Princess Poppy's Map

In the Buttercup Kingdom stood a castle with butter-yellow walls and red flags that flapped like bright tulips. Princess Poppy lived there. She wore a crown that fit like a warm hug and tiny red boots that went tap-tap on the stone floors. Poppy loved two things: helping people and drawing maps.

One sunny morning, the Royal Picnic Parade was set to begin. Families from every corner of the kingdom carried baskets of jam tarts and lemonade. But the garden hedge maze had grown tall and twisty overnight. No one could find the right path to the castle gate.

“The parade can’t start if nobody can find us,” the Queen said, peeking from the balcony. “What shall we do?”

“I know!” Princess Poppy smiled. “I’ll make a map.” She slung on her little red backpack. Inside were crayons, a long roll of ribbon, a biscuit, and a tiny bell.

Outside the castle, near the warm garden stones, a small dragon with polka dots was sunning her belly. “Hello, Dot!” Poppy called.

Dot the dragon sat up and sneezed. Pop! Pop! Pop! Soap-bubble circles floated into the air. “Hi, Poppy,” she sniffled. “Is it parade time?”

“Almost,” said Poppy, “but we need to guide everyone through the maze. Will you help?”

Dot nodded. “I sneeze bubbles when I’m excited,” she said. “I’m very excited.”

At the stable gate, a tiny turtle knight clanked up in a shiny spoon for a helmet. He bowed so slowly it looked like a curtsy. “Sir Nudge,” Poppy said, “perfect timing!”

“I offer my steady shell,” Sir Nudge said. “And this,” he added, holding up a polished thimble like a shield. “Mazes respect good manners.”

Off they went: tap-tap went Poppy’s boots, bump-bump went Dot’s steps, scrape-scrape went Sir Nudge’s spoon-helmet.

They reached Splishy-Splash Brook. The little bridge had tilted sideways in the night, and the water gurgled like a giggle. On the other side, a boy with a kite and a baker with a basket waved.

“How will we cross?” asked the baker.

Dot wiggled her nose and gave a happy sneeze. Pop! Pop! Pop! Round, strong bubbles bobbed on the water, each one sparkling like soap and sunshine. “Bubble stepping stones!” Poppy laughed.

Everyone waddled and tiptoed over the bubbles. Pop! went the last stone as Sir Nudge hopped off. “Thank you,” said the baker. He handed Poppy a sugar-dusted bun for later.

At last they reached the hedge maze. It was a tall green wall with leaves that whispered like secret paper. The sign at the gate read, in curly letters: This Way Or That?

Poppy tied one end of her red ribbon to the gate. “We’ll leave a friendly trail,” she said. She rolled the ribbon like a stream behind them and took out her blue crayon. On the hedges and stones, she drew simple arrows, big stars, and smiley faces. “Follow the ribbon and follow the smiles,” she told a family of giggling geese.

Inside, the maze rustled. “Left or right?” Dot asked.

Sir Nudge closed his eyes. “Listen,” he said. “Do you hear the fountain?”

Poppy listened too. Far away, faint and cheerful, she heard splish-splash-swish. “Left,” she said. “I hear water that way.”

They turned left, then right, then left again. Poppy drew a big star on a stone and wrote GATE in big block letters. More people joined the ribbon line: a girl with marigolds in her hair, a beekeeper with jars of honey, a sleepy dog with a bandanna.

Suddenly, the path stopped. The hedges had grown into a big knot, all loops and twirls. “Oh, dear,” said Poppy. “Excuse us, lovely maze,” she said with a neat curtsey. “We need a way through.”

The hedge shivered and shook, but the knot stayed knotted.

Poppy took a deep breath. “New plan!” She drew a tall, tidy door on the hedge with her golden crayon. Dot blew a warm, gentle puff. The crayon lines shimmered. Leaves curled back just enough to make a doorway!

“Thank you,” Sir Nudge told the maze, tapping his thimble-shield. “Very polite.” They walked through the leaf-door and the knot sighed in relief, untangling into a graceful arch.

Soon they reached the center, where the fountain danced and laughed. “We’re close,” Poppy said. She held up her bell and gave it a bright jingle. Dingle-ding! The sound skipped along the hedges. Ahead, the castle gate glowed in the sun.

Out they stepped into the wide courtyard. The red flags waved. The King and Queen clapped. “Hooray for Princess Poppy!” called the townsfolk. “Hooray for the map!”

Poppy hung the ribbon and arrows on a big roll of cloth and tied it to the gate. “For anyone still coming,” she said. “We’ll call it Poppy’s Path.”

The picnic began. People spread blankets. Geese played tug with napkins. Dot sneezed one last tiny bubble, and inside it floated a paper boat no bigger than a thumb. Sir Nudge set it in the fountain with a proud nod.

Poppy shared her sugar bun with Dot and Sir Nudge. “Tomorrow,” she said, “let’s map the peppermint bridge.”

“Adventure,” said Dot, eyes bright.

“Adventure,” agreed Sir Nudge, very politely.

Princess Poppy smiled. In the Buttercup Kingdom, there was always another path to find, and always friends to find it with.