Just like any other morning Princess Johanna flutters open her eyelashes at the first touch of sunlight.
She gently folds back her fluffy pink comforter, and stretches the morning sleepies right out the ends of her fingers. The thought of what the day may hold brought a smirk to the corner of her mouth. Would she dance with a prince, feast on tea and crumpets, or slide down the spiral banister outside the grand door she now fixes her eyes upon? The possibilities are endless.
Johanna’s cheeks were becoming rosy from the sun pouring into her window so she quickly wiped the sleep from her eyes, and hopped out of bed. Even though she may not actually be royal, and her castle may only be seen through her eyes, Johanna does not let that stop her from becoming the princess of her dreams. The house she lives in is very old, and holds the perfect nooks and crannies for adventures that only take place in the grandest of castles.
Just outside Johanna’s bedroom stands a tall, solid white door that she knows very well. After quietly slinking across the hall she has to pull up on her tippy toes in order to twist the doorknob hard enough to pry it open. As she pulls a couple of old paint chips crack off and fall to the floor. Inside the door are about two dozen dusty wooden steps that creak every time she lays her tiny feet upon them. Traveling around the spiral stairs Johanna’s heart fills with excitement of all the stories being held at the top of this old building she calls home.
Upon entering the dark attic most would smell the bitterness of dirt and dust, but not princess Johanna.
As she pulls open the last door she can already smell the fragrance of fresh bread, marble floors, and the perfume she sees her mother dap on her neck from time to time. At the top of the spiral staircase she is just a girl named Johanna, but the moment she steps through that door she becomes Princess Johanna with all the possibilities royalty can bring.
Johanna forgot that she was still wearing her soft pink nightgown until her barefoot hit the cold marble floor, and the nightgown transformed into the most beautiful ball gown of that same soft pink. She gently ran her fingers over the lacey pleats on her shoulders, and the satin sash wrapped around her middle. Her feet were also no longer cold as they were nestled in beautiful, sparkling slippers. Lastly, her loose and messy bed head was now an elegant bun adorned with a mesmerizing diamond tiara. She blinked her eyes just once, and then immediately joined the dancers who were twirling around the ballroom floor. The music carried her round and round until it felt like her feet had left the ground.
When the princess finally landed again she tripped over something.
In the first second that she looked down she saw a dusty box of stuffed animals. A small frog, a tiger, and a large, sort of lumpy, elephant. However, when she looked back at the heap a second time the animals had become just as alive as her. It startled Johanna a bit when the soft, yet mighty, looking tiger let out a wide yawn and the frog jumped onto the pouf of lace on her shoulder.
“Hey Princess, you’re just in time for tea!” croaked the tiny frog.
“The table is all set!” Gloria chimed in while motioning to the group with her large trunk. Just then, as Johanna turned around, she noticed a crystal top table set for a grand tea party. She could not take her eyes off the little white tea cups decorated with elegantly painted light blue flowers. As she slowly lifted the cup from the thin saucer she could smell the delicious lavender tea that she was pretending to sip.
“What will we do today?” The sly tiger, Guy, crept up from behind her and purred into her ear before she even noticed him.
“Oh Guy!” She squealed as the tiger caught her by surprise, “I did not realize you were behind me”. While being startled her hand holding the tea became a bit shaky causing a couple drops to trickle onto the sleeve of her gown. Johanna quickly grabbed a napkin from the table and dabbed at it slightly as she ran off towards another dusty corner of the attic that was tucked behind a large bulky shelf piled full of her family’s memories. She was moving so fast that as she turned the corner she almost didn’t notice that the dust seemed to evaporate into the slanted wooden ceiling as a spectacular royal garden appeared.
“Purrrfect day,” purred Guy while sliding his head under a stack of books lying on a bench. He then crept delicately along the garden with the books propped neatly on his head.
“Oh Guy, you are so graceful! I know that princesses should be graceful too, but sometimes I feel like I can’t do all of the things that a princess should do,” Johanna sighed.
“Princess you are more graceful than you know, but I would be so happy to help you.” replied Guy. “You see, this is so easy for me because tigers must step very lightly while hunting prey.” Guy then bowed his head low towards Johanna, and she just as delicately lifted the books off the tiger’s head and placed them on her own. Then, with both arms out to her side she glided her feet along the grass just as her friend had.
“Wuh oh oh, ugh,” after about 4 steps Johanna felt her shoulders begin to wiggle, and before she knew it the books landed right on a batch of yellow lilies.
“It’s alright,” insisted each of her friends, “It takes practice and patience.” With her friend’s encouragement and a deep breath she placed the books back on her head, and after only a few more smashed flowers she was gliding along just like the princess she believed herself to be.
“Great job!” croaked Ella, the tiny speckled frog, “now that you can walk like a princess I will teach you to curtsey.”
“Curt who?” the princess asked with a very puzzled look on her face.
“Curtsy,” Ella repeated as she carefully slid her left leg behind her right and bent down ever so slowly. “Whenever you meet or see someone in the castle you greet each other with a bow or a curtsey. It is a very royal and polite way to say hello,” she explained. Princess Johanna had been studying the frog’s long legs (usually used for hopping), and tried to form hers in the same way, but every time she began to move one foot back and bend the other knee she would feel her legs begin to shake. “Slowly and gracefully,” Ella whispered as all of the other friends smiled with encouragement. Looking into her friend’s eyes she remembered that she is a princess, and with that she floated her arms elegantly to the side, bowed her head, and performed a very graceful curtsey. Her three friends then returned the bow, and they all laughed with pride in the new talent.
As princess Johanna then looked at Gloria she noticed a huge smile come across the elephant’s face. “What is it Gloria?” she asked, beginning to smile as well.
“I just remembered it’s my favorite time of day,” she replied.
“What’s that,” asked Guy with both confusion and excitement.
“It is time to go to the throne room!” the lumpy elephant explained. As soon as the words escaped from Gloria’s mouth Johanna notices an old, fuzzy, orangish-red chair across the room. It just happened to be sitting on the old wooden box her dad made to set the christmas tree on when it wasn’t quite tall enough. However, as she follows the trail of her friends over to it the entire surroundings turned into a golden throne room. She glided up the crystal jeweled steps to sit upon, what is now, a beautiful royal throne.
“What do Princesses do in the throne room?” Guy whispered to Gloria in a calm, but eager voice as all of this was going on.
“Well,” Gloria started, “the throne room is a place for everyone in the village to meet the princess, to thank her for anything her family has done for them, or to ask for help if needed,” Gloria gladly explained. Johanna was very excited, but wanting to appear royal, she quietly folded her hands in her lap and sat very tall.
“Oh, can I please go first?” Ella croaked at once.
“Of course,” Johanna chimed.
“Princess Johanna,” her tiny voice breathed out as she sank down into a beautiful curtsey. “I am feeling so great, and I have you to thank for that. You helped to clean the pond, and explain to the whole village the harm that their pollution and litter may cause.”
“Ella, my dear friend, I am so glad that I could help keep you healthy and feeling great,” Johanna said while giving the frog a gentle pat on the head.
Next, Gloria thanked Johanna for the cold fountain that the royal family placed in the center of the village. “That fountain helps my family cool off during hot days.”
Guy also thanked the princess for encouraging others not to be afraid of the gentle tiger that he is. “A true princess helps everyone feel at home, and you are surely a true princess,” he proclaimed with a humble bow.
As Guy spoke the word, “home” Johanna thought for sure that she heard a faint voice in the distance. As she focused on it the voice seemed to grow larger.
“Johanna, are you awake? Your breakfast is getting cold.”
Johanna’s ears perked up, and she knew in an instant exactly whose voice she was hearing.
As she drew her attention back to her friends they were once again a pile of stuffed animals now lying at her feet as she sat in the fuzzy chair on top of the christmas tree box. She lovingly scooped them up, and as she returned them to their box she whispered, “I am most grateful of all for kind and caring friends, and that is far more important than royalty and riches.”
Johanna crept back down the wooden staircase, and quietly latched the old door. She heard a grumble rise from her stomach the moment she smelled her mother’s homemade apricot oatmeal. As she sat down to breakfast her mind raced with the memories of her palace friends, and although she knew in her heart that these were only memories of her imagination they still brought a smile to her face.
“You’re in a good mood this morning Munchkin,” her mother noticed and then when her eyes traveled to the sleeve of her daughter’s nightgown she added, “but you just woke up how in the world did you manage to spill something on yourself already?” Johanna shrugged her shoulders slightly, and held her sleeve close to her heart.
