Once upon a time in a place far, far away there lived a princess. Princess Gabriella was not like other princesses. She had a sense of humor and opinions of her own, traits considered most un-princess-like. When she went to balls and parties, most of the handsome princes spent their time with the other princesses who would laugh at their jokes and gaze adoringly into their eyes.

Her parents despaired that she would never be happy in a kingdom of her own. Everyone thought that spirits of the woodland had entered her heart when Gabriella was a baby and made her restless forevermore. She was always looking for blue roses and things that seemed not to exist.

After another glittering ball that Gabriella had spent once again alone, she felt a bit sad that she might never find her true love or even a place in life where she might fit in.
 
That night her restlessness lead her on a walk through the castle grounds.  Moonlight spilled over the pathways and touched the leaves of the trees with silver and gold. Through the forest lit with moonlight and fairies, she walked down to the river to the edge of the sparkling water.

She was surprised to see a man paddling almost silently down the stream. He came to shore near where she stood but she did not fear him. Something about him made her feel safe and comfortable.

“For a moment I thought you a fairy or a sprite” said the man.

“Who are you?” asked Princess Gabriella.

“I am a traveler and I have come for you, my little sparrow”, he replied, “just as I said I would”.

Only one person had ever called her little sparrow; Hugo, the forester’s boy, her childhood playmate.

“I have come to take you to my kingdom”, said Hugo with a grin. The princess took a bit of convincing. But after some hours of talking, joking, teasing and bickering just a little, she decided that she and Hugo seemed well suited to one another. They made each other laugh and liked one another perfectly well just as they were. She only had one last question for the prince, “Will I find blue roses in your kingdom?”

Hugo replied, “I doubt it, but I certainly don’t mind if you look.”