Pegasus

PEGASUS

Pegasus was a very special horse. You see, Pegasus had wings and could fly. But that wasn’t the reason that Pegasus considered himself a special horse. He thought he was special because he was the special horse that Princess Jude loved to ride. You see, every morning, Princess Jude would wake up when the sun came up and bring Pegasus his breakfast. There were always fresh whole apples, and sugar cubes, and even hay! Every night when Pegasus went to sleep, he would get soooo excited thinking about little Princess Jude coming to feed him in the morning.
Princess Jude was only 7 years old. The King and Queen (her parents) had given Princess Jude a flying horse for her 5th birthday. She loved him instantly, and she named him Pegasus. Now, Pegasus knew right away that because Princess Jude was so young, he was going to have to protect her and take care of her no matter what. And from that day on, Pegasus and Princess Jude were best friends.
There were a bunch of other flying horses living at the castle, in the village, and in the surrounding forest. But Pegasus was Princess Jude’s favorite. See, Pegasus had a mane of gold, and hooves of silver. His eyes were blue and his tail was braided with a gold bow on the end of it.
One morning Pegasus woke up as usual with a huge NEIGH, and a spring in his step. He was super hungry and he couldn’t wait to see Princess Jude and all the fresh fruit and hay she was going to bring. Pegasus stuck his head out the barn door to see if she was coming. Not yet. He thought to himself, “ She must be tired. I guess she slept in today. She had a busy day yesterday.” Well, Pegasus went and sat down in his stall and started munching on some leftover hay, when he started to hear a lot of people heading toward the castle. Pegasus started to wonder what was going on. Then he heard one of the townspeople say “Did you hear? Princess Jude is sick!” “ WHAT?!!” Thought Pegasus. I have to go and find out what is going on he thought to himself. The problem was that Pegasus was locked in his stall in the barn. The crowd was getting bigger and the noise was getting louder. Panicked, Pegasus turned his back legs towards the stable doors and kicked with all his might. He broke the latch and hurried up to the castle to see what was happening. All the other winged horses and most of the people from the town had gathered to see what was going on. The royal doctor was on the front steps of the castle. He said, “Princess is Jude is very, very, sick I’m afraid. She needs a golden drop of sunlight to make her better. It is going to require a miracle, I’m afraid. Pegasus walked up to the front gates of the castle just as the King and Queen came out. The King spoke in a loud booming voice. “Thank you all for coming. As you may have heard, our little Princess Jude is very, very, sick. There is no way to get a golden drop of sunlight, so we must all pray.” Pegasus tried to push his way inside. He HAD to see Princess Jude. But the King and the Royal Doctor stopped him. I’m sorry Pegasus, but she must rest. Pegasus was upset because his best friend was so sick, and there was nothing he could do. Then, Pegasus had an idea. He ran back to the barn and found a bucket. He grabbed the bucket with his teeth and started to gallop toward the crowd. The whole crowd turned to look at Pegasus charging at them, and just when they thought they were going to get run over; Pegasus flapped his mighty wings and took off flying.
Pegasus had never flown very high before. He always stayed low to the ground because Princess Jude was so young. The farther and higher he went, the smaller and smaller the castle and the town became. Pegasus was scared. He was worried. But he knew, he had to get that drop of golden sun to save Princess Jude. The higher Pegasus went, the thinner and colder the air became. Soon, Pegasus was out among the stars. Pegasus flew harder and faster; his mighty wings getting tired. But he kept going. There was only one problem. It was getting hotter and hotter, the closer he got to the sun. But Pegasus didn’t let that stop him. The heat from the sun was so unbearable, Pegasus couldn’t even look at it. The sun was so bright and hot, and exploding with sun bursts, that Pegasus had to be careful not to get too close. Just then, the sun burst with a magnificent little pop, that sent a bunch of sun drops out into space. And Pegasus caught one with his bucket! He had it! He had done it! And as he was trying to fly away, Pegasus wasn’t going as fast as he did on his way to the sun. He was still too close to the sun and as he tried to fly away, one of his wings fell off! “Oh no!” he cried. But Pegasus was determined to make it back home. He HAD to make it back home. With one wing left, and a bucket with a drop of sunlight, he tried to fly straight, but he was having a hard time. He finally made it out of the stars and back to the sky, but then his other wing fell off. It was barely hanging on, and now Pegasus was falling to the ground really fast! The other flying horses on the ground realized that Pegasus wasn’t flying anymore, he was FALLING! Another horse named Zephyr ran to the barn and grabbed the biggest blanket he could find. Then, three other flying horses each grabbed a corner of the blanket, and they all flapped their mighty wings at the same time and started to take off. They were going to try and catch Pegasus as he was falling! They had to hold the blanket really tight in their teeth, and then….WHUMP! Pegasus hit the blanket in mid air! They had done it! They had caught Pegasus! Zephyr and the other horses quickly and gently landed Pegasus on the ground in front of the castle. Pegasus tried to stand up but he couldn’t. He was hot and tired, and he was hurting where his wings used to be. He started cry and then fell asleep.
The Royal Doctor ran up to see what had happened to Pegasus when he saw the bucket still clenched in his teeth. As the doctor moved Pegasus’ head out of the way, he saw the brightest most amazing light he had ever seen. It was a drop of golden sunlight! The doctor grabbed the bucket and ran into the castle. He ran up the stairs to Princess Jude’s bedroom and burst through the door. The King and Queen were in the room holding Princess Jude’s hand. She wouldn’t wake up anymore. “What is the meaning of this?!” the King yelled. “I have it Sire, I have it! The drop of golden sun needed to save the Princess! Her horse Pegasus brought it, but I am afraid that he is badly injured. He will never fly again.”
The doctor then took one small step towards Princess Jude. He knelt down beside her bed and placed the drop of golden sun in both of her hands. Princess Jude had not woken up in over 48 hours. But as the drop of sun was placed in her hands, she her whole body started to warm up. At first, her fingers moved, then her arms, then her feet. She yawned a big ol’ yawn, and her eyes popped open. “Why is everyone staring at me?” She exclaimed. “Oh Honey” said the Queen. “You were sick and didn’t wake up. We were so worried about you.” “Did anybody feed Pegasus?” the Princess asked. The Royal Doctor said, “Pegasus saved your life dear Princess, but I am afraid he is badly hurt.” “NO!” cried the Princess, and she ran down the stairs and out of the castle walls to see everyone form the village gathered around Pegasus. “Pegasus!” she screamed at the top of her voice as she ran towards her favorite horse. “What happened?” she stammered. The King came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “ He flew to the sun to save you Princess. It must have been too hot.” She was crying, because she saw that he had no wings. She hugged his big neck and kissed him. Then Pegasus began to move. A golden glow began to move over Pegasus as he was getting better right in front of her eyes. His wings didn’t grow back, but the rest of his body was healed. It must have been the golden drop of sun still inside of the Princess.
From that day on, Princess Jude and Pegasus were inseparable. They each knew they had saved each other’s lives. Pegasus learned to run as fast as he used to fly, and together Pegasus and Princess Jude won many races together. “Losing my wings made me find my feet.” Said Pegasus.

THE END