One of Princess Leia's fondest memories was of the year she received a mysterious gift from a group of walking carpets. They were not literally carpets, of course, but to a child such as Leia, they were nothing more than big wads of fur with wet noses, who made funny sounds like a ship that hadn't been tended to for quite some time. Anyway, their wooly, fanged faces did not concern her, for they came bearing gifts, and she was keen to receive whatever it was they had to offer. They handed her a round object, which was decorated with glittery, red spirals. Her parents were puzzled by the gift, but they assumed it must be one of those Life Day orbs they had heard so much about.
Later that night, however, the ball broke apart, and sitting among the shell fragments was a tiny lizard. Leia picked it up by the tail, and it stared at her with unfocused eyes. After some research, her parents determined that the animal was a baby Dewback. They asked Leia if she wanted to keep it, but she declined.
"He'd be happier in the wild," she said, "And even if he doesn't live as long as he would in captivity, a short life of freedom is better than an eternity spent as a prisoner."
Her parents were not keen to make a trip to some desert planet which might suit the young reptile, but Leia was a stubborn child, and insisted that they depart at once. Within the hour, they boarded a ship and headed straight for Tatooine. Leia sprayed the lizard with water every few minutes, which he licked off his body with a tiny, pink tongue. She liked this animal very much, she decided.
When the ship touched down near a colony of much larger, much smellier Dewbacks, Leia set the infant down in the sand. As he ran towards his new family, scampering joyfully with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, a Krayt Dragon suddenly burst from the sand and bit his head off. Leia's parents stared at the bloody patch of sand he left behind with their mouths agape. They turned to their daughter, who did not seem upset by the creature's death. She looked up at them with an innocent smile, and her father blinked twice.
"Leia, your Dewback just died."
"I know."
"Aren't you sad?"
"A little, I guess. Death is always sad, but it's not what really matters. Did you see how happy he was when he saw his family? He had a good life, and I'm sure that one moment of happiness was worth it for him, even if it was short-lived."
Well, they couldn't argue with that.
