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Iris,
Daisy and Rose flew over to the castle. The king had called for his three
fairies and there was no time to delay.
“Iris,”
the king said to the blue fairy, “you are to go and find me the most
beautiful flower in my kingdom. Tomorrow is the princess's birthday and I
want her to have something lovely to look at when she wakes up.”
Iris flew
out through the castle window and began her search.
“Daisy,
since you are as yellow as the sun, I want you to go and find me the
juiciest lemon in my kingdom. The princess loves lemons. Find a juicy one
for her birthday.”
Daisy
flew out through the window and began her search.
“Rose,
since you are as pink as my little princess's cheeks, I want you to go and
find me the most aromatic fragrance in my kingdom.”
Rose flew
out through the window and began her search.
The three
fairies returned to the castle, but with empty hands. “What is this? Where
is my flower, my lemon and my fragrance?” The king adjusted his royal
crown.
“Dear
King, a dragon has moved into your land and it blows fire on everything in
its path. We have no way to stop it. We are not magic fairies,” Rose said.
The king
went to a wooden chest that stood on the floor not far from his royal
throne. He opened the lid and pulled out three magic wands. Handing one to
each fairy, the king said, “These are for you. Go now and bring me back my
flower, lemon and fragrance.”
“But
king, what of the dragon?” Daisy fluttered above him.
“Use your
magic wand and turn it into a toad.” The king dismissed them.
A few
hours later the fairies returned. Iris presented the king with the most
beautiful flower he'd ever seen. It was deep purple with touches of gold
on the edge and in the middle.
Daisy
handed him a plump juicy lemon.
Rose put
a bottle of heavenly fragrance down on the table and then pulled a jar out
from behind her back. “This is for you,” Rose said.
“There's
a toad in this jar. Wherever did you get this and why did you give it to
me? The princess will have no use for a toad.” The king looked at Rose.
Rose
blushed and giggled and winked at the king. “I just used a little magic,”
and then she flew away. Iris and Daisy followed.
The king
roared with laughter. “So, you're the dragon. I'm sure you'll love living
in our royal pond, eating mosquitoes and flies.” He went out into the
garden and let the toad go. It hopped onto a lily pad and croaked.
The next
day the princess celebrated her birthday. She loved her gifts, the flower,
the lemon, and the fragrance, but most of all, she loved listening to the
toad croaking in the pond. |
