The Kingdom of Muchtoomuch

by Betsy Lawson
Illustrations by Morgan Swofford

 

In the Kingdom of Muchtoomuch there lived a boy named Timmy who had many, many toys.  Timmy had big toys and little toys.  He had toys with bells and whistles, and all sorts of gadgets and doohickeys. So many toys had Timmy that they filled his room and spilled into hallways and even the courtyard of the great castle.

But Timmy did not play with them.

Every day the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Muchtoomuch sent the Knights of the castle in search of more toys in hopes that Timmy would play.  But still, every day, he only sat and looked out the window.

Finally, the day came when there were so many toys that the gates of the castle could no longer shut.  Timmy peeked through the open gates to see the rolling hills and lush meadows that lay beyond the castle walls.  He squeezed through the opened gate and stepped outside.

 Timmy turned back to see if anyone had noticed.

But all was quiet.  The toys had long since hidden him from view.

A butterfly flew past.  Timmy had seen toys and games in all shapes and sizes, but never had he seen a creature free in the outdoors.  He followed the butterfly.

Soon he was dancing and twirling through the meadows, delighting in the flight of the butterfly and some honeybees and other new wonders in the great sunshine.

 Timmy turned somersaults down a long, gentle slope.  He landed in front of a stone wall covered in roses so thick that he almost didn’t see the small gate at the center.

As Timmy pushed open the creaky gate, a young girl approached wearing a crown of daisies.

“Welcome to the Magic Garden. I am Fairy Princess ,” she said.

“I am Timmy of the Kingdom of Muchtoomuch.  I think I am a very long way from home.”

“Look, Timmy, you are not as far as you think,” she said pointing to the tip of the castle behind them. “What is your wish?”

“Wish?” asked Timmy.

“Have you not heard of the Magic Garden of Wishes?” Fairy Princess Sarah asked. “Everyone who enters is granted one wish.”

“I am afraid I do not know much about the world that lies outside the gates of the castle,” said Timmy.  This is the first time I have ventured outside.  I meant only to take a quick look, but then a butterfly flew past and it led me here,” he said.

“Everyone who enters the Magic Garden is granted one wish.  It has always been so,” said Fairy Princess Sarah.

“Does this make you happy, granting all these wishes?” Timmy asked.

“No one has thought to ask before.  I tend the garden alone until someone enters and asks for their wish.”

 Timmy smiled.  “People are always giving me things, but they never ask me what I want.”

“And does this make you happy?” asked Princess Sarah in return.

“No one has ever asked,” he replied.

They sat for a while watching the butterflies and swallows and honeybees flitter about the garden.

“It is time to grant your wish now,” Fairy Princess Sarah said finally.  “Take my hands, shut your eyes and tell me your wish.  When you open your eyes, you will know that your wish has been granted.”

“If you had a wish, what would it be?” Timmy asked instead.

“But I do not.  I grant the wishes,” Fairy Princess Sarah replied.

“Then I am going to share my wish with you.”  Timmy closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said, “I wish that we could be friends.”

When he opened his eyes, Fairy Princess Sarah said, “That would be my wish, too.”

“Hooray!  A friend!  Come play with me at the castle,” Timmy said as he began to run.

“But I’ve never been outside the garden,” she called after him.  But she saw that Timmy had left the gate open.

Fairy Princess Sarah took a small step outside the garden.  And then another.  And another.  Faster and faster she went until her steps turned into skipping, that turned into dancing, that turned into twirling, that turned her right over in laughter.  Timmy tumbled beside her.

Hand in hand they ran to the castle and there they played for hours and hours, days and days.

They made a game of giving away Timmy’s toys to girls and boys throughout the Kingdom of Muchtoomuch. They got to know many, many children and invited them to join in their games at the castle.

 Timmy and Fairy Princess Sarah also played in the Magic Garden, picking flowers and giving to families they thought needed a little extra cheer.  Children followed them back to the garden and played among the flowers and pathways and climbing along the stone wall.

In time, the wall crumbled and the flowers from the garden spread in all directions. The Magic Garden and the Kingdom of Muchtoomuch became one and the same.