The Four Brave Princesses: A Fairy Tale

Chapter 1: in which an Enemy Plot to take over the castle is uncovered, and the princesses create a Valiant Plan to thwart their Evil Intentions

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there lived four intelligent, brave, and lovely princesses. These princess shared a castle on top of a magnificent cliff in the Northwesterly Hills of the Kingdom. They were a hard-working, socially-conscious group, and often spent much time surveying the kingdom and working alongside their most humble subjects. One evening, Princess Mary found herself in the big, cold, and slightly drafty castle by herself, as her sisters were out helping the poor and rescuing kittens from evil villains. The Princess was unfazed by her solitude, and decided to spend her leisure time improving her mind with reading material. She soon drifted off into a sweet sleep well-deserved.

Suddenly, the drowsy Princess awakened, alert and ready for action. She heard movement in the castle she knew to be empty. She lay perfectly still, tense and prepared to leap up at any moment. The noise came from the corner of the very same room the princess occupied! She slowly and carefully stood up and crept silently over to the corner, kicked down the box out of which the frightening and unidentified noise was coming, and posed ninja-style, waiting for the attack. The villain lay quietly inside his chosen casket, waiting to catch our beloved princess off-guard. By this time, our heroine had surmised the identity of the intruder - none other than the dastardly and brazen captain of the invading Rodent Army! She quickly prepared a new, inescapable casket for the captain, but - alas! - he was too quick for her.

The princess barely had time to prepare the prison when she saw the villain jump out of the box and run into the dangerous maze of secret passages within the castle. The princess attempted to follow, but was soon impeded by her unfortunate bulk. Princesses do not fit well under doors and through heating grates. As she considered a strict diet, the princess felt her heart sink within her. She could never fit into the secret passages as the Rodent Army could. And although the captain was strikingly cute, she was too intelligent to be fooled by the dashing charm of the intruder. The army had already invaded her home, and under her very nose.

So she called out for her sisters to aid her. They set up daring and enticing traps to catch the members of the Army one by one, planning to question each soldier (in a humane and respectful way, because they are That Sort of princess) regarding the whereabouts and number of the enemy troops.

To be Continued...