Once upon a time, in the heart of North Carolina, there lived a little girl named Lily. Lily had an extraordinary gift. She believed in the magic of fairy tales. Every night, before she closed her eyes, she looked out her window at the forest and the mountains. And she really believed that there were fairies and magical forests, as told in the tales. So, when she fell asleep, imagining the magical lands, she dreamed about them. All the magical creatures she would imagine would be in her dreams. That was her gift.
One night, Lily went to bed as usual. She looked through the window. She saw the lights of the neighborhood as faint orange-colored dots not so far from her house. Then, above the last few dots, she saw the forest. Then, above the forest, she saw the blue mountain range like a shadow. Above the mountain. It was the full moon. The moon was lighting up the forest and the mountain. Lily could see the mesmerizing scenery just like a smooth watercolor painting.
“I wish I could fly over there,” Lily whispered. Then she covered herself with the blanket. Soon, she fell asleep.
Then, something magical happened. A tiny, shimmering fairy named Celestia appeared on Lily’s windowsill. She looked at Lily, opened the windows with her magical powers and entered the room. Then, with a sprinkle of stardust, Lily and Celestia soared through the night sky. The gentle whispers of the wind guided them.
Within a few moments, they arrived at the Enchanted Forest, a place where fireflies danced in harmony and trees whispered secrets. Lily stood on a little grassy mound. Lily felt so happy seeing the beauty of hundreds of fireflies. She spread her arms. The fireflies started flying around her. Then Celestia accompanied Lily to show something special.
In the heart of the forest, Lily found a magical pond surrounded by colorful flowers. Each flower held a unique story, and Lily was granted the gift of understanding their sweet tales by Celestia.
Lily sat by the pond. The flowers whispered the tales one by one. The tales were about funny things that happened in the jungle. In one story, a bunny mistakenly thought a mango dropped on a porcupine was a walking mango. And another story was about a shy glowworm named Glowy and her new friends. Lily was amazed by listening to all of these stories.
As the night unfolded, Lily and Celestia encountered friendly woodland creatures. Mischievous squirrels, graceful deer, and a wise old owl named Oliver joined them on their journey. Then, they all gathered around a magical bonfire, sharing laughter and warmth.
Each shared their favorite things. They shared their stories, too. It turned out that one of the squirrels was a friend of the shy glowworm from the story the flowers whispered to Lily. This squirrel promised Lily that he would introduce her to his friends.
In a while, the Queen of the Enchanted Forest, a majestic unicorn named Stardust, appeared. All the animals bowed to the unicorn. The unicorn welcomed Lily to the forest. Then it asked Lily to follow her.
Soon, they arrived at a door. The door was all along erected in the middle of a carpet of flowers. Stardust asked Lily to go through the door. Lily appeared somewhere else. Then she came back through the door. Lily just had to wish where she wanted to go inside the magical forest and walk through the door. It would take her wherever she wanted to go.
So, Lily, Celestia, and the friends she made walked through the door after Lily made a wish. They appeared in the spot where Lily found fireflies dancing.
Under the starlit sky, they danced with fireflies and played hide-and-seek with the moonbeams. Also, they didn’t forget to make wishes for shooting stars.
Time passed, and soon they noticed the first light of dawn painting the sky. The fairies, realizing that they needed to hide before the sun rose, gathered in a hurry. Then they explained it to Lily: “It’s time for us to go, dear Lily. But remember, magic always finds its way back.”
Lily’s eyes welled up with tears, and her face turned down. Fairies attempted to bring comfort. But they didn’t succeed. Just as Lily felt the sadness creeping in, the wise owl, Olliver, came to Lily. Then he sat on the log where Lily was sitting.
Then he spoke gently to Lily, “Why are you crying, little one?”
Lily, sniffing, replied, “I don’t want them to go.”
Olliver, with a comforting hoot, said, “Oh dear! To come back, one must leave.”
Lily, puzzled, asked, “Really? That means they will come back.”
Olliver nodded. “Yes, they will come back. Now you should go back too.”
Lily, comforted by the wise words, stopped crying. As the sun began to rise, she waved her hand and said, “Bye! See you again!”
“See you again, Lily! Remember! Without leaving, no one can come back,” Oliver hooted, waving back to Lily. With that, Lily found herself back in her cozy bed.
And so, every night, as Lily closed her eyes, she knew that her dreams would take her back to the Enchanted Forest, where fairy tales came to life.