Once upon a time there was one little boy and one little girl.
They were the best of friends.
The little girl always rode her hobby horse, She called him Stardust.
The little boy loved water and sailed his toy boats.
They had many adventures together and came up with the greatest games.
She bought sandwiches and sweets to share with the little boy, as he was from a very poor family.
He would lead her to new places that only he knew about, and protect her from all kinds of make-believe dangers with his wooden sword.
The little girl loved the little boy so so much, she would follow him anywhere, and always trusted him even when the boy played too rough or hurt himself by being dangerous.
She did not mind. The little girl was already wise, like most little girls, much wiser than little boys. She knew the boy had to learn by his mistakes.
The little boy loved the little girl so so much. His heart was full of joy when he was with her, and when the little girl held his hand, he felt like he was the luckiest boy in the world.
One day it happened…
The little boy was waiting by the pond on the edge of the forest with his toy boats and his sword; and the little girl did not come.
This was unusual, thought the boy, but he waited, and waited and waited.
All day he waited, until the sun went down.
He tried to play games on his own, it just wasn’t the same without her.
The story of the little girl
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see the boy that day, she did.
She had packed sandwiches and sweets as usual, and was just about to find her hobby horse Stardust, when two men on real horses galloped up to the little girls house.
The little girl stood still as stone, eyes as wide as saucers. And, without any ceremony at all, the men dismounted their horses, grabbed the little girl, bundled her on to one of the horses, and rode away.
She kicked and screamed and cried but it was no use at all, and in no time at all, she was far away from home in a land she never knew before.
Soon, she saw a large white castle with a high tower on a cliff in the distance.
And later that day she learned that that castle was to be her new home.
For, in fact, the little girl was a princess, she had been all her life, and only found out today.
Of course, she was afraid. She didn’t know how to be a princess, she was happy enough with her old life. And the boy? How she would miss playing with him!
What was she to do?
Time came and went and the little girl, now a young princess, got used to her new life.
She wanted for nothing, she even had a real horse now, which of course she called Stardust.
It had been a long time now, the young princess grew and grew, and learned how to be royal..
She still thought about her old life and the games she used to play with the little boy.
She wondered if she would ever see him again.
More and more time passed, and the little girl, who became a little princess, was now a young woman, who was soon to become queen of the entire land.
Although the princess quite like being a princess and everything that meant, such as servants and baths and jewels. And although she was growing to be a fine princess, being gracious and kind and fair, there was something, thought the princess, that was missing.
She thought long and hard, she should be so happy, as happy as a young princess could be.
Sometimes she couldn’t sleep because of this feeling.
Oh, what could it be?!
And then one night, when she was able to sleep, she had a dream of that little boy and the toy boats he used to sail.
She had been so busy being a royal princess that she had forgotten the little boy and all the magical adventures they had had.
With that dream in her mind, as well as all the memories it caused, she made up her mind that she would try and see that boy again.
And for the first time in a long time, since she was taken to the castle by the two men on horses, she felt afraid again.
So many things she thought about.
How was she to find him?
Where would she go?
And the king of the castle?
Surely he would not let her leave.
But the princess was brave and knew her own heart.
So one night, not too long after her dream, she sneaked down from her tower, to the stable where Stardust lived, and rode out of the castle as fast as she could.
Now the princess, having made up her mind, never looked back at the castle.
And even though, only looking ahead, it was such a dark night that she had steered her and the horse down a path that led to the cliffs.
And in a moment more, her and Stardust had galloped off a ledge, and plunged into the sea below!
The story of the little boy
On that day that he had waited, and such a long time he had waited, he had thought such terrible things.
Maybe the little girl didn’t want to play anymore, perhaps she had found another little boy to play with? Someone with nicer toys or someone who didn’t play as rough?
Even though these thoughts hurt his heart, the little boy did not stop waiting.
Deep down he was sure the little girl would come.
He didn’t mind waiting because he loved her so much.
Eventually though, the boy gave up his waiting.
What else could he do?
He didn’t even know where the little girl lived.
When the boy gave up waiting something else happened too.
He started to feel a great weight in his heart and a heaviness in his head.
Although he felt like crying he did not, because a long time ago he was told that boys don’t cry.
So he put all his sadness in a little corner of his heart and began a long lonely walk home.
The little boy noticed now, that whilst walking home through the forest, something had changed. The animals and trees who had once been his friends, were now ugly and scary to him.
Even at home he could not find joy, his poor heart still hurt.
He felt so different he could stand it no longer.
So, he decided to go for a long long journey,
Far away from home.
He had abandoned his toy boats the day he stopped waiting for the little girl.
However, he still loved boats and water.
He had heard stories of men who spend all their lives at sea, on great big boats, with great big sails.
That would be the life for him.
He did not even know where to go to find these men and their boats, but one day he left his home and just started walking.
The journey was long, and by the time he reached the sea, so many things had already happened to him, and so much time had passed that he was already a young man.
Before long the boy found a beautiful ship, bigger and more beautiful than he ever imagined.
And he asked the men on board, who called themselves pirates, if he could sail with them.
First they laughed at the boy, then they teased him.
Finally they told him that he could come aboard.
Now the Pirates were a rough bunch, who drank and fought and cursed.
But the little boy, who was now a young man, was used to playing rough.
And soon that young pirate was an older pirate who had a boat of his own.
One day he was standing on the deck when he saw through his telescope, the strangest thing he had ever seen, in all his time at sea.
A horse! Swimming!
And, what's more, a young woman, clinging in desperation, to the horses tail.
In a moment the young pirate had ordered the boat to change course and make its way to this strange sight.
Not long later the pirate and his crew, using ropes and winches, and lots of shouting, had pulled the young lady, and even the horse, onto the boat, and out of danger.
The pirate, who had never had a horse, or a girl for that matter, on his boat, didn’t quite know what to do with them.
He immediately thought that he could sell the horse for gold, for Pirates was selfish and thought often of money.
As for the girl, what would he do with her?
He didn't care much for girls, for he had known one once, one that he had loved.
And when he saw her no more, a part of his big heart had been lost forever….
Or so he thought.
The Pirate meets the Princess
Because the pirate was mean and tough, and didn't care much for girls, that as soon as she was on his boat, he had her locked in a cabin below the decks, where the mice and the spiders lived.
For many days he ignored her while he thought of what to do.
He could not make up his mind.
Maybe talking to her would help?
So he put on his best pirate outfit, took a deep breath, and went below decks to her cabin.
Now the princess had become used to her princess life, and was furious with the pirate for treating her so badly.
So, as soon as the pirate knocked on her door she shouted at him.
She shouted so fiercely that, although the pirate was big and strong, he became afraid of her, and almost ran back to his cabin.
Again days passed, and although he was scared now, he felt like he had to talk to her.
So again, he took a deep breath and knocked on her door.
Now the princess, remembering she was a princess, did not shout at the pirate this time.
She remembered that being kind and patient was much better than being angry.
So she allowed the pirate to come in, which was strange, because it was his boat after all!
Although the pirate was a little scared of the princess, he could not possibly let her know that.
So he puffed out his chest as he strolled around the cabin asking her questions.
And he made very sure that she noticed his sharp metal sword and his pistols.
The princess answered his questions, but she wasn’t afraid of him or his guns.
She knew he would not hurt her, for as she looked in his eyes she could sense a kindness in them; and a familiarity.
Similarly, as the pirate talked to her, he felt a part of his heart soften, and he started to look at her like he hadn't looked at a girl in many many years.
The pirate wasn’t used to feeling such things and decided that he needed some time just steering his boat, to try and understand why he felt this way.
For many hours the pirate stood alone behind the wheel of the ship.
Even his crew did not bother him
For they knew that when the captain was steering, he had something on his mind.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not shake these feelings for this strange new passenger on his ship.
Being true to his pirate ways, and now she had told him she was a princess, he ignored his heart.
Instead he decided he would take her to land and sell her for ransom!
He turned the ship to the nearest port, and decided he would send his best men to find the king of the land where the princess belonged.
Now the princess knew nothing of this plan, and was very bored of being locked below deck.
She sometimes felt angry with the pirate.
However, he did save her from drowning, and also she was wise enough to know that everything would be OK in the end.
As soon as the pirate ship reached the port, it was customary for all the crew to go ashore, and this was to include the princess.
The princess had been half drowned and semi conscious when she was pulled onto the ship.
She had also presumed the worst had happened to her beloved horse stardust.
So, when she saw him, trot elegantly down the gang plank, she was overjoyed, and cried his name out loud… “Stardust!!”
The pirate, who was busy with the boat, heard the princess cry out this name.
And in one single moment, remembered the little girl he played with, and her hobby horse which she called stardust.
In a single moment more, the pirate knew with certainty that this was indeed the little girl whom he used to play with.
And that part of his heart which was heavy simply exploded, and melted away.
With tears in his eyes, he walked straight over to the princess, and gazed at her directly, just the way he used to.
And that look was so intense, that the princess immediately knew who he was.
And the thing she felt was missing, was missing no longer.
And the pirates’ crew, who were watching all of this, who had never seen their big brave captain with tears in his eyes before, let out a tremendous cheer!
From this moment on, the princess’ and the pirates’ hearts were joined again.
They were both full to the brim with happiness.
The pirate no longer needed to sail at sea, but wanted to go back to his home, and to where he and the princess used to play.
So, they returned together, and he found that when he did, the animals and the trees of his old forest, were friendly and beautiful again!
And the princess found that actually, she didn't need to be a queen, or have riches and servants.
For they were both so happy as rulers of their own kingdom, that they lived peacefully in that wonderful forest.
Just the pirate, the princess and Stardust.
And, of course…
They all lived.
Happily ever after.
The End.
Comments