The Golden Cherry Tree

Once upon a time, in a faraway land there lived a little girl with her father, in a small cottage in the countryside. Her father was an Ayurvedic doctor and treated patients by using different herbs. Ria often accompanied her father to gather herbs from a nearby jungle, which was her most loved pass time.

On one such visit to the jungle, she almost lost her way and got stuck in a deep pit she tried to shout for help, but in vain as it was too deep so her voice could not be heard. After crying for almost an hour she stopped shouting and started looking around. Being an adventure freak, she always looked for something exciting around her and she lost her way as she saw a shining light and landed in a dark pit where no one was there to listen to her woes.

Suddenly something attracted her attention, that same light which had separated her from her father. She quickly dug deeper into the pile of leaves and found a golden cherry. It was so pretty and bright that its light was reflecting in the dark pit as well as in the jungle. She started following the light and saw that there was a tiny hole inside the pit which was probably a tunnel. The hole seemed very small but as she pushed herself towards it, she was able to squeeze herself in deeper and deeper hoping to find a way out. It seemed to her as if someone was helping her and she was drifting towards something without conscious efforts. It was just like a magical adventure of which she longed to get into since a little child.

. After struggling into that deep dark pit for nearly ten minutes she came to a little opening and was fascinated to see the surroundings all around her. It was a beautiful place covered with flowers and fruits. A small palace made of gold and silver was just right in front of her and tiny fairies were roaming here and there.

Ria was just startled when one of the fairies spoke to her, "Don't be afraid, you are in the fairyland, you found our priceless fruit and so we led your way to our land as we want our king to be healthy again, he is very ill and only a brave person can help us. " Ria said, "how can I help I don't belong to your place and know nothing about your land. " The fairy told her that they had a golden cherry tree which was stolen by a wicked demon who lived on the outskirts of their kingdom and can only be defeated by the owner of golden cherry, after whose defeat the king will recover and they will get their tree back and become prosperous again.

Ria promised to help the fairies as they looked very frightened and distressed. They took her to their king who gave Ria three things to save herself from any probable danger. A bottle of magical potion, a flying carpet, and a dagger to kill the demon, he further added that the cherry in her pocket will protect her from any unprecedented danger and help her in accomplishing her task.

Ria listened carefully and quickly drank the invisible potion sat on the flying carpet to explore the land of the unknown. Though the journey was long she was enjoying being a part of the fantasy land and exploring the realm of the unknown, no longer she had the fear of being lost, as deep in heart she was proud of being chosen to help the fairy king.

Ria reached the demon's place in no time it was an exciting trip aa the carpet was swaying up and down and once she thought that they crashed in a cliff but managed to escape successfully. Demon's house was a big trap as it was surrounding by different animals and little men dressed as soldiers they looked quiet ferocious. Ria was lucky as due to invisible potion no one was able to see her she quickly fumbled to find a way to the castle and who so ever touched her frozen immediately due to the powers of the golden cherry which were still lying in her pocket. The castle of the demon was very big and very horrifying. It took her some time to find the demon, who was sleeping beside the cherry tree. Ria tiptoed towards the tree and quickly lifted it up to take it to the fairyland but she forgot the warning of the fairy king not to touch the fruits. Immediately the whole castle gleamed with brightness, which woke up the demon and Ria became visible to everyone. She got scared and did not knew what to do and stabbed the demon with the dagger without wasting a spur of time. The demon fell on to the ground and the magic of the place vanished, Ria was so scared that she fainted on the ground when she woke up she was sleeping in her bed, the golden cherry was lying beside her.

The little fairy was also there, she told Ria that their kingdom had regained its beauty again the king was hale and hearty, they were free from any sort of scare and their sacred tree was glowing in their land. She gave Ria the golden cherry, and told her to keep it safe as it's power will help to cure the people who were suffering from diseases.

Ria promised to keep the cherry carefully and help those in need, she was happy to return home it appeared to her as she was dreaming. After that day she devoted her life to the welfare of others and lived happily ever after.