Raelynn Jean Blosser Grimes is a Girl in the Enchanted Forest. She is small, kind, and brave. She holds her Teddy Bear tight. “Hi, Bear,” she whispers. Bear is soft and loyal. He never lets go.
In the forest, the trees glitter. Little lights blink like tiny stars. Raelynn hears a quiet “oh no… oh no…”
A Princess sits on a mossy log. Her crown is a bit crooked. Her eyes look watery. “I lost my shiny ribbon,” she says. “It was pink and sparkly.”
A Queen steps from behind a fern. She is tall and calm. Her voice is warm like a blanket. “We will find it,” the Queen says. “We can do it together.”
Raelynn nods. “Find ribbon,” she says. “I help.”
Bear bounces in her arms. “Sniff-sniff,” says Bear in a silly voice. Raelynn giggles.
But then—whoosh! A Wizard appears with a swirl of gray smoke. His hat is pointy. His beard is long. He holds a wand and frowns. “No ribbon for you,” he grumbles. “I hid it. I like shiny things.”
Raelynn feels a tiny shake in her tummy. She hugs Bear. The Queen kneels down. “It is okay to feel scared,” she says. “We take slow steps.”
The Princess wipes her cheek. “Please?” she asks.
Raelynn looks up at the Wizard. “No hide,” she says. “Not nice.”
The Wizard blinks. He did not expect a small Girl to talk back.
Raelynn takes a step. Then another. The forest path splits: left has blue mushrooms, right has a sleepy pond. Raelynn listens. Drip… drip… from the pond. “Ribbon maybe wet,” she says.
They walk to the pond. The water is clear. A frog sits like a guard. “Rib-bit,” says the frog.
Bear leans close. “Do you see sparkle?” Bear asks. Raelynn laughs again.
Under a lily pad, something twinkles. Pink! Sparkly! The ribbon is stuck on a reed.
“Got it!” Raelynn says. She reaches, but it is far. The Princess is too small. The Queen is careful not to splash.
Raelynn thinks. She looks at Bear. “Help,” she says.
Bear has long, floppy arms. Raelynn holds Bear out like a gentle hook. “Reach, Bear!”
Bear’s paw taps the ribbon. The reed wiggles. Pop! The ribbon floats free.
Raelynn scoops it up. “Ribbon!” she cheers.
The Princess claps. “My ribbon!” She ties it on her wrist. It shines like a tiny sunrise.
The Wizard stomps over. “Give me!” he says.
The Queen steps forward, steady and kind. “Wizard,” she says, “you can have something too. But you must ask.”
The Wizard’s frown softens. “Ask?” he mutters.
Raelynn holds up the ribbon, then shakes her head. “Mine? No. Princess.” She pats her pocket and pulls out a little acorn she found earlier. “Wizard,” she says, “you want shiny? Here. Lucky acorn.”
The acorn has a gold cap, like treasure. The Wizard’s eyes go wide. “Oh!”
He takes it gently. “Thank you,” he says, surprised by his own nice words.
The Princess gives Raelynn a reward: a small pouch of glittery forest stickers. “For you and Bear,” she says.
The Queen smiles. “You were brave,” she tells Raelynn. “You used your thinking.”
Raelynn sticks one shiny sticker on Bear’s tummy. “We did it,” she whispers.
In the Enchanted Forest, the lights blink brighter, like they are clapping too. Raelynn walks home with her Teddy Bear, her new stickers, and a happy heart.