Fairytale is:

A fairy tale is a magical, symbolic story with archetypal characters, teaching universal lessons about good vs. evil, resilience, and hope, making it important for developing children’s moral compass, imagination, emotional intelligence, and understanding of life’s challenges in a safe, fantastical way.

Once upon a time there was a little forest nymph who lived in a kingdom far, far away. Their name was Maat. They spent their days frolicking through the woods, picking mushrooms, arranging beautiful flower bouquets, dancing, tending to their garden, and having exquisite fun. They loved to be in pleasure. They loved to enjoy the delights that each day had to offer them, and they wanted more than anything to find someone to share that joy with.

They had many friends who lived in the forest with them, and they loved them all dearly. They enriched their life in so many ways and Maat in turn wanted to find ways to pour back into these relationships so that they could, like beautiful flowers, continue to blossom and bloom for a lifetime. Maat loved to nurture the people around them, friends, and family, and strangers alike. They wanted to pour into everyone, and sometimes they felt like they just didn’t have enough time, or like they just weren’t doing a good enough job at it all. Nevertheless, they tried their best and wanted to continue being loving and open hearted with the whole world.

Maat loved to read books, and they would sit in their little fairy nook and get lost in stories of lands near and far, of charming princes and queens and knights in shining armour, of wicked witches who turned out to be the saviour, and magical fruits and mushrooms that allowed you to see into the future and the past. Their favourite stories were the ones about something they had never heard of before these books… and something they only dared to dream was possible; their one true love.

Maat and their little pixie friends would gather around to regale each other with tales of this mystical, magical and mysterious one true love. They believed in fairytales and that their life could be a fairytale, too, and that maybe, if they just knew where to look, they might find their very own one true love.

One day, they boldly announced to their friends: “I’m going on a quest. I am going to find my one true love!” They all delighted, screaming and jumping up with glee.. until one of them asked Maat: ”How?” This question stumped them. It stumped them all. They had read the stories of the princes and the knights and the queens. They had read the stories of the mythical one true love and their promised happily ever after upon finding them, but they never really figured out how they were supposed to go about finding their true love.

One of the pixies grabbed a book off the shelf. “Here! It says ‘how to find your one true love’ a guide for pixies”. They were certainly pixies, and they most certainly were intrigued! The book was thin and in it there were ten points. “Huh, that seems easy enough! I just need to follow these ten simple steps and I’ll find them!” They didn’t really know what form their one true love would come in and they wanted to stay open. “Step one”, they read together, “You must travel to the magical woods.” Well that’s really easy, they all thought. We’re already there! The kingdom they lived in was known as one of the most magical in all of the realms and it had magical forests galore. Surely Maat’s one true love lived in one of them, and possibly just around the river bend.

“Step two: if you already live in a magical kingdom, you have to go to another one.” Sheesh. Tough luck. And so, Maat packed their little bags with the help of their fairy friends. With enough nourishment to last them a couple days, and with big hugs and kisses and well wishes all around, they set off on their quest, taking the little book with them as a parting gift. “I’ll see you all soon!” they said with a wave. And confidently declared: “When I return, I’ll have my one true love with me!” They began walking on the little dirt and cobblestone path that led away from their cottage, into the big wide world, and began their quest.