The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Nine

                                                       Chapter Nine

          On the side of the river opposite the desert loomed a dark, foreboding mountain. It was the biggest, steepest mountain one could possibly imagine. At the top of this mount was Quasbed’s cave.

            As the three children stood in it’s shadow, they suddenly felt very small and out of place.

            “How are we going to make it all the way up there?” Kyle asked.

             It was at this precise moment that the golden butterfly flew past the children and alighted on a long, broad plank of wood which was propped up against layers of vines covering the side of the mountain.

            “Look! We can lift ourselves using these!” Kara said excitedly. She braided three vines together so as to form a sturdy rope. The children then knotted this rope around the piece of wood so that it made a suspended platform. Armed with their water pistols and the tortoise shell full of water, the three siblings climbed up onto the platform and proceeded to pull themselves up using the other vines.

            It is not easy to pull one’s own weight up the steepest mountain in Nowhere, and the children were exhausted by the time they reached the top. But there they stood, at the mouth of Quasbed’s cave, the desert sun setting behind their backs.

            “We should be wearing fire-proof armor if we’re going to fight a dragon,” Levi said. His brother and sister agreed. Each of them reached into their pocket, pulled out their apple, and took a bite. Immediately each of them had a full suit of armor.

            “Levi, what’s in that package that the dwarves gave you?” Kyle asked his brother.

            Levi reached into his pocket and produced the brown parcel. “I don’t know,” he said. “I had forgotten about it until now.” He tore open the paper and beheld a lyre, which shone with the same radiance as the golden butterfly.

            “Oh!” Kara said. “One of the dwarves said that Quasbed will fall asleep if he hears music! You can use that, Levi!”

            “Alright,” Levi answered. “Here goes.”

            The three children tiptoed silently into the cave, where they were greeted by a tremendous roar which shook the cave. A flame darted out above their heads.

            “WHO GOES THERE? WHO GOES THERE?!?!?” the dragon stormed.

            “Three travelers…far from home…the only way we can get home is to use…your…dragon scale.” Kara trembled as she forced the words out of her mouth.

            “My scale? NEVER!” Quasbed replied. His breath emitted another flame. Kyle extinguished the flame by using a water pistol.

            “Play, Levi, play!” Kara instructed her brother. Levi began plucking on the lyre, and right away the dragon crashed to the ground, snoring loudly. The three children approached him, water pistols in hand. “I feel guilty about this,” Kyle said. “I mean, he’s asleep!”

            “It’s the only way,” Kara said. “And remember, Quasbed will only be sick for a week. Then he will be back to normal.”

            Kyle looked thoughtfully at his water pistol. “I guess you’re right,” he conceded. The children soaked Quasbed with the water. The dragon then sneezed forcefully, which awakened him. He growled and turned on the children. When he tried to breathe fire, only a trickle of smoke came out from his mouth. Frustrated, he sneezed again.

            Kyle plucked a shimmering scale off of Quasbed’s tail. This made the dragon angrier still, but he could only continue sneezing.

            “What do we do now?” Kara wondered aloud.

 Of all the things to find in the dragon’s lair-the golden butterfly! It perched on the wall, then suddenly vanished. There on the wall where the butterfly had just been, golden letters now gleamed.

            “What does it say?” Levi asked as he dodged a blow from Quasbed.

            “Brisag…blaswak…eljmirahth?” Kara read, trying to make sense of the words.

            The children suddenly found themselves traveling upwards at a furious pace through a dark tunnel. Then they were thrust out into broad daylight. Once again, Kara, Kyle, and Levi were in their own backyard. No longer were they wearing armor and holding water pistols; no longer did they have magic apples in their pockets. Everything was as before.

            Kara thrust her foot into her sneaker. “Come on!” she told the boys. “We have to go tell Mom about this!” Excitedly, the children ran towards the house, while a little gold butterfly flew gracefully past them.

            “Oh Grandpa, that was a wonderful story!” the little girl told her grandfather.

            “Good, I’m glad you liked it,” the man smiled.

            “Was it a true story?” the oldest grandson asked.

            “What do you think?”

            “I…I don’t really know,” the boy answered.

            The youngest boy smiled up at his grandfather. “I think it was true,” he stated simply. “I know it was true, Grandpa Levi.”

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Eight

                            Chapter Eight

            The children and the unicorn continued on their way for quite some time. They admired the houses of Heatherwood, and played “I Spy”, and had a very pleasant afternoon.

            After a while they came to a group of plants that looked like a jungle. Kara pushed some leaves aside, and the travelers beheld a most beautiful waterfall, with rocks all around it and lily pads floating in it, and palm trees hanging over it.

            The three children were breathless.

            “Come,” Claydo said. “We have to pass through here.”

 The waterfall was even more stunning up close. A rainbow could be seen in the foam at the bottom of the fall, and it was reflected in the river that the waterfall ran in to. Kara, Kyle, and Levi were so occupied admiring these wonders that they didn’t see Claydo sneak away.

            “Hey, where’s Claydo?” Levi asked a few minutes later. The children looked for her, but she could not be seen anywhere. After a few moments had passed, there was a rustling in the leaves, and Claydo emerged, bearing a canoe on her back. “Hop on!” she said as she dropped the canoe onto the bank.

            “Don’t we need life jackets?” asked Kara.

            “Not here,” Claydo said.

            After the children had climbed into the canoe, Claydo pushed them off and flew up above them.

            The ride down stream was amazing. Trees, flowers, and every beautiful plant imaginable grew along its shore. All too soon, the ride ended.

            “Well, here we are,” Claydo said with a sad look in her eyes. “The border of Fairyland.” She flapped her wings and three water pistols appeared in front of the children. Then, without a good-bye, Claydo vanished.

            “I didn’t know she could do that!” Kyle exclaimed.

            Kara swallowed hard. “Well guys, I guess we’d better be going.”

            They trudged along for miles and miles in a barren and seemingly endless desert wasteland.

            “There’s nothing here except sand,” Levi said weakly.

“That’s because we’re in the middle of Nowhere,” Kyle explained. The three children dropped to their knees and crawled until they could go no farther. It was then that they plopped down to sleep.

            That night a horrible storm arose, blowing sand everywhere. But the children were sleeping so deeply that they were unaware of the storm, and they were buried by the sand.

            Kyle was the first one up the next morning. His eyes stung because they were full of sand. He stood up and shook as much sand off of himself as he could. After taking a deep breath, he began looking around, trying to find his brother and sister.  He saw Levi’s hair sticking up out of the sand. Kyle dug through the sand and pulled him out.

            “Kyle,” Levi said hoarsely. “I need something to drink.” He reached for a water pistol.

            “Levi, no!” Kyle exclaimed as he grabbed Levi’s hand. “You cannot drink a drop of that water until we defeat Quasbed!”

            “Then what can I drink?” Levi asked.

            “I don’t know,” Kyle said. “Let’s find Kara first, then we can walk to go find some water.”

            After the boys found their sister buried beneath the sand, she stood up and let Levi hop onto her back. Kyle held all three water pistols, and the three of them marched bravely on. Kyle was in the lead, with Kara and Levi following a short distance behind.

            But someone was watching them from a great mountain by the desert. Someone who possessed a certain magic dragon scale. 

           “Water!” Kyle called over his shoulder. “Hurry, hurry!” Kara ran faster and she caught up with Kyle. “See?” Kyle said excitedly, pointing his finger. “The desert is coming to an end! See that river up ahead!”

            So the children ran as fast as their legs could carry them, and they arrived at the river. The river was made of the clearest, purest water that the children had ever tasted. When they had drank all they possibly could, Kara suggested that they should take some water with them, in case they needed it.

            “But what can we carry it in?” Kyle asked.

            The golden butterfly flew by their heads, and Kara turned and saw something that she had not noticed before. A tortoise shell was lying on the bank of the river. “We’ll keep it in this shell!” she said. She filled the shell to the rim with the crystal water. Then she turned to her brothers and said, “Get the water pistols, guys. It’s time to go get that dragon scale!”

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Seven

                                            Chapter Seven

            “It looks like a haunted house,” Levi shivered. “Who lives here?”

            “My friend Daley the pumpkin,” Claydo answered as she stepped up onto the front porch. She pulled the dusky old doorknocker and rapped on the door.

            The door was opened by a corn stalk. “Yes, may I help you?” the corn stalk asked the unicorn and the children.

            “I am Claydo,” the unicorn said. “Daley and I are old friends.”

            “Oh Claydo, I did not even recognize you, it’s so dark out there!” the corn stalk replied. “Yes, yes, come in and sit down in the parlor. I’ll go get him at once!” And she disappeared up the stairs.

            “Who’s that?” Levi asked as the seated themselves in the parlor.

            “That is Ravelle, Daley’s housekeeper.” Claydo answered.

 At that moment a nicely dressed pumpkin marched down the stairs and embraced the unicorn as best as he could. (For pumpkins only have vines for arms and legs.)

“Claydo, Claydo, I can’t even remember the last time I saw you!” the old pumpkin said with a smile. He smiled at the children, but continued speaking to Claydo. “You must stay the night here! I would be delighted to have someone occupy those old bedrooms upstairs that no one has slept in for years and years! Come up at once!” He led them up the  tall, creaky staircase to two small rooms in the attic. The first was to be Kara’s and Claydo’s. There was one bed in it, and Kara got it, because obviously Claydo couldn’t fit in it. The second room was to be Kyle’s and Levi’s. There were two beds in it, of course.

            “Gosh, it sure is dusty in here,” Kyle said to his brother as he fluffed the pillows that night.

            “Yeah, nothing like that castle,” Levi agreed with a yawn.

            “Well, I’ll sleep here anyway,” said a droopy-eyed Kyle. “Good night, Levi.”

            Silence.

            “Kyle?”

            “What?”

            “I just saw a really creepy shadow.”

            “Don’t worry about it, Levi,” Kyle half-said, half-yawned. “Please let’s just get to sleep.”

            “But Kyle, it’s a monster!”

            “There’s no such thing as monsters.”

            “There is in Fairyland,” Levi persisted. “Look under my bed, please and see if you can find a monster down there.”

          “Oh, alright,” Kyle said, throwing off his blanket. “If it’ll make you feel better.” He dropped down on his hands and knees and crawled under Levi’s bed. A large green monster stared back at him. “MONSTER!!!!” Kyle screamed as he jumped back into his own bed. Levi pulled the covers up over his head and whimpered.

            “What is all this noise?” someone asked as the door swung open. It was Kara.

            “There’s a monster under my bed,” Levi said in a tiny voice.

            “A monster? Let me see,” Kara said as she peeked under Levi’s bed, then she smiled. “Nothing here but a green sweater.”

            Levi heaved a sigh of relief.

            “Good night, guys,” Kara said.

            “Good night,” the boys said in unison.

            The three children slept later than they had intended to the next day. When they stumbled sleepily downstairs around noon, Claydo, Daley, and Ravelle were seated at the kitchen table. The three of them were chatting and sipping on a warm drink that is something like our coffee.

            “Sorry we slept so late,” Kara apologized.

            “It’s alright,” Claydo said. “You will easily be in Nowhere before sunset.”

            “Will we have to, um, spend the night in Nowhere?” Kyle asked nervously.

            “Maybe, maybe not,” Claydo replied. “But remember, you have loaded water pistols. I will give them to you when we reach the border of Nowhere.”

            “Are you sure that they will work?” Levi asked.

           “Indeed,” Claydo said. “The water pistols are sure to work because everyone in Nowhere is allergic to water.”

            “Allergic?” Kyle asked unbelievingly.

            “Yes, allergic,” Claydo echoed. “You should not even have to use all the water in the tanks to make the dragon sick.”

            “How long will he be sick?” Kara asked.

            “About one quasineba,” Claydo said.

            “Quasi-what?” Levi asked.

            “Quasineba. I believe it is equal to your week,” Daley chimed in.

            “It’s that easy, then?” Kara asked as her heart fluttered. “In that case, let’s go to Nowhere!”

            “Yeah. Quasbed will stay sick plenty long enough for us to get home!” Kyle added.

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Six

                                       Chapter Six

            “But why?” Levi asked. “Why are you not allowed in Nowhere?”

            “Unicorn rules,” Claydo sighed. “You see, even here in Fairyland, unicorns are endangered. There are only three of my kind aside from me. In a place like Nowhere, it would be far too dangerous for a unicorn.”

            “But you’ll die someday,” Kyle said.

            “Probably not for another three hundred years or so.”

            “Three hundred?!” Kara shouted. “How old are you now?”

            “One hundred and forty years old today,” Claydo said with a smile.   

            “You don’t look that old,” said Levi.

            The children giggled and sang, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday,  dear Claydo, happy birthday to you!”

            “Thank you,” Claydo told the siblings. She looked up at the growing dusk and said, “We’d better find a place to stay. If we can make it through these woods, we will come upon another town. I have some friends that live there who would be happy to take us in for the night.”

            So they entered into Heatherwood Forest and followed the path that wove around the trees. But as they stumbled around in the dark forest, they lost their way. To their surprise, they eventually came upon a cottage in the middle of the forest. It was a snug little house, and the travelers could see that someone was home because there was smoke rising from the chimney.

            “Let’s stop here and ask for directions,” Claydo said.

            They knocked on the door, and it was answered by a middle-aged woman who invited them to come inside. They stepped over the threshold and found that the inside of the cottage was not as charming as the outside. The woman who owned the house was a poor widow who barely had enough money to support herself and her son.

            “How is it that you are in such a condition? And out here in the middle of the forest?” Claydo asked.

            The woman replied, “Years ago my husband, son, and I lived happily in Heatherwood. My husband owned a little shop in town called The Nutcracker. There was a ship planning to go to another country for some imported goods, and my husband went with the crew on board.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “The ship was lost at sea, and I have not heard of my husband since. When I had sold all of the goods from the store, and spent all the money we had, I had to sell the shop. I did not get much money for it, and I did not have enough to keep up the rent for our house. So my son and I fled to the forest, where we found this little cottage. No one was living here, so we moved in. I believe that this cottage was once owned by the Seven Dwarfs, because there are seven chairs, seven beds, seven bowls, seven plates, seven everything!” She forced a smile at her guests.

            Kara looked at the woman. She looked at the woman’s son. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the walking stick given to her by the old dwarf. She laid the stick on the table and said, “Walking stick, though you are small, make enough food for us all!” And just like that, a satisfying meal appeared on the table.

            The woman looked curiously at Kara, but she did not say anything. There was a brief period of silence, broken when the woman’s son said, “Why is everyone just standing around? Let’s eat!” So they all sat down at the table and partook of a fine supper.

            When they had eaten their fill, Claydo said, “Ma’am, do you remember the way to the town of Heatherwood?”

            “Yes,” answered the woman. “I remember the way very well. And I will show you. Come.” She took a lantern off of a shelf in her kitchen and the entire party followed her through the dark and creepy Heatherwood Forest. At last they could see the shining lights of town.“Here we are!” said the woman. “Thank you for the meal.”

            “Thank you for showing us the way,” said Claydo. “Now, children, follow me to my friend’s house.”

            As they followed the unicorn, Kyle whispered to his sister, “Why did you turn the stick into food? You could have turned it into something to defeat Quasbed with.”

            “I know that,” Kara whispered. “I just felt sorry for her, that’s all.”

            At last they reached a tall gray house. “Here we are!” Claydo said cheerfully.

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

            Soon they came to the residential part of town. The houses were all big and beautiful, with long, wide porches and well-kept lawns. The children gazed at the houses as they walked.

            Claydo, noticing this, said, “Go ahead, try it.”

            “Try what?” Levi asked.

            “The grass,” Claydo said. “It’s delicious!”

            “We don’t like grass,” Kyle said.

            “You’ll like this grass,” Claydo assured him.

            The three children looked at one another, then down at the ground. Finally, Levi dropped down on his knees and ate a handful of grass. “It tastes like chicken!” he shouted.

            Kara tried some. “It tastes just like roast beef!”

            “Mine tastes like a big, juicy cheeseburger!” Kyle called from across the lawn.

            “You’re right,” Kara told Claydo. “We do like this kind of grass!”

            “What is it called?” Kyle asked. “I want some of that for our yard!”

            Claydo shook her head. “That would never do,” she said. “This kind of grass is only found in fairy countries. It would be poison in your world.” So that was the end of that.

            They kept walking and walking and walking, until they came to an enormous palace. The building was all gold and silver and bronze, and it made the children breathless just to look upon it.

“Are we going to sleep here tonight?” Levi asked Claydo.

            “No,” Claydo laughed. “I just have some business to attend to.”

            The four travelers entered in through the polished gold gates and walked up the steep bronze steps. Among the tall silver columns were standing two guards, both dressed in identical gold uniforms.

            “Hark!” shouted one.

            “Who goes there?” demanded the other.

            “Claydo the unicorn, daughter of Aydo and Braydo,” Claydo answered coolly. “I have scheduled an appointment with the emperor for today at two o’ clock. And it’s two o’ clock now.”

            “How can she tell time?” Kyle whispered to his siblings. “They don’t even have clocks here!”

            “The dwarves told me,” Levi said. “They don’t need to look at anything to see what time it is. They just know.”

            Kara looked at her brothers and shivered. Suppose the creatures in this land just knew other things, too?

            “Very well,” the first guard consented. “We will let you in.”

            “Yes, yes!” said the other. “Enter, enter!”

            The travelers stepped across the threshold and entered a room made entirely of bronze, where a man clothed in silver ushered them into the waiting room. The waiting room was made of silver. The children sat down on a silver couch and the unicorn lay down on the polished silver floor. Everything shone so that one could see oneself whichever way one turned.

            The room’s heavy silver door opened. A man garbed with a golden robe entered and said, “The emperor will see you now.”

            “Now children,” Claydo said, “you may take one bite, and one bite only, of the red apples that we gathered earlier on our trip.”

            When Kara, Kyle, and Levi bit into the apples, their wardrobe changed so that they looked not like tired children, but rather princess and princes from another land.

            “Wonderful,” Claydo approved. “Now we shall see the emperor.” They all followed the golden-robed man into a throne room composed of solid gold. This room was the grandest of them all, and up against one wall was the golden throne, upon which sat the Emperor of Fairyland.

            “Yes?” inquired the emperor as the travelers entered the room.

            “I have three children here,” said Claydo. “They are from a land called Alabama, far away from here, and they must get back home. The only way they can do so is to get a scale from a certain fire-breathing dragon named Quasbed. I was wondering if we could get some help from you, sir.”

            “What can I do to help you?” asked the emperor.

            “I was wondering if we could trade you five pounds of glow-in-the-dark taffy for some weapons.”

            “Weapons?” said the emperor. “What kind of weapons?”

            “Water pistols,” said Claydo. 

            “Water pistols?!?! Are you sure the children can handle them?”

            “Quite sure. They are very trustworthy,” Claydo replied with a swish of her mane.

            “Very well,” the emperor conceded. He clapped his hands, and four servants entered the room from two gold doors. “Fetch three water pistols!” the emperor commanded. The servants disappeared, and a moment later they returned, holding three of the largest water pistols the children had ever seen. “Now the taffy,” the emperor said, and Kara handed him the case of taffy.

            Having done this, they departed.

            “What do we need the water guns for?” Levi asked Claydo when they were safely on the road again.

            “They are very important weapons,” said the unicorn. “You will know when to use them. I will not be with you when you enter Quasbed’s cave. I am not allowed in Nowhere.”

                                                      

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Four

                Chapter Four

            “We must have gone miles and miles and miles,” Kyle said. “Can we stop soon to rest?”

            “Absolutely,” said Claydo. “There is a young princess who lives just a few miles from here. I am sure that she will be hospitable enough to let us stay the night at the castle.”

            They found the princess at a wishing well outside of her father’s castle. She was singing to herself dreamily when she noticed the travelers.

            “Good evening, Princess Cala,” Claydo said cordially. “Would you ask the king if he will allow four weary travelers to spend the night?”

            “Oh, of course,” said the princess. “I’ll only be a moment.” And she hurried into the castle.

            Princess Cala found her father sitting in his throne room, consulting with his advisers. When the king saw his daughter, he smiled and beckoned her to come in.

            “Father,” said Cala, “There are three children outside who are traveling, and they need a place to pass the night. May they stay here?”

            “Yes, of course,” said the king.

            “There is also a unicorn,” said the princess. “I will give her a stall in the stable.” So Cala went outside and told the children to come in, and the royal horsemen gave Claydo a bed in the stable.

            The princess led Kara, Kyle, and Levi up three flights of stairs to a beautifully furnished room in the top of a tower. The room had three beds, each of which bore a blanket woven from the finest silk in the land. The colors of the blankets were very unusual. The one on Kara’s bed shone like the sun, Levi’s glittered like the stars, and Kyle’s glowed like a full moon. That night, the children had the best sleep of their young lives.

            When they awoke the next morning, the princess invited the children downstairs for breakfast before they set out on their way. The children accepted this offer readily, having not eaten since lunch on the previous day. After eating their fill, the children fixed a plate of blueberry pancakes and gave it to Claydo. (For those of you who are not familiar with fairytales, unicorns prefer blueberry pancakes over any other food.)

            After Claydo had finished eating her breakfast, Levi opened the stable door, and the unicorn came out of her stall. The travelers then said thank you and good-bye to Princess Cala, then they continued on their way.

            Some time into the walk, they came upon a large tree which had three red apples on its branches; three, and no more. “Pick these apples and take them with you, but do not eat them,” commanded Claydo. The children did as they were told, but they wondered at the purpose of this. They kept their thoughts to themselves, however, and continued walking.

            Soon the travelers came upon a busy little town called Bellinai. The streets of this town were crowded with all sorts of creatures which one certainly does not find in this world. Some of the creatures were especially interesting, but since it would take too long to describe them, I shall leave them to your imagination. There were several little shops lined up along the streets; shops that sold all sorts of intriguing things.  Toys, candy, clocks, books, and other commonplace things were being sold, but one store was different. The building itself had been painted an odd bluish-purplish color. Real stars had been hung on the outside walls, and the signs in the windows said things like, “PIXIE DUST. FIVE WHATNOTS A GALLON”, and “BUY, SELL, AND TRADE MAGIC BEANS HERE.” Claydo walked into that store and let Kara, Kyle, and Levi off of her back. The children stared with wonder at the objects on the shelves.

            “Look at this!” Kyle exclaimed. “It’s a top hat and magic wand!” He put the hat on his head and said, “Abra-cadabra!” Nothing happened.

            “Child,” Claydo asked, “What are you doing?”

            “I’m trying to make magic!” Kyle said.

            “You don’t make magic,” Claydo said seriously. “Now, put the hat back.”

            The salesperson at the store was really a talking lioness. She smiled at the unicorn and said, “What can I help you with today?”

            “I’d like five pounds of glow-in-the-dark taffy, please,” said Claydo.

            “Glow-in-the-dark taffy?” Levi said. “I’ve never heard of that kind.”

            Claydo smiled. “It is not for us to eat,” she explained. “It will be useful on our journey, like the apples.”

            “Here is something that you can eat,” said the lioness, as she handed a lollipop to each of the children. “And eat, and eat, and eat! These are lifelong lollipops. You can lick them forever, and they are never used up.”

            “Cool!” Kyle said as he unwrapped his lollipop and stuck it in his mouth.

            “Have a nice day!” the lioness said, as she waved her paw at them.

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

            It was a beautiful walk along the old dirt road, and the three children saw all sorts of things that simply cannot be seen in our world. The trees waved in the gentle breeze; and by waved, I do not mean that the branches merely swayed, but each tree extended a long, leafy limb and waved at the children as they passed by. The flowers that grew along the side of the road were all cupcakes and candy bars and all sorts of things that children really like to eat.

            When it was midday, the children stopped to eat their lunch under the biggest, shadiest tree of them all. When Kyle opened the dinner pail, the children found meat, bread, cheese, mustard, potato chips, apples, and cookies. Between the three of them, the pail was empty in no time.

            As the children stood up to continue on their journey, they saw the golden butterfly. It looked as if it were sparkling, the way the warm sun shone on it. The butterfly approached them, then flew a little way farther down the road, as if it were beckoning the children to follow it. So Kara, Kyle, and Levi followed the butterfly down the road. The butterfly led them to a large meadow, and the children began to run around and feel the cool breeze running through their hair and enjoying the beauty of the day. Abruptly, Kara stopped.

            “What is it?” Kyle and Levi asked at the same time.

            “Look,” Kara whispered. “A unicorn.”

            And indeed there was a large unicorn lying in the grass. Her horn was a swirl of every color imaginable, and even some that aren’t. Her wings were purple-no, they were blue-but then they looked green. Why, its wings were constantly changing colors! But other than that, the unicorn was all white.

            Levi, who evidently feared no creature in Fairyland, said to his siblings, “Come on, let’s go see it.” So the three children tiptoed over to the unicorn, who was sleeping in the sunshine.

            “Look at its wings,” Kyle said. “They’re yellow.”

            “No, they’re not,” Kara disagreed. “They’re pink.”

            It was at that moment that the unicorn opened her soft grey eyes and looked up at the children. “What kind of creatures are you?” she asked fearfully. “Not unicorn hunters, I hope?”

            “Oh, no,” Kyle assured her. “We’re children.”

            “Children?” the unicorn asked. “I thought children were only make-believe.”

            “No!” Kyle said, quite surprised. “We are very real!”

            “Are you nice?” Levi asked the unicorn.

            “Yes,” the unicorn replied. “I would never hurt anyone. By the way, my name is Claydo. What’s yours?”

            “I’m Kyle,” Kyle told the creature. “This is Levi.”

            “And I’m Kara,” Kara added with a smile.

            “Pleased to meet you,” Claydo said. “What brings three children to Fairyland?”

            “I just followed a golden butterfly, and I fell in,” Levi stated.

            “Where are you from?” asked the unicorn.

            “We are from Alabama,” Kyle told her.

             “I have never heard of Alabama,” Claydo said. “How do you plan on returning there?”

            “We are going on a journey to the cave of a dragon named Quasbed, on the other side of Fairyland,” Kara said. “We are supposed to obtain a scale from him, and say the magic words. Then we will find ourselves in Alabama again.”

            “I hope you do,” Claydo sighed. “Quasbed is a very dangerous dragon. Only one creature has ever entered his cave and came out alive.”

            “Yes, it was a dwarf,” Kara said. “We’ve met him.”

            “But we can get the dragon scale!” Levi shouted triumphantly.

            “Ah, but do you know how to get to Quasbed’s cave?” asked Claydo. “To reach the cave, you must follow the road to Nowhere.”

            “But if the road leads to nowhere, how can it lead us to the cave?” Kyle asked.

            “No, no,” Claydo explained. “The land that Quasbed lives in on the very, very edge of Fairyland, in a place called Nowhere, where thorns grow instead of flowers, and huge boulders take the place of trees.”

            Levi gulped.

            “I will assist you on your journey,” offered Claydo. “I shall see to it that you make it to Alabama safely.”

            The children cheered.

            “Here, you may ride on my back,” Claydo offered. So the three siblings hopped on to Claydo’s back. And that is how the girl, the two boys, and the unicorn made their way down the road to Nowhere.