In the Mystic Courtyard, little Knight Curtis James clink-clink walked in shiny boots. He was brave, but also gentle. He liked to help.
Princess Lila sat by the fountain. She looked worried.
“My gold crown is gone,” she whispered.
Curtis James kneeled.
“We will find it,” he said. “Together.”
They looked under a bench.
No crown.
They looked behind a tall pot.
No crown.
A black cat padded by.
“Meow,” said the cat.
Princess Lila gasped. “That cat has sparkles on its paws!”
Curtis James smiled. “Hello, kitty. Can you show us?”
The cat walked, tail up, step-step, to a gate covered in vines.
Behind the gate was a tiny path of purple petals.
Princess Lila held Curtis’s hand.
“It feels a little spooky,” she said.
Curtis James nodded. “I feel it too. But we can be brave and slow.”
They took small steps.
A cackle floated on the air.
“Hee-hee-hee!”
Out popped a Witch with a tall hat and a crooked grin. She stirred a bubbling pot.
“I found a pretty crown,” she sang. “Mine now!”
Princess Lila’s eyes got wet.
“That is my crown,” she said softly.
Curtis James stood tall.
“No stealing,” he said.
The Witch wiggled her fingers.
A wind whooshed. Leaves swirled.
Curtis James held his shield.
“Whoosh, whoosh,” went the leaves.
Princess Lila hugged herself.
Curtis James looked at her.
“It’s okay,” he said. “Breathe with me. In… out…”
Princess Lila breathed. In… out…
Curtis James looked at the Witch’s pot. It smelled like sticky honey.
He got an idea.
He picked up a big wooden spoon from the ground.
“Witch,” he said, polite and firm, “you forgot something.”
“What?” snapped the Witch.
Curtis James pointed.
“Your pot is too close to the fountain. Splash!”
Princess Lila understood fast.
She kicked a small stone into the fountain.
Splish-splash!
Water jumped.
A big splash hit the ground.
The Witch slipped.
“Wah!” she yelped.
Her tall hat flopped over her eyes.
Her hands waved.
The pot wobbled.
Plop!
The crown fell out and rolled—roll, roll—right to Curtis James.
Curtis James caught it.
“Got it!” he said.
Princess Lila clapped. “My crown!”
The Witch peeked from under her hat.
She looked more tired than scary.
“I just wanted something shiny,” she muttered.
Curtis James thought for a moment.
He opened his pouch.
Inside were two bright silver buttons.
He held them out.
“These are shiny,” he said. “You can have them. But no stealing.”
The Witch blinked.
She took the buttons gently.
“Thank you,” she said, very small.
Then she turned and shuffled away.
Princess Lila placed the crown on her head.
It fit perfectly.
“Curtis James,” she said, “you are a very good Knight.”
From the fountain, bubbles rose.
Pop! Pop!
A secret little box floated up, glittering.
The black cat meowed again.
Curtis James opened the box.
Inside were tiny gold stickers shaped like stars.
A treasure!
Princess Lila laughed.
They put one star on Curtis’s shield and one on the Princess’s crown.
They walked back through the Mystic Courtyard, hand in hand.
Clink-clink went the boots.
And the stars stayed bright, all day long.