PRiNCESS NAILAH iN THE PURPLE TOWER
For Nailah from Dad
BLANK SCREEN PUBLISHING 3 Blue Anchor Yard London E1 8LR blankscreenbooks.co.uk info@blankscreenbooks.co.uk © 2012 Text Ellie Crowe © 2012 Illustrations Janet King All rights reserved A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library upon request ISBN: 978-0-9574715-0-4 Printed in the United Kingdom OTHER CHILDREN’S BOOKS FROM BLANK SCREEN PUBLISHING Stories I read to my daughter at bedtime... by Patris Gordon & Janet King What Will Dr. DooLots do Today? by Jodie Rudge & Keeno Baker
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PRiNCESS NAILAH iN THE PURPLE TOWER
Blank Screen Publishing
Princess Nailah lived In the purple tower Had been there twelve years Ten days and one hour.
Winds wailed and waves crashed On the tower’s dark stone And Princess Nailah felt sad And trapped and alone.
Thick cobwebs covered Princess Nailah’s locked room A big, fat, green spider Sat guarding the gloom.
A wicked witch lived On the very top floor She’d a broom and no smile But a key to the door.
Page 10
The witch and the spider Knew each other well They whispered all night Of a terrible spell.
“Her hair is so long,” Said the witch with a grin. “Let’s spin it to gold, Just like Rumpelstiltskin!”
Page 12
“I read of this spell, In a book,” said the witch. “So I know that it works And we’ll both be so rich!”
They cackled and crowed And chortled and chuckled Smirked, snorted and snickered, And danced round with glee.
High-fived and low-fived And raved on and ranted They shrieked at their misdeeds Page 14 And whooped wickedly!
Princess Nailah could hear them, And they just didn’t care. Princess Nailah had pink cheeks, Blue eyes and gold hair.
When Princess Nailah heard them She sobbed so because You can just imagine How frightened she was.
The prince on his white horse Was just riding by He was brave, strong and kind, And heard the sad cry.
He charged at the door Yelling loud as he could “Let me in, open up,
In the name of all good!� Page 16
He karate-chopped it Kungfu-ed and kicked it He rammed, slammed and banged it And swung his sword round.
He shouted, he threatened Dondered and blixed it. He sounded real fearsome Like heroes should sound.
When the witch heard him Her long toes curled in fright She jumped on her broomstick And flew through the night. Page20
When Princess Nailah heard him Her heart skipped a beat She looked out the window And said, “Wow, he’s sweet!”
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“I’ll climb up and get you,” He said, “‘Cause I care. Just make like Rapunzel And throw down your hair.”
“They cut off my hair,” She said, “What can I do? If you can’t come up here, I’ll come down to you.”
She twisted the cobwebs Into a thick rope And yelled as she jumped “You can catch me, I hope!”
The prince and Princess Nailah Rode quickly away To the prince’s castle Where they live today.
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Their baby princesses All also live there And each one has pink cheeks Blue eyes and gold hair. Their pet is the spider Who became their friend He thought it was best To be good in the end.
About the authors Ellie Crowe: Ellie is a gifted writer who has had 18 books published, including Surfer of the Century, The Life of Duke Kahanamoku (Lee and Low NY 2008), Hardcore Inventing, Invent, Protect, Promote and Profit (Skyhorse Publishing, NY 2009), Hawaii, A Pictorial Celebration, (Sterling Publishing NY), Exploring Lost Hawaii, Places of Power, History, Mystery and Magic, (Island Heritage, Hawaii 2003). She has won and been nominated for numerous awards, including 2008 Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature, 2008 Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance Once Upon a World Award, Carter G. Woodson Award, and Texas Bluebonnet Master List 2010/2011selection. She currently lives in Hawaii. Find out more about her: elliecrowe.com
Janet King: Janet is a super talented artist who holds a diploma in illustration and has used her creative talents in various art mediums, including book illustrations, cartoons, animation as well as sculpting for giftware. Some of her work has been used by MBI (USA), John Hine, Grolier (USA), Antiquark, Royal Tara (Canada), Highly Strung and Into Design. She creates her work directly through Photoshop or occasionally via conventional materials such as pencil, ink, watercolour and gouache. She currently lives in Hampshire. Find out more about her: activeart.biz
Also illustrated by Janet King:
Stories I read to my daughter at bedtime...
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PRiNCESS NAILAH iN THE PURPLE TOWER