The Fables of Power – Old grudges, new costumes, timeless quarrels
📖 The Sleeping Beauty of Bruxelles 🏰
✍️ Introduction
In the heart of Bruxelles stood a castle unlike any other — not guarded by knights, but by clerks with quills, courtiers with files, and endless chambers of parchment. It was a castle built on treaties, protocols, and promises, where the Princess of Europe slept behind curtains of paper.
🎭“Europe will be forged in crises,
and will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises.”
—Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgian statesman, EU founder)
🪄 The Tale
The Princess was not cursed by a witch, nor pricked by a spindle. Instead, she had lulled herself to sleep with lullabies of procedure. She dreamed of unity and progress, but her courtiers debated endlessly whether the dream should be written in French, German, Dutch, or English.
Years passed. When storms struck the land — invasions, plagues, floods — the Princess stirred. She would half-wake, shuffle through her chambers, issue a decree, and then collapse again into slumber. The courtiers applauded themselves for their brilliance, even as the castle roof leaked and the moat grew shallow.
From outside, the Mob Boss laughed. The Black Knight sneered. The Mandarin watched, patient as the tide. And the villagers, who paid dearly for the upkeep of this drowsy court, wondered if the Princess would ever open her eyes fully.
Yet, in her dreams, the Princess whispered of a future where Europe stood tall, awake, and whole. Whether she will ever wake to live it — that is another tale.
⚖️ Moral of the Tale
A castle that sleeps through storms cannot be surprised when the roof caves in.
🎭 Closing Line
The stage of the world is never empty. The next fable is already being written…
🐺 Next Fable Preview
The Wolf Who Called for Votes:
A cunning wolf howls as the “voice of the people,” but when given the keys to the farm, the chickens disappear.
📌 Blog Excerpt
In Bruxelles, an enchanted castle slumbers while crises knock at its gates. Courtiers applaud their debates, villagers pay the bills, and the Princess dreams of greatness — if only she could wake.
WJJH, September, 2025
In what kind of world do we wish to live 