It was a fine Spring morning and Princess Lhea was sitting by her rose garden thinking about the last time it was so sunny in February. On most days, she would sit all by herself for hours on the porch by the garden, admiring the wonderful floral colors and feeling melancholy. Lhea was the princess of the little kingdom of Possibility, far far away in the middle of the icy cold Sea of Hope. The inhabitants of the little island were all made of gold, not an ounce of flesh to feel. But Lhea was born of flesh with not a speck of gold. She was the recluse of the kingdom.
But today, she had that sly blackbird for company. It kept looking at her from across the garden, perched regally on the wooden fence. Lhea could feel it focusing its attention on her, an impish sparkle in its eyes. Just at that moment, a strong breeze blew away the pages of the book she was reading and as her eyes followed the fluttering pages, she suddenly heard a swoosh of feathers; her eyes surrounded by a devious blackness and felt a searing pain in her face. The blackbird had picked up Lhea’s nose and flown away with it. All there was left of the nose was a deep hollow. Lhea screamed in terror and then everything around her went black.
When Lhea opened her eyes again, she saw the serene face of Madame Witchie-Twitch, the beloved doctor, bent over her. She had a golden nose in her hand. “Look what I made you my darling, a brand new nose that will glitter in this gorgeous spring sun”. And what seemed like the worst day in her life, looked filled with hope and possibilities again.