A bedtime story about never truly losing anything

The guardian owl in a hidden vault of softly glowing copies, the two royal owlets beside it.

The Owl Who Kept a Spare

A very short story about a lost drawing, and the copy that brought it back.

  1. The little Princess proudly holding a drawing she made herself.

    The Princess had a favourite drawing.
    She made it herself — and loved it best of all.

  2. A windy night; the drawing is swept away as the Prince comforts the heartbroken Princess.

    One windy night, it was gone.
    Even a fierce little heart can break — and the Prince held her wing.

  3. The guardian owl speaking gently and reassuringly to the two owlets.

    “Here,” said the owl, “nothing precious is ever truly lost.
    The castle keeps a spare of everything.”

  4. A quiet hidden chamber where soft glowing copies of the castle's treasures are kept safe.

    It led them to a quiet, hidden room, where a copy of every treasure was kept — safe and sound.

  5. Two vaults — one under a storm, the other far away and dry — keeping the copies apart.

    “We keep the copies far away, and dry.
    If a storm takes one, the other is still safe.”

  6. The owl opening a stored copy to check it still works, the owlets watching.

    “And now and then, I open each one to be sure it still works.
    A spare you cannot open is no spare at all.”

  7. The owl returning the drawing to the overjoyed Princess as the Prince smiles.

    Then the owl placed her drawing back into her wings.
    She hugged it tight. “It was never really gone.”

  8. The two owlets cosy with the drawing and its spare kept safe; the guardian owl keeps watch under a crescent moon.

    So they kept it safe — and kept a spare, too.
    And the owl, one blue eye and one crimson, kept watch.
    Goodnight.