Once Upon a Time....: Part (1)

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1-800-839-8640

© 2012 Simi Moneer. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Created by AuthorHouse 04/13/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-0353-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-0354-8 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

(1) Baldy

(2) Jimmy hates beans

(3) Randal and the evil witch

(4) The magical pan

(5) The milk stealer

(6) Booger the ogre

(7) Sirina

(8) The adventures of Werdan

(9) The tiny old woman

(10) The smart weaver

(11) The loaf of bread

Fun With Coloring

(1) Baldy

Once upon a time, there lived a king with his only son, Don. The queen died when Don was two years old and the king raised his son alone until he became a handsome and brave young prince.

One day, Don went hunting with his friends. They chased deer deep into the forest. The friends separated in all directions and Don was lost. He searched for his friends everywhere and they searched for him, but in vain. When his friends lost the hope in finding him, they went home.

Don walked and walked until it was dark and he was very tired, so he sat near a cavern and lit fire. He grilled his hunt and ate.

In the morning, and while Don was preparing his horse to leave, he heard a strange sound coming out of the cavern. He stepped carefully into the cavern, and there, he found a horse mare giving birth. Don sat beside it and helped it until it gave birth to a beautiful pony. The pony looked strange with one blue eye and one black eye.

Don spent days in the forest, taking care of the strange pony until it was able to walk, then, while the mare was absent, he took the pony and went home.

Everyone was happy for the prince’s return because they thought that the beasts had devoured him. He appointed a private guard for the pony to train it and take good care of it.

The pony grew up and became a beautiful horse. No one could get near it but its guard and its close friend, Don.

One day, the king decided to get married. He married a young cunning girl who brought one of her cousins to the palace with her and assigned him as chief cook.

Don hated his new step-mother and had suspicions about her relation with her cousin, but his father was very fond of his new bride, so Don said nothing. The young bride could see the distrust in Don’s eyes and was uncomfortable. She hated Don and wanted to make his life miserable.

And so, one day the king called Don and said to him: son, your stepmother is very sick and the doctors couldn’t help her. The chief cook said that her remedy is the heart of a horse with one black eye and one blue eye.

Don grasped his stepmother’s plan. He thought for a moment then said: your wish is my command, father, but I haven’t ridden my horse in the forest before, so please, give me a day to ride it and say farewell to it before you kill it.

The king said: go ahead, son. Ride your horse and enjoy before we slay it.

Don rode his horse and ran as fast as he could. He didn’t stop until he was out of his father’s kingdom. The horse stopped and, to Don’s surprise, it turned to him and spoke. It said: they want my heart, master. What do you say?

Don said: can’t you see I abandoned my family and ran away to save you?

The horse said: and I appreciate that, but the time has come for us to separate. Take some hairs of my tail. If you ever fall in trouble and need help, just rub a hair and I’ll be with you in an instant.

Don plucked out some hairs, and then the horse disappeared. Don didn’t know what to do after he disobeyed his father and ran away from home. He walked aimlessly wishing that no one would recognize him. He met a poor man and said to him: would you exchange your clothes with mine and earn a golden coin?

The poor man couldn’t believe his ears. He exchanged his rags with the prince’s fine clothes and took a golden coin.

Don passed by a butcher. The butcher was throwing away the bowels of a sheep. Don took a piece of its skin and cleaned it. He put it on his head like a hat to cover all his silky hair. He was sure that no one would recognize him because he looked so different. People thought he was bald. They called him Baldy.

One day, Baldy passed by a palace. He asked the guards: do you need a worker for his food?

The guards said: we need a gardener.

And so, Baldy worked as a gardener in the palace. He plowed the ground, watered the plants and pulled out the grass.

The palace had a small lake in the backyard. Everyday at lunch break, Baldy used to go there, take the skin off his head and wash in the lake.

The king had five daughters and no sons. The youngest was called Livia. Livia’s room had a view on the lake. One day, while she was looking from her window, she saw Baldy take off the skin and jump into the water. She liked his silky hair and wondered why would a handsome young man like him hide his beauty under a disgusting piece of animal skin and pretend to be bald and ugly.

Everyday, Livia sent Baldy food and drinks. When he asked the maid who sent them she always answered: it’s from princess Livia.

As he ate and washed in the lake, Livia used to observe Baldy everyday wondering what was his secret. Day by day, she fell in love with the mysterious gardener who sometimes took glimpses of her standing in her window but showed no emotion which made the princess even more puzzled.

The king declared that each of his daughters will choose a groom, and that all the young men in the country must pass under the balcony of the palace.

Each princess chose her groom by throwing her scarf