Princess Willow
 
 Chapter One
           In which Princess Willow looks for the lost Horse Prince, Little Tiny Horsey.
 Princess Willow was a little girl who lived in a small but beautiful castle with her mother and her father and her little sister, Zoe. The castle sat on a hill at the edge of a small town where Princess Willow would go shopping with her mother and father once a week. Behind the castle, down a long dirt path, was a large forest, where she would go for walks sometimes. Princess Willow was very happy and loved the beautiful castle with all the toys and games that she could play.
 One morning, while Princess Willow was playing her favorite game, the memory game, she heard a knock on the castle door.

 Knock knock knock!
 Princess Willow ran to the door and peered out the window to see who it was. Through the glass she saw her friend, Manilar the horse, King of the Horses, who lived on the other side of the big forest near Princess Willow’s castle. When her mother came to open the door, the Horse King Manilar spoke to Princess Willow.
 "Oh Princess Willow! The horses need your help! Little Tiny Horsey, our Prince, is lost in the forest! We know that you love the forest behind this castle, and you could find him there. We would like you to look for Little Tiny Horsey. Will you help us?"
 Princess Willow looked at her mother to ask if she could go look for the lost horse Prince. "Yes," said her mother, "you may go into the forest to look for Little Tiny Horsey."

 "Then of course I will help you," said Princess Willow to the horse King Manilar. "I will get ready now so I can leave today to look for Little Tiny Horsey in the forest."
 "Oh thank you, Princess Willow!" cried the King.

 Princess Willow went upstairs to her bedroom and gathered the things she would need to go on a trip to look for lost Little Tiny Horsey in the forest. She put on her strong boots for walking, her comfortable blue pants, and a red sweater to keep warm. Then she went downstairs to the kitchen and collected some food for her journey. Her mother and father helped her make some sandwiches and put them in her backpack. She put some juice, some cookies, and some carrots in there, too. Finally, Princess Willow was ready to go look for the lost Little Tiny Horsey in the forest.
 "Good luck!" cried her parents, and waved as Princess Willow walked out the door to find the Little Tiny Horsey.
 Princess Willow started down the path by her castle that led to the forest behind her house. As she was walking, the sun shone on her back and warmed her shoulders. It was a beautiful day, and Princess Willow knew that she would find the Little Tiny Horsey somewhere in the forest.
 As she walked down the hill away from her castle, Princess Willow saw a bright sparkle in the distance. It was purple and silver and flying through the air.

 "What is that shiny purple sparkle," wondered Princess Willow. "I will walk towards it and find out." Curious and confident, she started toward the shiny sparkle.
 As she came closer, Princess Willow saw that the sparkle was actually a little girl just like her, except this little girl had wings, and was flying in the air! Her bright purple and silver dress sparkled in the sun.
 "Hello!" called the Princess. "I am Princess Willow. I live in the castle on the hill behind us. Who are you?"
 "Hello!" replied the little girl, smiling at Princess Willow and flying closer to her. "I am Madeline, and I live on the edge of the forest."
 "How do you fly in the air like that?" asked Princess Willow, for she was very curious about this little girl with wings on her back.
 "I am a fairy," answered Madeline. "All fairies have wings, and we can fly. We can also do magic!" And with that, Madeline the Fairy spun through the air while bright purple sparkles flew from her fingers like a shiny purple rain shower.
 "That is wonderful!" said Princess Willow. "Since you live in the forest and can do some magic, maybe you can help me. I am looking for the horse prince, Little Tiny Horsey, who is lost in the forest."
 "I would be very happy to help you," replied the fairy Madeline. "Let’s go into the forest now and look for Little Tiny Horsey."
 So the two girls set out down the hill and into the big forest to look for the lost horse prince. As they walked together, they talked and talked, and before long, they had become fast friends. Princess Willow knew that she was very lucky to have met Madeline the Fairy, for she would have fun playing and talking with her.
 When Madeline the Fairy and Princess Willow entered the forest, they began to look around and call for the lost little horse.
 "Little Tiny Horsey" called Princess Willow. "Where are you? Are you under those bushes?"
 "Little Tiny Horsey!" called Madeline the Fairy. "Are you behind those trees? We are looking for you!"
 
 Princess Willow and the fairy walked and walked through the forest. They called and called, and looked and looked. They looked among the trees, and underneath the bushes, and behind the rocks. They looked up high and they looked down low. Princess Willow looked on the ground, and Madeline the Fairy flew up to look in the sky.

 After looking for the lost horse for a long time, Princess Willow and Madeline the Fairy became tired and stopped for a little while to eat some lunch. Princess Willow opened her backpack and took out the sandwiches and the juice and the cookies and the carrots. She knew that Madeline the Fairy had not brought any food with her, and so she broke her sandwiches in half and shared some with her new friend.

 After the two friends finished eating their lunch, Princess Willow decided that she needed to think for a little while. Just looking for the little horse in the big forest was too difficult, and Princess Willow realized that she needed to think carefully about their problem.

 "We are looking and looking for Little Tiny Horsey," said Princess Willow, "but we can’t find him. Maybe we need to think about where he could be."
 "Yes," said Madeline, "but how do we think about that?"
 "Well, what do we know about Little Tiny Horsey?" asked Princess Willow.
 "We know that he is lost in the forest," replied Madeline the Fairy.
 "Yes," said Princess Willow. "What else do we know?"
 "We know that he is small," said Madeline.
 "Yes," said Princess Willow. "Do we know anything else about Little Tiny Horsey?"
 "Hmm…" said Madeline the Fairy, thinking hard.
 "I know!" cried Princess Willow suddenly. "We also know that Little Tiny Horsey is probably scared right now!"
 "Scared?" asked Madeline.
 "Yes. He is lost and does not know where he is and can not go home to be with his parents. I think that Little Tiny Horsey is scared."
 "Oh, I understand!" exclaimed Madeline the Fairy. "So if Little Tiny Horsey is scared, we should look for places where a scared horse would hide until someone finds him."
 "Very good!" replied Princess Willow. "Come, let’s look for hiding places here in the forest." So Princess Willow and Madeline the Fairy cleaned up their lunch and set off to find hiding places in the forest.
 Princess Willow looked under thick bushes and Madeline the Fairy looked behind tall trees. Princess Willow called, "Little Tiny Horsey! We are looking for you! We know you are scared and we know you are hiding! We have come to take you home to your mother and father so you won’t be scared any more!"
 Suddenly Princess Willow saw a large log lying on the ground in front of her. Inside was a hole that was just the right size for a Little Tiny Horsey to hide in. Princess Willow peered into the dark hole in the end of the log. Inside she could see something moving!
 "Madeline!" cried Princess Willow. "I think there is someone inside this log!"
 Madeline flew over to look in the log, too.
 "Little Tiny Horsey, is that you?" called Princess Willow. "I am Princess Willow and this is my friend, Madeline the Fairy. We are here to help you go home!"
 Inside the dark log, something moved again. Princess Willow was a little bit scared, because she was not sure that it was the Little Tiny Horsey inside the log. What if inside the log was someone else? Princess Willow stood up, a little bit worried. She took a deep breath, and thought for a moment. Princess Willow knew that she had to find out if the Little Tiny Horsey was in the log, because she knew he needed her very much. So even though she was scared, Princess Willow looked inside the dark hole again. Princess Willow thought, "I will be very brave and find out what is in this log, even though it is a little scary."
 Crouched down in front of the log, Princess Willow called for the Little Tiny Horsey until suddenly she heard a horse’s neigh! She knew from that noise that it was indeed Little Tiny Horsey inside the log, and Princess Willow was not scared any more.

 She reached her hand inside the dark log and felt a small, furry nose. She stroked the furry nose gently. Finally, a little horse’s head came out from inside the log.

 "Little Tiny Horsey!" cried Princess Willow. "We are so happy to see you! We looked and looked in the whole forest to find you so you can go back to your mother the horse queen and your father the horse king."
 The Little Tiny Horsey finally came out from inside the log, and whinnied at Princess Willow and Madeline the Fairy. Princess Willow leapt over to the horsey and gave him a big hug to help him feel safe.
 
 
"Thank you for finding me!" said Little Tiny Horsey. "I was lost and scared, and so I hid inside that log until someone found me."
 "We are very glad we could find you," said Madeline the Fairy. "Let’s go back to your home so you can be with your mother and father again."
 "Yes," said Princess Willow. "Let’s go to your castle."
 So all three walked through the forest to Little Tiny Horsey’s castle. As they walked, they talked and talked, and all three knew that they would be good friends after the exciting adventure they had shared.
 When the three travelers arrived at the Little Tiny Horsey’s castle, Manilar the Horse King galloped over to his son, Little Tiny Horsey, and kissed him on the nose.

 "We are so happy you are back!" he exclaimed. "We missed you very much."
 "I was lost and scared," explained Little Tiny Horsey. "I could not find my way home until Princess Willow and her friend Madeline the Fairy found me inside a log where I was hiding."
 "Thank you so much for your help!" said Manilar the Horse King to Princess Willow and Madeline. "You were very brave and very smart to find our Prince."
 "Thank you," said Princess Willow. "I am so glad that Little Tiny Horsey is safe at home with his mother and father now."
 "Now it is time for you to go back to your own mother and father, Princess Willow," said Manilar the Horse King. "But you may come back and play with Little Tiny Horse any time you want."
 "Thank you," said Princess Willow. "I will. Good bye!"
 So Madeline the Fairy and Princess Willow left the horse castle and walked back through the forest towards home. When they came to the hill where Madeline and the other fairies lived, Madeline said, "I must go home now, but I am so glad we had this adventure together! I have leaned how to be brave and how to think carefully about a problem so I can solve it. Thank you, Princess Willow!"
 "You’re welcome!" replied Princess Willow. "I have learned from our adventure, too. And we have both made some new friends. We will visit with each other and play some other day."
 Princess Willow gave Madeline the Fairy a big hug and then walked back to her own home. Princess Willow knew that today she had a great adventure and wonderful luck because she had made new friends and learned many things.

 When she arrived at her own castle, she ran to her mother and father, who hugged her and kissed her and told her how proud they were that she had found Little Tiny Horsey.
 
 
"You are a smart and brave girl," they told her. "We are very proud of you."
 "Thank you, Mommy and Daddy," replied Princess Willow. "I loved my exciting adventure, but now I am very happy to be home."
 
 Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five |
 
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