Lost in the Maze - an Easter Egg Hunt

Lost in the Maze
By Ryan Slattery

Once upon a time there was a wealthy King. His daughter’s birthday was coming up and he asked her what she would like. The girl reminded her father how much she loved puzzles and riddles. The King went off quickly and secretly built the largest hedge maze of all the kingdoms of the Earth. It was so vast that many of the King’s men became lost in it while they were building it!

                On the birthday of his daughter the King held a huge party in her honor. Many of her friends came and they brought gifts of every size, but none as large as the maze of the King. After celebrating and eating cake, it was finally time for the King to reveal the maze to his daughter. He blindfolded her and brought her up to a high balcony. Then he removed the blindfold so that she could see just how big the maze was. The sight was such a surprise to her that she squealed in delight.

                The King brought her down from the balcony and said to the girl and her friends, “There are many entrances, but only one exit. The first to find the prize at the end of the exit will have won the maze-race.”

                With that the children were taken to different starting points and were released into the maze. The King’s daughter so wanted to win that she rushed and ran quickly, but soon realized that she had lost track of where she was. Every once in a while she could hear the sounds of her friends running and laughing, but after many dead-ends she felt tired and began to fear that she might lose the race. She decided to sit down and rest for a moment and try to think about where she was in the maze.

                Just then a bird flew down and landed on her hand. “Hello,” the bird said, “how are you doing?”

                “Not very well,” said the girl, “I think I’m lost.”

                “Yes, I could tell. Up in the air I watched you run in circles through this maze at least three times.”

                “You mean you can see everything from up there?” The princess asked. “Maybe you can help me find the end.”

                “Oh no, I can’t see everything when I’m up in the air. I lost one of my eggs and I am so worried that I keep flying over and looking for it, but the hedges in the maze make it impossible for me to see something so small! But here,” the bird said, “let’s make a bargain: if you find my egg for me, I will find the exit for you. Do we have a deal?”

                The girl was delighted that this bird was going to help her, so she agreed quickly.

                “Now listen carefully,” the bird said, “when looking for something as small as an egg you have to move slowly and be observant. If you run around too quickly, you will miss it!”

                The girl thanked the bird for the advice. “I will be sure to be very careful not to overlook your egg.”

                The girl jumped to her feet and started walking carefully through the maze. Because she was taking her time she avoided the mistake of going in circles. Every now and again she would stop and look to the sky and see the bird flying around. She felt happy that she had a partner in the maze, and was honored that the bird gave her the task of helping to find her egg. After a while she spotted something smooth and round in the grass. It looked to have the shape of an egg, but it was painted many bright colors.  She ran to the egg and reached down to take hold of it. When the egg was in her hands she looked up and said, “Look here! I found an egg!”

                The bird flew down and looked at the egg. “How strange,” the bird said, “my eggs are usually brown. Did somebody paint it?”

                Just then the King came and lifted up his daughter. “Congratulations my daughter, you have finished the race and found the prize! I hope you like it. We painted it seven colors, one for each year of your age.”

                The daughter laughed and thanked the King, but then said to him, “Father, I love your gift of the maze and I love the prize, but the egg belongs to this bird. She told me if I found her egg she would help me find the exit. May I give her the egg back?”

                “Of course you may,” said the King, “it’s only too bad that the bird doesn’t get to help you find the exit.”

                The girl thought for a moment and said, “I think the bird did help me. I was so excited in the maze that I ran and got lost. But once the bird asked me to find her egg I went slower and made sure not to go in circles. If it weren’t for the bird I might still be lost!” The girl then gave the beautiful egg to the thankful bird and they all lived happily ever after.