TEARDROP CASTLE Written by: Gabrielle & Kaitlyn at Spintered Publishing

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. The little girl, Princess Mara, lived with her mother, Queen Seelia, who was the queen of the Deliria Kingdom. They lived in Teardrop Castle. They loved it there, especially Princess Mara, because her pet her pet dragon Alice had its own room to play in. They were both very happy.

One day, Princess Mara was playing with Alice in the playroom, when her mother told her it was bedtime. Princess Mara said goodnight to Alice, but when she left to go to her bedroom, she forgot to close the window in the playroom. When she woke up the next morning, Alice was gone. Princess Mara was very sad and very scared because she didn’t know where Alice was. She started to feel something in the back of her throat like a lump, and when she touched her face it was wet. She didn’t know what was happening, so she ran to her mother to find out.

“Mommy?!” Princess Mara called out. She ran up to her mother, who asked her what was wrong. “Why are my eyes raining?” Princess Mara asked. “Your eyes aren’t raining. You’re crying,” Queen Seelia told her daughter while stroking her hair. “What’s crying?” Princess Mara asked.

“Crying is when your eyes let out drops of water,” Queen Seelia said. “These drops of water are called tears.” “Oh. My throat feels weird, like there’s something in it,” Princess Mara told her mother. “Is that because I’m crying?” “Yes,” Queen Seelia replied. “People call it a lump in your throat. It happens because when you cry, your throat opens up to allow you to breathe deeper, which makes it harder for you to close your throat and swallow. That ends up making it feel like there’s a lump in your throat.” “How does crying happen?” she asked curiously. Tears

“Crying happens by tears filling up in your tear ducts, which are little spaces in the inner corners of your eyes. When the tears spill over, they fall down your face.” Queen Seelia said as she touched her daughter’s cheek. “When do people cry?” Princess Mara asked. “People usually cry when they’re hurt or sad or angry, but they can also cry when they’re really happy,” said Queen Seelia. “Why?” Princess Mara wanted to know. Tear ducts

. “Most people say crying makes you feel better when you’re feeling really angry or really sad. That’s because when people cry, they release things called hormones that they might have too much of because of that emotion. When the hormones are released, the amount of them balances out, and then the people crying calm down and feel better,” Queen Seelia explained. “What about when people feel really happy?” asked Princess Mara. “It’s for the same reason,” Queen Seelia replied. “It helps them balance out their hormones to calm down.” “Ohhh,” said Princess Mara, now that she understood

“Why were you crying before?” Queen Seelia asked her daughter. “I was sad,” said Princess Mara, thinking about how she didn’t know where Alice was. “Why?” asked her mother. “I couldn’t find Alice. She’s missing,” Princess Mara said sadly. “Oh, no!” exclaimed Queen Seelia. “Let’s go look for her. I’m sure she’s still somewhere around here,” she said, grabbing her daughter’s hand.

Princess Mara and Queen Seelia looked all over the castle, in almost every room. Princess Mara was about to start crying again, when she saw something under the kitchen table. She ran over and pulled Alice out from under it. “Mommy, I found her!” Princess Mara squealed while jumping up and down. “Oh thank goodness,” sighed Queen Seelia, while patting Alice on the head. Princess Mara kept jumping until she felt a tear run down her cheek. She put Alice down and looked up at her mother. “Look! I’m crying because I’m really happy!” Princess Mara giggled.

Princess Mara picked up Alice and hugged her mother, happy to have found Alice, and happy to have learned something new because of it. The End