a prince under a spell

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A prince was put under a spell so that he could speak only one word each yearUN SEUL MOT CHAQUE ANNÉE. If he chose not to speak for a year, he could carry those unused words forwardREPORTA CES MOTS NON UTILISÉS. So, if he remained silent for two years, he could say two words in the third year, and so on.

One day, he fell in love with a beautiful lady. To express his feelings properly, he refrained from speakingS’ABSTINT DE PARLER for two whole years. Then, in the third year, he used his saved words to say, “My darling”« MA CHÉRIE ».

But he wasn’t done. He wanted to tell her that he loved her — so he waited another three years without uttering a wordSANS PRONONCER UN SEUL MOT. After those long, silent years, he said, “I love you”« JE T’AIME ».

Then came the big question. He decided to ask her to marry him — but to do so, he had to wait four more years. At the end of these nine years of silence, he took the lady to the most romantic spot in the kingdom and finally said, “My darling, I love you! Will you marry me?”« MA CHÉRIE, JE T’AIME ! VEUX-TU M’ÉPOUSER ? »

The lady looked at him and said, “Pardon me?”« COMMENT ? »

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Vocabulary

Refrain from: to deliberately stop oneself from doing something.

Utter: to say something aloud.

He refrained from speakingS’ABSTINT DE PARLER for years.

He did not utterPRONONÇA a single word.

Grammar

The joke mainly uses past simple for narration, with conditional structures to explain the spell.

Past simple: He fell in love and waited for years.

Second conditional (rule of the spell): If he remained silent, he could say more words later.

Synonyms & Alternatives

Refrain from: hold back, abstain from.

Utter: pronounce, voice.

Mini Dialogue

Oliver: I refrained from speakingME SUIS ABSTENU DE PARLER all day during the meeting.

Hannah: Why didn’t you utterPRONONCER a word?

Oliver: If I stayed silent, I could carry my arguments forwardPOURRAIS REPORTER MES ARGUMENTS.

Hannah: Well, next time, just speak up!

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