Princess Charity had been walking for what seemed like 'forever' to her. The road she was walking was strewn with rocks and sharp stones, of all shapes and sizes. In places, tree roots had grown across the road causing the little princess to stumble and fall, banging her head on the rocks and getting dust in her eyes. But each time, she would pull herself up and brush away the tears that streaked her dirty face and continue on.

Many times she wanted to run back home to the comfortable, peaceful life that she had known before she started down this 'road of life' but she knew that if she were to become all that she could be; she must not stop. She knew that she must never give up...but keep going. She wasn't really sure WHAT lay ahead, all she knew was that Father had long ago extracted a promise from her, that she would 'endure to the end' and had assured her in turn, that if she would do this thing, no matter what, then at the end of her journey...she would be exceedingly glad.

Many times the little princess was lonely and she cried out, "Why?" The nights were long and cold and very, very dark, and the princess was frightened. The days were hot and dusty and the little princess yearned for a cool drink to soothe her thirst. With all of her heart she wanted to turn back, but she knew that she must not. And so she kept going.

Her progress was slow. At times, she wondered if she were making any progress at all. Princess Charity was a brave little girl. Even when she felt sad and all alone and frightened she NEVER gave up.

One day, just as she rounded a particularly difficult curve thinking that she simply could go no farther...she looked up at what lay before her...and she stopped still in her tracks with absolute astonishment at what met her eyes. Her mouth opened slightly and her eyes grew wide with wonder. For what lay before her was the most beautiful place that she had ever seen. There was a great waterfall that must surely be the most nearly perfect one in all of her Father's creations. At the bottom of this magnificence was a crystal clear pond. There were tall trees of every description and she could hear birds singing gloriously all around her. The pure serenity of the place washed over the princess in waves of relief and silent joy, that reached all the way into her inner most being to fill her heart with overwhelming feelings of peace and thanksgiving.

As she began to recover somewhat from her awestruck stillness, she slowly moved forward a step at a time, hesitating at first, fearful lest she be dreaming and it all fade away to dust and stone once more. But as she moved closer, the overwhelming beauty and peace of this wondrous place only became more evident. She waded into the crystal depths of the pond, almost reverently, to wash herself. Then she climbed onto a smooth flat rock at the edge of the water to sun herself and to absorb more of the beauty with which she was surrounded.

As she lie there considering all that she beheld, she looked out over the pond and that is when she made her most wondrous discovery of all...that shimmering crystal pond was filled with colorful exotic fishes of all kinds and sizes. As she moved to get a better view of them, one little toe dipped into the cool water and a moment later a giggle, like the delicate tinkling of a bell escaped the princess. One of the brightly colored Angel Fish had nipped the tender pinkness. She wiggled her toes, then gingerly dipped them in again. When the Angel Fish nipped them this time it caused the princess to squeal with delight and giggle with total abandonment, for their nibbles tickled like light kisses on the soft pink pads of her toes.

Soon there was a symphony of sound from the crashing of the waterfall, the birds singing their exultant songs of glory and the tinkling sound of the little girls delighted laughter. For after a very short while she was scurrying from one end of the rock to the other dipping a toe in here and a finger in there while the gaily colored fish darted here and there with her to 'kiss' this finger or that toe.

Princess Charity enjoyed the time that she spent in this place. Later, as she thought about it, she realized that all of the work and suffering that she'd gone through to get to this place was somehow worth it. And she was happy.

As with all things on this 'road of life', eventually it was time to travel on. As the little princess reached the road to renew her travels, she paused to look back over her shoulder just once more to seal these lovely images in her memory forever. Then she stepped back onto the roadway.

There were still rocks and brambles and dust. The road was steeper from here too, which really did make traveling more difficult than it had been before. The nights were still dark and cold and the days were still hot and dusty and sometimes the little princess still wondered, 'Why?'. But somehow, she wasn't as frightened and she wasn't as sad. And she found that the birds were with her still, singing their songs of glory. So that even when she stumbled and fell she heard their music, no matter how faint, and she had faith in herself and in her future. She had come to the sweet realization that no matter how difficult the road became, there would always be another place of beauty and peace up ahead. And that is what gave her the courage and the strength to travel on with hope and anticipation.

As time passed, Princess Charity traveled ever steeper, rockier paths on her 'road of life' and she saw and heard and felt and touched and experienced many other wondrous things in her long life...each one seemingly more magnificent than the one before.

Many, many years later, when the little girl princess had grown to be a wizened old woman, wrinkled and bowed with age, she would gather her children and her children's children around her and tell them of her travels. As she looked back over her life and recounted her adventures for her family she realized that she had been greatly blessed in her trials along the way.