BEDTIME STORY
"Ready for bed, son?" The dark haired man poked his head through the doorway of the child's bedroom.
"Almost, father." The small boy answered fumbling awkwardly with the last few buttons of his nightshirt. The man smiled at his determined offspring. "Here," he said making his way into the room, "let me help."
"Oh, Father," the boy fumed, "I can do it by myself."
The man smiled again, watching the boy finish the buttons, and then boosted him onto the bed.
"You've sure got an independent streak in you, must get it from your mother." He laughed.
The child giggled as his father ruffled his shaggy brown hair with a strong, comforting hand. Reaching to extinguish the light, the father's hand was stayed by the small boy's pleas. "Tell me a story." The man looked down into the boy's pleading eyes. "All right." He relented, settling himself on the side of the bed, "But just a short one." If your mother finds out you're awake past your bedtime we'll BOTH be in trouble."
The boy smiled, his brown-green eyes sparkling with the knowledge both he and his father shared: Mother's growl was much worse than her attack.
"Let me see…." The man searched his mind for a suitable tale. "A long time ago in a faraway land there was a Kingdom. The King who ruled had a beautiful daughter and the Princess was very helpful to her father in ruling and protecting their domain. One day, an Evil Knight came to
take over the King's rule. The Princess fled the kingdom to get help to fight the Evil Knight.
In another land, far away from where the King and Princess were, lived a young man. He had dreams of traveling to distant places, conquering all evil and restoring peace everywhere."
"Will the young man help the Princess?" The boy interrupted in anticipation.
"You'll have to listen to find out." The father teased. The child silenced expectantly and the father continued….
"On her journey to find help, the Princess was captured by the Evil Knight's men. They put her in a deep, dark cavern."
The boy swallowed nervously at the images conjured in his mind of the cavern. He didn't like the dark.
"Also held captive in the cavern was a pirate."
"What's a pirate?" The wide-eyed youth asked.
"A pirate…" the father improvised an explanation, " ..is someone who has no family and makes a living doing things against the law."
"Is a pirate good or bad?"
"Pirates are usually bad, but not as bad as the Evil Knights and some pirates are both good and bad." The father watched as his son pondered what he'd said.
"This pirate was very handy with his weapon. At first the princess was afraid of him, she'd never seen a pirate before. Soon, she told him all about the Kingdom and the Evil Knight's intention to kill her father and rule the land. The pirate told the Princess of a plan he had to escape from the cavern. Later, when all the guards had finished their rounds, the pirate and the Princess escaped through a secret passage he had discovered. Many miles from the cavern they ran into the young man from the far away land. He told them he had left his homeland to seek his fortune. The pirate and the Princess told the young man about the Evil Knight and the Princess' kingdom. The young man took them to his magical flying chariot and they flew to the
Princess' kingdom." The father stopped, noticing his son's sleepy nod and fluttering eye-lids
The boy stirred immediately. "What happened?" He prodded.
The father decided to hurry the story along as his sleepy, but stubborn, son would stay awake
until it was ended. "Together they fought and defeated the Evil Knight and all his men and saved the Kingdom. The beloved King once again was a secure ruler. The young man became a trusted, honored Knight of the Kingdom, keeping peace throughout the realm. The Princess and the pirate fell in love, were married and lived happily ever after."
The boy's eyes were filled with wonder at the fanciful tale his father had told.
"Things like that don't really happen do they?" Questioned the boy as the father tucked the covers around his son once more.
"No, son, they don't. Go to sleep now." He leaned down and kissed his son's forehead, then turned out the light and headed for the door.
"Good night, father." The boy muttered sleepily.
The man answered as he closed the door, "Goodnight Han."