For now, he was just “the boy” or, when he pulled legendary shenanigans like setting the entire kitchen ablaze in the attempt to roast marshmallows or when he thought all the war horses in the stable should have decorated hindquarters…
Well, then he might be called, “LOUISSSSSSSS!”
Well, then he might be called, “LOUISSSSSSSS!”
The boy was definitely different. He liked to draw pictures on his arms when the Tutor wasn’t paying attention. He loved to eat marshmallow sandwiches, marshmallow salad, even marshmallows in his macaroni and cheese! The boy loved marshmallows! He also had many collections, though nothing specific or conventional. He collected mismatched stockings. He collected the bent or broken horseshoes from the stables. He collected the flat dough Chef threw out from the kitchen. You could say he was a collector of collections. He had his own room in the castle, high up in one of the drum towers off the Great Hall. (In case you live in a regular house, a drum tower is a tower built in a castle off of an outer wall and the Great Hall is the main living area inside the castle). His room contained so many “collections”… once, a scullery maid got lost for two days before finding her way out!
The most peculiar thing about the boy was his favorite color. The boy loved pink. Washerwoman accidently cleaned the castle linens with a red stocking one day, turning everything cotton candy pink. The boy “collected” these magnificent linens from the alms pile and decorated his room with pink curtains, pink bed covers and he even made himself a pink cape and a very clever pink hat!
This caused his father, the king, great distress. He sent in the royal interior decorator to persuade the boy. He commissioned artists to educate him, which didn’t work either but the boy’s arm drawings became quite exceptional! Finally, he sent in the court counselor whose job it was to change his mind…or else!
“Why must it be pink? That is truly an awful color! What about green, like our beautiful valley?” said the counselor.
The boy just shook his head and wrapped himself tightly into his pink cape.
This caused his father, the king, great distress. He sent in the royal interior decorator to persuade the boy. He commissioned artists to educate him, which didn’t work either but the boy’s arm drawings became quite exceptional! Finally, he sent in the court counselor whose job it was to change his mind…or else!
“Why must it be pink? That is truly an awful color! What about green, like our beautiful valley?” said the counselor.
The boy just shook his head and wrapped himself tightly into his pink cape.
When the court counselor failed to change the boy, drastic measures were taken. The king was desperate! He ordered all pink garments and bed covers burned! He demanded the pink rose bushes and blushing peach trees snipped and picked clean. He also ordered ALL brussels sprout stalks pulled up and removed. (But that was slipped in because he just really hated brussels sprouts and the queen wasn’t paying attention.)
That was the very day the boy decided to run away. He packed his pink pillowcase full of marshmallow fluffy sandwiches, a few of his “collections” and slipped out the kitchen garden, never to be seen again.
The most unfortunate thing about the boy’s exodus was that his parents really did love him and would miss him. To make things much, much worse, there happened to be a ferocious angry dragon flying amuck in the beautiful valley. It burned the barley fields. It ate the sheep. It overturned rock walls and broke apart the villagers’ homes. This dragon was a much feared menace and the boy wandered alone and unprotected straight into the dragon’s lair.
The most unfortunate thing about the boy’s exodus was that his parents really did love him and would miss him. To make things much, much worse, there happened to be a ferocious angry dragon flying amuck in the beautiful valley. It burned the barley fields. It ate the sheep. It overturned rock walls and broke apart the villagers’ homes. This dragon was a much feared menace and the boy wandered alone and unprotected straight into the dragon’s lair.
It was a quiet cave nestled in the king’s forest with a pond outside the entrance, full of silvery fish and lily pads floating on the surface. The flowers poking out of the water were a shade of pink the boy had never seen. They were beautiful. The boy snapped a very small one and put it in his pillowcase. He felt SO tired from walking SO far that he decided to slip into the cave and take a nap. He must have been tired because he did not even notice the inside of the cave was made of rose quartz. If you have never seen rose quartz, it is a soft milky shade of pink. A cavern of pink, filled with a dragon.
“What is that SMELL?” roared the dragon.
Although the boy was very scared, he could not stop looking at the amazing creature in front of him. It was a pink dragon! Not a loud, bright pink but a fleshy pale pink with diamond scales that glittered and pearl pieces that glowed their own soft light.
“You’re magnificent!” whispered the boy, all fear forgotten.
Now, the dragon could hear the boy. The dragon could definitely smell the boy, but in his pink cape and pink hat, the boy blended in to the rose quartz walls of the cavern.
“Who is there? What is that smell? It smells PINK!”
The boy pulled out his marshmallow fluffy sandwiches and tossed one to the dragon, which disturbed the dragon a bit because it appeared to be a sandwich chucked right out of the wall!
“These are my favorite sandwiches; peanut butter and marshmallow on soft bread. I never thought about it, but they do smell pink, don’t they!” and the boy laughed, “My name is LOUISSSSSSSS! But, you can call me “boy”. Most people do.”
Although the boy was very scared, he could not stop looking at the amazing creature in front of him. It was a pink dragon! Not a loud, bright pink but a fleshy pale pink with diamond scales that glittered and pearl pieces that glowed their own soft light.
“You’re magnificent!” whispered the boy, all fear forgotten.
Now, the dragon could hear the boy. The dragon could definitely smell the boy, but in his pink cape and pink hat, the boy blended in to the rose quartz walls of the cavern.
“Who is there? What is that smell? It smells PINK!”
The boy pulled out his marshmallow fluffy sandwiches and tossed one to the dragon, which disturbed the dragon a bit because it appeared to be a sandwich chucked right out of the wall!
“These are my favorite sandwiches; peanut butter and marshmallow on soft bread. I never thought about it, but they do smell pink, don’t they!” and the boy laughed, “My name is LOUISSSSSSSS! But, you can call me “boy”. Most people do.”
The dragon swallowed the marshmallow fluffy sandwich in one bite, licking the sticky off the side of its mouth.
“That was… do you have any more?” asked the dragon.
“Of course, I do!” said the boy. He was about to toss another sandwich when the dragon lifted its clawed hand.
“Wait! Can you please not pitch it at my face? I promise not to eat you, if you will just hand it to me.” Understandably, the dragon didn’t know what kind of magical creature this LOUISSSSSSSS was with its delicious pink sandwiches and invisibility trick, but dragons are NOT stupid. All dragons love knowledge and knowing is the most wonderful collection a dragon can possess. They do love treasure (and sheep) but being the smartest of all creatures is their greatest passion! What a puzzle this LOUISSSSSSS was! What is invisible, smells like pink and conjures the most delicious meal from thin air? The dragon found that it actually meant its promise! That was a good thing too, because the boy handed the dragon another sandwich with no thought as to whether the dragon would eat him instead of the sandwich! As the boy reached up, hands full of marshmallow fluffy sandwiches, his hat slipped back and his cape billowed out to reveal a human child.
“That was… do you have any more?” asked the dragon.
“Of course, I do!” said the boy. He was about to toss another sandwich when the dragon lifted its clawed hand.
“Wait! Can you please not pitch it at my face? I promise not to eat you, if you will just hand it to me.” Understandably, the dragon didn’t know what kind of magical creature this LOUISSSSSSSS was with its delicious pink sandwiches and invisibility trick, but dragons are NOT stupid. All dragons love knowledge and knowing is the most wonderful collection a dragon can possess. They do love treasure (and sheep) but being the smartest of all creatures is their greatest passion! What a puzzle this LOUISSSSSSS was! What is invisible, smells like pink and conjures the most delicious meal from thin air? The dragon found that it actually meant its promise! That was a good thing too, because the boy handed the dragon another sandwich with no thought as to whether the dragon would eat him instead of the sandwich! As the boy reached up, hands full of marshmallow fluffy sandwiches, his hat slipped back and his cape billowed out to reveal a human child.
“You! You’re a… a… two-legger! But…” Despite all of the knowledge the dragon had collected throughout its long life, this was something… different. Unexpected. It was… new!
The boy giggled, “Two-legger! That’s funny! “
The dragon cocked its head at the sound, as it had never heard a giggle before, “You’re bubbling something out of your mouth that sounds pink! What was that?”
The boy laughed even louder!
“I’ve never met anyone who loved pink more than I do. Laughing does make me feel pink in my insides.”
“I think I will add you to my treasures. You are quite special. Then I will be able to eat these pink sandwiches anytime I want. I am quite tired of sheep, too wooly.”
The boy giggled, “Two-legger! That’s funny! “
The dragon cocked its head at the sound, as it had never heard a giggle before, “You’re bubbling something out of your mouth that sounds pink! What was that?”
The boy laughed even louder!
“I’ve never met anyone who loved pink more than I do. Laughing does make me feel pink in my insides.”
“I think I will add you to my treasures. You are quite special. Then I will be able to eat these pink sandwiches anytime I want. I am quite tired of sheep, too wooly.”
“Oh, you can’t do that. My mom and dad would be very worried if they never saw me again and I only have two sandwiches left. Chef makes them for me.”
“What is this ‘chef’?” asked the dragon.
“She lives at the castle and cooks pies, roasts meat… she bakes the softest bread in all the kingdoms. And, she is the only one who knows the secret marshmallow recipe.”
“What is this ‘chef’?” asked the dragon.
“She lives at the castle and cooks pies, roasts meat… she bakes the softest bread in all the kingdoms. And, she is the only one who knows the secret marshmallow recipe.”
The dragon had never collected so much knowledge in such a small amount of time! It was almost too much to think about at once. What a fabulous little creature this two-legger was!
“You will definitely be my treasure, two-legger LOUISSSSSSSSS. As my new acquisition, I solemnly swear to guard you with my life and love you dearly, forever and ever.” With that, the dragon lowered its head to the boy’s face and abruptly flipped out a long, sticky tongue, swishing and swiping up all the marshmallow and peanut butter stuck to the boy’s cheek.
It tickled like a prickly cat tongue which made the boy giggle more. He had never been collected before and it felt wet and sticky. But, he liked it.
“You will definitely be my treasure, two-legger LOUISSSSSSSSS. As my new acquisition, I solemnly swear to guard you with my life and love you dearly, forever and ever.” With that, the dragon lowered its head to the boy’s face and abruptly flipped out a long, sticky tongue, swishing and swiping up all the marshmallow and peanut butter stuck to the boy’s cheek.
It tickled like a prickly cat tongue which made the boy giggle more. He had never been collected before and it felt wet and sticky. But, he liked it.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, the king and queen were frantic. They mustered all of the king’s men to search for the boy, but no one could find him. Chef baked twelve of her softest white loaves in the hopes of luring the boy back with the delectable aroma of baking bread.
As the sun slipped behind the trees, the queen began to cry, thinking all hope was lost. Her clever, collecting boy was gone forever! Before the king could comfort her, an alarm was raised and someone yelled, “Dragon! DRAGON !”
As if matters could not have gotten worse, a monster soared toward the castle! Knights armed themselves and stood ready to shoot the dragon. Chef’s bread baking must have lured the angry beast straight to the castle!
Bows were stretched and arrows were notched. The crowd held their breath waiting, wondering what would become of their beautiful little town nestled in the green valley. The dragon had never flown so close to the castle and yet, nearer it soared. Nearer and nearer, until….
“Is that my son?” cried the queen who always had exceptionally good eyesight!
One of the archers concurred that, indeed, there was a pink fluttering cape with doodled arms wrapped around the dragon’s neck. And one could catch a very faint but audible “Woo-hooooooo” upon the wind.
As the sun slipped behind the trees, the queen began to cry, thinking all hope was lost. Her clever, collecting boy was gone forever! Before the king could comfort her, an alarm was raised and someone yelled, “Dragon! DRAGON !”
As if matters could not have gotten worse, a monster soared toward the castle! Knights armed themselves and stood ready to shoot the dragon. Chef’s bread baking must have lured the angry beast straight to the castle!
Bows were stretched and arrows were notched. The crowd held their breath waiting, wondering what would become of their beautiful little town nestled in the green valley. The dragon had never flown so close to the castle and yet, nearer it soared. Nearer and nearer, until….
“Is that my son?” cried the queen who always had exceptionally good eyesight!
One of the archers concurred that, indeed, there was a pink fluttering cape with doodled arms wrapped around the dragon’s neck. And one could catch a very faint but audible “Woo-hooooooo” upon the wind.
The queen and king hugged each other in relief and called an immediate “cease fire” to all of the archers who were ready to shoot. The whole town watched as the dragon and the boy circled slowly around and around, descending in a large downward spiral, down and down and down, until they touched the ground gently in the middle of the courtyard. (In case you’ve never lived in a castle, the courtyard is a big yard enclosed by walls, usually with shrubberies and statues and stuff.)
“LOUISSSSSSSSSS!” yelled the king. “What the double deuce is going on here?”
The boy slid from the back of the dragon and ran to his parents.
“I’m a collectable! I’m a collectable! Don’t hurt my dragon! Tell Chef we need A LOT of marshmallow fluffy sandwiches now!” The boy was so happy his cheeks flushed bright and rosy. The king touched the boy’s pink. cheek and shook his head, laughing.
“I well and truly missed my pink prince! I think that is my new favorite color!”
The villagers cheered because they kind of missed the roses and peaches (and the brussels sprouts) And, really, a happy king and queen are far better to be ruled by than an unhappy royal family.
“LOUISSSSSSSSSS!” yelled the king. “What the double deuce is going on here?”
The boy slid from the back of the dragon and ran to his parents.
“I’m a collectable! I’m a collectable! Don’t hurt my dragon! Tell Chef we need A LOT of marshmallow fluffy sandwiches now!” The boy was so happy his cheeks flushed bright and rosy. The king touched the boy’s pink. cheek and shook his head, laughing.
“I well and truly missed my pink prince! I think that is my new favorite color!”
The villagers cheered because they kind of missed the roses and peaches (and the brussels sprouts) And, really, a happy king and queen are far better to be ruled by than an unhappy royal family.
The dragon cautiously approached the king and queen as they hugged the boy. It lowered its head, bowing in the gentle tradition of peace.
“I have claimed this two-legger as my cherished possession to love and protect for the duration of my long, long life. I hope you will honor that bond and, in a show of good faith, I solemnly do swear in exchange for pink sandwiches on the softest white bread in the kingdom, I will never again swallow a single sheep or topple your tiny village huts.” Silence loomed as everyone held their breath, waiting to hear what the king’s reaction would be.
“Two-legger, that’s funny!” the king giggled. A giggling king is infectious, if you didn’t know. So, the queen started to giggle. Then, everyone was giggling!
“I have claimed this two-legger as my cherished possession to love and protect for the duration of my long, long life. I hope you will honor that bond and, in a show of good faith, I solemnly do swear in exchange for pink sandwiches on the softest white bread in the kingdom, I will never again swallow a single sheep or topple your tiny village huts.” Silence loomed as everyone held their breath, waiting to hear what the king’s reaction would be.
“Two-legger, that’s funny!” the king giggled. A giggling king is infectious, if you didn’t know. So, the queen started to giggle. Then, everyone was giggling!
Suddenly, Chef ran out, cheeks puffing, with an enormous blue bowl of muffins. Strawberry muffins! The pinkest, most perfectly round muffins!
The dragon sniffed the steam rising from the muffins so deeply; several flew up and stuck straight into the dragon’s nostrils! Chef had been so scared of the dragon, she froze in fear. But when she saw the large pink dragon with two muffins stuck up its nose, she broke into hysterical fits of laughter.
“Are you ‘the chef’?” asked the dragon and the muffins dropped into its mouth.
“I am the greatest chef in the kingdom, my dear blushing behemoth! Would you like to try some strawberry muffins that have not been stuck up your nose?”
The dragon sniffed the steam rising from the muffins so deeply; several flew up and stuck straight into the dragon’s nostrils! Chef had been so scared of the dragon, she froze in fear. But when she saw the large pink dragon with two muffins stuck up its nose, she broke into hysterical fits of laughter.
“Are you ‘the chef’?” asked the dragon and the muffins dropped into its mouth.
“I am the greatest chef in the kingdom, my dear blushing behemoth! Would you like to try some strawberry muffins that have not been stuck up your nose?”
With that, the entire village made to the Great Hall where all of the Chef’s delicious creations spread out on table after table. Platters of pastries and loaves of hot white bread were nestled next to vats of fresh peanut butter and mounds of marshmallow. More strawberry muffins rested near wheels of white and yellow cheese. The pecks of peaches that had been picked earlier were brought back in, soft and perfect. The king and queen happily sat eating and rejoicing with their son and his very large pink dragon at the head table of the Great Hall.
All night the grand party celebrated the return of the Pink Prince who tamed the angry dragon and restored roses, peaches, peace...and brussels sprouts…to the little kingdom that lay overlooking the mountains, nestled in a green valley.
All night the grand party celebrated the return of the Pink Prince who tamed the angry dragon and restored roses, peaches, peace...and brussels sprouts…to the little kingdom that lay overlooking the mountains, nestled in a green valley.
- The End!