Princess Emma

Once upon a time, there was a young girl that lived halfway between the forest and the sea. She was lovely and sweet, full of smiles and ideas. Her name was Emma, and she made flowers bloom in the hearts of others.

One fine day, Emma was walking in the park by the edge of the forest. Two owls watched her as they sleepily sat in the trees. The first owl says to the other,

“Look! It’s a Princess!”

The other owl closed one eye and looked hard at Emma.

“I don’t think she is a Princess.” he said, and began to fall asleep.

The other owl stuck his wing out and sort of whacked him. He told him,

“Of course, she is; WATCH.”

Both owls watched as Emma approached some flowers. She crouched down and smelled their fragrance; a sniff for each one; and a small smile for each bloom. A lady bug flew to her hand, and the girl’s smile got even bigger.

Both owls nodded their heads, and they agreed she was, indeed, a Princess.

The one owl said,

“There is nothing to be gained from smiling at flowers and ladybugs, so that girl is definitely a Princess.”

Then they went to sleep, and dreamed of Emma smiling at them.

The owls were not the only ones that noticed the girl. A hungry dog and rat watched Emma. The words of the owls carried to them on the breeze, and they both got excited. The rat said,

“You and I know that people like that are not smart. We can trick her into giving us food every day. She won’t even know she is being tricked!”

The dog nodded.

“Yeah, I have heard that’s why cats own people.”

The naughty critters agreed made a plan to trick Emma.

A butterfly quietly watched, listening from the cover of the forest, and as soon she would not be noticed, she flew just as quietly back into the deep forest.

Two days later, Emma was at the park again, looking at nature for a few minutes while her Mommy and little brother, Jack, played. Her brother loved to climb, and they had places at the park just the right size for Jack.

Emma looked at stones near the pond, and kept a few that were her favorites.

She heard a voice at her shoulder.

“Um, hello. Hello, Princess?”

Emma turned and saw that a dog and another creature had joined her by the pond. They both had on bowties. She thought the smaller one might be a rat, but Emma was too polite to ask him. It was the smaller one that spoke now.

“Princess?”

Emma looked around her.

“Are you talking to me?” she asked.

The two animals nodded their heads vigorously. The dog told her,

“Hello, Princess. We are here to help you to do the best you can as a Princess.”

Emma laughed a sweet laugh and told them they were both quite nice, and that she wasn’t really a Princess.

She said, “I try to act like a Princess, and I have many things a real Princess might have, but I think I’m really only a little girl.”

The rat and the dog explained to her that they were experts sent out to help a new Princess and tell her what she is supposed to do so that she can be a REAL Princess when she grows up.

Emma had not heard of such a thing, and she told them that.

The dog said, “The reason you haven’t heard of it is because if a Princess does not follow the rules, then she will not grow up to be a Princess, AND she will forget all about the chance she was given, too.”

Then the rat added to that.

“You will forget you met us when you grow up, even if you do everything you are told. We won’t matter. It will only matter that you are a Princess.”

This troubled Emma.

“If someone helps me, I would not want to forget them.” she told them. “Also, please don’t say you wouldn’t matter. Everyone matters.”

The two naughty animals were stunned. Emma asked,

“What would I have to do, anyway?”

The two animals were so hungry, they went ahead with their plan.

The rat told her,

“You need to bring as much food and candy as possible to us every day so that we can give it to poor, sad, really hungry animals.”

The dog said,

“Plus, you need to wear something every day that a Princess would wear. At least one item. And be nice. Um, never get picked up by the dog catcher…”

The rat interrupted the dog.

“Princess? Princess, what he means is not to make any trouble. Lastly, you can’t tell anyone about this.”

Emma shook her head, and said,

“I would not keep a secret from my Mommy. Some secrets are bad secrets. Could I give the food to the hungry animals? Maybe they need a hug, or a new friend, too.”

The dog and rat shook their heads slowly and said, ‘No’, but they were thinking how nice it would be if Emma was their friend, and wanted to hug them.

They told her the hungry animals were scared of people, and they had other animal friends. She had to give without meeting them.

Emma told them she had to think about it.

Right at that moment, dog’s tummy growled.

Emma asked,

“Are you hungry? It’s nearly time for our picnic lunch. Is it against the rules to have lunch with me?”

The rat looked sad. He said,

“Most people do not like rats and dogs at their picnics. I don’t know if it is okay or not. To tell you the truth, Princess, no one has ever invited us.”

Then rat’s tummy growled, too. He looked embarrassed.

Emma could see that the two of them were not sure what to do. She had an idea, and told them she would be right back.

A few minutes later, Emma returned with a pink basket, and the dog and rat could smell food. They both wanted to know how she was able to bring her picnic to them, and she said,

“I told my Mommy that it was so nice by the pond, and asked if I could eat over here. I have my own basket! See, it’s pink. Do you think a Princess would have one?”

Both hungry animals nodded.

Emma shared her food, giving most of it to her new friends. Rat got full eating fruit and jelly beans, and Emma gave the rest of her sandwich to dog after she had only one bite. After they ate, she showed them the stones she liked. They agreed to meet the next day.

She hugged them both, and said she would tell them her decision when they met tomorrow.

Dog and Rat waited until she was out of sight, and went underneath a bridge at the park, where they hid their bowties. They were both sad and cried, because they knew they had lied to a girl with the true heart of a Princess.

Now, Emma lived in a special place. It was a tree house, and her Mommy said the reason they lived in a tree house is because following your dreams and being different is part of what makes life so good. Emma lived there with Mommy Kimmie, Lumberjack Logan and baby brother, Jack. Her Mommy had told her,

“I like being the Queen of the tree house; the Lumberjack’s Queen.”

Emma had been quiet on the way back home, and Mommy Kimmie asked what was on her mind. Emma remembered that rat and dog had said to be secret, which still bothered her.

“Mommy, what do you think it takes to be a Princess? I mean, a real Princess.”

Kimmie looked at her daughter, and laughed a gentle laugh, but not a mean laugh.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Emma took a deep breath.

“Yes. I thought I would ask you. I mean, you said you are the Queen of the tree house, right? That means you were a Princess, right? You are NOT like any other Mommy!”

Mommy Kimmie hugged her daughter, and looked into her eyes, and asked what makes her different from other Moms.

“You’re beautiful. You love us. You love all of us! You wear your hair any way you want, and it’s as pretty as flowers, or angels, or mermaids. I’m not afraid when you are with me. You teach me things, and you are soft, but you are strong, too! Lots of things, Mommy. You are special.”

Kimmie took a big breath, smiling, and Emma knew in her heart that Mommy must have been a Princess, too.

“Emma, I want you to know something. The reason I am special is because of the love I give that comes back to me. You just gave me a whole bunch of love, and that makes me feel really special.”

Emma asked,

“Oh. Why do you do things for us? Is it because you have to for some reason? Is that how you became a Queen?”

Mommy Kimmie shook her head ‘No’.

“The reason I love each of you, and do anything I do is because I CAN do it, and it feels good, and right, to care for others.”

Emma and her Mommy looked at each other, and then Kimmie said,

“Emma, being a Princess is about heart, and not about having to do something. When I was growing up like you, I was a Princess to some, but it isn’t about a dress, a crown, a castle. You treat others the right way, and they treat you the right way, and don’t lose track of those that love you.”

A tear went down Kimmie’s cheek.

“Why are you sad, Mommy?”

Mommy Kimmie said,

“Once upon a time, there was someone that loved me with a powerful love, and helped me to grow into who I am today. That love and teaching helps me to be the Queen, and Mommy to you and Jack. I lost track of him when I was growing up. I looked away, and changed a little, and we lost each other.”

“Who was it?” asked Emma.

Kimmie smiled.

“He would be your Paw Paw. My Daddy. I hope someday you can meet him and know him. He is unique; he is not like everyone else. I know you would like him.”

Emma smiled, and said,

“Oh, Mommy, I would love my Paw Paw!”

Then Emma went outside, because she had many animal friends that lived around her tree house, and she wanted to feed them, and make sure they knew she cared. Many cats, dogs, birds, but other kinds as well, because if Emma met an animal that needed a home, she had them follow her back to the tree house. She knew right then she needed to ask Mommy Kimmie about the poor, hungry animals.

She went up the ramp to the tree house, and told her Mommy she had one more question. Mommy Kimmie put her hands on her hips and smiled. She said,

“I am not surprised AT ALL. What is your question?”

“Well, a nice rat and a dog were at the park, and they told me about hungry animals. They want me to bring food to the park so they can give it to them. They said it is what a Princess would do.”

Mommy Kimmie laughed and shook her head a little, and told Emma it made more sense to have them come over and eat with the other animals she usually fed. She said, “Emma, did they really tell you that is the job of a Princess?”

“Yes, Mommy.” answered Emma.

“A rat and a dog, not a person?”

“Yes, Mommy.” answered Emma.

Mommy Kimmie laughed and told her the hungry animals could eat at the tree house, which made Emma happy.

While she relaxed with her animal friends, she saw baby Jack trying to climb on top of the tree house, and she let Mommy Kimmie know.

Her Mom laughed,

“Yes, he is just like his Daddy!”

Jack’s Daddy was Lumberjack Logan, and after he made Mommy the Lumberjack Queen was when Jack was born, and Emma loved the Lumberjack Daddy. He taught her, loved her and did things with her. Her Mommy said Jack was like his Daddy when he climbed because every day Logan would climb up the tree by their home.

He would take his long hair down. It was golden in the moon light. He held on to the tree with his boots, and lifted his voice to sing. Emma could understand why Mommy said he was handsome AND beautiful. He was free up there! He was not afraid to climb as high as he wished! There was no other sound like his, and everyone listened, even the animals. The music sometimes sounded like howling. Some thought it was Mighty Strange, and others liked it BECAUSE it was Mighty Strange.

This time, when Lumberjack Logan climbed back down to the tree house, Emma wanted to talk. She still wasn’t sure what to do about the rat and dog Princess experts she had met at the park.

“Logan? I want to ask a question.”

Logan smiled, and patted the seat by him.

“Yes, your Mommy said you had been asking her some… and I want to tell you everything I do in your life is because I love you. Does that answer your question?”

Emma smiled and giggled, “Yessss, part of it, but I want to know why you go high up in the tree and sing at night?”

“Ah,” said Lumberjack Logan, “that’s easy. I do it because I am able to do it, and I love feeling free. Music makes me feel free, Emma, and I want to get up there and get everyone excited with that sound. I do it because I CAN.”

The little girl with the heart of a Princess smiled, and asked, “You don’t always do things because you get something, then?”

Logan told her,

“No. Do things that feel right for you, help others…Emma, you are already good at that.”

Emma hugged him. “Thank you, Daddy.”

He hugged her back, “Thank YOU, Emma. Thank you.”

The following day at the park, Emma waited by the pond. Soon, the rat and dog showed up, and they were not wearing their bow ties. They looked sad. She asked them if everything was okay.

Dog said, “Just out of curiosity, what did you decide, Princess?”

Emma cleared her throat and sat up straight.

“I have decided to help the hungry animals.”

Dog and rat both still seemed sad.

Emma said,

“I thought about it, and I want to help, but I can’t follow the rules you gave me. If I am going to be a real Princess in my heart, it is more about caring than getting a shiny crown. I want the animals to come live with the animals at my tree house, so I can feed them AND love them. So, if that means I won’t be a Princess when I grow up, that is okay. I am free to make a choice, and that’s what I want to do.”

Both dog and rat burst into tears.

“We’re so sorry! We’re so sorry!”

They both cried harder when Emma tried to hug them.

“Oh, Princess, we were so wrong about you! No one was ever nice to us the way you were. We are so sorry!”

Emma asked,

“But, why are you sorry?”

Dog and rat told the little girl how rat had been a pet, and then he was dropped off at the park one day, and left alone. Soon after, a Mommy dog had puppies under the bridge, and when the dog catcher came, they took her and the puppies they found. One puppy was in the grass, and was left alone. That was Dog. Rat and Dog had been friends ever since, and they thought people weren’t nice at all. Until they met Emma.

They told her how they made their plan, and how they knew they had made a mistake when she cared and shared lunch with them.

When they were done, Emma shook her head.

“That wasn’t a nice thing to do.” she said.

“We know.” they both said.

She gathered them into a hug, and told them she forgave them. She told them her name was Emma, and asked their names, but they didn’t have names.

“Why don’t you come live with the other animals around the tree house? We can find names you like, does that sound okay?”

They were thrilled, and dog licked her cheek, because it seemed like a good thing to do.

When Mommy, Emma and Jack went back to the tree house, Dog and Rat went right back with them.

After she had her new animal friends joined up with all their new animal friends near home, and made sure everyone had food, Emma spotted a butterfly near the tree house.

It was a brilliant shade of green, and had gold, too. It was beautiful, and Emma quietly approached, and followed as the butterfly moved into the forest. A bright Ray of late afternoon sun came through the canopy of trees and made the colors shimmer, and for a second Emma saw a Warrior Princess instead of a butterfly. As she opened her eyes wide, the butterfly appeared again and went deeper into the forest.

The two owls that had seen Emma at the park were high in a tree and saw her. One owl said to the other,

“Look! It’s the Princess!”

The other owl asked, “Who?”

His friend gave him a nudge, “You know, the girl, the Princess! Where is she going?”

The other owl said,

“Oh, no. No, no, no…she is following the butterfly!”

His friend asked, “Which one?”

“It’s the one that protects the Wolf.”

The owls shook. They were scared of the Wolf, scared of the butterfly, and scared for the little girl they believed was a Princess.

Farther into the trees, the butterfly went behind one, and when she came out from behind the tree, she was in the mane of a large Wolf.

Emma thought they were both incredible! The true colors of the magnificent butterfly reflected in the fur of the great Wolf, and Emma had no fear.

“You are the biggest Wolf I have ever seen!” said the girl.

The sound of the Wolf’s voice surprised her, because he sounded really kind.

“Do you know others?” he asked.

“No. I’ve never seen a Wolf. But I’ve seen dogs.”

This made the Wolf laugh, and the girl thought the butterfly might be laughing, too. She asked,

“Is that your butterfly?”

The Wolf had a big smile. He said,

“I don’t know if I’m her Wolf, or if she is my butterfly. The important thing is that we found one another. Or, I guess she found me. She keeps track of me, and I keep track of her.”

Emma thought about her Mommy saying the same thing.

“I know you’re right, Mr. Wolf. May I ask you a question?”

The Wolf said,

“Only if I can ask one first.”

“Okay,” said Emma.

The big Wolf looked at his companion butterfly, who seemed to gently move her wings in encouragement. He looked at the little girl, took a big, deep, Wolf-sized breath, and asked her if she was really a Princess.

Emma shook her head, and told him she didn’t think she was, but she planned to always do the right thing. Just like a real Princess.

The Wolf put his head down after she told him, and then said,

“Go ahead and ask your question.”

“Why does a Wolf howl?”

The Wolf loved the question. He told Emma,

“I howl because I am apart from those I love. I howl because I love it. It feels good, it sounds good, and I howl because it is a great way to say,

‘I am the Wolf!’ No one messes with the Wolf!’ I howl because I CAN!“

After the Wolf said this, the butterfly flew and sat on his nose. He said,

“Sometimes even a Wolf needs a special friend, though. She saved me.”

“A butterfly?” Emma asked.

The Wolf nodded. He told the little girl about when he was very sad, and he wasn’t paying attention, he had stepped into a trap that grabbed his leg in a painful claw. The more he struggled, the worse it was, and he was bleeding. The voices of the people that had put the trap were coming closer…

Suddenly, a Ray of light flashed before him, and he briefly saw the large sword of a Warrior Princess push the release on the trap. She was clothed in shades of green and gold, and her smile let him know he would be safe. He fell down because he was hurt, and the Warrior Princess lifted him and seemed to fly through the woods until they were far away. As he rested and fell asleep, he saw her become the butterfly, watching and ready to keep him from being hurt by anyone else. He knew she was a Warrior Princess in disguise.

The Wolf was quiet. Emma asked,

“But why were you sad and not paying attention?”

He said, “I was looking for someone, and didn’t find them. I was so sad I couldn’t even howl.”

“Mr. Wolf, can you howl now?”

He howled, and all the noise in the forest stopped. He howled again, and Emma clapped her hands. She said, “I wish I could howl.”

The Wolf said, “I can teach you! I could teach anyone to howl! Well, except for frogs. Frogs only want to make croaking sounds. They are worthless at howling.”

This made the girl laugh hard, thinking about frogs trying to howl!

They spent some time with Emma trying to learn how to howl, and everyone laughed. She kept getting better. The Wolf was happy. She had another question, though.

“What about butterflies?’ Emma looked at the butterfly. “Do you howl?”

The Wolf told little Emma the butterfly could howl in her spirit, and she was as much Wolf as he himself.

“Wow.”

The Wolf said, “We should get you safely home. It is getting dark.”

So, they went back through the forest, getting closer and closer to home. When they were close enough to see the tree house,

Emma said, “Did I tell you my name is Emma? I don’t even know what you like to be called. Should I call you Mr. Wolf and butterfly?”

The Wolf smiled.

“You have a pretty name. This is Bonnie Butterfly, also known as the Warrior Princess. You can call me Paw Paw.”

Emma’s eyes opened wide.

“Your name is Paw Paw?”

Right then, the Warrior Princess appeared in place of the butterfly, and placed her arms around Paw Paw. She said,

“Tell him, Emma. Tell him, Princess.”

“Oh, Paw Paw, you lost track of someone you loved? Would they know your howl?”

The great big Wolf felt the love again for the one he had lost, and howled in the night, louder and stronger than ever before, wishing he knew where to find his daughter, the Wolf Princess Kimmie.

The howl filled the forest, and inside the treehouse, Mommy Kimmie heard it, and she ran out to the one she loved and lost track of long ago.

“Daddy!” she cried, hugging him.