The boy who kissed his dog on the nose

Once upon a time, in the mists of tomorrow, a boy kissed his dog upon the nose and set out to have an adventure in the world. He put on his newest underwear, tied his shoes especially carefully, packed his bag and took off.

He rode the wind through rain and lightning, sunshine and clouds until he came to a faraway land and there he landed in a roaring storm. 

The villagers were waiting for him.  They said there had been a sign that something immense was about to happen, some event so huge that it would change the world.  And the boy was afraid.

He did not want the world to change.  He just wanted a simple adventure, something he could tell his grandchildren about when his bones were old and cold.

But the people ushered him into the castle and presented him to the King who was having a very bad day. The royal tutor had left and his wife was irate.  The royal story teller had left with him and the children were bored.  The castle was in an uproar.  The King had no time for a boy who kissed his dog on the nose and landed in a puddle of water.

Still, everyone had to eat and that is how they all found themselves sitting across the table from each other.  A King, a boy, an angry Queen, ten bored children, and a bunch of excited villagers.  It was terrible!  The boy thought about all the stories he had read and wondered if he would ever be able to write one about this that would impress those distant grandchildren.

Thinking out loud he began mumbling and suddenly the child next to him was listening raptly.  He talked about the authenticity of adventures and how the monsters changed shape so that sometimes they were barely recognizable as monsters!  He spoke of heroes who fought with weapons no one could see!  He painted pictures with words that wound history and fancy into such a compelling piece that soon everyone was listening to the boy who kissed his dog goodbye and arrived on the wings of a storm.

When dinner was over the King asked the boy to become both the tutor to his children and the storyteller for the kingdom!  The boy accepted and that day went down in the annals of the kingdom as a most fortuitous day, a day when one small kingdom was changed by a boy who kissed his dog on the nose and set off to have an adventure.

And who knows, maybe he did change the world.  Only time will tell.