The Neverending Story By Michael Ende

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende follows the story of Bastian Balthazar Bux, a young, shy and awkward boy. The story starts as Bastian runs into a bookstore in order to run away from the other children in his class who call him names. In the bookstore, he finds a book belong to Coreander, the bookstore owner, called “The Neverending Story” and, in the spur of a moment, decided to steal it. He runs to his schoolhouse and hides in the attic in shame and begins to read the book. The “book within the book” takes place in a magical land called Fantastica. In the center of Fantastica is the Ivory Tower, where the Childlike Empress lives. She is the heart and soul of Fantastica. However, she is sick, and her condition reflects itself in the

Unfortunately, she has gone senile but, eventually, in her madness, reveals that the Southern Oracle might be able to help him. Atreyu rescues Falkor, a luckdragon, from a giant spiderweb and they head to the Southern Oracle. The young hunter passes the Oracle’s tests and learns of the secret of how to save Fantastica: the Empress needs a new name that only a human child can give to her. Defeated, Atreyu returned to the Ivory Tower to tell the Empress what he had heard. However, she reassures Atreyu that he has in fact succeeded in his mission because attracted the attention of Bastian. She has Atreyu and Falkor rest while she seeks the Old Man of Wandering Mountain. In his residence, the Old Man has a book, which also reads “The Neverending

As he begins, Bastian is amazed to find the book he is reading is repeating itself, beginning once again whenever the Empress reaches the Old Man—only, the story includes Bastian's meeting with the bookstore owner, his theft of the book, and all his actions in the attic. Realizing that the story will repeat itself if he doesn’t intervene, Bastian names the Empress 'Moon Child', and appears with her in Fantastica, where he restores its existence through his own imagination. The Empress has also given him Auryn, on the back of which he finds the inscription "Do What You Wish.” For each wish, Bastian loses a memory of his life as a human. Unaware of this at first, Bastian goes through Fantastica, having adventures and telling stories, while losing his memories. After encountering Xayide, a wicked sorceress, Bastian decides to take over Fantastica for himself, but is stopped by Atreyu, whom Bastian wounds in battle. A regretful Bastian reduced to two memories: those of his parents and of his own name. After more adventures, Bastian gave up the memory of his parents to discover that his strongest wish is to be capable of love and give love to