The Three Princesses of Whiteland
The Three Princesses of Whiteland — an illustrated tales story. 10 illustrated pages, free to read on Wonder Tales.
Page 1
In the bustling marketplace between dimensions, where starlight powered clockwork stalls and wishes were bartered like spices, lived three princesses of Whiteland: Anya, the warrior; Bronwyn, the seeker of forbidden knowledge; and Clara, the gentle healer. Each desired to escape the gilded cage of their castle, but their differing paths would lead them into unforeseen peril. A traveling merchant whispered of a potion that could grant their deepest desires, setting in motion a chain of events that would test their very nature.
Page 2
"Another day, another stifling embroidery lesson," Anya sighed, tossing her needle aside. "I yearn for the clash of steel, not silk!" Bronwyn, perched on a window seat, glanced up from her forbidden texts. "Knowledge is power, sister. But some truths are best left undisturbed." Clara, tending to a wilting flower, murmured, "Perhaps true power lies not in strength or knowledge, but in healing the world's wounds."
Page 3
A sly traveling merchant, cloaked in shadows, approached them in the bustling marketplace. "I have heard your desires, princesses," he hissed, producing three vials filled with shimmering liquid. "A potion for each of you: battle prowess, forbidden knowledge, and the power to mend what is broken." Bronwyn eyed the vials with suspicion. "What is the cost, merchant? There is always a cost." The merchant smiled, a glint of gold in his teeth. "Only a single drop of your true self."
Page 4
Anya, driven by her thirst for glory, snatched the vial promising battle prowess. "'The only way to do great work is to love what you do,' as Steve Jobs said," she declared, justifying her choice. "And I love battle!" She uncorked the vial and drank the shimmering liquid. A surge of power coursed through her veins, her muscles bulging, her eyes blazing with fierce determination. "I will prove myself on the battlefield!"
Page 5
Bronwyn, consumed by her quest for knowledge, hesitantly accepted her vial. "'Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd,' as Voltaire said," she mused, justifying her pursuit of forbidden lore. She drank the potion. Visions flooded her mind: arcane symbols, forgotten languages, the secrets of the universe. But with the knowledge came a chilling emptiness, a detachment from the world around her.
Page 6
Clara, yearning to heal the world, reluctantly took her vial. "'We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope,' as Martin Luther King, Jr. taught," she whispered, desperate to ease suffering. She drank. Her hands glowed with a warm light, capable of mending any wound, healing any ailment. But with each healing, a piece of her own life force drained away, leaving her weaker, more fragile.
Page 7
Captain Ronan, seeing Anya's reckless pursuit of battle, confronted her. "Glory is fleeting, princess," he warned, his voice gruff but concerned. "True strength lies not in power, but in wisdom. And wisdom comes from understanding the cost of your actions." Anya scoffed. "You speak like an old woman, Ronan! I have battles to win!"
Page 8
Bronwyn, lost in her forbidden knowledge, wandered the library aimlessly. "What is the point of all this knowing if I cannot connect with the world around me?" she wondered aloud. The faces of her sisters, once so familiar, now seemed like distant echoes. Her potion had given her the universe, but robbed her of herself.
Page 9
Clara, weakened by her constant healing, collapsed in the dying field. Her hands no longer glowed, her life force spent. "I tried to mend the world, but I only broke myself," she gasped. Her sisters, seeing her plight, rushed to her side, their own desires forgotten.
Page 10
Anya, using her battle prowess not for conquest, but for protection, defended Clara from the creeping shadows. Bronwyn, using her forbidden knowledge not for power, but for understanding, found a way to reverse the potion's effects. They learned that true strength lies not in individual pursuits, but in the bonds of sisterhood, for, as Helen Keller said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
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