Once upon a time, there was a fairy-tale land, but there wasn’t a wizard wicked enough to want to kidnap and curse princesses, nor a dragon hungry enough to want to eat princesses or knights. All the witches who lived there were simply too lazy to cast spells. And so, in that kingdom, everything was terribly boring.
So one day, the king decided to come up with a bit of fun for his subjects.
“Dear subjects, I hereby announce a race across our kingdom! Anyone who has a vehicle, please come to my castle exactly at noon,” declared the King.
He asked the Wizard from the mountains to conjure up a beautiful off-road car and got ready at the starting line, waiting for the other fairy-tale characters to arrive.
It didn’t take long before the racers started showing up. There were ten of them altogether. The kingdom was so dull that whenever anyone heard something was finally happening, they rushed to join in or at least watch.
Second to arrive, right after the king, was Princess Mary on her scooter. Third came Sir Bramble, galloping in on his horse. Fourth was the Wizard, rolling up on his motorcycle. Every now and then there was a bang, as something popped out of his exhaust. He hadn’t cast a spell in ages, so the motorcycle wasn’t in very good condition. Hopefully, he could handle the race. The fifth racer to sign up was the water sprite Wispwave on roller skates.
And because there was so much excitement about the race, the sixth racer showed up—a little girl in a red hood, riding on a wolf. Yes, you guessed it, it was Little Red Riding Hood. Right after her came Baba Yaga, showing off her amazing cart pulled by six black cats. But the eighth contestant, the good Fairy, completely stole the show with her pumpkin carriage pulled by two white horses. Hopefully, they would finish the race by midnight; otherwise, her spell would wear off and the carriage would turn back into a pumpkin and the horses into mice.
Suddenly, the roar of an engine was heard. A four-wheeler arrived among the racers, and riding it was the Devil.
But wait! Were there only nine racers? Where was the tenth? After a little while, Silly Jack hobbled in on skis. It was tough for him because there was no snow. And as we all know, skiing without snow is well…quite difficult.
Anyway, the racers were ready and the race could begin! The royal servants started the race, and all ten racers dashed forward. But the water sprite skidded on his roller skates right at the curve by the castle, broke off a wheel, and landed on his backside on the sidewalk in front of the confectioner’s shop. That was the end of the race for him, so he went inside and had some cake instead.
That left nine racers in the race. They left the town and zoomed through the forest. Charging ahead was the Devil on his devilish quad bike, tearing up the road behind him. The King in his off-roader was right on his tail. The Wizard was racing after them on his motorcycle. The Good Fairy wasn’t far behind either and was just passing Little Red Riding Hood on the wolf.
“Faster, Wolf, they’re passing us!” called Little Red Riding Hood.
“I’m doing my best,” grumbled the Wolf.
He was very busy because Sir Brumble on his horse was starting to close in behind them. He’d just overtaken old Baba Yaga and startled her cats. The cats stopped, and before the old witch could calm them down, they scattered into the woods. And that was the end of the race for Baba Yaga. She still hadn’t found a single cat when the princess on a scooter passed her by.
But where did Silly Jack on skis go? He hadn’t even reached the forest yet. He was still dragging his skis along the city streets, where he waved through the window of the confectioner’s shop at the water sprite, who was stuffing himself with a cream puff.
From the forest, the race went along the shore between two ponds and across a meadow. The devil’s quad bike rumbled by so fiercely that the fish in the Pond trembled. Behind him, the king’s car was giving chase. But the Wizard on his motorcycle skidded and slipped into the Pond. He still didn’t give up and kept trying to pull his motorbike out of the water and onto the road when the good Fairy rode past.
“Hey! Can’t you grant me a wish and pull my motorbike out of the water for me?” he shouted at the good fairy.
“You can do magic yourself” laughed the good Fairy and waved at him.
“Oh, right!” said the Wizard, tapping his forehead, and he started waving his arms to pull the motorbike out of the water and onto the road.
He still wasn’t finished when the wolf ran by with Little Red Riding Hood, the knight trotted past on his horse, and the Princess rode past on a scooter.
“Finally on my way!” the Wizard cheered. He hopped on the motorcycle—but uh-oh, what was this? Instead of roaring to life, the engine just coughed and fell silent. Motorcycles don’t run on water, and this one had just taken a big gulp from the pond. There was no way the Wizard could fix this, and in his frustration he forgot the spell to dry out the motorcycle. That was the end of the race for him.
But where was Silly Jack? Jack finally shuffled into the forest on his skis. So there were seven racers left in the race.
Beyond the meadow, a steep hill led up to the cliffs, and that’s where the dragon lived. It was no problem for the Devil. Even the King in his off-road car had no trouble getting up the steep hill. The horses weren’t doing so well, but the good fairy waved her wand, conjured up diamond horseshoes for them, and they made it up the hill.
“I’m done,” the wolf panted at the bottom of the hill. He couldn’t run anymore, he was just too tired. And when he saw that hill, he didn’t feel like competing anymore. He and Little Red Riding Hood stayed behind to watch how the knight on his horse would do. But the horse didn’t have diamond horseshoes, so the knight stayed at the bottom of the hill with them. The princess handled it like a professional. She slung her scooter over her shoulder and walked up the hill.
The hill knocked out two racers right away. Or maybe three? Where was Silly Jack? Oh, there he was, coming out of the forest toward the pond, with grass tangling around his skis. He’d better hurry.
A steep hill down to the village awaited five racers. The Devil rode like a maniac so he couldn’t brake in time for the turn in the village. He drove into a barn and crashed—right into a pile of straw. The farmer gave him a whack with the broom for knocking down half the barn.
The King was absolutely delighted because, at last, as befits a king, he was in first place. But he didn’t get to enjoy it for long. The good Fairy was hot on her wheels. Her horses were incredibly fast. Even the Princess caught up—the scooter coasted down the hill all by itself. But what about Jack? Where was he? No worries, he hadn’t fallen into the Pond. He had slung his skis over his shoulder and was climbing the hill with them.
So now there were four racers. Who would win?
Just outside the village, the road curved back toward town and crossed a swinging bridge that the King’s grandpa had built long ago as a shortcut across the marsh. The King knew very well he had to slow down, or the car would fall off the bridge. The good Fairy took advantage of this and urged her horses forward – but it backfired on her. One of the carriage wheels got stuck between the wooden beams and snapped off.
“I’ll fix it, I’ll fix it,” muttered the Fairy, trying to think up a spell that could repair the wheel.
“Hello, Fairy, do you need a hand?” called the Princess as she zoomed by on her scooter.
“Thank you, Princess, but I think I’ll have to admit defeat. Maybe I’ll have better luck next time,” said the Fairy.
And where had Jack run off to now?! He was at the top of the hill, skiing down the rocks. Luckily, the rocks were smooth, so he slid along just fine. He raced down to the village, shuffling his feet on the road to reach the bridge as fast as he could.
The three racers pushed on. The finish line was close. The King was already picturing himself receiving the first-place medal, so much so that he completely forgot to watch the road and drove his straight into the bushes. His wheels got stuck on a branch, hanging in midair, and he couldn’t drive out.
“Oh, what a mess! I had it all sewn up,” he grumbled, running around his little car.
“Hop on, father. The scooter’s big enough for both of us. Help me push—I’m all worn out,” called the princess. She waited for the King to climb on behind her, and together they sped down the final stretch to the finish line.
“Hooray! Hooray!” shouted the people when the princess arrived first—and as the only one—at the finish line. “The princess deserves the medal!”
But hold on! The only one? Not quite. There was still one racer left in the race. Just then, he shuffled across the bridge on his skis, heading for the finish line. Well, he was racing about as fast as six hundred snails making a getaway.
And so, by the time the sun was already setting, Jack finally made it to the finish. But by then, everyone had gone home—who would wait around for someone who picked snow skis instead of a proper vehicle for a summer race? Still, the next day, King awarded him at least a small medal for his perseverance. It’s not every day you see someone overcome so many obstacles on skis in the summertime and refuse to give up.