The Prophecy and the Runaway Frog

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Jasmyn often dreamed of flying. One night, she flew on the back of a bird to a new land. The bird grew tired even though Jasmyn was light as a feather. She landed in a ring of stones, and her bird friend tucked its head under its wing and slept.

Jasmyn could hear a stream, but she could not see it. She followed the musical sound, and found the stream through a bank of yellow irises. Jasmyn wandered for a time, smelling flowers and rolling down the hills, without getting any green stains on her dress, for this was an enchanted place.

She sat, braiding gerber daisies into a crown, when she chanced to see a frog hopping madly down over the top of the hill. It skirted the stone circle and plunged down toward the stream. So intent was the frog on rushing down the hill, he didn’t see Jasmyn until too late, and she scooped him right up.

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My first award, woo-hoo!


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Thank you to Julianne Victoria at Through the Peacock’s Eyes for making one of my dreams come true today, an award for friendly fairy tales. She is an inspiring person with great things to say about yoga, tarot, poetry, philosophy and a whole lot more. I hope you will be able to visit her website. I hear she is writing fairy tales, too, and I can’t wait to see them.

Having thanked Julianne Victoria, I now have to tell you 7 unknown things about myself and then nominate 10 other lucky bloggers (with notices and links going out to them).

A story is coming soon(1)! In the meantime, I’ve planted sage, parsley, thyme, tomatoes, cucumbers, meadow sage and peonies today(2). One of the tomato varieties is a zebra stripe. A new adventure in cuisine for us(3).

I also took a long walk(4), thinking of flowers, magic, sunshine and friendship(5). Oh, and sugar, since I stopped at Starbucks (6). 🙂 Here are some things I saw on my way (7):

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Thanks for coming on my journey with me. I hope to meet you at my site again soon!

Other lovely bloggers I hereby nominate (in no particular order):

I hope you like them as much as I do!

Prince Columbine

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Prince Columbine hung his head like the flower he was named for. His father, King Pine, wanted him to become a judge in the court, but Prince Columbine never had the right words. His sister, Princess Starflower, could talk rings around him.

“I would give anything to sit in the court like you do,” she said, failing to understand how he could be sad about it, her golden hair falling in petals around her glowing face. “If you had just told Farmer Wednesday that you would check the records and get back to her about the boundary marker, all would have gone well. Why did you have to tell her that a foot one way or the other doesn’t matter? Of course it matters to her.”

“Well, when you put it like that, I get it. She was so angry. It just didn’t seem that important.”

The princess huffed and gave up on him. “Ugh, if I see one more bleeding cut, I’m going to throw up!” she insisted.

“Why don’t we switch for a day?” Prince Columbine had always enjoyed assisting the healer when he had the chance. He knew his father would disapprove, but he did not think he would be angry. “Let’s tell the healers and ministers we have father’s approval, and then hope he’s busy all day. Then he won’t notice! He has plans to tour the castle walls with his architects.”

“I love the idea!” And so they switched.

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Fairy Princess Shinobu and the Samurai Rats

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Once upon a time, there was a very angry fairy princess. Her mother was Queen Red Leaf. Her court lived in a Japanese maple beside a small lantern in the Azalea Garden. Her mother was warring with the samurai rats living under the Bridge of Singing Water. She had allied with the Orange Blossom fairies. The fairies of both courts encircled the Wren Palace.

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The Queen’s Ruin

Queen StatueLiam took a walking tour with his parents through Shrewsbury Castle gardens. On the edge of the Severn River, a tour guide named Julia waved Liam’s group into a ruin with broken columns and wall fragments, some with windows still framing the soft Shropshire sunshine.

“This is the Queen’s Ruin,” said Julia, the tour guide. “Queen Maud and her cousin Stephen battled for the throne of England. At one point, Queen Maud is said to have taken refuge here, and after she left, Stephen pulled it to the ground, leaving only ruins. This statue in the flowers is said to be of Queen Maud as a young woman, descended of kings, married to a king and mother to a king.”

Liam looked at the statue for long minutes as the rest of the tour continued on to the archways of blooming wisteria. She looked so peaceful there in the shadows of the lilacs. Unfortunately, both arms were broken off of the white marble. Liam was sad to see her damaged.

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