The Paper Bag Princess

Once upon a time, there was a smart and kind princess named Emily. She lived in a big castle and was going to marry Prince Daniel. Everyone thought they were the perfect couple!

But one terrible day, a huge, mean dragon came. The dragon blew fire everywhere! It burned down Emily’s castle, her pretty clothes, and grabbed Prince Daniel, flying away with him.

Emily was shocked. Her nice dress was gone, and all she could find to wear was a simple paper bag. But she didn’t care about fancy clothes—she wanted to save her prince! So, she put on the paper bag and followed the dragon’s tracks.

Emily walked through burned forests and over broken bridges until she found the dragon’s cave. The dragon was lying there, looking proud.

Emily had a clever idea. She said loudly, “Wow, Dragon! You are amazing! I bet you can fly around the whole world in just 10 seconds!”

The dragon laughed. “Of course I can!” And whoosh—off he went, flying super fast.

When he came back, Emily clapped her hands. “Incredible! But I bet you can’t do it again.”

The dragon, wanting to show off, flew around the world one more time. This time, when he came back, he was super tired.

Then Emily said, “I heard you are really strong. Can you burn down a whole forest with your fire?”

The dragon puffed out his chest and blew fire everywhere until he had no fire left! He was so tired, he lay down and fell fast asleep.

Emily smiled. She tiptoed into the cave and found Prince Daniel. But instead of saying thank you, Daniel frowned.

“Emily! You’re wearing a paper bag! You don’t look like a real princess. You should come back when you look better.”

Emily was shocked. She had worked so hard to save him, and all he cared about was her clothes!

She stood tall and said, “Daniel, you may look like a prince, but you are not nice at all.”

Then Emily turned around and walked away, happy and free. She knew she didn’t need a prince to be brave and smart. And she lived happily ever after—just the way she was.

The End.

Follow-Up Questions:

• What did Emily wear when she went to save Prince Daniel?

• How did Emily trick the dragon?

• Why did Emily decide not to marry Prince Daniel at the end?