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Great Grandpa Jasper loved to tell stories of all kinds. But every time his great granddaughter Larissa saw him, she'd ask for the same one. She always wanted him to tell her the story about the Princess T'Shara. The Princess could become a beautiful butterfly by saying her name backwards.

"Tell me The Princess Butterfly story, Grandpa, please," she always begged, tugging at his pant leg.

"Well, well," Grandpa would say each time, and he would laugh his big laugh. "Soon you'll be able to tell that story all by yourself, Little One."

Grandpa would lift her up onto his lap in his favorite rocking chair. It was his favorite spot for telling The Princess Butterfly story.

Larissa's mother was usually listening from around the corner. She remembered how Great Grandpa Jasper used to tell her stories when she was a little girl herself.

One day, when she and her mother were visiting Grandpa Jasper, Larissa ran up to him and shouted, "Tell me about the Princess, again, Grandpa! Please!"

"Okay, Little One. I will. Let me see, now. How does that one begin?" he teased.

"At the castle, of course!" answered Larissa. "Don't be silly, Grandpa!"

"Oh, yes, of course. The story begins at the castle near the village of Shellhalla, where a beautiful, young Princess named T'Shara lived." And Grandpa told Larissa all about the Princess. . .

Princess T'Shara was a sad, young girl. She felt so trapped at the castle. She couldn't fly with the beautiful butterflies or run with the darting deer. Oh, she loved her father the King, and she loved living at the castle most of the time. But some days, she would get so lonely. Some days, she would think about her poor mother the Queen, who died when T'Shara was very young.

T'Shara was a Princess, so she didn't have to worry about the cooking and the cleaning, like the villagers who lived near the castle. She had plenty of time to be sad.

Until one day, when a magical stranger came to the village of Shellhalla.

This stranger seemed neither very young nor very old. He told everyone in the village he was looking for a Princess who had been in his dreams. They told the stranger he should go to the castle right away. During the day, anyone could visit the King.

The magical stranger went right away. When he arrived at the castle gate, a tall guard with a frilly hat asked him who he wanted to see. The stranger said that the Princess had sent for him, and he smiled a friendly smile.

"Of course, kind sir," the guard replied. "Go ahead in."

The magical stranger entered the castle where the Princess's handmaiden Chrissara met him. She smiled and motioned for him to follow her.

The stranger followed her to T'Shara's Music Room, where he thanked her. Then, Chrissara went to fetch the Princess.

Of course, the Princess came right away. What excitement, she felt, that a stranger would call upon her out of the blue. The stranger smiled at T'Shara when she opened the door and bid him enter.

"Why have you come, kind sir," the Princess asked.

"My name is Kas'pahn, Princess. I have come because you were in my dreams. I know that you are very sad here sometimes. You wish to soar with the beautiful butterflies, and you wish to run free like the deer that dart about the royal fields."

The Princess could only whisper yes. She did so long to do those things. Very much so.

"Then close your blue eyes, my Princess, and say your name backwards. Do not be afraid--I am here to keep you safe."

"I must say my name backwards?" T'Shara asked.

"Yes. Say Ah-rahsh-tee," answered Kas'pahn.

The Princess closed her blue eyes and slowly whispered, Ah-rahsh-tee. She felt a tingling in her toes and in her fingers. She felt as light as a goose feather!

Oh, how wonderful, she thought, as she heard the stranger tell her to open her eyes.

When she opened them, she could not believe what she saw. She was floating in front of Kas'pahn!

The Princess had become a butterfly! It was both wonderful and frightening for T'Shara. She had never been a butterfly before.

The stranger smiled and told her that it was a gift. A gift her mother asked him to give her.

When T'Shara heard Kas'pahn mention her mother, she closed her eyes and became a Princess once more. She was very surprised that this stranger had mentioned her mother. How could he know about her mother, the lovely Queen Sharaza?

"But my mother died when I was young, kind sir."

"Yes, I know, Princess. I am sorry. I know you miss her very much."

"I only wish she hadn't left me, said the Princess. "I'm so lonely here, sometimes. My father is always busy with his duties as King."

"But your mother is with you always, Princess--in your heart and in your mind. She has never left your side. Your mother watches over you at all times, and she does not like to see you sad."

"You have seen my mother, kind Kas'pahn?"

"I have, Princess. In my dreams. I have the gift of magic to help others in need. In my dreams, your mother visited me and showed you to me. She asked me to help you."

"And this gift from my mother--it's the power to become a butterfly?" asked the Princess.

Kas'pahn told T'Shara that this power was, indeed, the gift her mother asked him to give her. He went on to say that it was her special gift, and that she could tell no one about it. If it were to go to the wrong person, it could be misused. Someone might use it to do something bad. The stranger told her that one day she would grow up and perhaps no longer need the gift. T'Shara could then pass it on to another sad girl or boy who needed it more.

"Thank you very much, kind Kas'pahn," the Princess said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was so happy she had cried a little without even knowing it.

"Good bye, Princess Butterfly. I must go now, but I shall visit you again someday soon. Go now and fly with the beautiful butterflies and soar alongside the darting deer. Remember, you must keep this gift a secret, or the magic will fly away from you."

The Princess T'Shara said good bye to the magical stranger, as he left the castle. She was so excited about her special gift, she decided to try it right away. The Princess told her handmaiden Chrissara, that she wanted to rest awhile before dinner. She went to her Sleeping Room right away, and closed the door.

Once there, the Princess closed her eyes and thought of her mother as she whispered her own name backwards.

Ah-rahsh-tee... Ah-rahsh-tee... Ah-rahsh-tee...

Just like before, the Princess changed magically into a butterfly. She flew about the room a little, so she could get used to flying. She felt so light and free, and after only a few moments, she felt as though she had been flying all her life.

As T'Shara flew out the window to find some other butterflies, she saw a man walking along the road behind the castle. It was Kas'pahn.

Here, Grandpa paused for a moment, instead of finishing the end of the story. He smiled at Larissa, who was looking back at him. You could see the wonder and excitement in her eyes as she waited for the end of the story. Larissa's mother found she was just as excited, waiting for the end of the story

But this time, Grandpa didn't just say that Kas'pahn smiled and disappeared into the sunset. This time, the ending was different.

"Kas'pahn smiled at the Princess," Great Grandpa Jasper continued. His voice was very soft.

"And, as he walked down the road, he whispered into the wind.

"Fly free, my Little One, the stranger whispered. And then he disappeared into the sunset."

With that, Jasper looked down at his great granddaughter and smiled. Larissa and her mother were just sure that they saw a twinkle in his eye.