I wrote 1900 words this morning. My daughter was sick and throwing up. There was no time for me to sleep, just time to clean up and type a few words before the next wave hit. Well, she asked me to tell her a story, it started with a girl living in the forest who found some beautiful flowers... and the story turned into this:
(Definitely not finished, by any means. But tell me what you think... Hope you enjoy.)
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in the forest with her Mother and Father. The little girl loved to walk in the forest to gather pinecones of all shapes and sizes. While gathering pinecones, she’d also find wild flowers and lace them together to make flowery crowns to wear on her head. She’d find all sorts of flowers: mainly blue, yellow, and purple.
While out searching for pinecones, the little girl came upon some beautiful little orange flowers. She liked them very much. She had never seen any that color before. So, she picked them and made an orange flower crown.
She arranged the pinecones in her own particular way and pretended she was a princess. Each pinecone would be a member of her court and the girl would do what every little princess would do - give orders, but nicely.
“Okay, Butler,” she would say pointing to a tall pinecone surrounded by several other pinecones. “Let in the guests.”
“Cook, what will we have to eat? I am the princess, and I say we will have cake and ice cream for breakfast!”
“Maid, after you’re done making my bed, go and get some breakfast.” The girl got on her hands and knees on the forest floor, her mouth close to the ‘maid’ pinecone and whispered, “It’s cake and ice cream!”
The girl heard Mother call for her. Turning around in a circle to see all of her pinecone people, she curtseying quickly and said, “Oh, you’ll have to excuse me. The Queen is calling.”
Running nimbly through the forest in her brown and worn leather boots, she dodged fallen trees and new pine sprigs along the path she had taken. It took a little longer to get home in the woods. She had travelled further than normal that morning.
If she hadn’t been living in the forest all her life, she might have ran right past it. The little log cottage blended in well in the forest. It was covered with twigs from the trees surrounding it. From the small hill above, it looked just like the rest of the forest floor.
The sun was high in the sky now. It must be time for lunch.
Down the hill and into the house the girl ran.
“Ah, there you are,” Mother said with a welcoming smile on her face. Used to her daughter’s flower crowns, but amazed at the new orange flowers, “Oh, what a pretty new crown. Very elegant.” The girl smiled and did a fancy curtsey.
“It’s time for lunch, your Majesty.” Mother bent down next to the girl’s ear while stirring batter for biscuits, “Daddy, caught a rabbit this morning. We’re having a rabbit stew today.”
A smile crept on the girl’s face. She liked it when they had rabbit stew instead of just vegetables and mushrooms.
“Ooooh! My compliments to the chef and hunter.”
Mother poured a bowl for herself, the girl and Father. On cue, he walked in carrying two new furry mittens he had been tanning and curing since the last catch. “Look what I have for you, Little One.” He placed the mittens in the girl’s cupped hands in front of her. She looked closely and admired the careful stitching. “Just in time for the winter season coming upon us.” Father was pleased with the girl’s fascination and attention to detail she was taking in. He stroked her hair behind the flower crown and then kissed her forehead.
Mother chimed in, “After lunch, we’ll be traveling into town today. Father has some more wood to sell for the people to warm their homes living close to the castle. And I just finished spinning the last of the wool this morning. They’ll be needing it to make winter sweaters before long.” Mother looked to Father as if sharing a secret only told between eyes, then looked back to her daughter, “But I did manage to save a spool or two to make yours already.” Mother smiled really big with a little slyness at the tips. “I might have even dyed it with the berries you helped pick.” She winked, “It’s on your bed.”
The girl ran to the ladder that led to her bed in the loft and rushed straight to the sweater on her bed. It was the perfect shade of purple. The knitting pattern Mother used this year was much more elaborate than last year. She felt the ribbed designs and swirls... and a hood!
High-pitched girlish squeals started from up above the dining table.
Down she came with the sweater and twirled it around as if a gown to wear to a Ball.
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They go into town.
While selling their wares, a finely dressed man came to buy some wool and noticed the girl’s flower crown. He asked the family to come and show it to the King.
They come to the King’s palace and are shown to the King. He is surprised at the flowers and asked where she found them. They were the late Queen’s favorite flower from her kingdom from far away. It was hard to travel there often, but those were her favorite flower from there. Orange her favorite color.
She tells him that she walks in the forest and found them on a walk she took that morning. And that she likes to pretend that she’s a princess to pinecones she collects.
The King introduces her to his daughter, the Princess. They become friends.
The Princess had made a trip with the Queen once to her kingdom and fell in love with the flowers of her mother’s choice also.
The two girls write letters to each other. The little girl sends a flower from her flower crown in each letter she sends.
The next time she finds the same flowers before the first hard snow, she wants to pick them to press and send to the Princess. As she picks the first flower, a fairy appears.
She asks the girl to not pick any more of the rare flowers.
The girl pleads her cause for the Princess who misses her mother and how they (the Princess and Queen) shared a love for same flower from the far away kingdom.
The fairy enchanted the flower that the girl picked. The seeds would grow big and beautifully anywhere they were planted, and when picked and shared, would bring joy to others’ sorrows.
The little girl was sad. She wanted to press one for herself, but she also knew how much flower would mean to the Princess. And she could only pick the one.
She thought long and hard about what the fairy said. When she got home, she told of her plight to her parents.
They put their arms around their daughter and understood her plight. Then, Mother said, “You know, dear Sweet One, we find joy in our little home in the big woods, where there are many different kinds of flowers. And the Princess and Queen both favor this flower which the fairy enchanted to help lift others’ sorrows. They are surrounded by people that might need that and is harder to find than it is for us here in our little home and family.” Father agreed. “Whatever choice you make, we will support you.”
The girl pressed the flower to preserve it in the letter she’d send. If she sent it.
Do I plant the flower to enjoy the flowers myself and send to the Princess to keep being her friend and pen pal, or do I send it to her to plant and help the many people around her who might need it too? This is such a big choice for such a little girl as me.
She had done as her parents had taught her and prayed at her bedside each night that week. It was time to send a letter to the Princess. the girl looked at the book where she had the flower pressing all week. She made her decision.
When the letter carrier came, it was her friend. He was a little older and had acquired a pay to carry letters to and from the castle and forest.
He recognized the familiar address and seal from the girl. He’d been carrying the letters between the two friends for the past month. The letter was thinner than normal. No bump where there was usually a flower inside. “No flower today?” he asked.
“I ran out of the flowers in my crown. Thanks again for delivering the letter,” the girl went for another walk after telling Mother where she was going. She didn’t want Mother to worry.
The boy carried the thin letter to the castle and gave it to one of the servants. It made its way to the Maid, who then gave it to the Princess.
The Princess opened the letter and out fell a pressed flower into her hand. She read the note with specific instructions about the enchanted flower.
The next letter the little girl received from the Princess was the very next day. (Sometimes it took a few days to travel.)
Inside was the flower she had pressed the previous week. And a seed. Inside the note read, “I specifically told my letter carrier to make sure this got to you today. The flower you sent had two seeds in it. I kept one and sent one back to you. I wanted to plant it at the same time together in our own little paradises. Plant your seed when the sun is high in the sky - at noon. Today. And I will do the same here. Then we can enjoy our plants growing together at the same time. Thank you for being my friend. And your sacrifice has inspired me to be the Princess my mother, the Queen wants me to be. Forever your friend, the Princess.”
The girl rand outside, the sun was almost in its noon position. She looked around her yard area of the forest floor. She picked the perfect spot that got plenty of sunshine everyday, just like where she picked them. When the sun was overhead, she planted her seed, thinking of her friend doing the same at her castle.
They waited through the winter, still writing their letters, dreaming of when they’d begin to sprout and bloom. As the winter began to fade away, the last of the snow starting to show the ground underneath, a gentle green sprout pressed its way out of the ground. It grew and spread to fill the area the girl had planted it. She received a letter from the Princess that week. Hers were doing the same.
(describe the girl - events leading to checking on the plant, when she sees the first flower.
And despite the snow, the first blossom appeared. Immediately, she ran in the house and jotted down in scribbly writing and a rough picture she’d drawn of her first flower.
The next day, she got a letter. Much the same as hers.
They continued to write to eachother. The Princess told her the stories of those she’d given flowers to. The girl told her that they’d used some of the flowers to dye the sheep’s wool that we’d take in to town to sell. I even made something for you with some of it. Mama’s been teaching me. Hope you like it.”
It was a doll with an orange dress and orange hair.
