The Magic Picture Book

Once there was a little girl called Kessie who had a book in which she would draw pictures; pictures of things she had been told about by her mother in fairy tales, like a glittering golden coach pulled by six white horses and a princess in a sparkling ball gown and a handsome prince who lived in a gigantic and beautiful palace.
And whenever she would show her mother the pictures, her mother would say, "Oh Kessie, those are so beautiful".
One terrible day, however, Kessies mother passed away from a fever and her father remarried but Kessies stepmother was a cruel and wicked woman and when her father also passed away, Kessies stepmother took away all of Kessies nice things and made her dress in dirty rags and live like a slave, sleeping on a cold stone floor and eating scraps and leftovers.
The only thing, infact that the stepmother didn't take from Kessie was her picture book and that is because Kessie had hidden it under a floor board and, sometimes, secretly she would even take it out and draw more pictures in it like an ugly picture of her stepmother as a horrible firebreathing dragon.
One day, however, Kessies stepmother found the picture book and started to laugh derisively at the pictures inside and when she came to the picture of herself as a dragon she got so angry that she threw the book upon her living room fire.
And when she told Kessie what she had done, Kessie wept and sobbed.
But the ashes of the book flew up the chimney to heaven where Kessies parents were and, the next night, Kessie was woken by a glow coming from outside her window and, looking out of the window, to her astonishment, Kessie saw a glittering golden coach pulled by six white horses, identical to the one she had drawn in her picture book.
Fortunately Kessies stepmother was a heavy sleeper and a loud snorer and so she didn't hear as Kessie crept downstairs and opened the front door of their house to see if the coach was really real.
And it was, real and glittering and beautiful; a carriage fit for a princess.
But then its driver got down from his seat and opened the coach door and asked Kessie, "Shall you be going to the princes ball now, M'lady".
"Princes ball", asked Kessie, "But I don't have a ball gown?".
"What about the one your wearing?", asked the driver.
And hearing this, Kessie looked down and, amazed, saw that she was not wearing her stepmothers dirty rags anymore but a beautiful sparkling ball gown identical to the one she had drawn in her picture book.
But then the driver helped Kessie into the coach and they set off to the princes palace.
And when she saw the palace from the window of the coach she was amazed that ir too looked just like the one she had drawn.
Then, stepping from her carriage she was led into a grand ballroom and, just like in a fairytale, she danced around the ballroom with the handsome prince.
Unfortunately, just at that moment, Kessies evil stepmother awoke and she was so angry to find Kessie gone that she started to turn into a firebreathing dragon just like the picture that Kessie had drawn of her.
Then, flapping big black dragon wings, the stepmother dragon flew to the princes palace before bellowing with a belch of flame,
"You thought I was a dragon, Kessie. Well now I am a dragon. So come out so that I can eat you".
The prince told Kessie not to worry, that he would fight the dragon for her.
Unfortunately, the prince didn't have a horse or a sword or a shield.
But then Kessie had an idea and she drew a picture of a winged white horse; a sword and a shield upon a napkin and, just like all the other pictures she had drawn, suddenly they became real.
So then, taking hold of the sword and shield and climbing upon the winged horse, the prince went out to fight the dragon.
It was a very ferocious battle because Kessies stepmother was a horrible monster but when Kessie had drawn her shield she had written the words, "Shields from anything" upon it and so not even the dragons fiery breath could melt it and when she had drawn her sword she had written, "Cuts through anything" upon it so not even the stepmother dragons thick armour like scales could protect her from it and the prince, flying upon the winged horse, easily drove his sword deep into the stepmother dragons evil heart.
After that Kessie set to work drawing a beautiful white wedding gown for herself and, not long afterwards, she was married to the prince in a big cathedral in a dress just like the one she'd drawn and then she and the prince lived happily ever after.