Adventure Stories for Daring Girls

by Khoa Le

  The king slammed his hand down on the table. “How dare they try to trick me again!”

  “Well, you don’t make it hard,” his wife muttered. “I will come with you this time and they shall not find it so easy.”

  This time, the giant king and queen caught up with the lovers even more quickly. Guimara’s mother saw through all Guimara’s tricks. The edge of the Giant realm was in sight, but Guimara worried that they wouldn’t reach it.

  Just as her father reached out to grab her, Guimara used her final trick. She threw a handful of magic dust in her parents’ eyes. Everything around them became so dark that they could not see. Guimara picked up João and scrambled over the wall into the human realm.

  They raced away, through the forest, with João directing Guimara toward his own palace. Once they were far into the human realm, and certain that the giant king and queen were not following, they paused to catch their breath.

  “And now we must find somewhere to live,” Prince João said. “My palace is large for a human building, but I am afraid you will not fit in, my love.”

  Guimara thought hard. She wanted to be with her beloved and she knew that using her magical powers, she could make herself human-sized. But she didn’t want to change everything about herself. “Your palace is large for humans, you say?”

  “Indeed. Far bigger than any human would need,” said João.

  “Then why don’t we both be large humans?” Guimara said, with a twinkle in her eye.

  She used her magical powers to make herself a bit smaller, and to make João a bit bigger so that they met in the middle. “There! Now we shall fit your palace and we’re the same size!” said Guimara, with a grin.

  So, thanks to Guimara’s quick thinking and magic, the two lovers were free to start their new life in the human realm. They were different from everyone else, but they didn’t mind because they had each other.

  The Maiden and the Falcon

  Adapted from The Feather of Finist the Falcon by Alexander Afanasyev

  There once was a young girl called Alyonushka. She lived in Russia, a very long time ago, with her father and her two sisters. They were not a rich family. Their father worked hard to make sure that they always had enough food to eat, but there was never much money left over for anything else.

  One day, their father was going to work at the local fair. He hoped to do good business, perhaps even enough to get the girls a treat. He asked each of them what they would like. Zia, the eldest sister, asked for a new dress. Dinara, the middle sister, asked for a pretty shawl. Alyonushka thought carefully. What she really wanted was a way to escape their life of poverty altogether … and she thought she knew how.

  “Father, I would like a feather from Finist the Falcon.”

  Her father frowned. He had heard of the huge falcon, who could often be seen swooping over the forests and fields, but he had no idea why his daughter wanted a feather from that famous bird.

  Zia and Dinara laughed at her, but Alyonushka smiled to herself, for she knew something that they didn’t. She had heard that Finist the Falcon was in actual fact a prince from the next kingdom, who could change shape at will. She hoped that he might be able to help her fly away from their small village and start a new life.

  At the fair, the merchant sold many of his wares. He bought a beautiful dress for Zia and a very fine shawl for Dinara. Then, he saw the falcon swooping through the sky above him. The merchant followed the bird for a long time, and eventually, when it landed for a rest, the merchant sneaked up and plucked a feather from its tail.

  All three of the girls were delighted with their gifts. The older two twirled around the house in their new clothes. Alyonushka took the feather up to her bedroom and left it on the windowsill. She hoped that as Finist flew above the house, he would notice his feather and come back to collect it.

  That night, Finist flew in through Alyonushka’s window and changed into his human form. Alyonushka’s breath was taken away and she forgot all about what she was going to ask him; all she wanted to do was spend time with him.

  Finist returned the next night and the night after that. Finist even promised to teach her how to fly, like him. They talked and talked and fell deeply in love with one another.

  “My darling, if ever I don’t return one night, come looking for me.” Finist would tell her. “You will wear out three pairs of iron boots and then you will find me.”

  Alyonushka promised she would.

  Alyonushka kept Finist a secret from her sisters. She knew that if they were to find out about him, they would try to break them up out of jealousy. When Finist brought her fine gifts, she hid them under her bed.

  But her sisters grew suspicious all the same. They noticed how mysteriously happy Alyonushka was, as well as how tired she seemed. When they tried to sneak into her room at night to see what was going on, they found the door locked and heard the sound of a man’s voice inside.

  “Father, Alyonushka has a boyfriend that she is sneaking in at night,” they told the merchant.

  He laughed. “Don’t be silly, girls, what a ridiculous tale.”

  But Zia and Dinara didn’t give up. They slipped into the bedroom during the day and discovered the gifts beneath the bed.

  “He must be climbing in the window,” said Zia.

  “Let’s attach knives to the frame,” said Dinara. “If we hear a man shout with pain tonight, we will know.”

  The two sisters secretly did just that and waited for night to fall. As Alyonushka was going to her room, they distracted her.

  Finist arrived and was stabbed by the knives. Alyonushka was not there and he believed he had been betrayed. He ran away, bleeding, into the night.

  When Alyonushka eventually got into her room, she found the bloodied knives and saw what her sisters had done.

  “How dare you?” she said, furiously. “You drove my love away just because you don’t have one. You are no longer my sisters.”

  Alyonushka waited several nights for Finist to come back, but he didn’t. She knew she had to do what he had always told her. She went to the village and swapped her own winter boots for a pair of heavy iron shoes. Then, she set out on her journey, walking in the direction Finist had always flown from.

  It was hard to walk in the shoes. Alyonushka’s feet dragged and she was panting after only a few steps. But she knew she had to find Finist and tell him the truth about what had really happened.

  She walked miles and miles and miles, into a dark, enchanted forest. She saw with surprise that the iron boots were becoming rusty. Just as her first pair of shoes wore out, she spied the hut of a wise woodland witch, called a Baba Yaga. You could tell a Baba Yaga’s hut because they had legs like giant chickens and moved noisily around the forest. As Alyonushka approached, the Baba Yaga opened her door and welcomed her in.

  “My dear child, where do you go and what can I help you with?” asked the kindly Baba Yaga.

  Alyonushka told her of her mission.

  “You are indeed going the right way,” the Baba Yaga said. “But you still have a long way to go.”

  She fed Alyonushka, gave her a new pair of iron shoes and a silver spinning wheel, and sent her on her way.

  Alyonushka walked on and on, up thickly wooded mountains, and past sparkling lakes, until she came to another Baba Yaga’s hut. This Baba Yaga also told her she was going in the right direction. Then, the witch fed her some delicious soup, gave her some new shoes and a golden egg, and sent her on her way.

  Alyonushka walked farther still, through shaded valleys and across sun-dappled glades, until she wore out her third pair of shoes as she finally reached the edge of the forest. There was one more Baba Yaga’s hut sitting at the of the trees.

  This Baba Yaga told Alyonushka she was almost there.

  “See, there is the palace of Prince Finist, yonder. But you must hurry. The wor
d is that he is set to marry a princess tomorrow. There’s going to be a grand ball to celebrate, and everyone’s invited.”

  The Baba Yaga pressed a magical needle that could sew by itself into Alyonushka’s hands and sent her on her way.

  When Alyonushka arrived at the palace, she asked to see Prince Finist. She was told that he was out hunting and would be back later. Alyonushka planned to wait for him, but word reached the ears of the princess that a beautiful girl was asking to see Finist.

  She went and found Alyonushka. “What do you want with my husband-to-be?”

  Alyonushka decided to be truthful and told the princess the whole story.

  The princess crossed her arms. “So, you are here to steal him away from me? Hah, I will not let you near him.”

  Alyonushka hung her head. “I never got to say goodbye, and he must think that I betrayed him. Please may I see him tonight? I wish to just say farewell and let him know that I was not the one who hurt him. I can give you gifts.” She held out all the precious items the Baba Yagas had given to her.

  “Fine,” said the princess. “Wait in that room and I’ll call you when it’s time.” She took the magical objects and walked away, laughing to herself. The princess went to see the old magic woman who lived in the palace and asked for a way to make Finist fall into a sleep so deep he could not be woken until she wished it. That way, the pesky Alyonushka couldn’t take her prince away from her.

  The old woman gave the princess a magic pin. “Put this in your prince’s hair. He will sleep until it is removed.”

  The princess waited for Finist to return from his flight. Once he did, she told him to rest on a comfy couch. Then, she slipped the pin into his hair and he fell fast asleep.

  The princess showed Alyonushka to the room. “He’s all yours until dawn,” she laughed, cruelly.

  Poor Alyonushka couldn’t understand why Finist didn’t wake up. She tried again and again to wake him.

  “This is an enchanted sleep,” she gasped eventually. “The princess has tricked me!”

  She stroked Finist’s hair tenderly, remembering the long nights they had spent in conversation. As she stroked, the pin fell out of his hair and Finist sprang awake.

  “Alyonushka? What are you doing here?” he exclaimed.

  Alyonushka explained everything—what her sisters had done, the endless miles she had walked, and finally how she had bought one more night with him from the princess. When she finished, Finist looked angered.

  “She sold me for some magical objects? While you, dear Alyonushka, journeyed all this way to find me. I know what true love looks like. Please, will you marry me?”

  “Of course!” Alyonushka cried.

  So, there was a wedding the next day but it was not the one Finist’s kingdom had been expecting.

  After they were married, they lived happily ever after—and in time Alyonushka learned to fly as a falcon too. They would soar through the sky together, and each time they passed over the hut of a Baba Yaga, Alyonushka called down her thanks.

  Céline, Kitchen Queen

  Adapted from Donkeyskin by Charles Perrault

  A long time ago in France, there lived a girl called Céline. She loved to bake cakes and after many years of hard work, she finally got her dream job working in the palace kitchens of the King and Queen.

  Not far from the kitchens were the palace stables, where there lived a magic donkey. This creature was famous all over the kingdom, because it could turn things into gold. Céline became fond of the donkey, and whenever she took a break from her kitchen duties, she would visit the creature to pet it.

  Not long after Céline started working at the palace, the Queen died. The whole kingdom mourned, for the Queen had been very popular. More popular than her husband, in fact.

  After the Queen’s death, something inside the King broke. He became bitter, cruel, and spiteful. After several months, he decided that he would marry again. His new wife, he declared, would be an improvement on the old one in every way. She would be more beautiful, more talented, and more beloved by the people.

  One day, as the King was wandering around the palace, he ended up in the kitchens. He caught sight of Céline. Even in a dirty apron, with messy, tousled hair and flour on her nose, the king could see that Céline was beautiful. He decided that she was the woman he wanted to marry.

  Céline was horrified when the king proposed to her. But she also knew that if she said no to the king, he might sack her.

  She asked if she could think about his proposal overnight and the king agreed. Céline couldn’t sleep as she tried to decide what to do. She stayed in the kitchen, pacing up and down. She tried to bake a cake to calm her nerves, but it didn’t work. She paced some more. Then she baked some cookies to clear her mind. That didn’t work either. Just as she was whipping up a batch of meringues, there was a loud POP and her fairy godmother appeared in the kitchen.

  “Something on your mind, Céline?” asked Fairy Godmother, raising an eyebrow. She knew her goddaughter very well indeed and she knew that she baked through the night when she was worried.

  Céline explained what had happened. “Please, Fairy Godmother, what do I do? I cannot marry him.”

  Fairy Godmother smiled. “Do not worry, my dear. The answer is simple. Say that you will marry him, but only on the condition that he gives you these things—a dress as bright as the sun, another dress that shines like the moon, and a dress that changes like a sunset.”

  “It’s impossible to have dresses like that,” Céline said, confused. “Nothing on earth is as bright as the sun, for a start.”

  “Exactly!” said Fairy Godmother. “He won’t be able to give you any of those things and so you will be able to say that you can’t marry him.

  The next morning, Céline went to the king and told him her demands.

  The King frowned for a moment—but then he smiled, his lips curling into a grimace that frightened Céline. “Done. And I will do one better, to prove my love for you. I will destroy my most valuable possession.”

  That evening, when Céline went back to her bedroom, three amazing dresses were waiting for her. One was as bright as the sun, another shone like the moon, and the third changed like a sunset. And next to the dresses lay the skin of the magic donkey.

  “Oh no, poor donkey,” Céline cried to herself. She dashed straight back down to the kitchen to try to think.

  This time when Fairy Godmother appeared, Céline was surrounded by chocolate cupcakes and towers of cookies.

  “Your plan didn’t work,” Céline gasped as she beat a bowl of eggs. “Now I have to marry him!”

  “Calm yourself,” Fairy Godmother said. “All is not lost. That magic donkey skin will make a great disguise. Go back to your room, then put it on and flee the palace.”

  “But my cakes! My job!” Céline wailed.

  “There are other places to bake in this world,” Fairy Godmother said, firmly. “And I will make sure we find you one of them.”

  So, Céline crept back to her room, put on the donkey skin, packed the fine dresses in a bag, and slipped out of the palace. She ran as far away as she could, looking like an old beggar woman. Eventually, she came to a new kingdom. She headed toward the royal palace. There were no jobs available in the main kitchen, but the royal farm in the palace grounds needed a cook.

  “Although you’ll have to clean yourself up a bit,” said the farmer, wrinkling his nose at the smelly donkey skin.

  Céline worked hard and impressed all the farmhands with the delicious cakes she made. She was wary of showing anyone her beauty, so she stayed disguised in the donkey skin as much as possible.

  One day, the cook in the main palace kingdom was taken ill. All the servants were very worried, for it was the prince’s birthday and they hadn’t got a birthday cake for him! They sent word around the palace grounds that anyone who could b
ake should report to the main kitchen. The farmhands all said. “Why, Donkeyskin Girl can bake lovely cakes! Choose her!”

  The head servant of the palace wrinkled his nose when he saw Céline. “But she is so ugly and dirty. She surely can’t bake anything delicious!”

  “Her cakes are the very best,” said the farmhands, firmly.

  So, Céline was taken up to the huge palace kitchen. It was even grander than the kitchen at her last palace. Céline was thrilled and vowed to bake the greatest cake she had ever made.

  The cake was enormous! There was a layer of every kind: chocolate, vanilla, coffee, toffee, strawberry, lemon, orange, and dozens more. It was decorated with hundreds of swirls of frosting, like a beautiful rainbow.

  The head servant wouldn’t let Céline carry it into the room in her smelly donkey skin, so she stood at the door, peeking in. All of the courtiers gasped and clapped as the beautiful cake was set before the prince.

  The prince cut slices for everyone.

  “This is the most delicious cake I have ever eaten in my entire life!” the prince cried.

  Céline was so proud she couldn’t help but do a little happy dance outside the door. But then the prince frowned, chewing slowly. He reached into his mouth and pulled out a silver ring.

  Céline looked down and saw, with horror, that her silver ring was missing from her finger! She had baked it into the cake by mistake! She put her head in her hands, believing that she had ruined her chances of cooking in the palace kitchens.

  “I will only marry the woman whose finger fits this ring,” the prince announced. “For she was the one who made me this perfect cake.”

  Many of the ladies of the court immediately tried to pretend that they had baked the cake. But the ring didn’t fit any of them. Several servants barged in and tried to take credit, but the ring didn’t fit them either.