Twenty-First Century Cinderella
© Anne Stormont
Once upon a time – well, back in the year 2000 actually – there lived a twelve-year-old girl called Cinderella.
She lived with her dad, her step-mum and her two step-sisters, Chantelle and Chardonnay. Cinderella’s step-mother was the chief executive of her own multi-national cosmetics company. She worked extremely hard for her high salary and hoped her daughters would follow her into the business.
Cinderella’s father didn’t need a job as he was distantly related to the royal family and had inherited lots of money. However he’d spent most of that money unwisely and now relied on his wife’s income. He spent most days developing daft business schemes that never came to anything. But he was always cheerful and Cinderella’s step-mother said that was why she loved him. He didn’t have any ambitions for his daughter.
As Cinderella’s step mother worked long hours, Cinderella and her step-sisters were supposed to help around the house. She’d drawn up a rota of after school and weekend jobs. Cinderella’s father wasn’t included on the rota as he apparently didn’t know how to operate a vacuum cleaner or a duster.
Chantelle and Chardonnay couldn’t really be bothered with doing chores. They preferred to do each others hair in the latest styles or to try out new makeup. But Cinderella didn’t mind helping out. She usually ended up doing her sisters’ jobs as well as her own. She would hang out washing before she went to school and then, when she got home, she would tidy up the kitchen and the living room as well as her own bedroom. Sometimes she’d peel the potatoes and set the table for dinner.
Cinderella also worked hard at school and, every evening, after she’d done all her housework jobs she would get down to her homework. Chantelle and Chardonnay laughed at her. They said she was daft to do so much housework. They said that was their mother’s job not theirs and, anyway, she didn’t seem to notice if they didn’t do it. They also said why bother with homework – the teacher couldn’t do anything if you didn’t do it.
But Cinderella didn’t let their mocking laughter bother her. Of course her step-mother didn’t notice that her two daughters hadn’t done their chores. That would be because Cinderella did them. She also knew that doing her homework helped her with her school work and she wanted to do well at school.
Cinderella’s best friend was Brian Button – everyone called him Buttons. They’d been friends since the beginning of primary school and stayed friends all the way through high school too. Buttons sometimes helped Cinderella with the housework and they often did their homework together. Chantelle and Chardonnay poked fun at Buttons saying he was a geek and a nerd. It was the only time Cinderella got cross. She always defended Buttons when her sisters had a go at him. He also stuck up for her when the sisters and their friends called Cinderella names and made fun of her plain and dowdy clothes and lack of makeup.
The sisters failed all their exams. When they left school and didn’t even try to find jobs, Cinderella’s step-mother was very disappointed and stopped their pocket money. She said it was because she loved them and was being cruel to be kind. They could no longer afford makeup and hair products and so they didn’t go out. Instead they sat watching daytime TV all day. They got very fat.
But both Cinderella and Buttons did very well at school. They went to university to do business studies.
And when the night of the university graduation ball came, Cinderella’s step-mother offered to help her to get ready. Cinderella was delighted to accept the offer. Her step- mother did her makeup for her and styled her hair. She told Cinderella how lovely she looked and how proud she was of her and then she gave Cinderella a surprise present. It was a beautiful, blue silk dress and a pair of silver high-heeled shoes.
Before Cinderella left for the ball, her step-mother hugged her and told her how much she loved her. Then she said that she’d like Cinderella to come and work in her cosmetics company and that she would like to hand over the business to her when she retired.
Cinderella was amazed and delighted. She’d always dreamed of running her own business and of having a successful career. Cinderella kissed her step-mother and thanked her.
But her step-mother had one more surprise for her. She’d organised a pink, stretch limo to take Cinderella to the ball. She told her to have a wonderful time and to stay out all night if she wanted. Chantelle and Chardonnay were in a gigantic huff and wouldn’t even wave Cinderella off.
When Cinderella arrived at the ball everyone gasped at the transformation. Normally she just went around in jeans and a fleece. But here she was looking elegant and beautiful. Even the guest of honour – Prince William – who had got his degree from the university a few years before – couldn’t take his eyes off her. He asked her to dance several times. Poor Buttons felt miserable watching the two of them dancing together.
The prince was so taken with Cinderella that, even though they’d just met, he asked her to marry him. He told her she would live in the palace and be waited on by servants. She wouldn’t have to work and could have all the money and beautiful clothes she liked. But Cinderella turned him down. She didn’t want to be dependent on some prince. She wanted the job her step-mother had offered her. She wanted to work and be in charge of her own life. The prince shrugged and went off to dance with the other pretty girls.
Buttons was pleased to see the prince turn his attention to the other women. He asked Cinderella to dance. They ended up dancing until morning and by then the limo had long since gone.
Buttons walked Cinderella home. On the way, he said that he planned to start his own cleaning company. He said he’d always wanted his own business and all the hours he’d spent helping Cinderella with her chores had shown him he was good at cleaning. Cinderella told him about the job offer she’d had. He was very pleased for her.
It was a very long walk home and, despite their exquisiteness, her silver high-heels were pinching, so Cinderella had to remove them – and somewhere along the way she dropped one of them. She didn’t notice the loss until they were back at her front door. She was so dismayed that Buttons immediately turned back in order to look for the lost shoe. He sent Cinderella a text an hour later to say he’d found it and would call round that evening to return it to her.
When he arrived he was carrying a huge bunch of red roses in one hand and had his other hand behind his back. He gave Cinderella the flowers and asked her to sit down.
Then he went down on one knee and produced the silver shoe from behind his back. He handed it to her and told her to look inside. Cinderella did so. Something sparkly nestled down at the toe. She reached in and took the object out. It was a pretty, glittery keyring with a key attached.
Buttons told her it was the key to his flat. He told her he loved her and hoped she would come and live with him.
Cinderella said yes and moved in with him the very next day.
A year or so later Buttons asked Cinderella to marry him. He said they would both continue to work hard at their careers and then, when they had children, they would share looking after them.
Cinderella thought this sounded great and accepted his proposal. They are now married.
They have a lot going for them so it is reasonable to assume that they will most likely live happily ever after.
The above is the first of five Modern Fairy Tales that I’ve written. You can see it and the four others on the sub-page to this one – just click on Modern Fairy Tales on the sidebar on the left.
Fiona, Fergus and the Dinosaurs
copyright - Anne Stormont
Everything seemed normal that sunny, Saturday morning. Six-year-old Fergus and his twin sister Fiona were sitting at the picnic table in Grandpa’s garden. They’d finished swapping dinosaur cards. Fergus was drawing a picture of a stegosaurus. Fiona was looking at her dinosaur book.
“I wish I could see a real dinosaur,” said Fergus.
“Don’t be silly,” said Fiona. “There are no dinosaurs now.”
“Fiona, Fergus, come quickly!” shouted Grandpa from the bottom of the garden.
The twins ran down to Grandpa. He pointed at the earth in the flower bed.
“It’s a footprint – a huge footprint!” gasped Fergus.
“Let me see, let me see!” said Fiona. She pushed Fergus and Grandpa out of the way.
“That was made by an apatosaurus,” said Fergus. He ignored Fiona shaking her head.
“Oh, my word, look, there’s another one, and another. I think they go all the way along to the gate and maybe into the field,” said Grandpa. “It looks like Fergus could be right. You’ll have to go on a dinosaur hunt.”
Fergus wondered if it could be true. Could a dinosaur have been walking about in the garden while he was drawing his picture? Was he going to get his wish? “Come on then, Grandpa,” he said.
“Oh no, I’m going to get a cup of tea. You and Fiona go – see if you can track down this apatawhatsit.”
Fiona giggled. “Apatosaurus,” she said.
“That’s what I said,” said Grandpa.
“Right, let’s go,” said Fergus when Grandpa had gone.
“Wait a minute, what’s that?” said Fiona pointing up at the top of the gate as they went through into the field.
“It’s a piece of paper,” said Fergus, stretching up to get it. The paper had writing on it.
It said: Dinosaurs at the beech.
“There’s no beach here,” said Fergus. The field was just grass, with some trees at the far end and there was a wee burn that ran along on the other side of the wall.
“Here’s another footprint!” shouted Fiona from over by the wall. Fergus ran on. There were more all the way along. They led into the trees. At the edge of the trees Fergus turned to look for Fiona. She was a long way behind him.
He looked at the trees again. He wondered if there could be a secret beach in amongst them. Then he thought he saw something move. Was that a tail slithering round the trunk of a tree? Was that an eye looking at him through the leaves? And what was making the high branches shake?
Fiona caught up with him.
“I saw one, Fiona! I saw a dinosaur in there, in the trees. I think it wants us to follow it to the beach.”
“You saw one!”
“Yes, the apatosaurus, the one that made the footprints. I saw its tail and its eye and it made the trees shake when it walked.”
“You think it was going to the beach where the dinosaurs are?”
Fergus nodded. Fiona took his hand. She held it very tightly.
They crept forward through the trees, watching out for the dinosaur and listening for the sound of waves or seagulls. Then Fergus saw another piece of paper. It was on an old, fallen tree trunk. The paper was beside a big hole in the tree’s side and was held in place by a stone. Fergus remembered being here once before, with Grandpa. Grandpa had said you could tell the age of the tree by counting the circles of wood inside the trunk and that this tree was very old. What else had Grandpa said about the tree? Oh, yes!
Fergus pushed the stone away and grabbed the paper. “This is it. This tree – it’s a beech – a beech tree – Grandpa told me!”
“So the dinosaurs aren’t at the seaside! They’re here!” said Fiona. “What does it say on the paper?”
Fergus read it out. It said, You can’t see the sea but you are at the beech. Look in here for dinosaurs.
“Look in where?” asked Fiona.
“In the hole – here – in the tree.” Fergus put his arm into the hole. He felt something –something hard and square. He pulled it out.
It was a box. Fiona opened it.
“Oh, wow!” said Fergus.
There were diplodocuses, brachiosauruses, tyrannosauruses – all sorts of dinosaur figures filled the box. At the bottom of the box there was a note. It said, to Fiona and Fergus from the apatosaurus.
“Grandpa’s not going to believe this,” said Fergus.
Best of Friends
© Anne Stormont
I loved Jock very much. For a time he was the only friend I had. It wasn’t easy when I went to the new school. I didn’t want to go. But when Mum and Dad split up, me and Mum had to move.
The kids at the new place didn’t like me. They said I was weird, talked funny, didn’t know their games. I missed my old pals and I missed my Dad, but at least I had Jock.
Jock was a Skye terrier, like Greyfriars Bobby. He was a present to my Mum from my Dad when they thought they weren’t going to have any children. A year after they got Jock, I was born.
He was a clever wee dog. He could sit, stay, lie down and he could give a paw. He had a special trick where he stood on his back legs and twirled round in a circle. Jock knew when I was happy and he knew when I was sad. When I was happy, he would wag his tail and bounce about. He’d bring a toy from his bed and drop it at my feet, telling me he wanted to play a game. When I was sad he stayed close and let me cry into his fur.
He knew I hated the new school. He’d have come with me if he could have. He watched at the window when I left in the morning. Mum said he stayed there most of the day waiting for the school bus to bring me home again. As soon as I got home and changed out of my school clothes, Jock and me would go for a walk. Usually we went along the fields behind the house. Sometimes Jock would chase rabbits. He never caught any though. Other times he would scamper along beside me and I’d tell him about my
Best of friends by Anne Stormont
day. I told him about the bullies. Telling him meant I didn’t have to worry Mum. She had enough to cry about.
When we returned from our walks I always fed Jock his dinner. His favourite was rabbit in gravy.
At night he slept on my bed. Sometimes his legs twitched when he was sleeping. I thought he was dreaming about chasing rabbits.
I miss him so much now he’s gone. Sometimes I think I hear him barking at the school bus. Sometimes I think I see him out the corner of my eye, or feel him lying across my legs in bed at night.
I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. I didn’t get the chance to tell him that I think I’ve got a new friend. Michael noticed the photo I had of Jock in my locker at school and we got chatting. His dad breeds sheep dogs and Michael helps to train them. Michael’s won prizes at the village shows for all the stuff he can get his dogs to do. I’m going to Michael’s house for tea next week.
Dad came to take me out last weekend. When he arrived he asked Mum if he could come in as he had something for us. He asked Mum if she’d been crying. She said she hadn’t been, but I knew she had. Anyway she said he could come in, so he did. He opened his coat and there inside was a puppy, a wee Skye terrier. Dad said he was a present for Mum and me. Mum started crying again. Dad handed the puppy to me and then he gave Mum a cuddle. He told me to take wee Hamish to my room and play with him.
I showed Hamish the photo of Jock that hung on my bedroom wall. I explained that Jock was still my best friend even though he was chasing rabbits up in heaven now. But I
Best of Friends by Anne Stormont
said that Hamish and Michael could be my best friends too. I knew Jock wouldn’t mind. I let Hamish sniff Jock’s toy rabbit. He seemed to like it. While I was talking to Hamish I heard my Mum laughing in the other room. A little while later Dad came through and asked me if I’d mind if we didn’t go out, as Mum had asked him to stay for lunch. I said I didn’t mind at all.
