The Golden Stag

In a distant land in an ancient time there lived a wizard king; the wizard of Gold and all in his kingdom was beautiful and all were loving and kind and he had a magical golden rod that would turn into a sun beam and, whenever there was a problem anywhere in his kingdom he would point the rod towards it and, however far away it was, the sun beam would stretch out and touch it and the problem, by magic, would be solved.
But then one day, the wizard of Gold married a woman called Silveria and though the kings magic provided everything for her that she could want; even though she was rich and lived in a giant golden sun palace in the clouds, she was not happy because she wanted the wizards power and to wield the golden rod herself.
And so one night, while the king was sleeping, the queen tried to take hold of the magic rod but because the rod was part of the wizard, growing out of his hand she couldn't and she woke him and, seeing her hand upon the rod, he warned her.
"I see your eyes are envious but you must forget about my golden rod. Nature gave it to me to wield", he said, "In any one elses hand it can only bring destruction".
But the next night, while the king slept, she took a moon shaped knife and cut it from his hand and when he awoke, crying in pain she laughed and said,
"I have the power now, my husband and so you will do as I say".
"You do not know what you have done", said the golden wizard, "For the golden staff was mine by right of birth that is why I was born with it affixed to my hand. In your hand it is a dead thing and its power can only bring death to the world".
And, looking down at the golden rod in her hand, the queen saw the golden light drain out of it and it turn to a rod of ice.
Fortunately part of the golden rod; the stump of it was still part of the kings hand and so he used what power was left in it to transform himself into a golden stag and, escaping from the palace that was turning from a golden palace to a palace of ice, he leapt to the earth below and hid himself within a forest.
The Witch queen Silveria, did not mind however, for all she cared about was wielding power and, though everything she touched with the rod now turned to ice, she simply threw her head back and laughed like shattering crystal.
"If my power is to bring cold and darkness to everything", she said, "Then so be it. Let my queendom be one of ice and shadows and all who feel my touch tremble with fear".
Then she unchained the cold north wind and ordered it to fly around her queendom to spread the news that the sun king was no more and the winter Queen was the new ruler of the land.
But her subjects did not accept her rule; they would not believe that the Sun king was dead; they lit torches to symbolise his power and, in secret, praised the sun.
So the queen thought, "If only I could find that golden stag and cut off its head then I could show it to the people and they would know their Sun king is dead and give up all hope".
So she saddled up a mare made of shadow with an icicle for a unicorn horn and taking a silver bow shaped like the crescent moon and arrows of ice that could freeze all that they pierced with their pointed heads, she leapt down from her ice palace onto the Earth below and went hunting in the forest to which her husband had fled.
And the first time she went looking for the golden stag, hearing her coming with its golden ears, it turned itself into an oak tree so that she couldn't see it and, after spending all day searching in vain she leapt back up into the sky.
The second time she went looking for it, feeling her coming with its golden hooves, it turned itself into a stream and its tributaries so that her horse just rode over it and, yet again, when she had grown tired of looking she leapt upon her black mare back up into the skies.
The third time however, the golden stag had become distracted by a beautiful young Hind and he did not see or hear or feel the queen coming as she galloped towards him and then seeing him and raising up her bow she fired upon him as many arrows as there are stars in the Eastern sky and seeing him fall dead upon his side, shouted triumphantly,
"Ha! Ha! Atlast, the sun king is truly slain. Now the people will give up their hope and accept my new order of perpetual night".
But then, suddenly, the icy smile melted melted from the witches lips and her eyes melted too, into a torrent of tears as she saw her arrows of ice, one by one, lose their stiffness and melt away into water and then, in their place, sun beams stiff as hedgehog quills burst upwards from the fallen kings wounds.
Then, the slaughtered stag becoming a shadow of a man, up from it rose the sun king with a new staff of golden sunlight in his hand.
Screeching and howling like an arctic gale, the witch queen hurled herself upon him, striking at him with her staff of ice.
But then, with one swift movement, the Sun King blocked the blow and when his golden staff was crossed with her staff of ice, her staff melted away, showing after all whose power was the greatest.
"How? How?", said the Queen, looking at his staff, bewildered, "I cut off your staff. How is it you have it now".
"In time, all things heal and regrow; all true orders are restored", said the Wizard.
Then the Wizard ordered the witch to kneel before him and when he touched her head with his golden rod and sunlight poured over her she was transformed from an ice maiden into a sweet young maiden of the spring with a gown of green instead of snowy white; pink roses blooming in her cheeks and a red rose opening within her heart.
And all the people of his land rejoiced and cheered, seeing the golden king seated once more upon his throne because then all the ice that the queen had covered the land with melted away and instead the land was covered in the green grass and flowers of the Spring.