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Dedication:

To children and their parents. 

Find the dove in your lives. 

Author, illustrator, cover designer, 

and voice actor: Sofia Foskaris

Copyright  © 2023 Sofia Foskaris

The Forest 

of 

Right and Wrong

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Page 4

Chapter 2: Page 10

Chapter 3: Page 14

Chapter 4: Page 22

About the Author: Page 26

Reflection: Page 27

Chapter 1

One day, a little girl disappointed her mother. How did she disappoint her? Well, she pushed a girl on the playground and she bruised her knee, and even after that, the little girl didn’t apologize. She felt like she didn’t need to, and that the girl deserved it!

    Well, that night, the little girl heard a noise. She opened her eyes, and saw that she was somewhere else. She didn’t recognize the land. It had trees and grass, but also mud and storm clouds up ahead. She got up from the ground, and walked around.

It was getting chilly, so she started to hurry up, wondering where to go and what to do. 

    “Mommy?!” She shouted, but there was no reply. Where was she, in this mysterious land?

    At some point, she sat down, beneath a tree. She didn’t know what else to do but cry. How she got here, she had no idea, and she didn’t know the route home. She hoped it would be somewhere close by. At some point, she heard a noise, and an owl hooted in the trees.

She turned around, and saw a glittering bird in the sun. Or at least, what she thought was a bird. Down came the animal from the sky, which she realized was a dragon. 

    She shouted, trying to run away, but the dragon stopped before her.

    The dragon, was bright light blue and white. She had white stars on her wings, and white horns. The dragon said, “Shhh! It’s okay! I was sent to protect you, so stop shouting, or you’ll wake up the other dragons!”

    The girl stopped yelling, staring into the eyes of the dragon before her. “Are you going to eat me?” She asked in a whisper, trembling.

    The dragon snorted, “I only eat plants. It may be bland, but that’s what I eat. But the other dragons…they’ll eat anything. I suggest we stay clear of them. They aren’t as kind as you would hope them to be.”

    The girl looked at the dragon and examined her from head to toe. “What’s your name? And…how come I’ve never seen a dragon on Earth before?”

    The dragon whispered, “This isn’t Earth, darling. And I don’t have a name. Some call me the Dragon of Protection.”

    Right before the girl could ask anymore questions, they heard a sneer from the trees.

    The blue dragon turned her head and said to her, “Darling, dear, promise me to remember these rules that I give: Never be mean or judge other people. Never hurt anyone. Listen to your parents, and don’t do whatever any other dragon tells you. Got it?”

    The girl said, “How can I remember all of that?”

The dragon murmured, “You know it in your heart, dear. Now run!” But before the little girl left, another dragon appeared from the shadows.

    “Oh, isn’t it the goody dragon?” said a voice.

    The girl turned around.

Chapter 1  - The Forest of Right and Wrong

    He, who had a deep voice, turned to stare at the little girl. “And I see you have made an acquaintance. Sorry to see you go so quickly. What a pity. I would also like to get to know you—”

    Her dragon stepped in his way. “Don’t you dare come close! Run, dear, run!”

    The girl stood where she was and shouted, “Get away from my dragon friend!”

    The other dragon moved in sharp movements, inching closer. “Really? Why are you trying to intervene? It’s a good idea, but why? Run, like she tells you. Then you’ll be a sore loser like everybody else.”

    The girl looked back and forth at the path ahead and at the reddish dragon, which she thought looked ugly. He didn’t have any horns, and was skinny.

    The girl yelled back, “You’re the loser! You look like a toad with wings!”

    The dragon smirked, saying, “You don’t look any better!”

    Her dragon shook her head and said to the girl, “What did I just tell you? Run, leave! I’ll be fine! But isn’t saying mean things what got us into this mess?”

    Her dragon leaped onto the other, and they started fighting. She called out to her, “Go, into the forest! Find the Pegasus of Hope! She’ll help you!”

    And off the little girl went, into the woods, running at full speed, wondering if she’d make it home at all.

Chapter 1  - The Forest of Right and Wrong

Chapter 2

The girl ran for sometime when she stumbled on the ground. She sat down, again, and this time, she just sat, staring at the canopy and up at the night sky. It’s getting colder, she thought.

    Soon enough, she heard a neigh in the distance. She looked around, but horses were nowhere in sight. How am I supposed to find the 'pegasus'? 

    She got up, and tried walking toward the direction of the sound she heard. She walked on some branches which crunched beneath her feet.

She saw an apple tree up ahead. Food! She felt very hungry.

     As she approached the tree, she saw a white horse, which seemed to have wings, with long, silky, curly white hair that reflected the moonlight. That’s funny, she thought. It’s a horse-bird! As she came closer, she got quieter, as not to spook the creature.

    She smiled, and put on the cutest face she could muster and said, “Hello, horsey. Can I get a ride? I need to get back home.”

    The pegasus, who was eating an apple, slowly turned to her and swallowed. “Oh, hello darling. If I may say so, I’m a pegasus. But, I guess you can call me a horse with wings.” The pegasus looked at her and continued, “Well, I can give you a ride, but, I don’t know where your home is. Could you tell me, maybe?”

    The girl scratched her head and said, “Um…do you know where the United States of America is?”

    The pegasus stared at her blankly and said, “I’m sorry dear, I don’t know where that is.”

    The girl jumped up and down. “What about Earth?"

  The pegasus exclaimed with a whinny, scraping the ground with one of her silver hooves, “Earth? Well, I can’t fly you there. It’s too far from here. But I do know who might help you.”

    “Who?”
    “The dove. The dove knows everything. Why don’t you go ask him for help?”

    The girl exclaimed, “I should! But, where is he?”

    The pegasus sighed. “The only problem is, we don’t know where he is. He meets us rarely.”

    The girl lowered her head. “Then does that mean I’ll never get home?”

   The pegasus shook her head, neighing. “No, dear! You just have to find him. But, promise me this: Always try to stay positive and help others! Try to resolve conflicts instead of starting them! Alright? Then everything in your life will begin to go right! Now hop on my back. If anything, the Lion of Truth knows!”

    The pegasus lowered down, and the girl climbed on her back. In a moment, the pegasus and the girl took off, searching for the lion.

Chapter 2  - The Forest of Right and Wrong

Chapter 3

In the middle of the night, the pegasus and the girl landed. The girl asked the pegasus, “What did we find?”

    “The lion,” she replied.

    “The Lion of Truth?” The little girl asked.

    The pegasus nodded, and murmured, “Don’t worry, he won’t eat you.”

    “Really?” She asked, again.

The pegasus nodded. “If you’re not sure, you can ask him yourself. He’s very honest, you know.” The girl nodded slowly, and followed the pegasus. At some point the pegasus stopped. 

     “What’s wrong?” The little girl asked.

   The pegasus looked like she sensed something. “You must go on by yourself. I think there might be trouble behind.”

     “But—”

     The pegasus turned away to leave. She said, letting out a breath, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. But keep your promise for me, okay? Just in case we don’t see each other again.”

    The girl said, “I’ll try.”

    The pegasus warmed her gaze and pricked her ears. “Good. Now hurry!” The Pegasus of Hope took off as she heard a hiss in the distance. The girl looked side to side, and looked up at the dark canopy and green grass before her.

    She stepped over some rocks and walked forward. Then she saw an animal laying on the ground, his head resting to the side. It was the lion.

    She came forward, as quiet as possible, but still, the few pebbles that she hit with her shoes made the ear of the lion twitch. In a moment, the lion lifted his head and blinked his eyes.

    “Lion of Truth?” She asked.

    “Yes.” He replied, sleepily and in a low tone.

    “The Pegasus of Hope told me you could help me. Do you know where the dove is?”

    The lion got up from laying on his side and sat up. “Oh, that pegasus. What a surprise. I might know much, but, frankly, you might be mistaken. I don’t know where the dove is, and every creature here knows that. The dove comes rarely.”

    The girl asked, staring at the lion’s teeth, “Well, why does he come rarely?”

    The lion sat back and made a low grumbling noise. “Dear, if you’ve been listening closely to what we tell you, you might guess. The dove is our ruler. We bow before him.”

    “But…I thought the lion was the king of the jungle. The king of animals?”

    The lion shook his head. “No, not in this world. The dove is far more important, far more glorious than all the animals, and beyond compare to the animals on Earth. The dove is pure, and nothing can change that.”

    The girl thought about it for a moment, and decided not to ask much more. But, looking at the lion, she asked, “May I pet you? It’s rare when you meet a talking lion. That is, only if you don’t eat people.”

 The lion smiled with all his teeth, and chuckled lightly, in a warm tone. “No dear, rest assured, the Lion of Truth does not eat people.” The girl came closer and slowly petted his mane, brushing it down, smiling. The lion said, “You are a good girl, dear, but you must follow the rules we tell you. They will help you live a good life.”    

Chapter 3  - The Forest of Right and Wrong