Neighpunzel

Once upon a time there lived a very unhappy young mare named Neighpunzel. She hated her name, but most of all, she hated the witch that kept her locked up in the high barn that was hidden in the dark, spooky forest. Let me tell you about Neighpunzel. She is a white Lipizzaner horse. She was captured right after she turned three, her last year as a filly. But the strangest thing about Neighpunzel is her long tail. It reaches almost all way down the tall barn so it is two feet off the ground. Now the story…

THUMP! Neighpunzel jumped as she heard the thump of the witch kicking the door. Oh no! she thought, I haven’t finished dusting or done the dishes. If her tail was the same length as a normal horse dusting would be easy. But instead she had to put the awful-tasting duster in her mouth and move her head around. And the dishes, well, they were always hard, especially when you had to use your front hooves to wash and your back hooves to stand.
“Neighpunzel, Neighpunzel, let down your long tail!” The witch crackled. “No,” Neighpunzel answered stubbornly.
“Then we’re having horse meat tonight!” The we meant the witch and her weasel, which Neighpunzel hated. So she gave in and threw down her tail, which was still sore from the last time the witch climbed up it. The witch inspected the table. “This hasn’t been dusted,” she said. Then the witch ran to the sink. “And the dishes haven’t been washed.”
“But-but your Majesty, you were home early!”

“Shut- up, you fool! Not another word from you, and finish your work or you won’t be having any supper.” Just then a mail- bird flew by and dropped a paper. It landed so quietly that only Neighpunzel could hear it. “I’m leaving tomorrow morning, and I won’t be back until the day after tomorrow, in the afternoon.” The witch continued. “Now get to work.” Her weasel hissed, making Neighpunzel jump and knock a vase over. “Neighpunzel, you clumsy, worthless horse!” the witch shouted angrily. “No supper for you!” and with that she stormed into her room.
Neighpunzel ran out to see what the paper was. It was an invitation to a horse show. A horse show! Neighpunzel though excitedly. She burst through the door. “Your Majesty!” she called. “Can I ask you a question?”
“What is it?” the witch said grumpily.

“This horse show, Can I go?”

“No!!” the witch barked, “you will be busy making this barn/ house perfect while I’m gone.” Neighpunzel walked out of the witch’s room. If she didn’t make the barn/house perfect like the witch wanted, she might as well be dead.
The next morning, Neighpunzel woke up to find the witch and her weasel gone. Good, she thought, but I still wish I could go to the horse show. Then she saw a light. It was the magic fairy donkey! “Is there any thing I can do?” the magic fairy donkey asked.

“Yes! I mean No! Well not unless you can get me out of here.” Neighpunzel said. “I’m afraid my magic won’t be able to break the tower or lift you out of here, but I can go get another horse and his owner to get you out,” the Magic Fairy Donkey said. And then she disappeared. She came back a few minutes later. “A horse Prince is coming” the Magic Fairy Donkey said. “And he’s bringing his owner. Now let’s get you ready for the horse show.”
“But Fairy donkey, the witch wants the barn/house perfect when she comes back,” Neighpunzel said, looking worried.

“I think I can manage that,” The Fairy Donkey said with a smile. Then there was a poof! And the barn/house was perfect. Pretty soon Neighpunzel was too.

Then Prince and his owner came. “How are we going to get up there?” Prince wondered.
“I’ll climb,” his owner said. “How?” Prince said.

“Um, I haven’t thought of that part yet,” the owner said, looking embarrassed.
“What about my tail?” Neighpunzel called, throwing her tail down. And the owner climbed up. “You’re light,” Neighpunzel said when he got to the top.

“And you’re beautiful” the boy said.

Prince snorted. “Enough mushy-gushy stuff!” he said “Let’s get going!”
“How?” Neighpunzel asked. The owner, who’s name was James, looked for the Fairy donkey for help, but she had disappeared.

“Um, I guess we find some rope and lower you down.” There was a mad search, until they finally decided to tie the ropes they had already found together, to make a 75 foot rope.

“You’re going to fall about 5 feet when Prince unties you,” James told Neighpunzel. But he had forgotten that horses can’t untie knots. So James had to climb down the rope until he got to Neighpunzel, where he untied her and slid down the rest. Then they ran off to the horse show.

As it turns out, Neighpunzel and Prince won 1st and 2nd prize. Then they ran back to the high barn to figure out what to do about the witch. Finally they decided to steal the witch’s broom when she came back, and that would get rid of all her evil magic, locking her in the tower forever. Their plan was a little disorganized, but what do you expect from a 12 year old boy and two horses? Neighpunzel stole the broom and James lowered her down. Then he slid down. But so did the witch. James jumped to the ground. So did the witch. “You, you, you…” the witch started to say, but then there was a terrifying roar of a grizzly bear. The horses and James ran off, leaving the witch with the bear.
James, Prince and Neighpunzel became famous. They were even invited to stay at the White House for a few weeks, where they ran around, ate the most delicious food they had ever tasted, and Prince and Neighpunzel were invited into the ballroom for a big dance.

And what became of the witch? She managed to convince the bear not to eat her, but she ended up spending the rest of her days as a servant.

And they all (except for the witch and her weasel) lived happily ever after.