This book is for everyone, and this story is going to tell you to be respectful, work together, and have compassion. If you are willing to do that, maybe everyone will want to make friends with you! Happy reading! 

    This is a story about a teenager— Star. Star always cared about himself, so no one wanted to be his friend. When it was his 12th birthday, his little sister Shine gave him a storybook from an old used book market, thinking that Star might like the story inside. Star thought it was just a normal storybook, and he decided to open it to read, but things got different when Star was about to open it, suddenly the book became magical.    

    “ Hi! I’m Eva. I need you to help the magical world. If you want to come and help us, open this book and read out the first word,” the book said. Star was surprised, but he didn’t want to help anyone, especially a magical talking book, so instead of helping, he closed the book quickly and threw it into a trash can. Star thought that by throwing the book away, he would have nothing to do with the magical world. Unfortunately, Shine saw the storybook and was sad that Star had thrown the book into the trash can. Shine went to Star’s bedroom and asked, “Why did you throw the storybook I gave you into the trash bin? I think this would be an interesting book, look!” Not waiting for Star’s reply, Shine quickly opened the book and read out the first word, “Once…”. Suddenly, the book shimmered in an intense glow, and the present world faded away… “What in the world are you doing? Now we are stuck in this so-called magical world!” Star shouted.

    Star and Shine found themselves in a world full of mist. Then they heard a beautiful voice calling, “Are you Star?” Star nodded but said nothing. “Oh! Thank Goodness you are here! I am the queen of the magical world. However, the three evil fairies kidnapped me. Now I am stuck in their crystal ball! I need your help to save me for my kingdom,” The voice exclaimed.  “How unfortunate for you! How can we help you?” Shine asked, worried and caring. “You need to complete three challenges planned by the three evil fairies. If successful, not only can you save me, but you two can also return to your world." Star didn’t want to help at all, but when he heard that he could return to his normal world, he sighed and said, “Ok.”

    Their first task was to go to Cyclops Mountain, according to the queen, and compete with the Blue Eyes giants. While heading to the mountain, Star kept complaining to Shine about opening the “trouble” book, but Shine remained quiet and looked at her brother with an apologetic expression.  When they finally arrived, they felt shocked and scared upon seeing the two strong giants with a single blue eye.  “Hey, you two little humans! Come and play tug-of-war with us! If you win, you'll pass the challenge! But I know you definitely won’t! ha ha ha,'' The strong giants burst into big laughter.  Complaining wouldn't help! Star knew he had to stay calm. So he told Shine, "Just follow my command, pull the rope with me at the same time! Remember, never let go of the rope!”    

     The competition began. Star tightly gripped the rope and suddenly shouted to the giant in the front, "I bet your strength is much greater than the clumsy one behind you!"   The giant behind grew angry upon hearing this and started pulling the rope with a lot of force. “Wait for my command, you silly goofball!” “I am not silly...” An argument arose between the two giants. In response, Star shouted to Shine, "Now, pull!" Star and Shine tried their best, pulling as hard as they could, and surprisingly, the rope instantly moved towards their side.  "Oh, we won!" Shine couldn’t believe it and shouted excitedly.   “Hmph, you two cunning little rascals! Okay, you are just lucky. But you aren’t when you face Ashflame! An evil and terrible fire dragon! No one has ever been able to make him laugh! You both are destined to be his dinner!"  the two giants said angrily.

    With joy and confidence, Star and Shine followed the giants’ instructions heading to the next destination: Ash Mountain. "It feels great to cooperate with others and be trusted by others," Star thought to himself as he walked.  Finally, they saw Ashflame, a terrifying fire dragon with strange features: a body covered with bright gray scales, glowing yellow eyes, and sharp red teeth. "Come on, make me laugh. If you can't make me laugh before sunset, you both will be my dinner!" the fire dragon exclaimed. "What a ridiculous rule! I won't let you eat me!" Star answered angrily. Shine realized there was no time to waste and began telling all the jokes she knew.

    Star stared at the fire dragon desperately. Suddenly, he noticed something in the dark damp cave: some drawings scattered on the ground. With a closer look, Star saw many drawings, all showing happy scenes of Ashflame playing with the other dragons. “Maybe he is like me? Maybe he has no friends and feels…lonely, just like me?" Star pondered to himself. " Ashflame, are you not laughing because you are unhappy and lonely? Do you want any friends?" Star couldn't help but ask Ashflame loudly. "What are you doing? You’ll make him angry!" Shine shouted nervously, but it was too late! Ashflame suddenly turned around with a surprised look, he widened his eyes staring at Star, and then swiftly used his claws to grab Star up and bring him to his face.