Special Prize Winner - Youth Writers Short Story Prize 2026

The Mystery Flower by Sandali Wimalarathna.

Once upon a time there was a little fluffy pretty dog. The dog’s name was Valentina the Great.
Valentina loved wildflowers. She lived on a farm in the corner of a soft barn.
One day she went for her weekly stroll to find lovely wildflowers and found a pink and purple sparkly striped plant. She ate it because it looked so beautiful and juicy but it was poisonous and Valentina did not know that. She felt dizzy and fainted, but her friends came along and gave her a big cup of water and fanned her with a really big leaf.  
She learnt not to eat plants she had never ever seen before.