Contents
Rapunzel’s Reunion
Vanished
The Problem with Mr Woolf
Sarah Snow and the Seven Spacecraft Engineers
The Giant’s Child
The Mysterious Transformation of the Prince of Amphibia
Beardunzel
The Perfect Child
A Note on the Authors
Children’s writers have one of the most exciting jobs in the world – not to mention one of the most important. Their stories have the power to spark children’s imaginations and shape young minds.
Stories that entertain, enlighten and educate help children discover a love of reading that can transform their lives. Our research shows that when children enjoy reading, they are more likely to reach their potential at school and go on to lead happier, healthier and more successful lives.
To help children get started on their reading journey, we wanted to unearth some of the UK’s brightest new talent in children’s writing through our Short Story Prize with Bloomsbury.
We threw down the gauntlet to budding children’s writers to recreate a beloved classic fairytale with a modern twist. Fairytales have survived the test of time; for generations, they have been used to help children and adults better understand themselves and the world around them.
We want today’s children to read fairytales with the same excitement and wonder that we did as children, so we are delighted with the abundance of original, creative and wildly entertaining stories we received.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Rapunzel was a boy or if the big bad wolf was dating Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma instead of trying to devour her? Or how about if the fairytale characters you know and love were suddenly transformed – a vegetarian wolf, a sleep-deprived giant and a misunderstood stepmother – and had to go on new quests to find their happy endings? Thanks to this wonderful collection of short stories, there’s now no need to wonder.
Everyone has a story to tell, but not everyone can launch it to the world. We are thrilled to be able to publish the fantastic work of these eight aspiring children’s writers thanks to Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury are the renowned publishers of titles by J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman and Louis Sachar – so our budding writers are in esteemed company.
Congratulations to the wonderful authors featured in this collection whose magical stories will help a whole new generation of children fall in love with reading.
Jonathan Douglas,
Director of the National Literacy Trust
Rapunzel’s Reunion
Emma Young
‘Once upon a time, there lived a man and a woman who desperately wanted a child. One day, their wish was granted, but the woman developed intense cravings for a plant that grew in their neighbour’s garden. Unfortunately, their neighbour was a witch of the wickedest kind and when she found the man picking the plant’s leaves, she was incensed! The man, in fear for his life, made a heartbreaking agreement to give the witch their longed-for baby in exchange for his freedom …’
Pandora Steadfast flashed her dazzling white teeth as she allowed a dramatic pause to fill the room. ‘And today, just for you Fairytale Families fans, we’re going to bring you the exclusive reunion of that desperate couple and the precious daughter they gave away – the girl with the world-famous hair, Rapunzel!’
With a trademark wink, she continued,‘ Trust me, you won’t want to miss this. See you in three!’
‘And cut!’ yelled a harassed-looking man in round glasses.
Pandora’s smile vanished on cue and she wheeled around to a young girl weighed down by an oversized make-up belt. ‘Rosie! I’m too shiny, babes. Can you fix me up before the cameras roll again?’
Various people dressed in black invaded the stage like a colony of ants, inching chairs into position, then inching them back again.
The man in the round glasses dabbed his forehead, gazed unseeing at his notes and wondered for the hundredth time today how he could get a job on Planet Earth. His reverie was interrupted by an imposing figure in a shiny blue suit who was walking with purpose towards Pandora.
It was her co-host, Jack Deepheart. ‘Great intro, Panda,’ he purred. ‘This episode is going to kill it!’
She winced inwardly: her name was Pandora!
The harassed-looking man bobbed between them. ‘Sorry to interrupt but we’re back on, folks!’ he said, with a rising note of panic. ‘And five, four, three, two, one – we’re live!’
Pandora gazed earnestly at the camera. ‘And welcome back to Fairytale Families! I’m Pandora Steadfast, this is Jack Deepheart, and we know you’re all just dying to find out more about the tragic tale of Rapunzel, her prince and the parents who have never forgotten the child they gave away all those years ago. So, please put your hands together for … Rapunzel!’
The audience erupted into raucous cheers as a young girl made her way shyly onto the stage. She had thick golden hair that lapped at her shoulders and a long fringe that she pulled at nervously as she settled into her seat. She was wearing faded blue jeans, trainers and a Little Mix tour T-shirt.
‘Welcome to Fairytales Families!’ Jack oozed warmly. ‘And thank you for joining us today. This is your chance to have your say, directly to the people who matter.’ Jack turned back to the camera and added, ‘And while we’re on the subject of having your say, we want to know your thoughts. Get involved on social media and we’ll share the best tweets live during the programme!’
The producer of the show, an exceptionally tall and cantankerous man named Kieran who spent his spare time trying to invent a winning new flavour for Cheerios, barked at his team to start the tweets scrolling across the screen.
@Eddie21
Could have made an effort, Rapunzel! #NationalTV #FairytaleFamilies
@Selena_45
Yay – another Mixer! You got your #wings, girl! #Rapunzel! #LittleMix
@Forest_Porcupine
#Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair … too short for me.
Jack turned to Rapunzel, making sure he held his head at just the right angle to convey deep compassion – a look he practised often in his bathroom mirror. ‘Perhaps we could start with when you first became aware that you were living an unconventional life, one that perhaps hid some darker secrets?’
Rapunzel slipped down into her chair a little. She really wasn’t used to the spotlight; she tried to avoid attention wherever she could, although it wasn’t always easy. She’d only agreed to appear on this programme because it was a chance to finally meet her parents after all these years.
‘Um, I suppose it was in the tower,’ she started. ‘I mean, it was a pretty normal childhood before then. I lived in a house in the forest with my mother … I mean, the woman I thought was my mother …’
Pandora seized on her words. ‘You mean the witch?’
The audience booed on cue at the word ‘witch’.
‘Yes.’ Rapunzel nodded. ‘The witch. She was … kind … loving. I didn’t know then that she wasn’t my real mum. It could get lonely at times, but she was protective of me, made sure I had everything I needed.’
@TheGingerbreadMan
She should have run, run as fast as she could! #gingerbread4ever #cookingwithginger
@Girl_Power
Why must we always demonise witches? We’re not hearing her side of the story – stop with the booing please. #FairytaleFamilies #EveryWomanCounts
@Alwaysontherightside
Sounds like #Rapunzel is actually defending her captor?! Unbelievable! Lock up the witch and throw away the key!
‘But all that stopped the day she locked you up in the tower?’ Pandora prodded. This was too tame! She wanted emotion – fury, distress, blame
… They were already four minutes into the programme and not a single tear so far. Kieran must be furious!
Rapunzel gulped back a wave of emotion – it wasn’t an easy time to remember. ‘Yes. I thought it was an adventure, a new home for us. But then she left me on my own.’
‘Get a close-up of Rapunzel!’ Kieran yelled in the production suite at no one in particular. ‘I think we have tears. Do we have tears? No? Not good enough, team! Not. Good. Enough!’
Jack strolled to the front of the stage, a hand in his pocket. He liked the move because not only did it convey an air of complete assurance but he could also fiddle with his new black and gold fidget spinner (with glow-in-the-dark personalised initials).
‘While Rapunzel catches her breath, Fairytale Families fans, let’s take a look at the conditions that Rapunzel was forced to live in by her captor.’
A large screen behind Rapunzel flashed into life and the infamous tower came into view while poignant violin music was piped throughout the studio. Rapunzel rolled her eyes. She knew all the big fairytale stars did this show – Little Red Riding Hood had raved about it, she’d got a three-book deal, a cookery show (‘What’s in the basket, Little Red?’) and her own fashion line after her appearance. But Rapunzel didn’t care about those things. This was so cheesy; she wished with all her heart she could meet her parents quietly, away from the cameras.
Jack was now in full flow. He wasn’t a man who wasted time questioning his own importance. ‘At sixteen, this girl, who had otherwise lived a normal life, was taken to a tower where she would find herself imprisoned by the woman she called Mum. From that moment on, life changed dramatically for Rapunzel. Alone most days, she only saw the witch when she lowered her world-famous hair and pulled her up into the tower. Until the day a passing prince spotted the witch on the way up, asked Rapunzel to let her hair down for him … and the rest, as they say, is history! So let’s bring out Rapunzel’s handsome prince and saviour: put your hands together for Prince Alexander!’
Saviour? Rapunzel fumed. She’d had a meticulous escape plan ready long before he arrived, but before she’d had a chance to put her plan into action, the witch had spotted the iPod he’d left behind on one of his visits. Before she knew it, her hair had been chopped off, the witch had disowned her and she’d been cast out into the wood in disgrace.
The audience erupted into claps and cheers as Alexander walked confidently onto the stage. He had dark, floppy hair, an endearing smile and white teeth to rival Pandora’s. He waved warmly at the audience and then bent down to give Rapunzel a kiss before taking his own seat.
Rapunzel swallowed a grimace: she wished he wasn’t enjoying this quite so much.
@FairytaleFan_71
Can someone find me a prince please?! #hotprince #Rapunzel
@Girl_Power @FairytaleFan_71
Hot prince? Rapunzel didn’t need a man to save her #independentwoman
Jack rearranged the jealous sneer which was creeping over his face into a friendly smile. ‘Prince Alexander, that’s quite a welcome!’
‘Yes, thank you!’ Alexander grinned. ‘But I really don’t deserve a hero’s welcome. All I ever did was follow my heart.’
The audience, whose hands had only had a momentary reprieve, resumed their clapping and a chorus of ooohs and aahs filled the room.
‘Don’t underestimate yourself!’ Jack continued through gritted teeth. ‘You showed great perseverance in meeting Rapunzel and persuading her to escape the tower with you. And you nearly paid the ultimate price.’
Alexander’s face grew serious. ‘That’s true,’ he agreed. ‘As I was falling from the tower, I thought I was going to die. But life gave me a second chance.’
‘So how did you survive in the forest? What kept you going?’ Jack asked.
‘Well, love, of course!’ he replied.
Rapunzel wished he wouldn’t always talk in camera-friendly soundbites. She was trying to be supportive of his new career as a vlogger, but she was struggling to tell what was real or fake about him. Was she just a fast track to fame?
Pandora beamed at the camera. ‘On that note, we need to take an ad break so we’ll be back shortly with the reunion we have all been waiting for: Rapunzel finally meets her birth parents. And we’ll have one special guest you won’t want to miss!’
‘And cut!’ yelled the man with the round glasses, which had now entirely steamed up.
Rapunzel looked nervously at the two extra seats that had magically appeared next to her on the stage. And who on earth was the special guest Pandora had just mentioned?
‘Are you OK, babe?’ Alexander asked her, looking around at the set with wide eyes.
‘I guess so,’ she said. In truth, she was sick with nerves. ‘Look, actually, Alex, I don’t know if I can do this,’ she whispered.
He looked at her in panic. ‘Are you serious? You can’t back out now, Zella – this is live TV!’
Her eyebrows creased. ‘I can’t back out because it’s live TV?’ she asked furiously.
‘Well, no. That came out wrong,’ Alexander stuttered. ‘What I’m trying to say is that it’s normal that you’re feeling nervous. But this is the moment you’ve been waiting for your whole life. Your parents are metres away from you right now! You can’t let this opportunity go.’
Rapunzel knew deep down that he was right. She closed her eyes as the make-up girl fussed over her face with powder and lip gloss, and started to calm herself as she’d learnt to do in the tower. She remembered the dancing motion of the trees in the wind from her window, the rabbits skipping playfully in the bushes, the home-made cherry tarts the witch brought her every time she visited … This is my story, she told herself. And I need to know what the next chapter holds.
‘And welcome back to Fairytale Families!’ beamed Pandora. ‘After meeting Rapunzel and her handsome prince, Alexander, we will now reunite Rapunzel – for the first time – with her birth parents!’
Rapunzel’s stomach felt like it was full of trapped hummingbirds, desperately battling to escape.
‘So, please welcome Sandra and Peter Halverson to Fairytale Families!’ Pandora crowed.
They nervously shuffled onto the stage, gripping each other’s hands like life rafts, their eyes wide. Rapunzel stood up and walked on her now jellylike legs to greet her parents. They enfolded her in their arms and she sank into them like a favourite pillow at the end of a long day. Her father was clutching a small bunch of hand-picked wild flowers which he pressed on her as they pulled apart, tears staining their cheeks.
Kieran was doing high fives with the air (he didn’t like real people’s hands – they were far too sweaty). Finally, some tears!
@Little_Red
Wow! Amazing moment #Rapunzel! I’m so happy for you!
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