Judit Fischer: Sparkles, the bravest unicorn

Once upon a time, in a land far-far away, behind the Glass Mountains, by the Enchanted Forest, there was a magical land, the Land of Rainbows. Unicorns lived in this land, and each and every one of them had magical powers. Some of them were able to lure the sun from behind the clouds with their singing, some of them could make it rain, and there were even some unicorns that made all the flowers bloom behind them, with every step they took.

Sparkles, the youngest of the unicorns had a magical power as well: when she hit the ground with the same leg three times, all the water near her, froze. But even though she had the most amazing power, she felt it was boring and useless, and she wished she had some kind of other talent.

“No one ever needs my dumb ice” she thought, and every night she wished that come morning, she would have her wings grown out, so she could play among the clouds and sparkle in the sunshine, just like those unicorns, that could fly. Those unicorns flew ever so gracefully from one rainbow to another, while the rays of the sun reflected on their great, silver wings. They were breath-taking.

Sparkles could spend all day at the foot of the rainbow, drowning in her sorrow. The other unicorns called her to join them in their games, but nothing could lessen her sadness.

Then, one bright, spring morning, she woke up to a great rumbling and noise. Frightened, she ran out to the field and looked around to see where the noise came from. At that instant, a herd of unicorns came galloping, their feet thudding loudly on the ground. They galloped right to Sparkles, to warn her.

“Run, Sparkles! Run up to the hill! As fast as you can! The dam has collapsed!” they shouted, as they took off, galloping towards the hill.

Sparkles was so frightened, her muscles froze in her legs. She knew that the dam protected their valley from that immense amount of water. If the water reached them, it would flood the entire Land of Rainbows. Suddenly, she had an idea. Instead of trotting to the safety of the hill, she galloped towards the dam. By the time she reached it, the water almost broke through. She hit the ground three times with her leg, so hard, the loud thuds echoed and the ground shook under her. And believe it or not, just like that, all the water froze.

The unicorns, who had wings, hovered over her, watching Sparkles, the youngest of the unicorns, in surprise. All the unicorns applauded her, and then, together, they fixed the dam, so by the time the ice melted, they were safe again.

Sparkles was very happy and proud of her power. She realised that her magical power was just as important as the others’. From there on, she had no reason to be jealous and she played with the others on the field, looking up at the flying unicorns, smiling.

Do you have some kind of special ability?

If you could chose a magical power, what would it be?