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An English language magazine invites young people interested in literature to participate in a Fairy Tale writing competition.

You decide to take part and submit your own fairy tale. Your fairy tale must have a title, a detailed setting, a description of the main character(s), and direct speech.

Write 250–300 words (the words in the epigraph are not counted).

The participants are expected to use this poem as an epigraph:

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

(Langston Hughes)

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Тексты представлены участниками олимпиады в авторском оформлении.

 

TEDDY BALLET

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Once upon a time, in 2013, in a charming tract Russian Taiga, a grizzly black-furred bear Lora lived with her mother Big Dipper and smaller siblings. Poor Lora had to work hard all day long so her mom could spend time with the cubs. It was she who cleaned the whole house. It was she who cooked the meals. The only attraction in her dull and ordinary life was Lora’s passion for ballet.

When Lora was younger, she enjoyed watching birds dancing and elegantly fingering their legs in the air, barely touching the ground. Little Lora was amused by their ease of movement and she realised – she aspired to become a professional ballerina. This dream gave her an ultimate motivation to spice up her routine with something Lora wanted to do.

“M-mom, what if I try ballet?” asked Lora with a little hesitation in her voice, as she surely knew, that becoming a dancer for a bear was something between slim and none. “Are you off your rocker?” replied mother Dipper with a sarcastic note. “With your stocky legs, becoming a dancer is absolutely impossible!” Lora wasn’t ready for receiving such a bitter response. It was hard for her to grasp, that her dream was unreachable. She was mentally broken and depressed, as the sense of her life faded away.

Three years later, Lora made up her mind to buy herself a pair of point shoes and start training despite any obstacles. “I must learn how to dance whatever it takes!” she repeated to herself day and night, as she was concerned that living without a dream is the worst thing that could happen to anybody. After numerous training sessions, Lora became the first ever bear ballerina in the world. Her strong stamina, which was built by the faith in her dream, helped Lora to win precious dance awards and prove herself!

***

DARE TO DREAM

Once upon a time there lived a boy called Tim and a girl called Eliza. Their house was located in the midst of picturesque hills in England. They were quite typical children despite being twins: they adored fun and games and enjoyed making up silly stories. However, their parents, old farmers, were very strict and often stopped such activities.

The children’s favourite place was the garden. In warm months it was adorned with magnificent flowers and trees whose names nobody knew. Despite the dazzling sun, it was pleasantly cool in their shade.

On that marvellous day in July everything was blooming and flourishing. Tim and Eliza were sitting in the sandbox and admiring the nature. The girl gasped, “I wish I could grow a marmalade tree.” Suddenly, Mom popped up and exclaimed, “Nonsense! What a stupid dream!” To the children’s disappointment, she took them into the house to learn the alphabet and math basics. 

Later that day Tim and Eliza’s grandfather, a grey old man with a wide smile, approached them and whispered to them to follow him. They climbed the stairs and entered the attic. The children looked around. There were many strange objects that looked like some ancient clocks. Everything was covered with thick dust, and there was nothing interesting whatsoever.

“What did you want to show us?” wondered the boy. The grandfather opened a cupboard and took out several seeds. He said, “I brought these seeds from a foreign kingdom many years ago. I believe these are not ordinary ones, and I would like you to prove it.”

They planted the seeds and returned to the garden the following day. “Good lord!” the grandfather exclaimed and pointed at a beautiful tree with marmalade. Eliza in a blue dress and Tim in a green T-shirt and trousers started dancing and shouting. Their parents went into the garden hearing the noise and were perplexed. They started to believe in miracles since then. Tim and Eliza were delighted to see this change, which occurred only because of their dreams.

***

A POLYGLOT PRINCESS

Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom, there lived a Princess called Rose. She had golden hair and blue eyes, and was the smartest girl in her land because she spoke ten languages fluently. The Princess had a dream that one day she would fall in love with a handsome prince who would save her from the imprisonment of a malicious dragon. Unfortunately, all the neighboring dragons were peaceful and harmless, and that is why Rose soon realized that she would eventually have to take the matter into her own hands.

One summer morning, the Princess set off on her journey to the Dragon village. When she got there, the girl went straight to the palace to see the local king, Eisteddfod. He was a red omnipotent dragon who didn’t know a word of English. But luckily for him, Rose was an expert in Draconian. 

“Your Highness,” the Princess said. “I have come to ask for a favor.” 
“What is it that you want?” Eisteddfod asked.
“You see, I have a dream of being rescued from the imprisonment of a dragon, and wanted to know if you could kidnap me to help find my true love.” 
The king thought for a while then said, “I’ll help you on condition that you translate a peace treaty for me into ten languages. Will you do that?”
“Surely!” Rose answered and shook Eisteddfod’s paw. “It’s a deal.”

The following day, Eisteddfod kidnapped Rose and “imprisoned” her in a high tower in the woods. Many a brave knight failed to save her but for one smart young man, Bright, who also knew Draconian. He spoke to Eisteddfod and found out about Rose’s dream. He then climbed the tower and saved the Princess. Rose was impressed by Bright’s intelligence and fell in love with him. They got married shortly afterward. And that is how a young girl managed to pursue her dreams with only her determination and love for foreign languages.
 

***

CLAUDE, THE FROZEN HEIR

Once upon a time, there lived a young man by the name of Claude. He was the heir to the Leicester Dukedom his father had governed for three decades. Much was expected of the eighteen year old heir. He had to have a firm grasp of magic to protect himself from states which were at war with Leicester. Of course, he had to learn history, etiquette, and other noble activities.

However, Claude had no ambition to rule. He was a person poorly suited to such a role. He was creative, and would prefer to be a poet, architect or a painter rather than the archduke of Leicester. The heir had decided to live a quiet life in pursuit of his passions long ago. One day, he decided confront his father.

Filled with determination, Claude approached his father, Lorenz. The heir said, “Father, I’m grateful that you put so many resources into my education and preparation which is necessary for ruling Leicester, but this is a role that I’m not willing to play”. Lorenz disappointedly replied, “Then you shall be frozen until your will changes. You’re the only heir. If you do not become the ruler of Leicester, the dukedom will fall… And I shall freeze you myself!” 

Claude pondered if there was any way to avoid this. Sadly, there wasn’t. The castle was heavily guarded and even if he somehow got away, he’d be declared an outlaw across all of Leicester. However, the heir remembered his magic studies. Such a spell could only freeze a person unless they had no strong desires. Otherwise, the ice would melt in a few decades. As Lorenz was casting his curse, Claude swore to himself to not lose his passions. The ice covered him fully, creating a beautiful statue. Three decades later, long after Lorenz’s death, the statue melted and the aspiring artist was freed. It is said his works are still treasured all across the world.
 

***

THE FLYING KING

Two centuries ago there lived two mice in the enchanted primeval forest in Kent. Their names were King and Ping and they were as similar as two of a kind. They were both grey and little. However, King had blue clear eyes, while Ping's ones were brown. King and Ping shared one common dream. Every moment they were dreaming about flying like free birds in the sky.

Once they met a wise eagle who told them that there was an opportunity for them to fly. They had to swim across the Great Ocean and find the Secret Island where the apple tree with magic apples grew. Ping exclaimed, "It's too dangerous as lots of big evil monsters swim in this ocean!" Ping refused to go there, while King said, "I will do everything to fulfill my dream!"

It was very hard for little King to swim across the stormy ocean. Hungry sea creatures surrounded him, but, fortunately, he was too tiny to be noticed by them. He was scared of them and gigantic waves, but his great wish to reach that island helped him to overcome these difficulties.

All day long King swam and only at night he suddenly saw the earth. It was the Secret Island. His heart began beating with incredible joy. He ran up to the apple tree and ate a magic fruit. Immediately wings grew on his back, the magic tree disappeared, and King flew away.

King and Ping's friendship continued. They strolled together whole days. But when King soared, Ping's eyes filled with tears and his heart got full of a hopeless longing. They were both grey and little, but one of them was happy, while the other one was miserable. Dreams can't come true if you don't try hard enough.