tell us?'

'Because I wasn't allowed to tell anyone,' Anthony said. 'If I would have revealed my real identity I would have been a snake until the end of my days. I could only become a boy again,' he said blushing, 'if someone pure of heart would be able to love a snake, and would speak those words aloud.'

***

Another 365 days went by, in which they found Anthony Crowley's parents. The boy had been missing for thirty years and although his parents had aged, Anthony hadn't during his time as a snake. It turned out he was two years older than Aziraphale and preferred to be called Crowley. All signs of his past as a snake had vanished.

Except for the eyes. He never got rid of his yellow eyes.

The King and Queen decided he and his family should live on their property in a nice little cottage. Aziraphale visited Crowley daily. They played in the garden, swam in the lake, and peeked into the garden of the wizard Metatron, but never thought of passing the boundaries ever again.

They visited the sea and the mountains.

They fell in love, and married.

And when Aziraphale became king, Crowley became his second in command and they lived happily ever after.

The end