The bird flew through the open window
Light as a butterfly;
He dipped and alighted upon the floor
And let out three cute chirps.

The captive princess scooped him up,
Petting his feathers gently;
He smiled and chirped in contentment
And that made the princess smile too.

The princess thought of her new-found plight,
And waited for her prince to come;
It had been three long years since she was trapped here,
And it was about time she steeled her resolve.

She would not let the evil queen win;
She would escape all on her own.
The sweet little bird had instilled in her
The strength for the battles to come!

She whooped and hollered with joy,
Ready to get this show on the road;
With a hop and a skip and a jump,
She was at her open window.

Standing there she looked down,
Sighting the 100-foot drop.
She reached back inside for her parasol,
Opened it up, and cried,

"3!
2!
1!
Jump!"

With a shout she jumped from her prison,
Alighting down the steep drop with ease.
The bird she called Red fluttered right by her head
As she sunk to the ground gracefully.

She landed on her toes, and began to sprint,
Red following along with glee;
The parasol as her weapon and her wits as her guide,
She set off on her escape with pride.

From inside the castle the witch did cackle,
The evil queen watching with hysterity
As she thought of the princess escaping her tower
With nothing but a bird by her side.

She called on her men,
Cried "Off with her head!"
They did as was told
And set off for the girl.

Meanwhile, the princess dashed through the forest,
Red directly at her heels;
She came to a stop at an old antique shop,
Hoping to find shelter for the night.

She knocked on the door once, twice, three times,
And there was no answer at first,
But a kind little old lady accepted her guest,
And offered her dinner and a room.

The princess obliged, not aware of the trick
The queen played on her then;
She went off to bed to rest her head
In what was actually the evil queen's lair.

She slept peacefully until the hour of three
When Red woke her up in a rush;
She sat up drowsily, wondering what he did see,
Then saw the queen at the foot of her bed.

She got up quickly, making sure to avoid
Her captor as she grabbed her parasol;
She reached out to swipe, but the queen knew her type;
The queen snapped her fingers and the umbrella was gone.

All hope was lost, the princess captive once again,
But Red was still there, unnoticed.
He zipped forward like a bee, heading straight for the Queen,
And he poked out her eyes with his beak.

The queen shrieked in pain as the princess escaped,
And her and Red were on the road once again.
Outside of the shop was the trusty old parasol;
Seems the queen used a transportation spell.

The princess scooped it up, recounting her luck,
And dashed off with Red away from the Queen's shrieks.
Red led her to a moss-covered cave,
Into a glen hidden behind the ivy.

The girl gasped in awe at what she just saw,
Animals prancing with joy.
She knew what she wanted
And that was to stay here
Safe from evil queens with Red.