Nine-year-old Lilly is devastated when her father becomes very sick. Grandpa shares the gripping story of Agnes the little swan: "Agnes felt defeated, powerless to do anything. She closed her eyes and tried to think about her mom and dad and the fun summer on the pond. Then she remembered her mother's words. She had power in her that was greater than the danger."Up came her head. She watched the fox creep closer. She saw him crouch down, ready to spring. She heard the ice cracking under him, and she called out, 'Please, God, help me! I need You now!' "The fox laughed. 'Who do you think will help you? There is no one here but you and me, and I am about to eat you.' She ignored his mocking and said, 'The power in me is greater.' 'We will see about that," said the fox. Agnes remembered the word 'authority.' 'I'm in charge,' she said. 'With God there is nothing I cannot do,' she remembered."Agnes the swan, whose name means "little lamb," rose up in the authority God had given her, roared like a lion, and saved the whole flock. The Agnes story is a great tool for teaching children not only to have faith but also how to use it when life seems very difficult.About the Author:Mary Launchbury was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, and then moved to beautiful rural Orillia, Ontario, where she has resided for the last forty-five years. Mary is blessed to be the mother of four and one more, who joined the family as a young adult, and she is grandmother to eight blessings, with one more arriving shortly.A storyteller at heart, prompted by the encouragement of her grandchildren to record the stories they love to hear, Mary has finally put pen to paper and with Agnes has created the first edition of her "Marytales".