The Urbana Free Library has a fabulous fairy and folk tale collection. When you get ready to pick out a costume for our Fairy Tale Ball on April 9, you'll want to look through some of our books to find the right Frog Prince costume or Cindrella ball dress or even a Gingerbread boy costume.
We also have tales from all around the world like The Dragon Prince, a Chinese Beauty and the Beast tale by well-known children's author, Laurence Yep. In this version, Seven, the youngest of the farmer's daughters, volunteers to go with the serpent that she treated kindly, when he comes forcefully seeking a bride. He carries her through the air and plunges into the sea, where she tells him how beautiful he is. He tells her she should be frightened but she replies "The eye sees what it will, but the heart sees what it should." When he hears this the dragon begins to dance and spins until he becomes a column of light, and from the light a prince emerges.
As a princess Seven wears elegant silk robes and dines on rare delicacies from gold plates, but she misses her family. The Dragon Prince gives her permission to return. She comes home at last but her older sister, Three, is jealous of her finery. She betrays Seven by disguising herself as the younger sister when it is time to return to the sea. Seven then goes to live iwth an old woman, sad that her prince has accepted her sister in her place. The Dragon Prince realizes the decption and searches far and wide for his true love. Barb L
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