Princess Aster and the Happiness Cake

Story by Mary Achee. Illustrations by Annie Nguyen.

Princess Aster lived in Hayworth Manor Castle, with her parents, King Baldwin and Queen Isabelle. The princess was born with one leg longer than the other. It made walking difficult. Princess Aster felt abnormal, not a whole person. She didn’t attend many of the royal festivities.

The king had issued a decree many years ago. Anyone caught smiling would be imprisoned for one year. The king had lost a son in battle and thereafter sank into a deep depression. The son was killed by a rival king. The king did not want to see happiness, as it only reminded him of his son’s death.

Princess Aster had a friendship with all the forest animals. None of them were afraid of her. Even the snakes sat at her feet, listening to the stories she made up. Princess Aster often visited the nearby forest.

 Before her father’s decree, the Princess laughed and played games with the animals. She was very sad, not being able to do that anymore. The only time she was happy was when surrounded by trees and forest creatures. She hid in the forest and smiled, forgetting her disability for a while.

 One morning, a frog hopped through her bedroom window. He landed with a kerplunk, right in the middle of the princess’ stomach. Aster awakened with a little cry of surprise. She said; “Frog, what are you doing in my bedroom?”

The frog answered, “I have been watching and listening to you in the forest. I know about the king’s decree. I also know about your disability. Do you sometimes wish you were happy?”

The princess answered, “Yes, but it is hard to be happy when you are different.”

The frog told Princess Aster, “I know how you can bring happiness back to the kingdom.”

 “You do”, asked Princess Aster? She continued, “Please tell me how.”

The frog told her, “You have to go to the cave in Majestic Mountain. You will find a rare flower, the Zazzle Iris. It will be very dangerous, because a fire-breathing dragon guards the flower. Bring it to me and I will give you further instructions. There is only one way to defeat the dragon, though. You must make him say his name out loud. Then, you must walk around him three times.

The next morning after breakfast, Princess Aster set out for the Majestic Mountain, armed with a map from the frog, a flask of water and a sandwich. Following the map, she went through the center of Nettle Forrest, past Delmar farm and to the bottom of Majestic Mountain. Travel was really slow,- with a bum leg.

Looking up to the top of the mountain, Princess Aster spotted the cave. It was a long journey up. She began the journey, but had to pause to rest from time to time. The princess found footholds along the way. It took half the day, but she finally reached her destination.

Princess Aster waited untill dark to enter the cave. She lit a small candle and proceeded forward. There were two rooms ahead. Which should she pick? Princess Aster decided to go through the room on the right. Inside, she only found old scraps of food. The princess cringed, realizing; other victims had been there ahead of her. She exited and entered the other room. In a far corner, she discovered a beautiful flower. It had petals of shiny gold. There were rubies, pearls and emeralds on the petals. She quickly cut the flower from the ground and placed it in her knapsack.

Suddenly, Princess Aster heard a loud yawn. Footsteps followed. Oh no! The dragon was entering the room! The princess tried to hide but could not find a place in time. The dragon grabbed her. He called, “Kurroo, Kuroo.

 A giant spider appeared! The dragon instructed the spider to bind the girl. The spider wove a web all around the princess. Later that night, while the dragon and spider were sleeping, Princess Aster remembered her knife. Luckily, her right hand was not bound by the spider web. She managed to get the knife out of her bag. She slowly cut the web away.

Princess Aster slowly began to walk to the cave entrance. Before she got there, she heard a sound and saw a huge flame hitting the cave wall. The Princess turned around in time to see the dragon, breathing flames. There was a pool of water. The princess used her crown to gather water and threw it on the flames, until they were extinguished.

She remembered what the frog had told her, “There is only one way to defeat the dragon. You must make him say his name and dance around him three times.” The princess started teasing the dragon. “You are not so bad, dragon. You don’t scare me. I bet you have a silly name, like Ralph or Fido. How about Rex or Dino?” She laughed loudly.

The dragon replied, “I am Beezlegoth, king of dragons.” As soon as the dragon spoke his name, Princess Aster quickly ran around him three times. He was at once transformed to a small lizard. Princess Aster ran out of the cave and made the journey back to the castle.

Upon returning home, she searched for the frog. She found him on a lily pad, in the royal pond. She held up the beautiful flower for the frog to see. He said, “Very good, Princess. I see, your leg did not keep you from your task. Here is what you do. Cut off the petals and place them in a cake mix. Blend them well. Serve the cake to the king. “

Princess Aster went to the royal kitchen. Tomorrow was her father’s birthday. She asked the cook to help her bake a cake. The cook agreed and together, she and the princess made the cake batter. The princess cut up the petals and mixed them into the batter. After the cake was baked and frosted, she put it on the table where the guests would gather.

The petals had the power to transform sadness to joy when consumed. The person who plucked them would receive courage.

Two hours later, all the guests had arrived for the royal party. King Baldwin was very pleased to know; his daughter had baked the cake. Princess Aster asked her father to taste the cake first. He took a bite, then another and another. Soon, the slice of cake was eaten.

The king’s face suddenly smiled. Everyone else ate their cake and they all smiled. The king declared, “From now on, there will be joy in the kingdom. Let there be dancing, fiddle playing and lots of laughter.” From then on, everyone in the kingdom lived happily ever after.