The Shooting Star (Deleted stories)

Once upon a time, high up above the clouds, in the glittering heavens was a royal palace made of shining crystal and silver and gold; the palace of her Empyreal Highness Queen Astralea, the ruler of the stars.

 

And her son; a young shooting star, named Brighton, had reached the age when he, as heir to the heavenly throne, was expected to marry but he didn’t want to marry any of the Star Princesses he saw in heaven who, though exceptionally pretty with eyes that shone like diamonds, he considered vain and pampered and very foolish.

 

He told his mother that he had seen, through the magic telescope of his uncle; the astronomer, a girl upon the Earth who he had fallen madly in love with; a girl called Carina, a farmer’s daughter who lived in the countryside.

 

“She is the only girl I ever want to marry”, he said to his mother, determinedly.

 

So, reluctantly, his mother agreed that he may go down to Earth for 5 days in order to arrange a marriage and, in a twinkling, the shooting star fell to Earth and, landing outside Carina’s farmhouse, magically changed from his Star Prince’s sparkling clothes into those of a common labourer.

 

Then, knocking on the door of her farmhouse, he was greeted by Carina and, saying that he was a handyman, asked her if she had any small jobs to do.

 

Overhearing Brighton, Carina’s father immediately appeared at the door and gave him a long list of jobs that needed to be done, including mending the farmhouse roof and ploughing his field, fixing a cart with a broken wheel and milking 12 cows.

 

Sighing when he heard the fathers list of chores, nevertheless, the good hearted prince set about doing them as swiftly as a star and, to the father’s amazement, within only an hour, had finished them all.

 

And, as a reward for his hard work, Carina took him into the kitchen of her farmhouse and made him a hot bowl of soup.

 

Carina was glad of having someone young to talk to and thought Brighton seemed very nice but then, as he was eating the soup, she poured out her heart to him, telling him that she was engaged to marry a wealthy nobleman named Vladric; a conceited brute and a bore who she did not love at all but whom her father wanted her to marry because he was so rich.

 

Hearing this, Brighton told Carina that he too was a nobleman; a prince of the Heaven’s whose mother was the Queen of the stars.

 

Carina just laughed when she heard this, thinking that Brighton must be something of a dreamer or maybe a little touched in the head.

 

Naturally, Brighton felt slightly hurt that she wouldn’t believe him and said that he would prove it to her but Carina didn’t want to listen and told him that she had to prepare herself for going to the Summer Dance with Vladric.

 

When Vladric arrived to collect Carina with his horse and buggy, he met Brighton and took an immediate dislike to him and, wishing to show off, challenged Brighton to a sword fencing duel.

 

Now, because he was a magical being, as swift as the starlight, Brighton was not afraid of Vladric but he was afraid of upsetting Carina and so, rather than crossing swords with Carina’s fiancée, he merely ran circles around him until Vladric grew dizzy and fell into a pig-sty.

 

Angry that he had been so humiliated by Brighton, Vladric complained to Carina that Brighton had insulted him and told her that she must fire him.

 

To please her father, Carina was forced to do what Vladric wanted and asked Brighton to leave

and Brighton, not wishing to hurt Carina, agreed to quit his job.

 

But, as he was returning to his home in the heavens, soaring many miles above the Earth,  he heard the sound of Carina calling out for help and, hurtling downwards as fast as falling thunder, he saw Carina and Vladric in his horse drawn buggy and Carina was frantically wrestling with the vile cad, trying to fend him off.

 

Rather than taking Carina to the Summer Dance, you see, the wicked Nobleman had taken a detour down a country lane hoping to take advantage of her.

 

Brighton heard Carina screaming and protesting that she would not give herself to Vladric until they were married but the vile Vladric wouldn’t listen.

 

And, flying down to rescue her, Brighton grabbed hold of Vladric and threw him up in the air so high that he came down in the middle of a lake that was over a mile away.

 

Then Brighton took poor Carina home in the buggy to her farmhouse.

 

As they were sitting in Carina’s kitchen, Brighton knelt and proposed marriage to her, offering her an engagement ring set with a glittering star diamond.

 

But Carina, still believing him to be a peasant, thought that he must have stolen the ring and wouldn’t accept his explanations about being a prince of the stars.

 

And so, taking Carina’s hand, Brighton transported her, in a blinding flash, to the star palace and there she was presented to his mother the Queen of the Stars.

 

As was customary in Starland, his mother asked them both to put their hands upon a magic heart-shaped, star crystal that only glowed if the couple touching it were destined to be together and, as they touched it, a light shone from it that was the brightest star ever seen in heaven.

 

Then, kneeling; this time upon the clouds, Brighton asked Carina if she would marry him and this time she said yes.

 

All over the heavens then, crystal bells began to chime and flame-tailed star birds started to sing as in a glittering crystal cathedral, before all the most important stars and planets in the galaxy, the couple were married; Brighton in his Princely uniform and Carina in a long, sparkling star-covered gown and, from that night onwards, whenever astronomers upon the earth looked up at the night skies they saw a new star in the heavens named Carina.