Uncle Charlie's Fables #1

Peter Pester is a scatterbrained boy working at Mr. Pretzel-Bender's bakery when the new King Rolly arrives in the kingdom of Gladiola—only to take an unexpected tumble thanks to Peter's botched attempt to fix a street hole. Accused of humiliating the king and sentenced to execution, Peter finds an unlikely ally in Princess Denise, who believes mercy might win the king's heart and prove he's truly fit to rule.

Michael the Misfit, a humble stable boy devoted to his beloved black horse Dark Prince, faces a cruel fate when his selfish uncle sells the animal to the royal court—but when the Princess Cecelia's new mount grieves itself toward death, the truth of the boy's bond with the horse becomes impossible to ignore. Watch as Michael's loyalty and gentleness win over a kingdom, and his fortunes transform in ways neither his uncle nor the princess could have foreseen.

A careless young girl named Janice disobeys her mother's warning and takes a shortcut through the forest, where she encounters the Giant who offers her work as a housekeeper with ever-increasing wages. As Janice labors in his impossibly messy household, she discovers just how much effort and patience go into keeping a home—a lesson that transforms her understanding of the burden her own carelessness has placed on her mother.

Lawrence, a young man confined by a crippled leg, witnesses the royal tournament through the kindness of his devoted friend George, who carries him on his back to see the games. When a mysterious champion offers Lawrence a chance to walk, everything changes—but as the years pass and fortune smiles upon him, Lawrence finds himself consumed by ambition and success, forgetting those who stood by him in his darkest hours. A fable about the true cost of achieving your dreams, and what happens when gratitude falls away.