A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a fairy...Queen, who recently lost her King (who incidentally was the court jester in disguise). For years her kingdom was in upheaval. War and sadness plagued her people, and plagued her. So the Queen went to war. She fought valiantly, losing only one battle,  but regained her people's peace and freedom in the end. Unfortunately, her capitol city was destroyed and the Queen took her people went in search of a new castle, in a new land. Pillaging, illness, and famine left the Queen and her people poor and dependent on the kindness of an old Knight and his Lady. The Queen was asked to tithe to the Knight and his Lady while helping maintain their land, in exchange for housing her and her people.

After months of waiting and working the good Queen was finally able to appeal to The Powers That Be, to allow her the chance to be granted a new throne. They sent her a message: "You must prove your worthiness in a trial of knowledge." When the Queen received the message she had a wiseman set the day for the trial and she set off, only telling the Knight's Lady where she was going.

Just a short way away from the Knight's land there was a large dark forest. It was full of dangerous creatures and twisting and winding trails that had no end other than despairr, loneliness, and death. Fortunately, the Queen was confident and knew which trail she needed to take. The Queen strode bravely into the forest. She could feel the trees watching her, judging her, waiting to trip her. She could hear the dangerous creatures follow her, smell her, and leer at her.

A short way into her journey the Queen came upon a dancing frog. He seemed like a nice frog, a quiet frog. She watched the frog dance, and was pulled into his dance. She was mesmerized. He pulled her into his dance. He whirled her and twirled her through the forest, far from the trail. During a break in the dance the Queen regained her senses enough to know she was far from where she should be, and while she was not focused on her steps the frog twirled her and the Queen slipped. She fell hard and injured her leg. The frog left her crying for help in the wood.

The Queen nursed her injured leg, still crying. She could hear the dangerous creatures circle around her. She looked up from her tear stained skirt to see another tiny frog that shone like a diamond. The sight of him made her face illuminate with a smile and she laughed. The little diamond frog motioned for her to follow. She got up and followed slowly. She had wandered far from the trail. While she walked and followed the diamond frog entertained her. He took care to find her food and shelter. He protected her. When the Queen reached the trail she was saddened that she had nothing to give the frog for his kindness. He told her he only required a kiss. The Queen smiled and picked him up and kissed him. He was sweet, but when the Queen set him back down he was still the tiny diamond frog. They sighed and promised to be friends forever. The Queen continued on.

For days she travelled through the woods until she came upon a rushing river. The Queen folded her arms and began to think of ways to get across the river. She could not swim it with her skirts on, she would drown. She would not subject herself to the indecency of removing her clothing to swim. So she walked the bank until she came upon three camouflaged frogs. They offered to help her across the river in exchange for a kiss each. The first frog, a young skinny thing, lead her to a stone path she hopped along to get a third of the way across. She kissed him shook her head and turned to the second frog. He was bigger and had a wicked gleam in his eye. The Queen knew he was up to no good. He quickly, without waiting, showed her how to cross a slippery log that rolled. The Queen slipped and scrambled. She scrapped her hands and knees and almost fell in. Dirty and hurt she reached the end of the log, kissed the slimy creature and resisted throwing him into the river. She turned to the third frog who looked at her curiously. He grabbed the hem of her dirty gown and lead her to a rickety bridge above a high gorge. The Queen swallowed hard and picked up the frog and stepped out on to the bridge. It shook and swayed. The little frog whispered encouraging words to her. When they reached the end both were soaked with a spray of water. The Queen laughed and kissed the brave little frog. He smiled at her and they each went on their way.

The Queen wondered on for sometime alone. On night she came upon a cabin in the woods. It was beautiful. In the yard was a woodsman splitting logs. She asked if she might have a room for the night in exchange for help with some chores. The woodsman laughed. He told her there was no need for her service, she was welcome to stay with him, his wife, her two sisters, and their son. He brought the Queen into the house and the three women flew to take care of her. They fussed over her. They were honored she had come to their house. They had heard of her struggles in the War. They respected her bravery and welcomed her into their circle. The Queen asked who they were. They were the Healers. People came from far and wide to be healed by their knowledge and magic. The Queen was tired and needed rest they said, so she stayed with them for several days. She looked after the baby and learned their healing ways. Soon the Queen knew she needed to move on. The sisters cried the day the Queen left. The Queen promised they had become her sisters too and that they would see each other again. Before she left, the youngest two brought a challenge to her. She was to promise to find a new King for her kingdom. The Queen cried. She could not do it. The forest ahead was dark and full of peril they reminded her. "You need a Knight!" The Queen insisted she was brave enough to face the danger. "You need a guide!" The Queen insisted she knew where she was going. "You at least need a servant"    The Queen insisted she could take care of herself. The sisters knew they would get no where with the Queen, so they gave her a magical stone. They told her the stone was the missing half of her mate's. The Queen looked skeptically at the piece of stone. The Queen asked how was she supposed to use the piece of stone to find its match. "Go Fishing!!" They said. They tied the stone to the Queen's belt loop and let it dangle at the edge of her skirt. They told her to leave it as she walked and see what she caught. The Queen smiled, hugged her sisters, shrugged her shoulders, shook her head, and headed down the trail.

It wasn't long before the Queen felt a tug on her belt loop. When she looked down, she saw a leggy frog had swallowed the stone. The Queen caught her breath and laughed. "Poor thing!" She cried. She lifted the leggy frog and removed the stone from his mouth. He made a disgruntled face which made the Queen laugh even more and she kissed him. The frog sighed a happy sigh and went limp in her hand. She scratched his belly and set him down on the stone. She liked him. She looked for a stone on him but he had none. He gave her a frustrated sigh and jumped off into the woods. The Queen looked on curiously after him wondering why he left. The Queen turned back to the trail and carried on perplexed.

For days the stone around her hem was a constant source of distraction for her. Several times she had to shake hideous frogs of the string or the stone. She on occasion took it upon herself to go fishing and cast her stone at some brightly colored frogs with no luck. As she was peaking the top of a mountain where she could see her path to The Powers That Be, she sat on a boulder to look at the trail she had walked, the kingdom she had lost, and the trail she must continue on. It was then that she noticed a rough looking frog sitting next to her. He was a curious thing. He had faded camouflage coloring, a rough face with dimples. He smile at her and she smiled back. She wondered if she should try to cast her stone had him. He spoke. "No need! I will walk with you!" The Queen was taken aback! The frog had sparked an insatiable sense of curiosity in her. He told her he was walking toward the same place she was, but because he was a frog he was moving at a slower pace for fear of injury. The Queen motioned for him to lead on. As they walked they talked. The hours passed easily and lightly. The Queen kept her eye on the frog. He leaped steadily next to her not once tempted to leap for her stone. She asked him why he was so willing to walk with her and not at all try for her stone. He said his stone was precious and had been broken. He wasn't going to jump for any stone until he had thoroughly examed it and its owner. He had been reckless with his in the past and was not willing to show it until he had settled the score with The Powers That Be. The Queen nodded. She understood his reasoning and saw his logic. He was a wise frog. But the Queen had known what it was like to let opportunity pass her by and now that she knew what she wanted she was determined to get it. She understood settling with The Powers That Be, but she also understood chance. She wondered if it was worth it...

TO BE CONTINUED.