“Auntie Mia, tell me a story…”
Mia smiled, gently stroking the young girl’s hair. “Alright, Pearly. This is a new story… A story about a prince, a princess, and a witch’s curse.”
Pearl gasped softly, hand in front of her little mouth. “A curse?!”
And so Mia began weaving a tale of witches and fairies, and just a few puns.

Once upon a time, in the far-away Javado Kingdom, there was a handsome prince named Diego. Diego wanted to protect his kingdom, so he sent out a message to everyone who practiced magic. Of course, the prince only wanted good magic in his service, so he turned away an evil witch. He told her, “My kingdom does not need your dark magic. Take your wand and leave.”
But the witch wanted revenge on the man who turned her away. She cast a spell on him, putting him into an endless sleep, until he was awoken by the kiss of his true love.

“Do you mean… like a ‘special someone’…?” Pearl giggled.
“Yes, Pearly. Just like that.”

Everyone in the castle fell under the curse too. They would all sleep, never aging, until the prince woke. Over the years, many tried to wake the prince, but nothing worked. Not pouring water on him, not ringing a bell in his ear, and not even shining a light in his face. It seemed that the prince was trapped in an eternal rest.

“Did he die?!”
“Just listen, Pearly. I’m getting to the good part,” Mia laughed.
“Ok, Auntie Mia.”

Then one day, the princess from a neighboring kingdom heard about the prince. She knew that if she was to save Diego, there was no way to do it alone. Setting off for the enchanted forest, Princess Chihiro wanted to find the only person – or creature – capable of guiding her… A magical fairy. However, when she reached the forest, none of the fairies would help her. “We have tried and tried,” they told her, “but nobody can wake the prince. We won’t risk one more of our lives!”
All the fairies left except for one… And he promptly sneezed on Chihiro’s shoe. “Sorry, Princess.”
“Will you be my guide?” Chihiro asked the little pink fairy.
He sneezed again. “Yes! I’m going to prove to them that I’m not useless! By the way, my name is Naru.”

“Why is he sneezing?” Pearl asked, fighting back giggles.
“Maybe he’s allergic to mushrooms,” Mia laughed.

Naru and Chihiro set off for the ancient castle, confident in their new team. Even though Naru occasionally sneezed on the map, they didn’t get lost. They camped out under the stars that night, waiting until morning to begin their quest. The next morning, the fairy boy led Chihiro to the castle. It was overgrown with vines and thorns and a thousand kinds of moss. The towers were beginning to collapse, and the moat had dried up long ago. “This is a very sad castle, Princess,” Naru sighed.
Chihiro put on her bravest face. “I have to go in. Prince Diego is in there, and I’m going to wake him up!”
“Nobody has been able to wake him, though… Do you really think you can?”
She laughed. “Of course I can. I’m no ordinary girl.”

“Can she? Can she?”
“Calm down, Pearly,” Mia said, a smile on her face, “I’m getting there.”

Chihiro entered the castle. There were people sleeping everywhere. There was a cook leaning against a wall with a spoon in her hand, a servant boy still carrying a letter, and even a bird on the ground, beak tucked under its wing. “I guess it would be stranger to find someone else awake,” Naru laughed, flapping his wings.
“Hopefully we’ll wake them up.”
The princess and her fairy guide walked down endless hallways and up spiraling staircases three times bigger than any they had ever seen before. They tried to open door after door, but they were all locked. Finally, they came to a door that was open.

“Is that where the prince is?”
“You’ll see.”

Inside, the prince lay on his bed. He would have looked like he had just settled in for a nap, if there weren’t spider webs all over the room. Chihiro whispered to Naru, “That must be him!”
“Kiss him, Princess,” the pink fairy replied, pointing a tiny hand at the sleeping man.
She stepped forward, nervous inside. What if she didn’t wake him? But she wasn’t about to give up now, so Chihiro kissed the prince. Diego opened his eyes and yawned. “You broke the curse,” he said, smiling.
“Of course she did! She’s not like other girls,” Naru interrupted.
Everyone laughed. “Wait,” the prince realized, “This means… You must be my true love.”
“Wow, I guess I am,” Chihiro gasped.
Diego sat up and dusted off his vest. “Tell me your name, my princess.”
“I’m Chihiro, and this is Naru, my guide.”
Naru proudly fluttered his wings. “Am I invited to the wedding?” he asked.
Chihiro and Diego blushed, then smiled at each other. “Of course you are, you silly fairy!”

Pearl yawned, snuggling into her blankets. Just as Mia drew in a breath to say the immortal last line of all fairy tales, the door opened and in walked a white-haired man with a glowing red visor. “…and they lived happily ever after.”