The Kind and the Unkind Girls - ebook

A girl wished into existence, a girl who finds her own way, a girl saved, and two girls caught.

Four short stories that technically fall under a traditional Aarne-Thompson folktale classification, but take their own path there. Three of the stories: "Straw", "The Pink", and "Sleeping" have been shared online before. The titular story, "The Kind and the Unkind Girls", is new for this collection.

From "Sleeping":

Prince Frances, stalwart and true, stood before the wall of thorns and contemplated his approach. Looking up, he followed the thick growth as it twisted and snagged up crenellated towers. There was a castle beneath the briar and inside the castle, if rumour proved true, a princess locked in a magical sleep, awaiting a kiss.

Frances hadn’t rescued a princess before, though he was not unfamiliar with quests. The sword he jabbed experimentally at the thorns had been dipped in the blood of a giant magical boar he’d killed in some dark wood a few years back. The blade was now tough enough to cut through anything but dragon hide. Killing a dragon and bathing his sword in its blood would come later. After the princess, before any heirs. He had time for quests yet, even after he rescued and married this girl in the castle.

This 7k+ word short story collection is available as mobi, epub, and pdf files.