The Magic Leaf (Part I of Mel Kingdom Stories)

Once upon a time, in a kingdom called Mel, there was a village where because of the pollution, there were no trees, the lakes had dried up and the worst part was that it was summer!

Slowly, people started dying So the king of Mel called the villagers for a meeting. One of the villagers said, "What should we do?"

The king said, "There is only one way now, some of us will have to go in the cave deep in the forest as there is a magical leaf in the cave that will help us restore the natural beauty of our place. And then it will remain the most beautiful natural place in the world because of the magic of the leaf. The problem is that i can not go for this task because i need to safeguard our Kingdom. So now my question to you is who are the bravest in my land who will volunteer for this task?"

Everybody started to murmur and looked at each other. Finally, three children came ahead. Their names were Mia, Rosie and Joey. They said, "we would go in the cave and bring the leaf back. But we need a few things."

The king asked them to take anything that they need.

They said, "We just need four gold coins, one carrot, one bag of blueberries and one water bottle for each of us."

The king asked his helpers to bring three bags filled with all the things that the kids had asked for. The king invited them to spend the night in his castle before they embark on their adventurous journey the next day.

Next morning, they set off. They had not gone very far when suddenly Rosie gasped and said, "Without any trees to guide us, how would we find where the forest is?"  

Joey had the solution for this minor problem. He suggested that we follow the track of the dead animals and the sound of the animals who are barely alive due to lack of food and water.

"Good idea!" said Mia

They continued to go ahead . On their way, they found a rabbit who was crying. On asking, the rabbit said, "I have nothing to eat. Not even a crumble of carrot is left due to this drought in the land."

Mia and Rosie started talking to the rabbit while Joey had an idea! He quickly opened his blue bag and took out the carrot that he had brought with him. "Here you go little Bunny."

Rabbit became very happy and said that my best wishes are with you guys. you will be able to pass everything. With the best wishes from rabbit, they continued their journey.

 On going further, they found a swan standing inside a dried lake and crying. Rosie asked, "Why are you crying?" The swan told them that he had no water to drink and all his kins had died due to drought. Tears started rolling from Rosie's eyes upon hearing his tragic story. She said, "Please take this water to quench your thirst. We will try to make everything better very soon." 

The swan said, "oh, Thank you! Thank you! I dont have anything to give you in return of your kindness except for my best wishes for your adventure ahead."

Mia Thanked him and they started walking ahead.

A little ahead, they found a bird silently sobbing. on seeing the kids, The bird begged them to give her something to eat for her hungry children. Joey and Rosie talked sadly about the bad condition of birds and animals. Mia had an idea! She quickly opened her red bagpack and offered the green small bag full of blueberries to the tiny bird. The bird quickly took off with the bag full of berries to feed her children.

Rosie and Joey said together, "So cute!"

And they started to walk ahead. 

Finally, they reached the cave that they were searching for and though it was sunny outside, the cave was looking dark. They found two men guarding the entrance. The guards stopped them and said, "you cant go in."

Mia thought for a moment and then said, "We will give you 6 gold coins each if you allow us to enter the cave. Deal?"

The guards looked at each other and took a moment to think this over, then they said, "Deal!"

And they made way for the three of them to go. Joey whispered, "Brilliant Mia."

While Rosie said, "Oh my God! i cant believe we have made it till so far."

Mia said, "Now let us see what lies ahead of us."

They moved towards a dark room inside the cave. And Rosie found a  paper which said "Look for the magical genie who will help you find the key to unlock the door of the next room where your next task waits for you."

They started looking everywhere. Suddenly, two girls heard Joey gasping. He was holding a teapot which he rubbed with his t-shirt. And out came a genie! He gave the key to Mia and said, "I will help you in your journey."

Mia unlocked the door ahead with Rosie's help and they went inside. But what was it stirring in the corner...Was it a mountain? but how was it moving? Oh God!!! it was a monster and he was leering at them. he said in a growling voice, "you cant pass through my room alive. Ne ne ne boo boo!!! Ha Ha Ha!"

And then with his magical powers he pushed the girls back and banged their heads on the wall. The girls cried with pain. The monster began to laugh even harder. Joey was thinking fast and suddenly saw  the teapot which was still in his hand, he rubbed it quickly and the genie appeared. The monster stopped laughing and said, "Oh No! the genie is my greatest fear."

This time genie and Joey started laughing. Genie picked the monster up and threw him in the corner who fainted there. The kids found another key in monster's lifeless hand. Rosie and Mia were still rubbing their heads and were barely in their senses. 

Upon opening the next door, they found a note. Joey was now sick of these endless puzzles. He cried, "Is it another test for us now?"

Mia picked the note and started reading it slowly. It said, "Congratulations! You are the first one to make it till here." They looked around and found nothing but a big stone in the middle of the room with no sign of any kind of leaf.

And then, Joey said, "We should try moving the stone, i think."

Mia started pushing it but she could not move it. Joey and Rosie too could not move it an inch. They looked at each other and smiled because now they knew what they needed to do. They came together and pushed it with all their might. And a small leaf came out fluttering, it was dancing above their heads now. The kids were overjoyed now. A voice in the room echoed and said, "You now need to place this leaf in the center of the Kingdom to bring its beauty back."

The kids requested the genie to take them back to the castle of Mel kingdom. Upon reaching there, they thanked genie for all his help. genie smiled at them and disappeared.

The kids knew that the castle is in the middle of the kingdom. They asked the king to put the leaf in the heart of the castle. The king did exactly that and Do you know what happened?

Suddenly the whole place became as lush as a jungle. All the natural beauty came back. In the forest, Rabbit became very happy because there was a patch full of carrots for him to eat. The swan was dancing in the middle of the lake. And mumma bird was chirping happily with her kids sitting on a lush green tree.

The king gifted the kids bags full of gold coins and goodies. The bags were of their favorite colors... Red, green and blue. Three of them lived happily ever after in the three biggest houses of Mel Kingdom.

Hope you liked this story.

-Anwita