The Sapphire Staircase

Prince Theo lives in a palace with towers that reach toward the sky, and each night he looks out of his window longing for adventure. On one clear night he spots a gentle light at the edge of the garden: a staircase of sapphire steps that shimmers into being under the stars. Wearing his brown leather boots, he climbs it and finds a floating garden, where a celestial gardener with silver-white hair and golden eyes cares for flowers that open only at night. She knows his name and asks whether he is patient enough to tend her night flowers.

Theo is willing but restless. The gardener gives him a small silver trowel and explains that the stars must align just so and that each bud needs tiny drops of water, one at a time, gently and slowly. When the steps stay dark for a night and then glow only faintly, he learns to watch the stars and listen to the wind. This tale by Yavuz DEMİRKIRAN follows a young prince who discovers that patience is quiet attention rather than idleness. Readers can find it on Online Masal.