Bedtime Stories by Christopher Richards

Renzy could now see the wolf pack in the half-light. A moment later, they were circling and snarling, and showing their razor-sharp teeth.

A wolf of monstrous shape leapt into the air and tried to take a bite out of Renzy. He missed. The wolf crouched down ready to spring again. Suddenly, a rider thundered into the clearing. He swung the flat of his sword on the rump of the beast. It let out a yelp. The other wolves scattered.

Renzy saw all this upside-down, because he was cocooned in creepers, and dangling from a branch of a bandit tree. And what he saw next worried him.

This was no ordinary rider. His armor gleamed gold in the first rays of dawn. He turned his sky-blue horse toward Renzy. Sunlight flashed on the tip of his pointed sword. He charged right at him. YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

"Help! Help!" yelled Renzy from inside his leafy prison. But the rider heard nothing but his own scream. Renzy could hear the sword as it sliced through the air. Thud! Renzy fell to the ground.

What the rider saw was a small, untidy, and very muddy young boy. He was squirming on the ground trying to untangle himself from a branch of a bandit tree.

What Renzy saw was a sky-blue horse. In its magnificent saddle sat a tall knight with orange plumes on his helmet. And then Renzy saw the shield- a Sackonian shield! There it was; the symbol of the Gray Elephant. And that could only mean one thing.

"Sir Roger, sir!" cried Renzy. It was Sir Roger of the Gray Elephant Castle, who lived not far from Renzy's home. Renzy had never actually seen Sir Roger, but he had learned about him from his tutor, Mr. Fiddlybobble.

"What are you, who know my name?" boomed Sir Roger.

"I am Prince Renzy of Sackonia, son of King Adada and Queen Chichi, and brother to Mercer-the-Inventor."

Sir Roger roared with laughter. He almost fell off his horse. "What nonsense!" he said.

"Stuff and nonsense! Absolute rot!"

"I am Prince Renzy, Sir Roger, sir"

"Don't talk such flapdoodle and piffle!"

"I am!"

"You are a young scallywag! And you have a vivid imagination. I don't know how you even know who Prince Renzy is, let alone pretend to be him."

"I'm not pretending."

Renzy was so upset that he felt like saying some harsh words to Sir Roger. But he didn't of course. Renzy knew how to be polite. And he didn't want Sir Roger to be so cross he would ride off and leave him all alone in the wood.

"You're from the village of Little Dimmy, yonder," he said, pointing his finger. "You're lucky I came along. Hop on, and I'll take you home."

Renzy climbed up onto the back of the skyblue horse. They plunged through the wood in the direction of Little Dimmy.

Sir Roger would not stop talking. Renzy tried to interrupt, so he could convince him of who he was. Yet, whenever Renzy managed to get a word in edgewise, Sir Roger just laughed and returned to his favorite subject; his quest. After a while they came upon a little girl. She was kicking a tree and muttering to herself.

Sir Roger called to her. "What place is this?"

The little girl immediately stopped kicking the tree and came to Sir Roger.

"This is the village of Little Dimmy, Sir Knight, sir," said the little girl. And then she went back to kicking the tree.

"Why are you kicking that tree?" asked Sir Roger.

"Because the Knights of the Black Castle came in the night and took all our burritos, our grilled cheese sandwiches, and the rest of our ice cream, Sir Knight, sir. That's why I am kicking this tree. It's not fair."

"Stolen, you mean?"

"Yes, Sir Knight, sir."

"And now all we have to eat is our Brussels sprouts," said the little girl.

"I can see why you're so cross," said Sir Roger. "Sadly, I cannot help. I must away. I am on a quest."

Sir Roger turned in his saddle toward Renzy. "Right then, down you get, young fellow!" commanded Sir Roger. "And take this bag of chocolate-covered blueberries. Use them wisely."

Renzy looked up to see Sir Roger galloping away. He took out one chocolate-covered blueberry and put it in his mouth. He hadn't eaten for a very long time. He had just one, and then another, and another, and another. At last, he noticed the little girl standing beside him. She had finished kicking the tree and was now watching him closely as he ate from the bag.

"Would you like one?'" Renzy held out the bag, and she took one.

"Mmm, they're delicious. Thank you. What did that knight mean when he said use the chocolate-covered blueberries wisely?"

"I have no idea," said Renzy, "I haven't eaten for ages. I think eating them is using them wisely."

"But if you eat them all now, you won't have any for later."

"That's true. I shall keep the rest for later. What's your name?"

"I am Lily," said the little girl.

"I am Prince Renzy of Sackonia."

Lily burst out laughing. "That's very funny," she said. "What's your real name?"

"Renzy is my real name. I am a prince."

"Fiddlesticks! Princes aren't all muddy and untidy. You must be from the village of Moldy Damp," she said.

Renzy decided to change the subject. "I like your name," said Renzy.

"I like it too," she said. "How did you get here?"

"I was blown off the castle roof on a kite. I traveled most of the night in the air across the sea and landed right on the roof of the Black Castle. Then I was chased by Sir Rotter, captured by a bandit tree, almost eaten by wolves, and brought here by Sir Roger." Lily laughed so much tears were running down her cheeks. "You tell a good story!" She didn't believe a word of it. She had no idea what a kite was, but she didn't want to say so. "And if you were a prince from Sackonia, that knight would have treated you differently. He just gave you a ride."

"He didn't believe me either. All he talked about was his quest."

"What's a quest?" asked Lily.

"He has to do a brave deed for his lady."

"And what's that?"

"Sir Roger is in search of the Wooly Grapefruit."

Her eyes widened. "You mean the Wooly Grapefruit that grows on the Hill of Beans that none can climb?"

"Yes."

"And that is on the other side of King Nasty the Horrible's realm?"

"Yes."

"And it is guarded by the bug-eyed troll who speaks in a terrible sing-songy-bad-poetry voice that none can hear without going mad?"

"Yes."

"Then he is a brave knight, indeed."

"How do you know about such things, Lily?"

"Mamu-Shamu."

"Who is Mamu-Shamu?" asked Renzy.

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