This is the next fairy tale of my volume.  Bluebell Pixie finds a trembling little boy as she comes and goes, and in order that the boy was not to be afraid, she conjures up a tale from the enchanting bag about the bravest knight.  For even the bravest knight always begins by being afraid of his shadow...

The little boy from the fairy-tale , the hero of the tale, gets right here through frightening adventures: if you read it, you will see that it was not an easy task for him. Still, it was worth to take the adventurous journey, as thus he can become a brave warrior.

And Bluebell Pixie can also continue her mission that she received from the Spring Fairy: she can go on, to take the tales of the enchanting bag to those who deserve it. She may knock on your door for lodgings tonight, just listen carefully to the noises in the evening!

Here is the tale of the bravest knight in the world:

Bluebell Pixie walked along her wanderings, whistling merrily, singing at the top of her voice, kicking pieces of wood from under her feet when she met a little boy. The little boy was visibly touched when she saw him, and in his fright he would have liked to run away, but the little Bluebell Pixie was more nimble and caught him by his collar.

"Where, where to, you child? And why do you wander so far away from all human settlements by yourself?"

"I am only lost!" The child quaked with fear.

"You do not mean to tell you are afraid of me?" The pixie wondered. 'Listen, little fellow, I will anon show you something that will make you brave, like a tiger or a lion!" With that, she snatched the enchanting bag decorated with fairy-hair from her shoulders, and the following tale unfolded before the little boy's eyes:

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was very, very cowardly. He was afraid of the rustling of branches in the forest, he was frightened if a thorn tore his clothes; the barking of the dog frightened him; If he saw a dog on the street, he did not even dare to step out. They mocked her as Young Lady, because she was as scary as the girls. A girl can be scary, but a boy?

The boy's grandfather, who was a well-travelled man, thought about it, and decided to pour courage into his little grandson.

"Listen to me, my son," said Grandpa, "if you do not want to be mocked as Young Lady, seek for the bravest warrior on Earth, and he will help you!"

"But where shall I look for this knight?" The little boy lamented.

"Go where your feet take you, and you will find him. Ask about it!" Grandpa urged, then he sat up the little boy with Grandma: they put scones baked in ash and a bottle of water in a bag for him, along with a few coppers, and set him on his way. A wooden sword was also tied around his waist.

The little boy started his way trembling with fear, he did not even know what to do, but he was afraid to go back, because Grandpa trusted him very much, and he did not even like to listen to the mockery: "Young Lady!"

So he chased away a dog that came in his way, with trembling limbs, and which did not even want to hurt him, just looked at him. Then the little boy realized that the dog was not hurting him, and took a closer look: he saw that it was hungry, it looked at him with its black eyes imploringly. The boy gave it a scone baked in ash, and then he walked on. As he was going so, it suddenly got dark, in addition, he just came to a forest. His legs trembled, but he did not turn back: he thought he had to find the bravest knight if he did not want to remain a coward scorned through the world! In the darkness, the trees and bushes formed into all kinds of shapes, but then the Moon peeked out from behind the clouds, and the youngster was relieved to see that it was only tree branches and bushes that frightened him.

He heard a strange noise: growling, clomping, and then the dog he had fed, appeared.

"Is it you?" The little boy stroked its noddle. The dog wagged his tail in a friendly manner and sniffed the bag.

"Eat, Noddle, here is the scone!"

And "Noddle" ate this, too.

However, the scones in the bag did not run out, but became much more than before!

Next day, the little boy continued his journey with Noddle: he was looking for the bravest knight in the world. On the way he met an elderly old granny:

"God give you a good day, my dear old grandma! Do not you know where to look for the bravest knight in the world?"

"God grant you too, little boy! Why are you looking for him?"

"I would like him to help me, because I am very afraid of everything. I want to be fearless, too!" The little boy said.

"Are you not afraid of your dog?" The granny asked.

"It didn't hurt me, it was just hungry when I met it!" The child laughed.

"Then what about the darkness?"

"At night Noddle and I ranged at the edge of the forest," the boy stroked the dog, "and the Moon showed me that only tree branches and bushes rattled, and the animals made noise, but they did not hurt me!"

"Then you have passed two tests," the old granny nodded. "But the third one is still to come, and that is the hardest! Are you ready for it?"

"I would rather try, it will work out somehow, but I do not want to fear anymore!" The child said for it.

"Then go on, and when you see the flaming river, cross the bridge over it to find the knight!"

"Do I have not to fight dragons?"

"First you have to find the bravest knight, then he will guide you further. Have a good trip, where there is no mud!"

The boy said goodbye and walked on with Noddle.

Yes, but the bridge over the flaming river was rickety and gappy, even Noddle did not leave, it came with him to seek for the knight on the other bank!

The little boy tried to balance, but in vain, because even his four-legged friend lurched and fell. As it was falling down, the little boy grabbed after it and pulled it back to the bridge, straining, panting, and struggling. In the meantime, the flames scorched him, his hair burned, but he did not let Noddle: because of the doggo's pleading eyes, he could not let it fall down! His bag fell into the river, and his little money and food were gone. The wooden sword also caught fire: he threw it into the river of fire as if he had always been thrown with flaming swords!

Then they ran to the other bank, where they soon met a huge bearded and mustached knight wearing a sword.

"Are you the bravest knight in the world?" the little boy asked him.

"The bravest knight in the world?" He wondered. "Why do you want to find him?"

"Because I am a coward, and I am sure he can teach me how to be brave."

"Then what have you been doing so far?"

The little boy told him about his adventure with Noddle, and that how afraid he was of it at first, he told about horror of the darkness, which turned out to be just the forest; and the crossing the flaming river.

"Learn, little boy, that the bravest knight in the world is not the one who has never been afraid of anything in his life, but the one who, although he is afraid, overcomes his fear and faces what he trembled so far!"

"And is it not a must to to defeat the seven-headed dragon for that?"

"Not always. The hardest victory is when you conquer your own fear, and the truly brave one is the one who has been able to overcome his own fear!"

The little boy was amazed.

"You have overcome three obstacles, and now you are as brave and fearless as there is nothing else in the world," laughed the mustached knight, "you can even fight dragons from now on!"

The little boy proudly pulled himself up and suddenly noticed that he had turned into a finely built youth. The knight taught him to fence with a real sword, to ride horses, to fight against dragons.

A fine figure of a knight turned his horse one fine day to the house of the old grandfather, of the former little boy, the "Young Lady":

"Grandpa, the setting for the way and the bag were not in vain!" And he told his adventures to Grandpa and Grandma.

The two old men listened to him with satisfaction: they knew all along that the bravest knight in the world always begins by being afraid of everything. Then he learns courage, but he does not forget fear, and in this way he can be of help to those who are in trouble.

The tale of the coward little boy and the bravest knight then took a leap and returned to the enchanting bag. And Bluebell Pixie took her walking stick again and went on, because now there is no coward little boy living in this house, but a hero with a lionheart, only he has yet to grow...

No sooner had the tale returned to the enchanting bag than a murmuring voice spoke:

"So here you are, you useless loafer!" and the little boy was picked up by a giant, his father, who had already left no stone unturned for him in the near and far surroundings together with his mother, and was glad that his lost son had been found.

"I am no longer afraid, father, I have seen and heard a tale that showed me that I do not have to be afraid of anything, I will be the bravest knight in the world, you will see!" The child shouted happily, and his father murmured:

"Well, we will see..."

"And yes, because even the bravest knight always begins by being afraid of his shadow," squinted Bluebell Pixie, whom the father only noticed at that time.

"What a pixie!" He muttered, and his little son, the pixie, and himself laughed heartily. If the little boy and his father had stopped laughing, they would have noticed that the mischievous pixie had run away: she was already far away, carrying on the tales, perhaps she was heading towards you...

Written: 08 / 12. 2005., by J. W. Cassandra
Translated: 05 / 06. 2025., by J. W. Cassandra