Part I. 

So the royal pair of flightless birds hiked down the trail together.  The prince had told the princess that the royal nest is "naught but a hundred paces down the trail", but the penguin princess couldn't see the nest at all. 

It turns out, one step of the prince was many many steps for the princess.  The prince was being very cordial and walked very slow, but the princess soon grew very tired from running. 

"I need a moment!", she puffed.  "I have to run as fast as I can just to keep up with you.  Let's take a little rest."

"But we've only taken three steps towards the nest", said the Ostrich prince.  "We only have ninety seven steps more to go". 

That was only half the truth.  It was still around a hundred or so steps, but he wanted to encourage her, make her feel like she had done well so far. 

"Well I can barely keep up with you!", said the princess.  "Besides, I have no more strength left.  I'm so hungry". 

"There's plenty of food at the nest", said the prince.  "Plenty of bugs, wild corn as far as the eyes can see". 

The princess had never heard of these foods before.  They sounded so strange.  Bugs and corm...  "Are they good?" she asked timidly. 

"Oh they're delicious", said the Prince.  "They taste like late summer sunshine and are crunchy and juicy at the same time". 

"I'll bet they're not as good as mackerels", she said. 

"Maybe.  I've never had mackerels so I wouldn't know.  I know I like bugs and corn best", said the prince. 

"Oh I'm so hungry...", cried the princess.  "I wish we could get there sooner". 

"We could".  Lowering his shoulder he said, "If you climb on my back, we can get there much faster.  I'll have you know that being given a ride by an ostrich is a great honor.  We don't like to be ridden.  Not if we can help it". 

The princess thanked him and climbed on his shoulder.  He was so tall!  She could see all the way down the trail now.  She felt a little dizzy being up that tall and grasped for air, only to fall down.  He picked up his pace.  Started to run faster and faster.  "Grab a hold of something!", he said as he started to run even faster.  She clutched the back feathers of his shiny coat heading towards the end of the hill.  He jumped off. 

For a moment, the prince and the princess both shared a sense of weightlessness, like they were flying. 

On the other side of the hill, there is a luxurious nest, adorned with palms, shoots, and colourful leaves. 


Okay.  More tomorrow. 

G'night! 

:D