Tonight I want to tell you a story, the story of The Magic Rain Barrel.
     Once upon a time there was a beautiful kingdom ruled by a good king and queen. Their son, Prince Riley, devised a plan to...oh wait, back story! The kingdom had been blessed with many years of plenty. The land was like a quilt of emeralds and peridots. farms produced much food and flowers, the people were happy. One bright and sunny day, Prince Riley was out riding his trusty steed, Cronus. As he and the giant, black, horse rode over the beautiful, lush, green hills, the clouds began to gather and thunder rolled in the distance. Prince Riley pulled back on the reins and slowed Cronus, he felt that something strange had come into the land.
     What Prince Riley suspected was true. A strange sorceress had entered the kingdom. Wherever she traveled strange things began to happen; creeks began to dry up leaving the fish to die in the dry creek bed, crops dried up over night, wildflowers drooped their heads and died. Her path led directly to the capital and the palace. The people began to be afraid, they had never known such evil. A fortnight after the day the clouds began to gather, she strode into the darkened court yard of the palace. As the clock tolled the midnight-hour, she struck the paving stones with her great staff and quietly pronounced a curse upon the land throughout the kingdom. There would be no rain, drought would come upon the land. Creeks and streams would run dry, wells would have no water, the green landscape would turn to dust. She left the court yard just as quietly as she had entered. But first she looked up at the balcony overlooking the gate and then she vanished into the darkness.
      Prince Riley had been unable to sleep that night. He was worried about the evil that seemed to be infecting the land. As the sorceress entered the court yard he watched from his balcony, high above the paving stones. He watched as she pronounced her curse on his kingdom. When she moved to leave he thought to shout for his guards but he stopped, unable to speak as her evil gaze met his. She vanished. Prince Riley called for his guards but she was gone, never to be seen again.
     Now we are back to where we started. Prince Riley devised a plan to help his kingdom survive the drought. He was going to create a magic barrel. The Prince went to his father, the king, and asked for his guidance and wisdom in the creation of this barrel. They sat down together and discussed Prince Riley's plan. The king thought it was a great plan and they began to make a list of what materials they would need to build such a marvel. They traveled to all the far corners of the kingdom searching for the perfect rain barrel, for lengths of pvc pipe, various joints and fittings, soaker hose, flag emitters, and a rare, mystical, battery powered timer. The Prince would also send a proclamation to the people of the kingdom each week to keep them informed about how the magic barrel project was coming along. When all of the needed materials were acquired, the Prince and the king called for the dwarves who lived and worked in the magic mines. They were to build the magic barrel.
     The pipes were attached to the swamp cooler of the palace using the pvc pipe and glue. The pipe traveled down the roof to the barrel which was placed on Prince Riley's balcony. The rare and mystical battery powered timer would be attached to the valve on the bottom of the barrel to control the flow of water out of it. An in-line filter would  be fitted to the timer connecting the soaker hose to the source of the water. Flag emitters would be attached to the soaker hose and placed near the base of plants throughout the garden so that it would remain green and provide food for the palace kitchens. The plan that would soon come to fruition in the form of the magic barrel was one that would prevent wasting what precious water they had. The water from the swamp cooler would be collected in the magic barrel and stored there until it was needed to water the garden. Once the magic had been perfected, Prince Riley would send his faithful knights into all the land spreading the plans and directions on how to build ones own magic barrel, in the form of a pin on pinterest,
   The wonderous day soon arrived, the magic barrel was complete! The king and Prince Riley called upon their most trusted adviser to come and review Prince Riley's project. He worked for days on his power point presentation so that his adviser would be well pleased. He put on his finest garments and brought his presentation to her. She approved of Prince Riley's plan and gave her blessing upon his endeavor. The king was proud and called upon his knights and asked them to take the joyous news, as well as Prince Riley's link to his pin on pinterest, to every house in the kingdom. The people rejoiced upon hearing the news! There were ways to recycle the water they used to keep cool, to water their own gardens!  
     Prince Riley continued to send out proclamations telling the people the story of how his magic barrel all began. The king and queen were glad they could enjoy their son's ingenuity. The kingdom was once again happy. The people had to be careful to conserve their water, but they no longer worried about keeping their gardens watered.

                                                                   The End

     I hope you have enjoyed this fairy tale based on my process of building my water recycling device.