Then there was the Magical Thorny Hedge. Of course, as we all know, Magical Thorny Hedges are made of Magical Thorny Bushes. These are not like ordinary bushes, which can be overcome by a Whipper-Snipper, or failing that, a bottle of round up and some rude words. Oh no, these are like the blackberry infestation of a tree-hugging hippie�s worst nightmares � only twice as thorny, and more vicious than an election day volunteer for Family First. These Magical Thorny Bushes can only be overcome by a Magical Sword, and some sort of Magical Musical Instrument. Luckily for the beautiful Princess Miranda, Bob the Cow had in his cow-pack the Sword of Destiny, which (among its many other Magical Properties) has the ability to hack through Magical Thorny Bushes. The Sword of Destiny was created many, many years ago by Dwarves, who live underground and are excellent Smiths. The Sword had many spells woven into its smithing, including the Spells of Destiny that make the Sword the Sword of Destiny. The beautiful Princess Miranda also had in her possession a Magic Flute, which she had been given by the Queen of the Night. She started to play a haunting tune, and all the while Bob the Cow bravely hacked at the hedge with his Sword of Destiny. The hedge screamed in a tongue almost human, it shrank away from the shining blade of Bob�s magic Sword, springing back where he had previously cut it, but it writhed in pain caused by the notes of the Magic Flute� and began to shrivel and dry up. As the thorns became crackly and dry, Bob�s Sword hacked and hacked at the Magic Thorny Hedge, and it began to fall in pieces to the ground. Finally, it was reduced to a big pile of kindling (which the Princess put on the wood pile for winter, as it was a total fire ban day that day).
The beautiful Princess Miranda was finally free of the Dread Tower, and most of the spell of her Wicked Step-Mother broken, all thanks to the Brave Deeds of Bob the Cow, and the powers of her own brain and flautist�s skills.
�Whew,� said Princess Miranda, �that was an effort!�
�Sure was,� replied Bob the Cow, �I�ve sweated so much, I smell like all the armpits in India in summer�.
�That�s vaguely offensive to Indians,� mused Princess Miranda, �I�m not sure I like having such politically incorrect statements in my story.�
So after pausing for a brief wash, Princess Miranda and Bob the Cow set off down the road to adventure�