The princess’s tale

Princess Lily

Princess Lily stood on the beach that Mark was busy making in the sand tray. She jumped up and down excitedly.

“I’ve never been to the seaside before,” she said. “I do hope I can go paddling!”

“The water will be cold,” Mark said. “But of course you can go in.”

Princess Lily looked at her beautiful silk dress and shoes. She must remember not to get them wet and dirty or her father the king would be upset. He spent lots of money buying her beautiful clothes.

But she was happy because Mark had chosen her to watch as he arranged pebbles and shells on the sand and planted trees near the rocks. He’d spread some doll’s house carpets underneath the trees for lego people to sit on. And then he’d brought the rest of the toys over.

“You sit here,” he told the pirates, “and you sit over there,” he told the baby bears and tigers.

The spiders and crocodiles sat in the sun on a large flat rock.

Then Mark went and fetched Princess Lily’s family – the king, the queen and the prince – to sit on an even bigger rock.

The whales and dolphins lay on the sand near the hole that Mark had dug for the sea. Princess Lily watched him carry water from the sink and pour it into the hole.

“Can I be the first to paddle?” she asked.

A loud voice shouted, “No, you can’t!”

Princess Lily jumped in shock. It was her father the king and he sounded really angry.

He marched over to her. “You are NOT to go in the water. You will ruin your royal dress.”

“But Father–?” Princess Lily pleaded.

The king shook his head sternly. “No. Definitely not!”

Lily felt very sad. She could see the whales already in the water. And the pirates were sailing up and down in their boat looking for treasure. Even the spiders were dipping their toes in.

Mark looked annoyed and made two crocodiles gnash their teeth at the king. Lily almost smiled – Mark was trying to frighten the king into changing his mind!

Suddenly, a quiet voice said, “Please, your majesty. May I help?”

A lego boy was standing next to the princess. He had a shiny red tracksuit in his hand, and held it out to the king.

“If the princess wears this for paddling, her dress and shoes will not be spoilt. She can change her clothes behind that tree over there.”

The king looked at the lego boy in surprise. Princess Lily held her breath and crossed her fingers.

“Er… you’re a very kind boy,” the king said finally. “Lily, say thank you.”

Princess Lily grinned happily at her new friend and ran off to change.

A minute later, she was splashing and paddling in her borrowed tracksuit, chucking water at the lego boy and laughing with him as they tried to catch fish.

After a while, Mark called, “Bedtime, everybody! Last one asleep is a crab!”

And before the king could say “Rascally pirates!” all the toys were tucked up on the warm sand, dreaming of waves and seas and oceans – and the distant lands they would travel to when they were much older.

The moral of this story is that doing kind things for other people is more important than having expensive clothes and lots of money.