Princess Morales and the Blackberry Bush

Princess Maria Morales of Jardín loved her parents, her faithful pup Leo, and blackberries. She treasured those sweet juicy treats and was most distraught when the road maker planned a thoroughfare to the lake through her prized bramble. To them, she was certain, it was just a scraggly bush, similar to thousands dotting the kingdom. But to her, it was much more.

She had planted the seeds with her nana when she was five—the last memory of her nana before a terrible sickness took her away. Eight years later, that memory was fresh as the blackberries popping from the verdant branches—and just as delicious.

"Dios mío! We must save the bush, Leo."

Leo barked in response and circled her twice.

"They're going to destroy it today. What'll we do?"

Leo darted off, yapping all the way, and returned with a rope.

"Excellent idea, boy." She patted his head and took the rope, eyeing the hearty trunk between a group of branches. "I'll tie myself up, and that'll be that."

Maria fastened herself to the stalk and watched as the road maker and his crew crested the hill.

"Princess Morales." The skinny fellow yanked out a proclamation. "The King has ordered this road to the lake for all the village. Untie yourself."

Maria mashed her lips.

"I will not, Señor Calle. I forbid it. And just because he's away on a trip with mother, doesn't mean he wouldn't take back his terrible mistake were he here."

On cue, a family of bluebirds swooped down and perched on the branches around her, puffing out their blue-feathered chests and chirping nonstop. Leo started barking.

Calle sighed and nodded to his crew.

"By the power vested in me by the King, I respectfully remove thee—"

"No!"

Maria scrunched her nose and balled her fists.

"You'll do no such thing as long as I live and breathe. Do you understand?"

She dug her feet into the caramel soil and straightened, Leo growling at her ankles.

The road builder pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed once again. He waved his men closer.

"I said, no!" Maria stomped her foot. "Ouch!"

Señor Calle softened in an instant, and he fell to his knees.

"Are you okay?" he said. His eyes bulged big as butterflies. "And what's this?"

Calle swept away the soil at Maria's feet, revealing a stone marker. He traced the outline with his fingers and soon his men found dozens of others peeking out from the earth nearby. He gasped. "A cemetery!"

As it turned out, the hill was an ancient burial place from the King's forgotten past. When he returned from his trip, he proclaimed the site a historical landmark, and ordered the road be moved.

He hugged Maria and petted Leo.

"Seems you two have been busy." The king smiled. "What more could a father ask than for his daughter stand up for what she believes in with all her heart? You are truly a worthy princess."

Maria beamed with pride.