Three Fairy Tales

By Dusty Henn

Three short fairy tales: Queen Violet, King Goodheart, and Ellie, totaling nearly seven thousand words altogether. Two of the stories feature Lucky, the Leprechaun. 
Fantasy comedy adventure for children. Queen Violet must rescue her brother King Goodheart after he is kidnapped by the henchman of Tirano, an evil tyrant. With the help of Curly the Sheep, her close friend Sophia, and Lucky the Leprechaun she saves him.  He meets Ellie and her animal friends. There is a 'Happy Ever After' for everyone but the bad guys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dusty Henn
• Release date: Mar 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393975069

Dusty Henn

Author of short works featuring animals. E-mail [e-mail]

Book preview

THREE FAIRY TALES

Shrinking Violet

Once, long ago in a faraway land, there lived a queen who preferred quiet, private activities to the social hubbub of the court. She didn’t shirk her royal duties, but she didn’t let herself be sucked into the social whirlpool, either: At official functions she always arrived on time and left on time. She favored undisturbed, peaceful walks through the meadows with her pet sheep, Curly. Together she and Curly wandered over hill and dale, conversing in the private language they shared, discussing and determining what was best for the people of the realm. She shied away from people out of caution, suspecting that they would disturb her concentration and interfere with her productive routine.

Besides, she didn’t really enjoy finding herself in the midst of crowds where she would have to smile for hours at a time, saying clever things and listening to others’ clever conversation. Sometimes she found social gatherings gave her a headache.

Her name was Queen Violet; but unbeknownst to her, many people called her ‘Shrinking Violet’ because of her observed tendency to avoid unnecessary human contact.

Curly, do you know it’s almost time for the Queen’s Ball, our country-wide dance? Violet asked one day while he was munching buttercups and she was enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

That means I get a baby-sitter, doesn’t it; you’re warning me you won’t be home in time to put me to bed in the evening, aren’t you?

Yes, that’s true; I was kind of preparing you for the change in our routine. And hoping you’d help with the planning. Fortunately, it’s only one night and I expect that everything will return to normal by the morning after. I’ve got to do it. The custom goes back into history so far nobody recalls when it got started. Young people always look forward to it for months.

"Some of the not-so-young folks look forward to it, too.  For instance, my friend Sophia has been showing up for the past few years. She’s a widow. Come to think of it, her daughter Ellie might be interested too. I’m pretty sure she’s old enough