The Truth Behind Fairy Tales

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Charmaine was already used to lots of strange, magical things popping up from the mirror but she still jumped when it suddenly spoke to her. There were no words to describe how flabbergasted she was. It wasn’t like those Barbie and Princess films when something magical happens and the person isn’t the least bit surprised; this was real life and Charmaine was blown off the sofa. She was taken in; she had to hear what it was saying. It said, “Snow white, the story of what really happened!” Then incredibly, as if it were a TV, it some how showed Charmaine a video of the story it was telling at the same time. This is how the story went:

          “One day Snow White was skipping through the woods, of course with her small bottle of sleeping potion attached to her red belt on her dress.

She always carried her sleeping potion with her because at night she could never get to sleep so she always drank it before she went to bed. So just in case she decided to camp some where else she would need that to get to sleep, anyway…

“She was trotting through the woods when she saw a small cottage. Snow White was curious as to who lived there. So she nudged the door. It opened so she stepped inside. There were seven dwarfs lined up, frightened of who was trespassing their property but when they saw that it was only the princess, Snow White, they said she could stay with them.

“One day the dwarfs went to work and she was unpacking her stuff from the day she came, so she put a bottle of water and the sleeping potion down on the little table in the kitchen. Then there was a knock at the door. Snow white opened it and an old lady offered her a ripe, juicy, red apple. Snow white was hungry so she accepted it. She thanked the woman and took a big bite out of her apple but she choked on it and was coughing and coughing. She rushed to the table to drink some water to see if that helped but she was in such a rush that she drank the sleeping potion instead. As you can probably guess, she fell fast asleep on the floor with the bitten apple still lying in her hand.

“When she eventually woke up (because the sleeping potion had worn off) she found herself lying in a long glass case with flower blossoms sprinkled around her. She then saw a prince gazing into her eyes. He looked so handsome and kind that they got married and the dwarfs all cheered! The End! So that’s really what happened in the story of Snow white!”      

“Wow!” Charmaine cried, sinking deeper and deeper into the sofa.

          “Charmaine, dear, dinner is served,” Charmaine’s mother called out from the kitchen. “Why don’t you come and eat before it gets too cold!” Charmaine could smell something delicious. Steadily setting the mirror on top of the glass fronted cabinet, Charmaine ran down the hall way to eat up her food.

          “Mmmm… that smells scrumptious! What’s for dinner, mum?” Charmaine sat down at the table. Her mother smiled and placed a plate in front of Charmaine. Steaming Shepherd’s pie! “My favourite, thanks mum!”

          “I knew you love Shepherd’s pie so I made it especially for you!” Her mother said, chuckling.

          “But Jack doesn’t like Shepherd’s pie. Where is he anyway?” Charmaine asked, munching her food.

          “Your father took him to the park with his friends and tonight they are going to have a sleep-over as well! Won’t he love that? He has been so excited all week.” Charmaine stopped eating and frowned.

          “Mum, how could you? It will be a nightmare with so many stupid little boys running around and making noise!” Charmaine moaned. Her mother sighed.

          “Charmaine, stop complaining, you will give me a headache. Look, you have had lots of sleep-overs before but this is Jack’s first and I don’t want you whining this whole evening.” She sat up and patted Charmaine’s shoulder. “Please, let your brother have some fun, okay?” Charmaine sat there glaring at her mother. But then faintly nodded. “That’s a good girl!”

Charmaine proceeded with eating. Her mother began to look confused. “By the way, what have you been up to while I was cooking dinner? I know you went for a walk but afterwards, what have you been doing?” Charmaine stopped eating again and hesitated.

          “Umm… well… I wa-was just reading in my room,” Charmaine stated, proudly. Her mother still looked confused.

          “Are you sure? You don’t seem very sure.”

          “Oh yes. I am positive I was reading. It was just hard to remember what I was doing, that’s all.”

          “Right, well, what were you reading?” Charmaine had to think fast.

          “A book.” What a silly answer!

          “Yes, obviously a book. But what book?” Her mother looked suspicious.

          “Well, a… fairy tale book!” Her mother still looked a bit suspicious but she didn’t bother to enquire any further.