Princess Sasha
Written and Illustrated by Pamela Herring
In a castle far, far away, there lived a Princess named Sasha. She was very shy on the outside, but her imagination was full of big dreams and aspirations.
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Princess Sasha would share all of her imaginations with Spot, her dog and her best friend. Although the King and Queen encouraged her to meet guests who visited the castle, she preferred to spend time with her fuzzy friend. He couldn’t hear very well, just like her, so she felt that they understood each other.
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When she wasn’t day dreaming, she would go outside and try to teach Spot some signs to do tricks. Each time he performed a trick well, she would give him a treat. They loved each other very much.
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Princess Sasha loved her family, and they loved and supported her. Although they weren’t hard of hearing, they always signed with her. They chatting about everything: their plans for the day, who might be visiting the castle, and adult topics like what the weather forecast was for the day.
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Each morning, they always went on a walk. Princess Sasha would run around the garden to feel the wind in her hair, and watch Spot roll around in the grass. She loved her life, and was very happy.
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Although she could only hear a few noises with her cochlear implant, she preferred signing. Everyone who visited the castle could hear and none could sign very well, but her mom always told her that being fluent in sign language made her special and unique. She loved watching her mom sign to her; it was like the words were being painted in the air like a picture, and the Queen’s hands were the paintbrush. The Princess was very proud to be hearing impaired.
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Princess Sasha would daydream about what she wanted to be when she grew up. She imagined herself becoming an important scientist, a wellknown deaf businesswoman, a signing mathematician‌ She didn’t know for sure yet what she wanted to be, but she did know that when she was older that she wanted to go to Gallaudet University, the school for the Deaf.
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One morning, her father told her that a King, a Queen, and a Princess from a nearby kingdom were going to visit for the day, and that they wanted the girls to have a play date. Princess Sasha usually only wanted to spend her day with Spot, but this time, she thought it could be nice to meet someone new.
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When the guests arrived, she saw that the King and Queen’s daughter, Princess Claire, had brought her pet cat, Dusty. She thought that perhaps Spot would have someone new to play with, too.
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The two royal families went on the morning walk to the garden together, the girls in front and the adults walking behind. Both girls walked side by side quietly, as both of them were shy. The wind blew through the air, and when the breeze shuffled through Princess Claire’s hair to reveal her ears, Princess Sasha saw that she, too, had a cochlear implant, just like her!
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Princess Claire was deaf. Princess Sasha had never met someone with a cochlear implant other than herself before, and she was overjoyed to meet somebody just like herself! When they learned that each could sign, they talked about going to Gallaudet together when they were older as they ran around the castle with their two pets.
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All day, the Princesses played together, signed together, and taught Spot more tricks. The King and Queen allowed for Princess Claire to stay the night for a sleepover, since the two girls didn’t ever want to separate.
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That night, Princess Claire told Princess Sasha that she was very shy about her cochlear implant, and that no-one in her castle was deaf like her. She felt very out of place and different. Princess Sasha told her exactly what the Queen said: there is nothing wrong with being deaf, and ASL is a beautiful language. She explained that sign language is similar to painting in the air with your hands, and hearing that made Princess Claire very happy.
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They knew they were going to be best friends forever.
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