The Six Sisters and their Flying Carpets

by Adam B Ford

Once there were six sisters who lived in a big house that had grand carpets in every room.
Every spring, on just the right day, Mama would call out “Come on girls, no time to play! We’re going to clean the house today!”
The six sisters would run through the house to their favorite carpets.

Caroline, the oldest sister, would run to the big majestic carpet in the living room and sit down cross-legged right in the middle of it.

Alisette, the tallest sister, would run
to the finely woven carpet in the biggest bedroom, fold the corners up just so, and kneel down near one end of it.

Mina and Koki, the twin sisters, would run to the long carpets that ran along the upstairs hallways
They would each roll back one end of a carpet and lie down on it as if it were a toboggan.

Suriko, the strongest sister, would run to the ragged old carpet by the kitchen door and jump on it standing up, ready to ride it like a surfboard.
 
And Norelle, the youngest sister, would run to the small carpet by the foot of the stairs and sit on it any old which way. But she’d always hold on tightly to the edges of the carpet.

When the sisters were ready, Mama and Papa would fling open the doors and windows and the six sisters would zoom out of the house and into the air on their carpets.

First, they would soar up and down and all
around, shaking all of the dirt and dust
out of each carpet

When every last speck of dust was shaken free, the six sisters would fly under the rainclouds until every carpet (and every sister) was wet through and through.

At last they would fly out into the warm sunshine and zoom around and around the town until every carpet was dry and as fresh as the springtime air.

When the carpets were dry, each sister would fly back to the big house and choose another carpet, then zoom away again, until every carpet in the big house was fresh and clean.

 
One day, on the exact same spring day when the six sisters were flying their carpets, the Prince of the Province happened to be in the town where the sisters lived.
When the prince saw the six sisters on their flying carpets, he
asked the townspeople “Who is flying those magic carpets?” And the townspeople replied “Those are the six sisters who live in the big house at the edge of the town.”

 
The prince went immediately to the big house at the edge of the town and banged on the door.
“Open up!” he said. “I am the Prince of the Province! I demand to have your magic carpets!”

Papa opened the door and bowed to the prince. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but the carpets are not for sale.”
“Nonsense!” said the prince. “Such things are too wonderful for you to keep to yourself. They must be shared with everyone in the province! I shall take them all to my castle and keep them there so that anyone can come and fly them.”

Just then, the six sisters flew into the house from all directions on their clean, fresh carpets.

“You there!” said the prince to Caroline, the oldest sister. “Teach me how to fly your magic carpet.”
“It’s easy,” said Caroline. “You sit cross-legged in the exact middle of the carpet, figure out how big the carpet is, how much it weighs, and how high you want to fly. Then add in how fast and how far you want to fly, what the speed of the wind is, and how much room you’ll need to take off. Once you’ve added everything up, you’ll fly away!”
 
The prince sat cross-legged in the middle of a carpet and tried to figure out all of the right numbers for making it fly, but he couldn’t get the carpet off the ground.
“This doesn’t work at all!” said the prince. “There must be an easier way.”

“You,” said the prince, pointing at Alisette, the tallest sister, “tell me how to fly a magic carpet.”
“It’s easy,” said Alisette. “You fold the corners up just so, kneel down near one end, and mumble just the right words to make it fly.”

The prince folded the corners of the carpet in all kinds of different ways and mumbled every magical word he could think of until his knees were sore from kneeling, but the carpet didn’t move.

“That doesn’t work either!” said the prince. “Can you tell me how to fly this carpet?” he asked the twin sisters.
“It’s easy,” said Mina and Koki. “You roll the end back and lie down on it like it’s a toboggan.”
“You have to know everything about yourself,” said Mina.
“Or you have to know everything about everyone around you,” said Koki.
“And then you and the carpet will become one,” they said together, “and you can fly it anywhere!”
 
The Prince rolled the edge of the carpet back and lay down on it. He asked questions about himself and about everyone around him until he felt that he couldn’t know any more, but still the carpet didn’t move.

“That was the worst yet!” said the prince. “How about you,” he said to Suriko, the strongest sister. “How do you make your magic carpet fly?”
“It’s easy,” said Suriko. “You jump on it like it’s a surfboard and twist and turn your arms and legs to make it fly.”

“That’s more like it!” said the prince. And he jumped on the carpet from every direction with his arms and legs in all kinds of positions. But once again, the carpet didn’t move.

“I’ve just about had it!” said the prince. “Isn’t there anyone who can tell me how to fly a magic carpet?”
“It’s easy,” said Norelle, the youngest sister. “You just sit on the carpet any old which way, hang on to the edges, and sing a happy song!”

“Aha!” said the prince. “A song! That should do it!” He sat on the carpet in all sorts of different ways and sang every song he could think of until his throat was sore, but the carpet didn’t move at all.

 
“I give up!” shouted the prince. “I shall take every carpet to my castle. My ministers will learn how to fly these magic carpets and then they will teach me the right way!”
So the Prince of the Province had his men take every last carpet from the big house at the edge of the town. They marched away, leaving Mama, Papa, and the six sisters with nothing but bare floors.

 
For the rest of the year, the Ministers worked long and hard on getting the carpets to fly.
They tried and tried and tried, but the carpets never flew.

The next Spring, on just the right day, Mama called out “Girls, let’s sweep away the gloom, and clean this big house, every room!” The six sisters jumped up and ran all around the house.
Caroline, the oldest sister, ran to the doormat on the front porch and sat cross-legged in the middle of it.
Alisette, the tallest sister, ran to the old throw cover on the living room couch, folded the corners up just so, and knelt at one end.

Mina and Koki, the twin sisters, ran to the laundry room and grabbed the two biggest towels. They rolled up the ends and lay down
on them as if they were toboggans.
Suriko, the strongest sister, ran to the basement and jumped on the old saddle blanket that the dog slept on, ready to ride it like a surfboard.

And Norelle, the youngest sister, ran to the bathroom and sat down any old which way on the fuzzy rug by the bathtub, holding tightly to the edges.
 
Mama and Papa flung open the doors and windows and the six sisters flew out into the springtime air.










Because you see, the carpets weren't magic; the sisters were.