(Please note this story is copyrighted by Ellen-Beth Fullwood)
THE PRINCESS AND THE UNICORN
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. Now this princess was as kind and smart and nice as she was pretty. She spent most of her time in her garden. All the animals loved her. The squirrels would hop and run right over her, making her giggle. The birds would land on her lap and sing to make her smile because her smile made them feel happy it was so radiant. All the animals loved her.
But her special friend was a pure white unicorn with a rainbow colored sparkling horn. She called him “Morning Dew”. Morning Dew and Princess Coralrose played together everyday. Sometimes they played tic tac toe; sometimes they raced each other; and sometimes they just sat together quietly basking in the sun’s warm rays. They were truly best friends.
One day Princess Coralrose awoke, got dressed, and went into the garden. But she could not find Morning Dew. She looked everywhere. In the bushes, by the stream, even in the scary woods that stood just outside the garden’s walls. She was starting to get very nervous, when she asked the birds to help her look.
One particularly kind bluebird with a pink dot on his beak told her gently how a dragon had come during the night and stole the unicorn, her friend Morning Dew. The princess was beside herself, how could she face the day without her friend Morning Dew? She began to cry. After a time the squirrels came and used their bushy furry tails to dry her tears. Princess Coralrose decided then and there to save her best friend.
The Princess then went to the strongest of the palace guards and asked, “would you help me save my friend Morning Dew, the unicorn from the dragon?” But he said no.
So she went to the fastest of the guards and asked him “would you help me save my friend Morning Dew, the unicorn from the dragon?” But he said no.
So she asked the smartest guard, “would you help me save my friend Morning Dew, the unicorn from the dragon?” And he said, “of course”
So they packed some necessities like bread, apples, and clean clothing; got some extra arrows for the bow; picked out the sharpest sword; and set on their way. As they approached the dragon’s lair, they began to smell a terrible sulfuric smell. The Princess and her companion, the smartest guard began to worry that the dragon might be too much for them to handle. But they were very brave and they knew that even if they were scared they still had to try and save the unicorn.
So the guard told the princess to wait out of sight while he went and saw what he could see. But she told him she would not wait so they both snuck into the entrance of that dark, dank, moldy cave the dragon called home. Once their eyes adjusted to the lack of light, they could see everything. They saw the pen that Morning Dew was in. They also saw many other animals in many other pens.
And they saw the dragon. She was huge. She had a green body with brown scales all over it. She had red wings as wide as two castles. Her mouth was full of sharp jagged half rotted teeth. And she appeared to be moaning, almost as if she was in pain.
The princess and the smartest guard just stood there taking it all in. Trying to figure out a way to save all the animals, especially the unicorn. Suddenly the smartest guard got an idea. And lickety split he walked up to the dragon. He didn’t even take the extra arrows or the bow, he didn’t take the sharpest sword, he only took the apples and bread.
The dragon sat there watching him with a quizzical look in her eye. She was trying to figure out who this was and what he wanted. When the smartest guard got close to the dragon he held out the apples and bread and asked if she wanted to share his snack. Well the dragon had never seen such a thing.
No one had ever tried to share with her before. She didn’t know what to do. So the smartest guard handed her some of the apples and half of the bread and he sat down to eat his share. The dragon watched him for a moment and then began to eat the apples and bread he had given her. The dragon began to feel something funny inside her. It was a good funny.
She looked at the smartest guard and asked him in her booming dragon voice what this funny good feeling was called. And he said it was friendship. Princess Coralrose then came out of hiding and started to walk towards the dragon with her sweetest smile and most calming expression on her face. The princess walked right up to the dragon and said, “would you be my friend?” The dragon thought about it for a minute or two and then said, “yes I would like that very much.”
So the princess, the guard, and the dragon played games, told stories, and shared secrets like friends do. As the day wore on and the dragon got tired, she asked the princess and the guard why they had come to her home to start with. So the guard said, “ well you see that unicorn over there? That is Princess Coralrose’s best friend Morning Dew. And friends should always help friends.”
Well the dragon didn’t know what to say or do. So she did nothing for a minute or two. Finally she said, “If I let Morning Dew and the other animals go, I will be lonely; but if I don’t the princess will be sad. Friends should always help friends.” and with that the dragon opened all the pens and set all the animals free.
Morning Dew walked over to the dragon and even before he hugged the princess, He said to the dragon, “ you are the friend of my friend, will you also be my friend?” The dragon was overjoyed. In one day she had made three true friends.
She was so very happy that she flew the smartest guard, Princess Coralrose, and Morning Dew back to the palace. The dragon never wanted to be lonely again so she moved into a cave that the princess found her in the scary woods just outside the garden.
And the friends played together every day from then on. And they all lived happily ever after.
The End