Once upon a time there was a horse named Pegasus. He didn’t really have wings, so he couldn’t fly, but he made some wings for himself out of cardboard and glued them on. After all, he didn’t want people to know that he couldn’t fly. One day the King called for Pegasus to come before him and he said,
“Oh most wonderful and heroic horse, my daughter the princess has been kidnapped, and I need someone to rescue her.”
Pegasus was extremely proud that the king had thought to ask him to rescue the princess, so he said
“I would be honored, Oh king, but what will be my reward when I return the princess to you?”
The king promised him a wonderful stable all of his own, and anything he wanted to eat for the rest of his life. “But!” Said the king. “If you do not rescue her, I will cut off your head and mount it on my wall!”
Pegasus was not pleased at the last comment, but he was certain that he could rescue her. After all, he was a flying horse. At least, everyone thought he was.
“It is a deal your Majesty. Who kidnapped her, and where should I go?”
“The evil Sorcerer my uncle has kidnapped her so that he can have my throne. He lives in a palace in the clouds, and that is why I have asked you for help. You are the only one of my subjects who can fly.”
Pegasus was rather dismayed when he heard that the princess was in the clouds, for he could not fly. But he had agreed to help the king, and if he backed out now, he would be killed. So he bowed low before the king and left the throne room.
Once he was outside, he started to be very afraid, for he did not know how he would get to the palace in the clouds with only fake wings. He wandered about the forest for some days, trying to figure out a plan, and wondering if he should just leave the country and get as far away as he could.
At the end of the fifth day, he met an old woman sitting at the side of the road. He stopped and asked her what she was doing.
“I am sitting here because I am too tired to travel any further, and too hungry to care. Do you know where I can find something to eat? And could you let me have a ride out of these woods?”
Now Pegasus was afraid to come back to the kingdom, because the king thought he was gone to rescue his daughter, but he could not leave the old woman alone, so he let her ride him to the nearest cottage. The people who lived there gave her food, and let her stay the night. But before she went in, she said
“I am most grateful to you. You are such a magnificent horse, and your wings are stunningly beautiful.”
“Alas!” Said Pegasus. “They may be beautiful, but they are fake, and now they are going to get me killed.”
“How so?” Asked the old woman.
“Because the king will kill me if I don’t rescue his daughter, and she is being held in a palace in the clouds by an evil sorcerer, and I cannot fly.” And at last the poor horse burst into tears.
The old woman felt very sorry for him and after a moment, she said, “Well, maybe I can help you.”
“Can you?” Asked Pegasus. “How?”
“I’m a Fairy.” She said. “I can make your wings real, but it will only last for one day. So you will have to be quick.”
“Couldn’t you make them real forever?” Asked Pegasus.
“I’m afraid not, but perhaps if you succeed in rescuing the princess my great grandmother can make them real forever.”
Pegasus was surprised that such an old woman would have a great grandmother who was still alive, but he was so overjoyed that he didn’t say anything. The Fairy sprinkled some sparkling dust over him and he felt the wings turn real. He thanked her and flew off to test them out. As soon as he found they were quite real, he remembered the Fairy’s warning that they would only last for one day he hurried towards the clouds, not looking back and going as quickly as he could. After some time, his head poked through the top of the clouds and he saw that there was a castle off in the distance. He stepped out onto the clouds, and found that it was soft and squishy like a giant pillow. He started down the path toward the sorcerer’s castle. It was a long way, and he was growing very tired. As he was sure he could go no further, he saw a beautiful stable with soft cushions to sleep on and all the food he could need. He was so tired that he entered the stable and ate and slept. When he woke up, he realized that it was late at night and he had slept the day away. He would have to hurry if he wanted to rescue the princess and get back to land before the wings turned back to cardboard. He ran down the path as fast as he could, and finally arrived at the gate. A man saw him and hurried to tell the sorcerer that he had just found the most wonderful horse in the world. The sorcerer came out to see him, and asked him what he wanted.
“I am looking for a job,” Pegasus said. He thought he could find the princess if he could get inside. The sorcerer let him in readily and hired him to be his personal steed. But no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find the princess. For two days he searched, but he couldn’t find her. Finally, he thought he heard someone crying. It was coming from behind a wall, but there was no door. He knew that his wings wouldn’t work anymore, but he tried to jump over the wall. But it was much too high. Then the sorcerer came out and told him that he was preparing for his wedding, and he wanted Pegasus to take him to his nephew the kings house. Of course he really was going to tell him that if he didn’t give him the kingdom he would never see his daughter again, but he didn’t tell Pegasus that.
Now Pegasus was very afraid, because to get back down, he needed wings that worked. But at last, he decided that if he could kill the sorcerer, he would have also rescued the princess, so he let the sorcerer mount, and he went to the edge of the cloud and jumped off. At first it was fun, but then he remembered that his wings didn’t work and he thought that it was a very brave and noble thing he was doing. When the sorcerer realized that Pegasus couldn’t fly, he flew into a rage and tried to cut off Pegasus head, but in doing so, he fell off and to his death. And down on the ground, a very, very, very old woman threw some sparkling dust in the air, and Pegasus wings became real again. The Fairy’s great grandmother had saved his life. So he flew back up into the clouds and carried the princess down to her father. And he was given a royal stable and all the food he could ever want. And any time he wanted a little exercise he went flying, and sometimes he would see the Fairy and her great grandmother, and they would wave to him as he passed overhead.
THE END