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CHAPTER 1

Princes and Her Wish

It was a bright and early morning. Princess Keira looked out of her window. It was a sunny day, and she was excited to go outside and play with her white bunny, Hops. As she ate her breakfast, she greeted her parents with a big hug and kissed them on the cheek. Keira was a happy and cheerful princess.

She was also very kind and helpful to everyone. Each day, she went to play and came back early to help out her parents. Today she skipped into her garden and was playing with Hops, and she suddenly saw an old lady in the royal garden. The old lady looked extremely thirsty and hungry.

Princess Keira brought a glass of water and some food for the old lady. 'Here you go. You look thirsty and hungry,' saying this Keira gave the food and water to the feeble lady. She thanked Keira. The old lady drank the water and ate the food heartily. They soon became good friends. Every day the old lady and the princess would spend time together, having fun.

One fine day, the princess got up early and had her breakfast. After a yummy meal, Keira ran to the garden to find her friend, the old lady, but she wasn't there. The princess was very sad. She missed her friend a lot. 'Keira, you have been very kind,' said a gentle voice. The princess saw the old lady there, and she ran towards her.

Suddenly the old lady transformed into a beautiful fairy. 'Keira, you are indeed considerate towards others and have been helpful to everyone around you, so close your eyes and make a wish. It will surely come true,' the fairy said. Her voice sounded like a thousand tiny bells jingling together. Keira was excited, but she didn't know what to wish for. After thinking it over for a few moments, Keira knew exactly what her dearest desire was.

She closed her eyes tightly and wished for a beautiful unicorn that can fly. When she opened her eyes, she could not see the fairy anymore. Instead, she saw a majestic unicorn with her wings. The princess was so surprised. She touched the unicorn's pure-white fur. She liked the unicorn a lot. Taking Hops with her, Keira sat on top of the unicorn.

The unicorn took off. Keira saw tall mountains, blue oceans, colourful flowers, and many more. Keira went to Egypt and saw the pyramids there. Then she went to the South Pole and played with the penguins there. The unicorn flew very fast. On the way, Keira met many people. Some were rich; some were poor. The rich lived in beautiful huge houses with amazing gardens, but the poor lived in shabby small cottages.

Princess Keira was very sad. Realizing it was getting too late, she flew back home very fast. She brought the unicorn to the stables. Keira fed her unicorn with some hay which was at the corner of the room. Keira had her dinner and went to bed early that day. The king and queen were very surprised with their daughter's behaviour, but they remained silent. The next day Keira got up very early, had her breakfast quickly, and brought a satchel full of gold coins.

Then Keira ran to the stables, bringing Hops along with her, and jumped on the unicorn. Keira named it Icy because it had the most beautiful white fur she had ever seen. Soon Icy, Hops, and Keira were in the sky. Wherever or whenever Keira saw the poor, she would land there and give them some of her gold coins. Everyone loved the kind princess a lot.

When her satchel was empty, Keira flew back to her palace. This went on for a few days. Day by day, the princess was able to help more and more people around the world. One day, Keira showed her parents Icy and told them about the poor and how she had been helping them. The king and queen were extremely proud of her. Now Keira was the richest girl in the whole world. She had friends. She lived happily ever after.

A Little Gift

Amelia was a pretty girl. She lived with her parents near the palace. Her father worked as a gardener there, and her mother helped her father with the work there. Every morning, her parents would rush to work as early as possible. It was all up to Amelia and her sisters to clean and maintain the house. Sometimes Amelia went to the royal gardens to help out her parents.

One morning, her parents went to work as usual. After her parents left, Amelia started sweeping the floor, and her sisters washed the dishes and cleaned the windows. Today Amelia did the chores faster than ever. She wanted to go to the palace and work in the gardens. Amelia was an expert with plants. She loved them. As she was preparing to leave the house, she saw a withered daisy.

It seemed like no one had watered it for days. Amelia ran inside her house and brought a spade, some water, and a pot. Amelia slowly but carefully scooped the daisy out and planted it in the pot. Finally, she watered it and put the plant at a sunny place. After doing this, her hands and dress got dirty but she didn't mind.

She skipped happily to the palace and helped her parents there. Amelia worked really hard, and by evening, all the work was done. She ran back home and watered the daisy again. Little did she know that an elf had been watching her since morning. He had been following her everywhere. The tiny elf was happy and satisfied with Amelia's kind heart, so he decided to surprise her with a little gift. He gave her the ability to talk to animals! Then the small elf went back to his home happily.

The next morning, Amelia got up early, waved goodbye to her parents, and started her chores. Amelia washed the dishes while her sisters swept the floor and washed the clothes. Later, Amelia went outside her house to play. A few birds were sitting on a tree and were chirping happily.

'Hi, Amelia,' chirped one of the birds.

Amelia was so surprised. She didn't expect this. 'Um ... well ... hi,' she replied, and she raced as fast as her legs could carry her. Amelia was quite scared. After a while, she left her house and went out to play. She soon realized she was able to understand the language of animals. Amelia was very happy. She spent the whole day playing with the animals in the forest.

Amelia went back home and told her parents and sisters all about it. They were very happy for her. The next day, she did her housework and went to play in the forest. Suddenly, she saw a peacock. Its leg was bleeding. Amelia felt sorry for it and helped it clean the wound. Finally, she took a piece of cloth and wrapped it. The peacock thanked Amelia politely.

Later Amelia brought the peacock back home and took good care of it until it was completely healed. Luckily, her parents allowed her to have it inside the house after Amelia promised to take good care of it. A few days went by, and Amelia had a good friend. She spent most of the time talking and playing with the peacock. Very soon the peacock healed under the care of Amelia.

Once the peacock was able to move, it thanked Amelia for her help. The peacock brought her inside the forest. They walked and walked until they came to a clearing. The place was full of gold, silver, diamonds, pearls and many more precious stones. 'Take as much as you want,' said the peacock. The girl thanked the peacock and took as much she needed and left.

Amelia came running to the house and gave her mother everything she had. From that day onwards, Amelia's parents didn't work as hard as they did before. Amelia's kindness was rewarded tremendously. They lived happily ever after.

Long-Lost Sister

Helena loved dancing. She was a beautiful princess who was loved by her subjects. Every day, Helena woke up; brushed her teeth; took a nice, long bath; and wore comfy clothes to dance all day long. Although the princess almost danced throughout the day, she never missed her royal duties. The king and queen were very proud of her. Her dance teacher, too, often praised how graceful and delicate she was.

She was a happy princess, but there is one thing that tends to keep her sad. The princess once had a twin sister named Selena. She was cursed by a wicked witch and was turned into a beautiful nightingale. Helena knew that her sister was the best singer ever known and the witch was jealous of her talent. Sometimes Helena tried to search for her, but then she never told this to her parents or anyone in the castle, as they had forbidden everyone to talk about Selena.

One fine day, Helena was dancing in her garden when she saw a small cottage far away. Then, Helena decided to enter the abandoned cottage. When she stepped in, she saw a pair of beautiful dancing shoes. They were red in colour. Helena loved the shoes so much she couldn't take her eyes off them. Suddenly, the princess noticed a piece of paper lying nearby.

'To: Helena,' it was written. The princess was overjoyed but she couldn't see anyone nearby. She wrote 'Thank You' and left the cottage. Taking her new shoes with her, Helena dashed into her room and tried on the shoes. What a surprise she had! It fitted her perfectly, and it seemed like it was specially made for her. Helena decided to keep her new shoes a secret. Soon, the princess had her dinner and crept into her bed, hugging her shoes tightly.

That night, Helena had a weird dream. She saw a bird singing to her in a melodious voice. 'Helena, please listen. If you want to save me, tomorrow morning dance your way through the garden until you see the same cottage. I shall be inside it. Wearing those shoes, dance as I sing , and ever y thing shall be the way it supposed to be but beware the witch who cursed me will try to stop you.' Saying this, the bird disappeared.

Helena woke up immediately. She was surprised. She was sure that it was her sister, Selena. Helena was determined to find her sister. The next morning, Helena wore her shoes and went to the garden to find the cottage. The wicked witch knew Helena was going to save Selena, and the witch had to stop her. If Selena was free, the witch would then vanish into thin air. Now she was scared. She sent some of her poisonous wasps to bite her.

The wasps came flying to Helena, but then they saw Helena's kind eyes and transformed into rose petals and fell down to the ground. The witch grew frustrated. She sent her scorpions to poison her. By the time the scorpions arrived, Helena already took the nightingale in her hands. The scorpions came closer and closer to Helena. She got scared and closed her eyes. When she opened them, there were no scorpions at all.

The nightingale ate them all! The bird sang in its sweet voice, and Helena danced gracefully — together they perished the wicked witch. Once the witch disappeared, the nightingale asked Helena to bring it to the palace. Helena excitedly picked it up and fled to the castle. She was never this glad before. Helena raced to the palace as fast as her legs could carry her. Once they reached the castle, the nightingale flew to Helena's bedroom.

Helena was surprised. 'Give me a glass of pure white milk,' the nightingale said. Helena ordered the servants to bring the purest milk. Soon they brought in the milk. Helena quickly filled a small glass of the milk and gave it to the bird, who drank it quickly. Immediately, the nightingale changed into a beautiful girl. She looked extremely pretty in her pink dress.

Helena was left breathless. She felt like she was looking at herself in a mirror. The sisters hugged each other tightly. Tears rolled down their cheeks. Right then, the king and queen came into the room. Imagine what a surprise they had when they saw both their daughters together!

Secret Garden

'I seek, you hide,' said Melinda. She was playing hide and seek with her best friend, Katie.

'No, no, no. You seek, I hide,' said Katie.

'That's what I said. Fine. Whatever. One, two, three, four ... Twenty. Ready or not, here I come!' said Melinda, looking for Katie.

Melinda looked everywhere — behind the trees, behind the bushes, under the logs, and everywhere else — but Melinda couldn't find Katie anywhere. She was disappointed. Just as Melinda was about to give up, she saw a door in a tree nearby. It was huge enough for a human to pass through. Although she has come to this part of this part of the forest many times, Melinda has never noticed the door before. The door was covered with hanging vines from above and huge bushes from below.

Melinda was curious, so she decided to go through it and see what was beyond it. Right then, Katie came from behind a huge tree.

'Why are you stand —' Katie's jaw dropped, as she too noticed the hidden door.

'Let's go,' said Melinda, dragging Katie along with her.

They were about to open the door when a fluffy white rabbit stopped them. It suddenly turned into an elf. He was wearing a green hat, green pants, and green shoes. 'Melinda, Katie. Stop right there!' the elf said to the friends.

'Hey! How do you know our names?' Katie asked.

Then the tiny elf explained that Melinda and Katie had to pass through three tests to enter the door. 'The first test would be to check your wisdom, the second test would be to check your courage, and the last one would be to test honesty. Are you ready to even risk your life to see what is behind the door?' the elf asked, and bravely Melinda and Katie answered by nodding their heads.

'All right. Here is your first question. I walk on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night. Who am I?' the elf asked both of them.

Immediately Melinda answered, 'Human.'

'Wow! Not bad! Not bad at all, and for the second test, you already passed it. Remember when I asked you if you had the courage to take up the tests?' said the elf, smiling from ear to ear.

The girls were proud of themselves and did a high five. 'The final test would be the hardest of them all,' said the elf, handing them a stone each. 'If you are truthful, you may pass through the door any time you'd like, but if you are not honest, you shall turn into a stone,' said the elf.

Melinda and Katie started trembling. Both the stones turned into gold coins and fell to the ground. "You have been rewarded for your honesty," said the elf and he opened the door.

Melinda and Katie went in. They were shocked by the spectacular sight. It was an amazing garden. The smell of the roses was breath-taking. The garden looked well maintained. They saw fairies riding unicorns in the air. Some were having picnics, and some were flying and playing around. Both of them were amazed when the fairies invited Melinda and Katie to play with them.

The girls danced and sang with the fairies. They rode the unicorns and ate baked apple pies when they got hungry. They had so much fun. Melinda even saw an ice cream–making machine there. Soon Melinda and Katie saw a bird, which looked hurt. It was lying on the ground with its wings open wide. It looked helpless. Melinda felt sorry for it and picked the bird up.

Melinda helped the bird to fix its broken leg. Katie too helped the bird to clean its wound. Suddenly, the bird seemed completely healed and flew away.

'Melinda and Katie, we have tested your wisdom, courage, and honesty. Now we have also seen that you have generous hearts, so we would like to grant a wish for each of you,' the fairies said in unison.

Both the girls knew exactly what to wish for. They wished for a pair of wings which will allow them to fly and travel throughout the world.

Excellent Baker

Jennie was an attractive girl who loved to bake cakes. Not only was she an excellent baker, she had such a kind heart that everyone in town loved her. She was well known as the best baker in town. Jennie had a bakery near the town too. It was known as Treat Yourself, and everyone loved her freshly baked cakes. They were so yummy and delicious that no one could resist them.

She was also very honest to her customers. One fine morning, Jennie went to buy some ingredients to bake a cake for her best friend. She needed three eggs, some flour, a bag of icing, a packet of sugar, and some flavourings. Jennie went shopping at a nearby shopping mall. She bought everything she needed and was just about to leave the mall when she saw an old lady standing just outside the shopping centre and selling bags of icing.

The old lady pleaded Jennie to buy some of her icing. She looked very fragile in the scorching-hot sun. Although they were plain and white, Jennie felt sorry for the lady and decided to buy a bag of icing from her. The old lady thanked the girl and said, 'May your kind heart be filled with sweet memories.' Jennie smiled and made a move.

Soon she started to beat the eggs. Jennie wanted it to be extra special, so she took special care on the cake and started preparing it. Once it was done, the aromatic smell filled the room. She took out her coloured icing and started decorating it. Finally, she took the icing that she purchased from the old lady. She pressed the bag of icing slowly, but surprisingly, nothing came out.

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Excerpted from "Jany's World of Fantasy"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Janany Ganabatirau.
Excerpted by permission of PartridgeSG.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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