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Welcome to Sleepy Shorts Short Stories for
Bedtime. This podcast is brought to you

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by I have a story to tell
you that will help take your mind off

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all of your worries and cares.
Just listen and relax, then drift peacefully

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into sleep. It's time to turn
off the lights and snuggle into your bed.

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Find your most comfortable position there.
Now take a few seconds to relax

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your mind. It's time to sleep. Time to rest and rejuvenate our minds

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and bodies. In order to prepare
our bodies for sleep, let's do a

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couple of muscle relaxation and breathing exercises. I want you to inhale for account

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of three, and while doing so, tighten all of your muscles and inhale

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one two, three, Hold your
breath, keep your muscles tense. Now

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exhale to account of six. While
you relax all of your muscles one two,

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three, four, five six,
feel your body sinking deeper into your

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bed. Let's do this one more
time. Take a deep three second breath

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as you tighten your muscles, hold
it now, relax and exhale to account

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of six. Let your body sink
even deeper into your bed. Now it's

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time for your sleepy short Let me
help you fall asleep. The flower Queen's

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daughter. A young prince was riding
one day through a meadow that stretched for

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miles in front of him when he
came to a deep, open ditch.

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He was turning aside to avoid it
when he heard the sound of someone crying

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in the ditch. He dismounted from
his horse and stepped along in the direction

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the sound came from. To his
astonishment, he found an elderly woman who

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begged him to help her out of
the ditch. The prince bent down and

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lifted her out, asking her at
the same time how she managed to get

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there. I am a very poor
woman, and soon after midnight I set

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out for the neighboring town in order
to sell my eggs in the market on

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the following morning. But I lost
my way in the dark and fell into

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this deep ditch, where I might
have remained forever. But for your kindness,

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then, the prince said to her, you can hardly walk. I

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will put you on my horse and
lead you home. Where do you live?

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Over there at the edge of the
forest, in the little hut you

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see in the distance, replied the
old woman. The prince lifted her on

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to his horse, and soon they
reached the hut, where the woman got

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down, and, turning to the
prince, said just wait a moment and

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I will give you something. And
she disappeared into her hut, but returned

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very soon and said, you are
a mighty prince, but at the same

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time you have a kind heart which
deserves to be rewarded. Would you like

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to have the cleverest, loveliest woman
in the world for your wife? I

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most certainly would, replied the prince. So she continued, The most amazing

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woman in the world is the daughter
of the Queen of Flowers, who has

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been captured by a dragon. If
you wish to marry her, you must

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first set her free, and this
I will help you to do. I

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will give you this little bell.
If you ring it once, the King

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of the Eagles will appear. If
you ring it twice, the King of

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the foxes will come to you,
and if you ring it three times,

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you will see the King of the
Fishes by your side. These will help

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you if you are in any difficulty. Now farewell, and Heaven prosper your

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undertaking. She handed him the little
bell and then disappeared hot and all as

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though the earth had swallowed her up. Then it dawned on the prince that

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he had been speaking to a good
fairy, and putting the little bell carefully

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in his pocket, he rode home
and told his father that he meant to

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set the daughter of the Flower Queen
free, and intended setting out on the

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following day into the wide world in
search of her. So the next morning,

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the prince mounted his horse and left
his home. He had roamed around

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the world for a whole year,
but still had come upon no trace of

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the princess. At last, one
day he came to a hut in front

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of which sat a very old man. The prince asked him, do you

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know where the dragon lives who keeps
the daughter of the Flower Queen prisoner?

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No? I do not, the
old man, But if you go straight

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along this road for a year,
you will reach a hut where my father

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lives, and possibly he may be
able to tell you. The prince thanked

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him for his information and continued his
journey for a whole year along the same

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road, and at the end of
it came to the little hut, where

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he found a very old man.
He asked him the same question and the

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old man answered, no, I
do not know where the dragon lives.

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But go straight along this road for
another year, and you will come to

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a hut in which my father lives. I know he can tell you.

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And so the prince wandered on for
another year, always on the same road,

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and at last reached the hut where
he found the third old man.

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He put the same question to him
as he had put to his son and

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grandson, But this time the old
man answered, the dragon lives up there

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on the mountain, and he has
just begun his year of sleep. For

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one whole year he is always awake, and the next year he sleeps.

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But if you wish to see the
Flower Queen's daughter, go up to the

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second mountain. The dragon's mother lives
there, and she throws a ball every

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night, to which the Flower Queen's
daughter goes regularly. So the prince went

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up the second mountain, where he
found a castle made of gold with diamond

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windows. He opened the big gate
leading into the courtyard and was just going

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to walk in when seven dragons rushed
on him and asked him what he wanted.

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The prince replied, I have heard
so much of the beauty and kindness

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of the dragon's mother, and would
like to enter her service. This flattering

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speech pleased the dragons, and the
eldest of them said, well, you

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may come with me and I will
take you to the mother dragon. They

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entered the castle and walked through twelve
splendid halls, all made of gold and

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diamonds. In the twelfth room,
they found the mother dragon seated on a

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diamond throne. She was quite fierce
looking and had three heads. Her appearance

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was a great shock to the prince, and so was her voice, which

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was like the croaking of many ravens. She asked him, why have you

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come here. The prince answered at
once, I have heard so much of

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your beauty and kindness that I would
very much like to enter your service.

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Very well, said the mother Dragon. But if you wish to enter my

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service, you must first lead my
mare out to the meadow and look after

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her for three days. But if
you don't bring her home safely every evening,

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then I will send you away with
nothing. The prince undertook the task

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and led the mare out to the
meadow, but no sooner had they reached

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the grass than the mare vanished.
The prince sought for her in vain,

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and at last, in despair,
sat down on a big stone and contemplated

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his sad fate. As he sat
lost in thought, he noticed an eagle

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flying over his head. Then he
suddenly remembered the little bell which was given

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to him by the good Fairy,
and taking it out of his pocket,

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he rang it once. In a
moment, he heard a rustling sound in

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the air beside him, and the
King of the Eagles landed at his feet.

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I know what you want of me, the bird said. You are

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looking for the Mother Dragon's mare,
who is galloping about among the clouds.

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I will summon all the eagles of
the air together and command them to catch

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the mare and bring her to you. And with these words, the King

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of the Eagles flew away. Towards
evening, the prince heard a mighty rushing

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sound in the air, and when
he looked up, he saw thousands of

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eagles driving the mare before him.
They landed at his feet and gave the

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mare over to him. Then the
prince rode home to the old mother Dragon,

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who was full of wonder when she
saw him, and said, you

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have succeeded today in looking after my
mare, and as a reward, you

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shall come to my ball tonight.
Then she awarded him a cloak made of

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copper and led him to a big
room where a number of young dragons were

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dancing together. Here too was the
Flower Queen's wonderful daughter. Her dress was

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woven out of the most lovely flowers
in the world, and her complexion was

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like lilies and roses. As the
prince was dancing with her, he managed

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to whisper in her ear, I
have come to set you free. At

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his words, the princess said to
him, if you succeed in bringing the

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mare back safely the third day,
ask the Mother Dragon to give you a

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foal as a reward. The ball
came to an end at midnight, and

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early the next morning, the prince
again led the Mother Dragon's mare out into

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the meadow, but again the horse
vanished before his eyes. So he took

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out his little bell and rang it
wis In a moment, the King of

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the Foxes stood before him and said, I know already what you want,

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and I will summon all the foxes
of the world together to find the mare,

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who has hidden herself in a hill. With these words, the King

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of the Foxes disappeared and in the
evening, many thousand foxes brought the mare

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to the Prince, who rode quickly
home to the Mother Dragon, from whom

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he received this time a cloak made
of silver, and again she led him

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to the ballroom. The flower queen's
daughter was delighted to see him safe and

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sound, and when they were dancing
together, she whispered in his ear,

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if you succeed again tomorrow, wait
for me with the foal in the meadow.

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After the ball we will ride away
together. On the third day,

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the prince led the mare to the
meadow again, but once more she vanished

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before his eyes. Then the Prince
took out his little bell and rang it

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three times. In a moment,
the King of the Fishes appeared and said

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to him, I know quite well
what you want me to do, and

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I will summon all the fishes of
the sea together and tell them to bring

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you back the mayor, who is
hiding herself in a river. Towards evening,

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the mayor was returned to the Prince, and when he led her home

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to the Mother Dragon, she said
to him, you are a brave youth,

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and I will bring you into my
service as you requested. But what

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shall I give you as a reward? To begin with, the prince asked

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her for a foal of the mare, which the mother dragon at once gave

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him, and over and above a
cloak made of gold, for he had

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proven himself such a worthy servant.
So in the evening he appeared at the

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ball in his golden cloak. But
before the entertainment was over, he slipped

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away and went straight to the stables, where he mounted his foal and rode

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out into the meadow to wait for
the Flower Queen's daughter. Towards midnight she

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appeared, and placing her in front
of him on his horse, she and

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the prince flew like the wind till
they reached the Flower Queen's dwelling. But

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the dragons had noticed their flight and
woke their brother out of his year's sleep.

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Flew into a terrible rage when he
heard what had happened, and determined

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to lay siege to the Flower Queen's
palace. But the Flower Queen caused a

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forest of flowers as high as the
sky to grow up around her dwelling,

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through which no one could force away. When the Flower Queen heard that her

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daughter wanted to marry the prince,
she said to him, I will give

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my consent to your marriage gladly,
but my daughter can only stay with you

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in summer. In winter, when
everything is dead and the ground covered with

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snow, she must come and live
with me in my palace underground. The

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prince consented to this and led his
beautiful bride home, where the wedding was

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held with great magnificence. The young
couple lived happily together till winter came,

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when the Flower Queen's daughter departed and
went home to her mother. In summer,

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she always faithfully returned to her husband, and this coming and going continued

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all their married life, which was
filled with love, laughter, and many

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many beautiful flowers, but thankfully no
dragons. Good night, STI m SA

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STI Still the six