Little Fairy 

Once, there lived a King and a Queen. They had a castle on the top of the hill full of different treasures; golden wheat fields, and old oaks woods. They had plenty of all. But their biggest treasure was their little prince. They had wanted him for a long time. When the prince was born, he was surrounded by the most delicate care. The boy was smart, nice and handsome, and the joy of their family.

            When the prince turned eighteen the King and Queen organized a big celebration in the courtyard of the castle. They served the best they had: delicious food, painted pots, silk tablecloths and all various decorations. They invited the best musicians and burnt thousands of candles. After the feast, all girls from that town gathered and danced in the garden. All the girls watched the prince comely. The celebration was great, but when the people left at last, the prince couldn’t sleep. He dressed up again and went out into the night, in the moonlight. He passed through the park and headed to the linden grove, near the castle. He was walking slowly, deeply breathing the freshness of the early summer night. He watched the strange shadows, which were created by moonlight and the branches of trees and he enjoyed in the intoxicating scent of linden trees in bloom. Suddenly, he broke out into a glade and thought how weird it was that he hadn’t been there yet and how beautiful this small meadow was, surrounded by old heavy treetops. And then he saw something even more beautiful and more peculiar: on the grass, lit by moonlight, stood a small fairy. In a silvery dress with long golden hair, and jewels in the crown. Beautiful, but small like a flame. The prince stopped in disbelief and stared at her.

-Happy birthday, dear Prince! – said Little Fairy. – I was invited to your celebration too, but I couldn’t come with the girls because I’m so small. So I greet you here, in this moonlight, which is like sunshine to me.

-I am glad you have come. – said the prince, who liked the little fairy very much. He approached her and took her hand, but she pulled it away and she disappeared. Her glove was left in his hand, so tiny that he could barely put it on his smallest finger. Dreaming, with the glove on his finger, he walked through the linden grove for a little longer and then he returned home. And he didn’t say a word to anyone about his nightly experience. The next day he was mainly sleeping. And when he finally woke up, he couldn’t wait for the rest of the day to pass. As soon as the night fell, the prince headed again to the linden grove.

He searched for the Little Fairy, searched and searched, he was wandering through the woods and he was returning on the glade, but she was not there. He was getting sadder and sadder and he was thinking how kind, amazing and tiny Little Fairy was, how he didn’t manage to say anything to her, and that he would never see her again. While he was thinking of her, he took her little glove out of his pocket and kissed it – at that moment the fairy appeared in front of him. The prince was delighted to see her and they spend the whole night walking together through the linden grove. And then, while they were walking and talking, something strange happened:  the Little Fairy began to grow. When they parted before the dawn, she was twice bigger than the night before, and she could not put on her tiny glove anymore.

-Take care of it! – she said, and then disappeared.

-I will never part with it – he whispered.

They met in the courtyard every night. The prince was sleeping and daydreaming all days long, waiting for night to come. And he was always a bit restless. He thought that she might not come, that she would simply disappear like she had just appeared. He loved the little fairy more and more, and she grew bigger every night. On the ninth night, the moon was shining with his full glory, and the fairy grew to prince’s height.

-I will come to your courtyard as long as the moon shines. – she said that night.

-No- the prince said – that’s  not enough for me. I want you to be with me always and forever. I want you to be my wife. The Little Fairy looked at his face seriously.

-My dear – she said, finally. – I would be happy to stay with you, but I can be your wife only if you will always love, no one else, but me. Can you promise me that?

-Only you, always and forever! – the prince cried and took her to the castle.

So the prince and the Little Fairy got married. They lived happily for 7 years. Then the old king, who was the prince's father, died. He was a good king, and when people heard about his death, everyone who lived close and who lived far away, came to his kingdom to honour him.  The most beautiful ladies of his kingdom were passing by his catafalque. Among them, there was also a redhead girl with the fiery look in her eyes. She was standing by the king's catafalque, but that redhead beauty had eyes only for his son, the prince. After some time, the prince noticed her and he looked at her too. He felt exciting warmth when she smiled at him. When the sad procession to the cemetery finally started, the prince was with his wife, but he turned three times to look at the redhead beauty. Suddenly, his wife tripped on her dress…

 - Look, my dress is too long for me... – she said quietly.

But the prince did not hear her words, he didn’t even notice that she began to grow smaller and smaller. On the way back from the cemetery, the prince and the redhead beauty were constantly looking at each other, and the Little Fairy was getting smaller and smaller. When they arrived at the old linden grove, she disappeared.

Now the prince took a girl with eyes like fire for his wife. But he wasn’t happy with her. She was always asking for something, she tried to change him, demanded rarities and impossible things. When he couldn’t satisfy her wishes, she would cry or argue with him. And then the Prince realized what he had done. He was crying for his little fairy, and as the time passed by, he felt worse and worse. Every night he would go out in the moonlight and walked among the old linden trees and called for his little fairy. He begged her to come back and he was kissing her little glove. He was calling her and waiting – and so he grew old. But the Little Fairy never returned to him again.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                                        Croatia team