The Midsummer Bride

Riding around his castle early one midsummer's day, Count Alaric stumbles upon a beautiful maiden. Smiling graciously, she says she does not know where she is from, or where she is going. He calls her Catherine and falls in love with her. And when she agrees to become his wife, Alaric hopesthey will live a long and happy life together.Yet every time Alaric looks into his young bride's eyes, she seems to be thinking of something else. One day he finds her dancing all by herself, with no music playing. Then he notices that every year she disappears from the castle on midsummer's eve, only to return at dawn with no memories of thenight past. He suspects there is a deep mystery in Catherine's past. What he does not know is that to save her, the Count has to sacrifice his love for her. This lyrical, romantic fairy tale is written by acclaimed children's author Barbara Picard and graced by Alan Marks's evocativewatercolors.