The Lost Story

by Meg Shaffer

STORYTELLER CORNER A Recipe for a Fairy Tale Hello. This is your Storyteller. You may already be wondering why I’m intruding onto the story like this, which is a fair question. But this is a fairy tale and fairy tales play by their own rules. I wanted you to be aware of these rules so we could all, pun intended, be on the same page. First, what is a fairy tale? A wise and kind teacher I once knew worked up her own recipe. It went something like this… Mrs. Adler’s Recipe for a Fairy Tale For any fairy tale worth its salt, you will need most, if not all, of the following ingredients… One princess in some sort of trouble and/or distress. One magician. If a magician is unavailable, you may substitute a wizard and/or wise woman. Basically, anyone with magic powers who knows more than they’re willing to tell. One hero, the more unlikely, the better. One to three villains worth fighting (and don’t skimp on the evil deeds). A member of a royal family disguised as a nobody. A pinch of unusual animals. Place all ingredients into a world that is not our own, mix well, and let it rise. You’ll know you’ve created a good fairy tale if your story ends happily ever after for the heroes and badly for the villains. You may have noticed “The Storyteller” isn’t listed in the recipe, but I am there, I promise you. We’ll play Rumpelstiltskin’s game, and I’ll let you guess my name. Oh, for this story, you should also know about the rule of three. In fairy tales, things are always coming in three...