I stumbled upon George MacDonald when my husband and I were getting into creative writings and story-telling books. I read The Princess and the Goblin and then the sequel, The Princess and Curdie. What I love about these stories is the wisdom of not judging others by their outward appearance, but seeking to discover their true selves and their stories, finding their purity of heart and intention. The moment I read the princess's song in the second book (The Princess and Curdie) about the sleepers rising, I knew I needed to put music to it. I love the cryptic mystery of his poetic language. My favorite part of this piece is how it draws the reader (or listener) to wonder at "the something that nobody knows." This "something" welcomes us all to embrace mystery without needing to arrive or to define or to depend on certainty, but rather accept it with a yielded heart and wide open arms. Let it be.

Music by Bethany D Hall, words by George MacDonald