Children’s Story: Princess Mi-Ah doesn’t want to sleep alone

(or Princess Mi-Ah and the Vasril Dragon)

Are there more of you parents out there that share this situation? Mi-Ah is terrified of sleeping alone. I asked her why, and she said she was afraid of thunderstorms. While it does rain here often, thunderstorms are infrequent. I remember being afraid of them when I was a kid, but only as they were happening, not afraid of the possibility of them happening.

We’ve tried every method we could get our hands on to get her to sleep on her own. But we’re softies so we’ve resorted to staying with her until she falls asleep every night. Less pain for her, thus less pain for us. I can just hear all of you parents out there tsking away, thinking how weak we are. Well we are. Especially ME. I can’t deal with either of our children crying for too long.

So since I’ve been writing the Princess Mi-Ah stories, the sleeping problem came up as an interesting theme. The result is this story.

I wanted a magical creature that would help her feel safe during sleep. At the toyshop, I looked at the stuffed animals and spotted this stuffed dragon. It obviously fit in with the princess/castle theme so I worked it into the story. She was delighted with the dragon when I showed it to her in the middle of the story, but well, it wasn’t as much of a hit as I hoped. Too bad!

This is, by far, the longest  Princess Mi-Ah story I’ve written. But also the only one where I thoroughly worked out the plot in advance.  What do you think of it?

 

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess. Her name was Princess Mi-Ah. Princess Mi-Ah lived in a castle on top of a hill. The hill was covered with flowers. Princess Mi-Ah loves flowers….

Princess Mi-Ah was in tears. “But I don’t want to sleep alone! I’m afraid! One of you has to stay with me! What if there’s a thunderstorm?”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of! There is no thunderstorm! The sky’s perfectly clear!” The King was becoming exasperated. “Your room and this castle are very safe, even if there is a storm. Nothing can happen. I promise.”

“Noooooo! I don’t want to sleep alone! I CAN’T sleep alone!” wailed Princess Mi-Ah, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“SIGH… Okay. I’ll stay with you again tonight. But tomorrow, I would like you to visit Aldar the Old. Maybe he can help you with your sleeping situation.” The King lay down to sleep on a mattress near Princess Mi-Ah’s bed.

 

The next morning, Princess Mi-Ah set off for the Red Tower where Aldar the Old locked himself away with his many, many books. It was called the Red Tower because it had reddish-toned stones that were used to fix the tower, but this was a long, long time ago. Before she was even born.

Aldar the Old was famous throughout the kingdom as a wise, wise man. He had spent his whole lifetime studying all of his ancient books. He had thousands of books in his study and knew what was inside of them all. Many came to visit him for far away lands, whether it had to do with the politics or treating serious illnesses. Princess Mi-Ah’s problem should be a easy to solve compared to those more difficult situations. At least one would hope so.

Children’s Story: Princess Mi-Ah and the Giant Spider

The scary stories continue.  These are the only types she seems to like now.  In the beginning, I thought I should keep the stories mild in nature, but she finds those so boring now.  And frankly, I find those ‘nice’ stories boring myself.  I guess these kids are smarter than we give them credit for sometimes.  They know when you are holding back the good stuff.

DEAR READER, what do you think?  Would love to hear your feedback regarding suitability of this story or the ‘Dark Forest’ one for your child.  I enjoyed Harry Potter, and found those pretty ‘scary’ too, albeit those are not meant for small children.  I don’t find mine any less scary.  Your thoughts?

I was struggling awhile with the plot for this particular story.  I knew I wanted to write about a big spider, but wasn’t sure what would happen once Princess Mi-Ah and the spider met.  Okay, obviously she gets scared, but then what?  What lesson could I teach here?  So yes, the spider is scary and evil.  But despite this, Princess Mi-Ah learns about empathy, believe it or not.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess.  Her name was Princess Mi-Ah.  Princess Mi-Ah lived in a castle on top of a hill.  The hill was covered with flowers.  Princess Mi-Ah loves flowers….

They were playing on the floor, on a soft thick rug.  Princess Mi-Ah was assembling a puzzle of a large dragon spewing flames and smoke.  Prince Boerie was playing with a wooden toy horse that was pulling along a small wooden cart. 

As Princess Mi-Ah was laying down some puzzle pieces that brought her close to the wall, she accidentally knocked her elbow against it.  POP!  A hidden panel in the wall suddenly swung open!  They looked at it, and then at each other, in complete shock.

They stood up to take a closer look, and found themselves peering down a dark stairway.  A glowing green flame encased within a glass lantern hung on the wall.  What kind enchanted fire was this?  To burn green instead of the usual red and orange and yellow flames?

“Oooh!  It looks very scary!  What do you think…  Do we go in or not?” asked Prince Boerie.

“Well….  Secret doors are always meant to hide something special.  But what?” wondered Princess Mi-Ah out loud.  “I say we go!”  She grabbed the lantern and her brother’s hand, and they stepped inside together.