An Original Fairy Tale
By Theo Bernstein, age 8, New York City
Once upon a time there was a place, Wales. Underneath that very country was Corgiland, where the Corgi Gods and Goddesses found land and claimed it.
The citizens were Corgis. They worshipped their kind king, who loved to meditate and read, and liked to play Corgiball in their huge park, which was the largest in the world. They could use Corgi power and energy to influence minds and move things with their paw without touching them.
They kept the peace until one day…
There was another country, Aussieca, and their citizens were Australian Shepherds who loved furniture shops and screens and shopping online.
One morning, the king of Corgiland woke up. He had his usual breakfast and read the newspaper. The headline said, “AUSSIECA DECLARES WAR.” It was real! That morning he read three war books but none were good. “I have to be off,” he said. “I am already late for the Corgiball game.” He headed off to the park.
Tapping his walking stick, the King Corgi entered the park. Not that he needed the stick. He chewed it to gain knowledge from the Ancient Corgis and power for meditation. He got to the Corgiball field and made teams. He won the game for his team, but that didn’t take his mind off war with the shepherds. So he went to a statue of a corgi god and meditated and levitated.
Finally, he came to an answer. The shepherds would organize a battalion of 1,000 Australian Shepherds to fight the Corgis for war. He decided he would do that, too. He immediately told his bodyguards: “Bring 1,000 of the most skilled warriors to me at my castle. Only Corgis.” He went home, and hours later, the guards returned and succeeded. “Good. Get weapons and prepare for battle.
The next morning, the King woke up to war on his streets.
“What have I done?” he asked himself. As swords were clashing and guns were being shot amid sounds of “Fire!” and “Retreat,” the king knew what he had to do. He summoned all his Corgi powers and suddenly every weapon from both sides dropped. The Corgi King hurried outside.
“What happened?” the King of Aussieca asked.
“Why do you do this?” asked King Corgi.
“Because Cardigans are stealing our coat. We want the Blue Merril coat to ourselves. We won’t hurt you. You’re a Pembroke,” King Australian Shepherd said.
“Well I got news for you,” King Corgi said, striking his best show dog pose, “I am a red Cardigan. Anyway, truce?” King Corgi responded.
Moments of silence. King Aussie thought and thought. “Fine,” he said. They shook paws. And to this day that truce lasts. The Aussies play Corgiball in Corgiland’s park, and the corgis shop in Aussieca and buy Aussieca-style antiques. They lived in peace and prosperity and both countries lived happily ever after.
