Fiddleeebod

The wild and energetic Triplet Princesses Three take center stage in Harpo’s Chronicle, The Land of the Rainbow Giants. In the rough sketch below, that’s Wun on the left, Tuu in the middle, and Thrii on the right.

“Don’t wake them, Mal. It’s so peaceful when they sleep,” said the Kinng.

“Doesn’t I know it?” replied his Queeeen. She nevertheless tugged on the Princess Summoner with her chalky gray thumb and forefinger. “Be it as it are, it am more than enough.”

The Most High Royal Couple of the Kinngish Queeendom of Fiddleeebod waited in the castle courtyard next to the door of the high turret tower. The Queeeen, Malvina was her name, pulled once more, impatient tug, on the Princess Summoner.  ting ting. Fair and true, Princess Summoner is simply the name for a string one hundred feet long attached to a tinkly bell. Any tinkly bell? Any really long string? No and no. The bell hung there at the top of the spiral staircase in a position just so outside the oaken door to the Princessly Room. The string dangled down, long and straight, to await a tug from a hand, any hand, at the turret tower’s courtyard entrance. None but Royal Princesses were allowed at all without the most especially formal and written down in ink permission to set foot, hoof, tentacle or claw inside the roundly high tower. Not even Kinngs. Not even Queeeens.

Double moons in the orange dawn hung low. The oat fields outside the castle walls hid in mist. The gray moat water steamed cold wispy. One beeket bird sang a squawk, then ruffled a plump and double blinked its black orange eyes. Orange and black. Dawn’s early light. Gray. And not a whisper of a wind.  ting ting.  ting ting.

“Enough Ringing!

We am up!”

“Wake up, Tuuey!

TUUEY, WAKE !”

“Mumph.”

“QUIET!!”

“STOP!!  AAAAAA!!

Wun! Give it back!”

“Make me.”

“Mmph, not yet.

Good dream.”

“MOTHER, Wunny took

my wing chalk!”

“That’s right, tell.  Here

are your ratty chalk.”

“OWW!  All right then.”

“Mmmmmmm,

rainbow.”

“Leave that alone, Thrii.

I are warning you.”

“You am warning me?

Plaaaah!”

“Mmmmmmm,

melty.”

ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting ting!

“All right, all right, stop the

wretched ringing!

“I hope you drown

in Longthin Lake.”

“If I does, I are taking

YOU with me.”

“Tuuey, get up.”

“Tuuey, we have to go.”

“Hmm?  Oh, are it time

to go? Am Jay Dot here?”

“Jay Dot!  Jay Dot!”

“JayDotJayDot!

Tuuey am droopy for

Jay Dot. Owwww!”

The Triplet Princesses of Fiddleeebod had awakened.

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Excerpts, Harpo Chronicles by Steve