7.
At first, the little folk didn't seem to mind the tiny princess watching them closely. But after a while, one of them, and to the tiny princess he seemed even smaller than the others, beckoned to her with his little hand. The tiny princess knelt down and put her nose very close to the littlest of the little folk. He smiled enigmatically, and blew her a kiss from his open hand. Only, it wasn't a kiss he blew her, but something else. The tiny princess immediately closed her eyes and fell asleep.
When she awoke again, it was dark around her, and it took her a moment to realize what had happened. Carefully, she moved her tiny hands around and could feel the rough touch of old wood beneath her hand. Panic began to well up inside her, but she came upon the cold, smooth metal of a lock. Relieved, she pushed it open, and with a deep groan, the wood let itself be pushed away, and soft light touched her face.
8.
Over in the corner she could see a spot of warm light, and carefully, she moved towards the light. It was shaped like the end of a tunnel, and seemed to be some sort of entrance or opening. Slowly, she stuck her tiny head though the opening and looked around.
The huge room beyond was bathed in warm green light, and next to the opening sat a big cat. The cat deliberately turned its head towards the tiny princess and regarded her intensely.
The tiny princess regarded the cat right back, intrigued by the fact the cat was so huge, and her being so tiny.
The cat tilted its head and smiled. 'So you're here. Finally.'
The tiny princess nodded. There was no denying - she WAS here, after all. 'Can you show me how to fly?' she asked the cat politely.
9.
'Follow me', said the cat instead of answering. And when the cat walked away, the tiny princess followed it, just like the cat had said.
They walked along a corridor and went into another room. That room was cold, and breezy, and the tattered lace curtains blew in a steady stream of air.
The tiny princess shivered and stepped up to the window. 'It's cold', she said, and hugged herself for warmth. Outside, it looked nice and sunny, and a promise of golden warmth beckoned to her.
When she turned around, she saw the cat smile again. 'That's the promise of rain. In here, I mean. Take the umbrella', it commanded.
10.
The tiny princess took the umbrella that was leaning against the wall. 'When is it gonna rain?' she asked after she'd picked it up. The cat was still smiling. 'It's raining all the time. Can't you feel it?'
The tiny princess shook her head, but opened the umbrella nevertheless.
The cat jumped up on the windowsill and pointed to a beautiful cage, swinging slowly in a barren tree.
'It's empty!' cried the tiny princess, who had followed suit to the window, and looked at the feline.
The cat nodded. 'You must go and find the bird.'
'Will the bird show me how to fly?' she asked anxiously, but the cat had vanished already.
11.
The tiny princess ran out of the room, across the hall, right down the stairs and along the corridor. She crossed an even greater hall, went down more stairs and pushed open a huge door.
Outside, it was sunny and warm, and not cold and breezy like inside.
In front of the house lay a garden, and within that garden lay a beautiful peaceful lake. Deliberately, the tiny princess went towards the lake.
She saw a girl standing there, with her back towards the princess.
Her hair was the same colour as the princess's, and her dress looked very similar. And she was tiny, too.
When the other girl turned around, the tiny princess looked into the face of a tiny princess. It was her.
12.
The other tiny princess greeted her with a smile, but didn't say a word. The tiny princess smiled back at herself. 'Do you know where the bird is?' she asked. 'And, even more importantly, would you know how I could learn to fly?'
The tiny princess still didn't say a word, but she pointed at the lake. The tiny princess raised an eyebrow, but the tiny princess only smiled and nodded encouragingly. The tiny princess took a deep breath and jumped into the lake.
Under water, she was greeted by a water fairy, who embraced her and took her by the hand.
'She will lead me to the bird', the tiny princess thought.
