The Princess and the Candychan

      The youngest daughter of the family, Tzila, woke up one day, or so the story went, and was very melancholy. A great sadness had taken over her spirit, and she went to the window where she wept.

      As great, large tears dropped to the ground below, her family believed she was merely being dramatic, and would stop her sobbing soon. Being the wealthy individuals that they were, however, they sought to indulge her by sending great entertainers to her room to try to cheer her up.

      Tzila paid them no mind and continued sobbing. As the hours turned to days, the tears built up on the tiny island. Small streams began to appear in the streets, and the citizens grew worried. Tzila’s family tried even harder, and sent out their servants to seek the wittiest of the land, in hopes that their brilliance would shock her into stopping. They sought out the most famous Neopians known, hoping that their prominence would awe her into silence. They sought out Princesses Fernypoo, Amira, Vyssa and Sankara, in hopes that some royal company could get her to stop bawling.

      Still, Tzila continued to sob, and did not speak of what caused her such grief. Her tears caused the poor island to flood; the Count had to leave his home, as the tears caused his sleeping place to become overrun. Merry Go Round couldn’t continue to function, as the waters rose up and caused the mechanics to rust together. When the floods became so great that no one could play Dice-A-Roo anymore, as all the dice had since been washed away, King Roo went to her family to make a suggestion.

      “Perhaps she is lonely,” he said simply. “You could make a request so that all the great princes and knights and warriors across all of Neopia will come to seek out her heart, and end its grief.”

      Seeing as how this came from the king himself, and no other strategies worked in cheering up the poor dear, Tzila’s family agreed. The next morning, and announcement went out seeking the bravest, the kindest, the best of heart, and warning them to come by boat, as nearly all of Roo Island was under water.

      By this time, days had turned into weeks, and still, Tzila could not stop her crying.

      Knights and princes came in from all across the land – from Shenkuu to Altador, from Lost Desert to the Space Station and from Maraqua to Faerieland – but none of these brave, kindhearted Neopets could stop her sniveling. They rode up on boats, in Eyrie-drawn carriages, in Shenkuuvian-flying ships and on Unis. They stayed a fair distance from where her enormous tears were failing, and called up to her, “Princess, princess, you are so fair. I give you my heart, if only you will stop crying.” It seemed, however, that none of them could get her to even speak, much less stop her weeping.

      The other lands were beginning to get very worried. Roo Island was not so far away from Neopia Central, Meridell, or Brightvale. What if Tzila could not stop crying? She might cause great floods to overcome those lands as well. As it was, Neopia Central was experiencing stronger waves than they had in years, and the tide rose higher than it ever had before. Cautious Neopians filled bags with sand to try to dam off the water, but it seemed that unless the princess would cease her tears, the rest of the lands were doomed to the same fate as Roo Island.

      On a larger island, not so far away, Tombola, Jhuidah, and the great Pango Pango gathered all the residents together to try to come up with a solution. Neopians, big and small, gathered around the wise pair. Draiks, Chias, Grundos, Bori, JubJubs, Tonus, Zafaras, and other such creatures looked to the three for advice. While the Neopets discussed, however, the petpets also listened. It appeared that no one had any good ideas, and the best plan of action was to evacuate and seek refuge somewhere farther away from water, such as the Lost Desert or Terror Mountain.

      One petpet, though, saw an obvious solution.

     “It seems to me,” he thought, “that perhaps she is just lonely. All these Neopians are trying to get her to stop crying, but they aren’t listening to her. They send in entertainers and jokers, where she’s supposed to watch silently and clap. They bring her great scholars, who she’s supposed to listen to, but not respond to. They call on the knights and princes, but even they seek not her heart, simply a way to stop her crying. If only, if only, she had a friend.”

     With this idea in mind, and assured that there was no way he could be incorrect, he took off from his home, and left for Roo Island, willing to leave behind friends and family in order to befriend a lonely princess.

     Flying easily over the vast waters, he quickly came upon the sunken island. Tree tops were the only things penetrating the water, those and the two great castles – one of the king and one of the Princess Tzila. He spotted her trunk flopped out gracelessly of the east tower window, and flew up to the window sill.

     Tzila, for her part, finally saw someone. She had ignored all the people who had come to her door, but they had arrived in anger, annoyance, and frustration. This small petpet, however, was pleasantly humming.

     Sniffling, she pulled herself back inside the tower, like a proper princess, and the petpet landed on the window sill. With beautiful wings that looked like they came from the greatest of palms, a magnificent flower necklace, and dazzling blue eyes, this Candychan was all she needed. Tzila felt her heart lift as she saw someone who saw her.

     “Hello, there,” she sniffled and leaned down to meet the petpet on his eye level. “Why have you come? You want me to stop crying, don’t you.”

     “No,” responded the Candychan with ease. “As any good friend would want, I want you to feel happy. If drowning the whole world makes you happy, then you may continue to cry. However, I imagine that weeping gets tiring after a while.”

     Sniffling again, Tzila felt her cheeks dry, and knew that someone had listened. She had needed to say no words; he had known. Better than the elegant and rare petpets her parents brought her from faraway lands, this Candychan was a true friend. And that was all she wanted.

     Later that day, the hot sun came out and started to work. The waters eventually dried up, and the tourists came back to Roo Island. The story of the princess and the Candychan, however, remained a lesson to the residents. How simple it is to get wrapped up in your own life and your own wants that you can miss what someone else is really needing.

The End