"The Magic Pencil"
by
Eugen Vlad Parau
Once upon a time there was a family of an old man and woman. And these old men had a little house, some land, a small yard, a hollow tree and two young grand - children: boy and a little girl.
And every night the old men were telling the children a story. How did they know so many stories? The Magic Pencil was living in one of the hollows of the tree from the yard and it always brought stories to the world.
But, one evening, the old men couldn't tell stories anymore. What was going on there? They went to search the tree. The Magic Pencil was gone. What a tragedy!
Do you know what had really happened to the Pencil? A bad witch had stolen it to make lies from the stories and to spread them in the whole world. As soon as the witch arrived home and quickly tided pencil on the table. Than she waited her bat to bring her the substance she needed to make the lies. Then she heard something beating at her door. It was a black cat- witch's favourite. She brought it in and fed it. After that she went to sleep. But the cat stayed in the house. And having sharp claws and liking to scratch everything round her, she began to scratch the only worthy thing: the ropes of the pencil. She untied them. The Magic Pencil seeing himself free at last, he flew quickly to the door. The cat, not knowing what was going on, began to new strongly. The old witch woke up and mounted angrily on her bewitched broom. Soon she got the pencil. In that moment there really was no escape!
"Let's do a trick to the old witch he thought. And he sends her in the FairyLand. Suddenly the witch saw herself on a mountain road. In that moment a bad dragon seized her and makes her his slave. And the old witch worked there until her death and no one had ever heard anything about her again. Meanwhile the Magic Pencil went to the old men and told them that he couldn't stay there any longer, because I am not sure that the witch won't send somebody else to take me away.
And the Pencil moved in the Universe. Every night he comes to the search at 12 o'clock, the Greenwich hour (GMT) and lands in each European town where he writes stories all night long, weaving masterly dreams for people in the morning to be happy and in high spirits because of their dreams.
Talking about the old man and woman who had the Magic Pencil, it is said that they lived more than one hundred lives to tell stories to their grandchildren. And the Magic Pencil remained ... And he still lives ... You believe it if you try!
If you don't visit him ... In the full of awake star Universe
Brasov, April 22, 2000
Translated into English by Bogdana Moldoveanu