Far above the clouds, stars, moon and sun, was fairyland. It was a magnificent place filled with exotic flowers of rainbow colors, snow-dusted mountains, sapphire lakes, and trees greener than green itself. Of course, there were many fairies too, dazzling the exquisite land as far, and farther than eyes can see. The loveliest fairy in the fairyland, was Eleena. She had a little brother whom she loved very much. He was her best friend and companion. Wherever she went, her brother accompanied her. She liked to fly far up into the sky with him and see other planets and the beings who lived there. One day, as they were flying in the sky, her brother said, “My sister, I feel very hungry.” “Hungry?” she asked. “Well, let us try to find something in that forest. There should be plenty of tasty fruit.” They flew down to the thick forest beneath them. The forest was very dark and gloomy. The trees were huge, dark and twisted. Eleena felt something unusual. Not a bird chirped. Not a bee hummed. And not a flower or fruit grew on any of the trees. Eleena looked around for something her brother could eat. Then she saw one strange fruit in one dark tree. It shone through the darkness with an outer glistening scarlet light. There was no one around, and a strange feeling came over, frightening them a little. “My little brother,” she whispered. “I feel something strange in the forest. Let’s pluck that fruit and slip away.” “I’m scared too,” her brother replied, as he looked around nervously. “Let’s leave quickly.” Eleena flew to the tree of the scarlet fruit, and looked around fearfully. Just as she grasped the strange fruit, a deafening sound echoed throughout the forest. Suddenly, someone took hold of her wings! “Ahhhh!” she cried, feeling a sudden pain in her back. Her brother screamed loudly. She turned her head to see what was holding her. It was a ghastly-looking wizard. “Oh, no...,” she cried in horror. He threw his head back and laughed in a raspy voice, “Ha – ha – ha – ha !” “Please... let us go... We are only poor fairies...,” Eleena cried in fear. But the wizard wrenched her by the wings and only laughed louder. She shuddered with horror and pain. “Oh, please, please don’t hurt my sister,” her little brother begged, but the wizard pushed him roughly away. “This forest,” he roared, “belongs to me. Anyone who enters without my permission will be punished.” “Please, sir, I only wanted to pick one fruit for my little brother, who is very hungry. Please accept my apology and let us go.” Eleena pleaded with him. “Let you go? Oh, no, I won’t let you go,” the wizard growled. “I am going to take you to my cave, to light up my dark palace.” The wizard pulled her mercilessly, by the wings and dragged her through the forest. Eleena’s little brother stumbled after the wizard, crying. “Please don’t hurt my sister, please let her go.” But the ugly wizard growled at him and pushed him away again. Eleena realized that there was no escape for her, and she feared for her little brother. “Please, don’t come after me, dear brother,” she shouted. “Run away as fast as you can.” “I won’t!” her little brother exclaimed. “I could never leave you alone!” Her brother ran along behind Eleena, still crying. The wizard dragged Eleena into a dark cave. “Ha...ha...ha...! This is my palace.” He threw his hands up and laughed. “From today on, you should light up my dark palace, day and night.” Eleena shrank back in horror, holding her brother tight. “What is your name?” The wizard asked in his harsh voice. “E-Eleena,” she stammered. “Hoh-hoh-hoh! That’s nice,” he laughed. “Now, I’m going to make you into a special candle, a wax princess. And I’ll name you Candle-Eleena, Candleena. So, keep in mind, you can’t run away, because if the sun rays ever fall upon you, Candleena will be melted away like snow on fire,” said the cruel wizard. “Oh, no... please... no, pl-” That was all she could say. The wizard tapped her on the head with his magic wand. At once, she turned into a white candle in the shape of a princess. And a flame popped up from the top of her head. Her brother cried in terror and fell at her feet. He couldn’t bear seeing his sister turned into a wax candle. But there was nothing he could do. Candleena was all white, silent and stiff. She wept from the bottom of her heart, but no one could hear her weeping. The flame on the top of her head flickered as her heart throbbed with grief. White drops of wax tears ran down her cheeks and fell at her feet. Her little brother wiped her tears away with his small hands. There was nothing more he could do for his beloved sister. From that day on, she was condemned to remain in the cave, trapped under the spell of the wizard. Days, weeks, and months passed. Everybody in the fairyland searched for them all over the sky. But no one could find Eleena and her little brother. Eleena’s stay in the dark cave was dreadful. Scary bats and owls flew all over it and the unfamiliar sounds were very frightening. Even during the daytime, it was very dark and gloomy. The wizard went out in the morning, and returned at nightfall. She had to light up the cave, day and night. She cried the whole day, shedding hot wax tears. Her little brother stood by her side, snuggled close to her. He told stories about fairies, flowers, butterflies and birds, trying his best to cheer his sister. She felt even sadder for her little brother who looked after her. But she was unable to utter a word to make him happy. More days, weeks, and months passed. The only way out would have to be a miracle. So, they prayed for a miracle,to be freed from the wizard’s spell. They prayed hard on the strength of all their love for each other. After few days, Candleena felt that she could just move a little, first head and then hands. They were very happy and they prayed more and more, the whole day. Then, little by little, she could turn and step out of the candle princess. But they knew they couldn’t runaway. Because if ever the sun’s rays fall upon her, she would just melt away. After a few days, they found one fine way to sneak out. When the wizard went to sleep at night, they prayed on the strength of their love for each other, to be free from the spell, until dawn. Then the wax princess could slowly emerge from the flame and turn into a real fairy. Then she flew out into the night sky with her little brother, hand in hand. The wizard, who was sleeping deeply, knew nothing of it. They flew merrily all over the sky, fluttering in the moonlight. They flew to far away lands and plucked luscious fruits and beautiful flowers. They played under the moon the whole night, until dawn. They made sure to go back to the dark cave before sunrise and before the wizard woke up. So she could creep back into the candle and light up again, as if nothing had happened. They waited impatiently every day until nightfall, and the wizard went to sleep. They wished they could fly back to the fairyland. But they knew that they could stay only until the following morning. One night, she flew out of the candle as usual and disappeared into the night sky with her little brother. They went far away searching for fruits and flowers. They flew in the sky and played around in the moonlight. They played the whole night to their hearts content. But they forgot about dawn arriving. The eastern sky was about to light up with golden rays. “Oh! Little brother, the sun is about to rise. Hurry up! Let’s go back, hurry up,” Candleena shouted. “Please, sister, I want that beautiful orange. I’ll pluck it quickly and come.” He flew to the nearby tree and reached to pluck the orange. Just as he touched it, a big black bee stung his delicate little finger. “Ughhh!!!” The pain was so unbearable that he fell from the tree, screaming. Candleena ran to his side in fear. His finger became blue and he writhed in pain. “Oh, my little brother, my sweet little brother!” She bent over him and stroked his head, anxiously. She didn’t know what she could do. She held her brother close to her and screamed for help as loud as she could. But no one could hear. The Sun was about to appear in the sky. Her brother half opened his eyes and stammered in pain. Pl...please, my sister, pl...please, hurry up and go. Please l... leave me and go...before you get caught in the sun and melt away. Please hurry up and go...” “No, no, I won’t go. I can’t leave you behind and go... No matter what happens to me, I’d rather stay here with you,” Candleena sobbed. She loved her little brother so much that nothing else mattered. It was almost sunrise. She knew that in another few minutes’ time she would melt away under the sun. The next moment he murmured in pain, “W-water...please...,” and closed his eyes and fell into a stupor. Candleena looked around and ran frantically in search of some water. Finally she managed to find a small stream. She scooped up some water in her hands. The sun was about to rise. She knew that she would melt away soon, but her love for her brother was greater than her own life. She only wanted to take the water to her brother as quickly as possible, no matter what happened to her. She felt herself tightening into wax. She ran even faster but her legs began to stiffen. Her only thought was to save her brother’s life before she dissolved. The sun rays began to fall upon her. She felt great pain. Drops and drops of white wax fell along the way she ran. It was so unbearable that she cried out in pain. She bore all the pain for the sake of her brother. Her whole body was hardening and melting down, little by little. Her determination to save the water was so great that when she reached her brother, only her two hands remained. The two hands crawled to her brother and fell on his face, sprinkling water. Soon, the hands also melted away, leaving only two white drops of wax by his side. As soon as the water touched his face, he opened his eyes. He raised his head and looked around. “W...where’s my sister? Where’s my sister?” He looked around to see where she was. But as soon as he saw the drops of wax by his side, he understood what had happened. His fingers shivered and his heart throbbed. He gently picked the two drops of wax to his hands and started howling in a tone that no one could bear hearing. “I want my sister back, I wa...n...t ....my ....si...s..te..r.........pleeeeeeeease...,” He couldn’t bear losing his beloved sister who gave her own life for him. His wailing echoed throughout the whole sky. It was so loud and powerful that it reached the Sun God. The Sun God, hearing his lament, looked down to see what had happened. He listened to the little fairy carefully, and soon he came to know everything. Hearing the heartbreaking story of the little brother, the Sun God felt very sorry for the sister who sacrificed her own life. The Sun God cast a spell on the two drops of wax. Instantly, Candleena, the fairy emerged from it. “Oh! This is amazing!” Her little brother was very happy. Candleena also couldn’t believe herself in the sun, not melting down. She looked up with amazement. “Dear Candleena,” said the Sun God. “You are a brave and caring sister who would sacrifice her own life for her brother. Such great love between a brother and a sister should be blessed to remain long...” “...I will remove the spell of the candle, and I will not let any harm come to you or your brother in the future, and I will deprive the wizard of using his power for ill deeds ever after,” said the Sun God. The brother and sister were very grateful to the Sun God. Soon, the whole dark forest brightened up and became very beautiful with flowers, blossoming all over. Birds chirped and butterflies flew around. Candleena and her little brother were very happy. They thanked the Sun God very much and flew back to fairyland together, hand in hand.

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