Queen Neena and the Labyrinth of Lost Dreams

Queen Neena, a curious and adventurous queen wearing a golden crown and a flowing purple gown, reaches up to pluck a glowing book from a silver-barked tree covered in colorful books instead of fruit. In the background, crystal bridges arch over a golden-sparkling river beneath cotton-candy pink and purple clouds.

Queen Neena ruled a shimmering kingdom where crystal bridges arched over rivers that sparkled with golden light. Floating gardens drifted lazily through the air, and tall towers stretched up into cotton-candy clouds. But the most wonderful thing of all was that books grew on trees, like apples! Every morning, Queen Neena plucked a fresh book from a branch and read it before breakfast. "There is always something new to learn," she said with a smile, tucking the book under her arm.

Blinky Sparx, a sparkly android with a round silver head, bright blinking blue eyes, and a body covered in tiny glittering panels, spins excitedly with arms outstretched in a floating garden filled with drifting flower beds. In the background, tall shimmering towers stretch into cotton-candy pink and purple clouds.

One sunny morning, Queen Neena's best friend came zipping through the garden. Blinky Sparx was a sparkly android with a round silver head, bright blue eyes that blinked like stars, and a body covered in tiny glittering panels. Blinky loved puzzles more than anything in the whole kingdom. "Queen Neena! Queen Neena!" Blinky called, spinning in excited circles. "I found something amazing in the Forgotten Forest! You have to come see it right away!"

A tall, dark tower made of smooth black stone rises from the center of a forest of old trees with twisting silver bark and shimmering emerald leaves, with a single window at the very top glowing faintly with orange light. In the background, the pale blue crystal path winds away through the dense silver-barked forest.

Queen Neena and Blinky Sparx hurried down a winding path of pale blue crystals, past the last floating garden, and into the Forgotten Forest. The trees here were old and tall, with twisting silver bark and leaves that shimmered like emeralds. Hardly anyone visited this part of the kingdom anymore. At the very center of the forest stood a tall, dark tower made of smooth black stone. It had no door. It had no stairs. There was only a single window at the very top, glowing faintly with orange light.

Queen Neena, a curious queen wearing a golden crown and a flowing purple gown, presses her hands against the smooth black stone wall of the tall dark tower, her face full of concern as she looks upward toward the glowing orange window at the top. In the background, old trees with twisting silver bark and shimmering emerald leaves surround the tower.

"Help!" called a small, trembling voice from inside the tower. "Is someone there? Please help me!" Queen Neena pressed her hands against the smooth black stone. It was cold and hard. She walked all the way around the tower, but there was no way in — no door, no handle, not even a crack. "How do we get inside?" she wondered aloud. Then Blinky's bright blue eyes blinked rapidly. "Look!" Blinky said, pointing a shiny finger at the wall. Strange symbols and pictures were carved deep into the stone, glowing with a soft golden light.

A close-up of the smooth black stone wall of the tall dark tower showing a carved puzzle glowing with soft golden light — a picture of a river, a bridge, and a key with golden glowing words beneath them. In the background, more faintly glowing carvings and symbols stretch across the dark stone surface.

The first carved puzzle showed a picture of a river, a bridge, and a key. Beneath it, golden words glowed: "I flow but I am not water. I connect but I am not a bridge. I open but I am not a key. What am I?" Queen Neena bit her lip and thought hard. The riddle felt so big and confusing! "When a problem feels too big," Blinky said gently, tapping one glittering panel, "try breaking it into smaller pieces." Queen Neena nodded. She thought about each clue, one at a time. What flows? What connects? What opens? "A road!" she cried. The golden letters flashed, and the first ring of stone slid open with a rumble.

Blinky Sparx, a sparkly android with a round silver head, bright blinking blue eyes, and a body covered in tiny glittering panels, points cheerfully at a carved puzzle on the smooth black stone wall showing a glowing golden sun, candle, and star. In the background, the first ring of stone has slid aside, revealing the deeper dark wall behind it.

Behind the first ring of stone was another wall — and another puzzle! This one showed a picture of the sun, a candle, and a star. The golden words read: "I give light but I am not the sun. I flicker but I am not a candle. I shine at night but I am not a star. What am I?" Queen Neena groaned. "Another one? This tower is full of riddles!" "Don't give up," Blinky said cheerfully, eyes blinking bright blue. "Let's break it into pieces again. What gives light, flickers, AND shines at night?" Queen Neena thought carefully. Then she gasped. "A firefly!" The second ring of stone rumbled open.

A close-up of a carved golden lock with no keyhole glowing on the smooth black stone wall of the tall dark tower, with softly glowing golden words beneath it. In the background, the dim interior of the partially opened stone rings is visible.

The third puzzle was the hardest one yet. It showed a picture of a lock with no keyhole. The golden words read: "I have no key, no handle, no hinge. Yet I open for those who are kind. Speak the word that unlocks every heart." Queen Neena stared at the puzzle for a long time. She tried "hello." Nothing happened. She tried "friendship." Nothing. She felt her shoulders droop. "I can't figure this one out," she whispered. Blinky gently placed a cool, glittering hand on her arm. "It's okay to ask for help, Queen Neena. That's not giving up — that's being smart."

Queen Neena, a curious queen wearing a golden crown and a flowing purple gown, looks upward with a hopeful expression, her hands cupped around her mouth as she calls toward the glowing orange window at the top of the tall dark tower. In the background, a narrow stone staircase spirals upward into warm orange light inside the tower.

Queen Neena looked up at the glowing window high above. "Little voice!" she called. "Can you help me? What word unlocks every heart?" There was a pause. Then the small, trembling voice answered softly, "The word is please. No one has ever said it to me before." Queen Neena felt her heart squeeze. She turned to the wall and said clearly, "Please." The third ring of stone split apart with a deep, echoing boom, and a narrow staircase spiraled up into the tower. Queen Neena grabbed Blinky's hand. "Come on!" she said. "Someone up there needs us."

A tiny dragon no bigger than a house cat with sunset-colored scales of orange, pink, and gold, two crumpled little wings folded tight against its back, and big watery amber eyes, sits curled up in the corner of a small round stone room. In the background, the single window glows with warm orange light, and the curved stone walls of the small round room are bare.

They climbed the spiraling staircase round and round until they reached a small, round room at the top of the tower. Sitting in the corner, curled up tight like a little ball, was a tiny dragon no bigger than a house cat. Its scales were the color of sunset — orange, pink, and gold — and two crumpled little wings were folded tight against its back. The tiny dragon looked up at Queen Neena with big, watery amber eyes. "You solved the puzzles?" it whispered. "You came for me?" "Of course we did," Queen Neena said softly, kneeling down. "What's your name, little one?"

Queen Neena, a curious queen wearing a golden crown and a flowing purple gown, sits on the stone floor beside the tiny dragon with sunset-colored scales of orange, pink, and gold, speaking gently with a warm and kind expression. In the background, the curved stone walls of the small round room and the single glowing window are visible.

"I don't have a name," the tiny dragon said sadly. "I've been up here so long, I've forgotten. A grumpy old enchantress put me here because I couldn't fly. She said a dragon that can't fly is no dragon at all." The little dragon's lower lip trembled. "Maybe she was right. I'm too scared to even try." Queen Neena sat down beside the tiny dragon and spoke gently. "Being brave doesn't mean you're not scared," she said. "Being brave means you try, even when you ARE scared. And you don't have to do it alone. Blinky and I will be right here with you."

The tiny dragon with sunset-colored scales of orange, pink, and gold spreads its small wings wide, hovering just a few inches off the forest floor with a look of joyful surprise on its face. In the background, old trees with twisting silver bark and shimmering emerald leaves fill the Forgotten Forest.

They carried the tiny dragon down the spiraling staircase and out through the open rings of stone. The Forgotten Forest stretched around them, wide and green. The tiny dragon spread its crumpled little wings and shivered. "What if I fall?" it whispered. "Then we catch you," Blinky said simply, blue eyes blinking with kindness. The tiny dragon took a deep, shaky breath. It flapped once. Twice. On the third flap, its sunset-colored wings caught the air, and it lifted — just a few inches off the ground. "I'm doing it!" the little dragon squeaked, eyes wide with surprise. "I'm really doing it!"

Blinky Sparx, a sparkly android with a round silver head, bright blinking blue eyes, and a body covered in tiny glittering panels, looks upward with a warm expression as the tiny dragon with sunset-colored scales of orange, pink, and gold flies higher among the shimmering emerald leaves overhead. In the background, golden light filters through the canopy of old trees with twisting silver bark in the Forgotten Forest.

The tiny dragon wobbled and dipped, but it kept trying. It flew a little higher each time, its sunset wings glowing in the golden light that filtered through the emerald leaves. It wasn't perfect. It wasn't graceful. But it was flying. Queen Neena watched with her hand over her heart. She knew the little dragon still had a long way to go. There would be wobbly days and tired days and maybe even some falling-down days. But that was okay. Because now the tiny dragon knew something important — it didn't have to be perfect, and it didn't have to fly alone. Tomorrow, they would practice again.

Queen Neena and the Labyrinth of Lost Dreams

Browse More Stories

from the Fable Public Library