Sofia the First: Hugo's Gift

A Better Gift?

At Albuquerque Palace, Hugo was polishing a shiny little purple box that was painted with beautiful flowers and butterflies. "Sofia is really going to love this," he said to himself. "I should let Electra see this before I wrap it."

Hugo went to the palace stables to see his flying horse, Electra.

"Good morning, girl," Hugo said with a smile.

"Good morning, Prince Hugo," Electra whinnied happily. She happily gave him a lick on the cheek and rubbed her nose on his cheek.

"Well, what do you think of the special birthday present I made for Princess Sofia?" Hugo asked, showing her the purple box. "It's a music box. It plays the special song my grandmamma used to sing to me and my brother when we were little. I worked really hard to make it."

Hugo opened the music box, and it played a very beautiful song.

"Sofia loves music," Hugo remarked. "I bet she'd really love this." He started happily humming the tune to Electra. Unbeknownst to him, his older brother, Axel, came in with Amber and James by his side.

The trio remained quiet as they listened to Hugo humming and singing beautifully to Electra.

Oh, the horse flies low

And the horse flies high

And so it goes

Up in the bright blue endless sky

Clouds try to measure

The days that we treasure

Wave hello and wave goodbye

Axel gently touched Hugo on the shoulder, and Hugo turned around.

"Morning, Ax," Hugo said with a smile.

"Hi, baby bro," said Axel. "Amber and James are here to see you."

"What's new, Hugo?" James asked.

"I was just showing Electra the gift I made for Sofia," Hugo said.

"The little music box?" Axel asked. "You've already finished making it?"

"All done," Hugo said. "I can't believe it took two months to make."

"You made that?" James asked.

"Yeah, I worked really hard on it," Hugo said.

Amber and James looked at the music box carefully.

"You're really going to give this little purple box to Sofia for her birthday?" Amber asked.

"Yes, she's really going to love it," said Hugo.

"Yes, Sofia will especially love the song the music box plays," Axel agreed. "Our grandmamma used to sing it to us, and we both sing it together every night."

"Yeah, I bet Sofia is really going to love this," said Hugo. "It has a lot of meaning in it."

But Amber really wasn't so sure about it. "You may think the music box has a lot of meaning for her, Hugo," she said. "But I know my sister very well, and I know what she likes."

James had a bad feeling about what Amber was thinking.

"Do you?" Hugo asked.

"Of course I do," said Amber.

"Amber, Hugo is already giving Sofia something great, and that great thing is this music box," said James. "He made it with his own two hands."

"Yes, and Grandmamma used to say that it's not a real gift if it's not from the heart," Axel said.

"Well, the gift Hugo should give to Sofia will come from the heart," Amber said. "She loves wearing sparkly tiaras."

"Not as much as you do, Amber," said James. "Sofia likes different things than you."

"That may be true, James, but Sofia would want a bigger gift," Amber insisted.

"Really?" Hugo asked with a frown. He was unhappy that Amber wouldn't let him give Sofia a gift he'd worked so hard on.

"Oh, don't worry, Hugo," said Amber. "I'm sure the gift you'll give Sofia will be fabulous. Trust me—bigger is better."

"Amber, do you remember when Sofia was hosting that Royal Prep tea party?" James asked. "You told her that bigger is better and never let her make her own decisions when she was planning it."

"So what?" Amber scoffed.

"The whole thing ended in disaster before it even started, and it was all because of you," James pointed out.

"That was different, James," said Amber. "Things will be a lot better this time."

James wanted to say something, but he knew that Amber would never listen, so he said, "Well, if you insist."

"I suppose," said Hugo.

"Great," said Amber. "Let's get started."

Amber sprinted out of the stables happily. Hugo sadly looked at the music box—he was really upset that he'd worked so hard on such a beautiful present, and he wasn't allowed to give it to Sofia. Axel felt very bad for his little brother.