Sunday Scribbling - Bedtime Story

In the tradition of countless parents who notoriously skip pages while reading their young children bedtime stories, this story may be missing a few essential elements.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful queen and a handsome king who wanted above all else, a daughter. After years of hoping and praying and wishing and dreaming, a gypsy woman from a small village in their kingdom came to visit the castle. She revealed to the king and queen that she had the power to grant them their heart's desire, but she would only do so if the royal couple would grant her a place in their castle as their royal nanny. It seemed a reasonable trade to the king, and the queen did so very much want a baby to love And so they agreed, and a beautiful baby girl was born to them.

One night, when the princess was still a very small child, the gypsy woman took the princess into a garden at the edge of the castle grounds. There, the gypsy put a curse upon the inhabitants of the castle, casting them all into a deep slumber. She took the smal princess back to her gypsy village and raised her as her own child.

[Oh, she's starting to doze off already! Skip to the end!]

It was love at first sight. The prince took the gypsy girl his his arms and held her tight as he kissed her tenderly. Suddenly, everything came rushing back to her memory. She was not a gypsy at all! She was a princess, and her parents had been cursed by her gypsy nanny! She rushed back to the castle that was her home so long ago. The king and queen had been awakened! The prince's kiss had broken the curse! A messenger arrived at the castle the next day to inform the royal family of a small village that had been destroyed by fire during the night - at exactly the same time the curse had been broken. With the gypsy threat terminated, the royal family was safe at last. The prince and princess were married, and they all lived happily ever after. The end.