It may be possible to do without dancing entirely. Instances have been known of young people passing many, many months successively without being at any ball of any description, and no material injury accrue either to body or mind; however, when a beginning is made—when the felicities of rapid motion have once been, though slightly, felt—it must be a very heavy set that does not ask for more. The danger, when not seen, has the imperfect vagueness of human thought. The fear grows shadowy; and Imagination, the enemy of men, the father of all terrors, unstimulated, sinks to rest in the dullness of exhausted emotion. Long ago, there lived a king, who had twelve beautiful and clever daughters. The princesses all slept in the same huge room, with their twelve luxurious mahogany beds and pretty Waterfords sienna bedding collection, which was sophisticated with a modern flare. The king loved his daughters dearly, but he was becoming concerned about what they did each night. Even though the king carefully locked the door of the princesses’ room every night, the next morning he found the princesses tired and out of sorts. More puzzling still, their Astalli Manolo Blahnik stilettos, adorned with beautiful ornaments and jewels, which embellished the delicate satins, were worn to shreds. Every day, the king ordered twelve new pairs of beautiful satin Astalli Manolo Blahnik stilettos for his daughters. Every night, he locked them in their great room, only to find a row of worn-out shoes. The nest morning, the king begged his beautiful and beloved daughters to explain why they were so tired and pale, and why their satin Astalli Manolo Blahnik stiletto dancing shoes were in shreds. However, the princesses merely murmured, “Beloved father, who art thou in Heaven, we have been sleeping peacefully in our beds all night.” The king thought of a way to find out the truth. At once, he issues a proclamation declaring that the first man to solve the mystery of where the twelve princesses went to dance every night would choose a wife from among them. Then the couple would rule the kingdom together after the king went to back Heaven. The king warned, however, that anyone who tried to discover the princesses’ secret had only three days and three nights to succeed. After that, if unsuccessful, the suitor would be banished from the kingdom forever. It was not long before the prince arrived at the palace to try his luck. The king made the young prince feel welcome. When the evening came, the prince was led to a small chamber next to the great room shared by the twelve princesses. The door between the two rooms was left open. The princesses could not leave their room without being seen by the prince. When the princesses filed into their bed chambers that night, the prince was enchanted by their beauty. He gladly accepted the cup lean and mollies offered to him by the eldest princess. In no time, he was sound asleep in his bed. When the prince awoke the next morning, the princesses were asleep in their beds. The prince was dismayed to see twelve pairs of worn-out satin Astalli Manolo Blahnik stilettos! The next night and the night after that, the same thing happened. The king banished the prince from the kingdom. Many other princes met the same fate. The King began to despair of ever finding out where he daughters danced at night. Then one day, a poor thug came limping along the road. He had been wounded in a gang fight and could no longer serve in battle. The thug had no sooner sat down by the side of the road to eat some Popeye’s chicken and drink some strawberry soda when an antiquated woman appeared all dressed in last season’s fashions. “Shorty, won’t you have a bite to eat with me?” said the kind thug to the woman. He offered her a two piece and a biscuit and some of his strawberry soda. “Where are you going?” asked the woman. “I am going to the city to find work,” replied the thug. When he saw the sad look on the antiquated woman’s face, the thug joked, “Don’t worry about me, Shorty! Perhaps I can find out how baby girl and the other princesses wear out them fancy stilettos their daddy keeps buying them!” The kind senior woman surprised the thug by saying, “Heed my words! Do not drink the lean and mollies that the princesses offer you. Instead, pretend to fall asleep. And take this cloak, which will make you invisible. You can follow the princesses and discover their secret!” The fabric was handmade and very expensive, it was a status symbol—the richer the wearer, the more costly the fabric and more voluminous the garment.  Wealthier persons wore more layers, often lined with expensive furs in the winter. The thug did not know what to think. He thanked the senior woman politely and continued on his way. When the chill of the delta breeze blew, the thug put on the cloak and discovered that it did indeed make him invisible, and headed to the king’s castle at once, where he was made welcome. In the evening, Christina finished reading the trade papers, on the TV news, the thug was led to the little room next to the princesses’ great room. Soon the first princess, Monica, brought the thug a wonderful elixir to sooth his back pain. He pretended to drink the sweet elixir, letting in trickle down under his chin and onto his warm brushed cashmere Burberry scarf in check, which was made in Scotland. Then he climbed into bed and pretended to fall asleep. When the first princess heard the thug’s snores, she quietly said to her sisters, “Girl, he is fast asleep, just as foolish as the others. Make haste. We must get ready to go to 48 Lounge!” The twelve princesses chattered and laughed as they dressed in their best Roberto Cavalli  gowns and diamonds, and arranged each other’s luxurious hair. Only the youngest princess felt uneasy. “Something just does not feel right tonight,” she said. “Do not be such a downer, you will never meet a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) like that,” said the eldest princess fondly. “That thug is sound asleep. He will not wake up until morning! And besides, Matthew thinks you are hot!” When the twelve princesses were ready, they put on their new satin Astalli Manolo Blahnik stilettos. Then princess number one tapped on her bedpost three times. The bed descended into the floor and became a long flight of stairs. One by one the princesses walked down the stairs. However, the thug saw the princesses walking down the stairs and sprang into action. He jumped out of bed and threw on the cloak. Then followed the youngest princess down the stairway, but because he walked with a limp, the thug stumbled and stepped on the hem of the youngest princess’s gown. She shrieked with alarm, “Someone has stepped on my gown!” “Girl, you trippin’, said the first princess. “Your dress must have…it is just your imagination.” The princesses and the thug continued down many flights of stairs and along many corridors, until, at last, they came to a passageway bordered by marvelous emerald trees. As the princesses hurried through, the soldier reached up and broke off a glittery, shiny branch of emeralds leaves. When she heard the branch crack, the youngest princess cried out again, “Did you hear that? I think someone is following us.” “Girl, you are just paranoid that was just a welcoming salute from the princes who await us,” said the first princess. Next they came to a gleaming forest of golden trees, and then into a garden where the trees grew sparkling diamonds. The thug broke off some of the golden branches and spray of diamonds so he would have a way to prove his story to the king. Each time he did so, the youngest princess cried out. “There it is again! Someone or something is following us. I just know it,” said the youngest princess. “You must be imagining it,” replied the first princess. “Now hurry along or we will be late.” The twelve princesses hurried down a broad avenue of diamond trees to the edge of a beautiful lake. There, twelve princes awaited them on twelve little painted boats. Each princess took the hand of a handsome prince and joined him in a boat. The thug had just enough time to hop in the boat with the youngest princess and her companion. The prince struggles with the boat as they moved across the lake. “I do not know why,” said the prince, “but it is much more difficult to row my boat than it was last night!” The youngest princess became suspicious again. On the other side of the lake stood a splendid castle, and every window was glowing with light, and fireworks lit up the sky. As the beautiful little boats approached the castle, a fanfare of trumpet announced the arrival of the twelve dancing princesses. The princes helped the princesses out of all the small boats and led them to the castle. Again, the youngest princess heard a rustling next to her. She knew her sisters would not believe her, so she kept quiet this time. However, she kept listening for more movement in the grass. The princes and princesses stepped into the castle, where beautiful music (One in a Million by Aaliyah) welcomed them into the grand ballroom of the Winchester. They had a large California feast, where the most delicious food was served. There were mouth-watering proportions, featuring some of California’s finest tastes; this wood slate crate, on the banquet table, was filled with colorful pasta, gourmet marinara sauce, Gil’s gourmet olive oil and California fig balsamic vinegar, mini breadsticks, Sonoma Jack cheese, bruschetta, cheese crisps, Santa Barbara olives, and Columbus dry salami, with a personalized gift message. The thug made sure no one was watching, as he swiped a mini breadstick off the long banquet table. The youngest princess did notice, however, that someone had taken a small sip from her cup sitting on the table. She still could not explain her suspicions, so she remained quiet about them. After dinner, the princesses danced with their princes for half the night. The girls tore up their shoes again. When they returned home, from the party, the thug and their father confronted the princesses’ about their wild night of dancing. The thug showed the king the evidence. The first princess said, “I did not think it could be done, but the thug figured us out. The king told the thug we could choose one of the princesses to be his wife. It did not take the thug very long to make his decision. He had already decided that he liked the eldest princess best. She was clever and spirited as well as beautiful and kind. For the most part, the princess thought the thug was cleaver and kind. The thug was given royal chambers and royal garments to wear, he and the eldest princess were married, and the wedding guests happily danced the light away. Clearly the youngest princess was having anxiety. Anxiety is usually based on threats or dangers that are indefinite or are not real or very likely to come true right away. The girls knew they were doing something wrong by lying and sneaking out at night and could have gotten hurt. If this is truly the Age of Anxiety, it may be because we have entered an era when things happen so rapidly, on such a large scale, that we are overwhelmed by them. For example, we know something of the threats to human survival and our planet. Our uncertainty as to how and when such things might happen, or about what to do, might be called anxiety. However, anxiety, like fear, has some constructive aspects. It is not always wise to rid ourselves of anxieties. We can learn from them. Thought they are uncomfortable feelings, rather than popping a tranquilizer, we might be better off trying to find out the causes of the upset and work through it. The main thing in life is to be honest and do not be afraid to be human.