by Boyd Brent
“You must believe it.”
“But what if I can't believe it?”
“Then you must try harder.”
“But why apples, my darling?”
I shrugged up my heavy shoulders. “Maybe she's just written that way.” Prince Charming stood up and hurled the fruit bowl into the enchanted lake. Moments later, a great many fish floated to its surface, all in deep comas from which they would never awaken – well, not unless kissed by a prince who wanted to live happily ever after with a fish. I thought about how unlikely this was, and sighed.
Prince Charming sat down again. “Now,” said he, “you were about to tell me of your charitable deeds?”
“But why should I?”
Prince Charming leaned back on the palms of his hands. “I have been led to believe that talking of your charitable deeds will fill you with pride, and make you feel less insecure.”
I leaned back on my own palms. “Fat to no chance of that,” said I.
“All the same, please indulge me.”
“Alright. I helped a brother and sister in the woods yesterday. Does that count?”
“I knew it! One so fair must carry out at least one charitable deed every single day.”
“If you say so.”
“Tell me of these fortunate siblings whose paths crossed your own, my dearest, most charitable darling.”
“I simply had to help them.”
“Oh, my darling!”
“We had such a lot in common.”
“How so?”
“They have a stepmother of questionable character too.”
“So how did you come upon the unfortunate brother and sister?”
“Their names were Hansel and Gretel. I came upon Gretel chopping wood. She told me how a witch was fattening her brother for her cooking pot.”
The prince looked suitably concerned and said, “Whatever does a person have to do to get a break in this land?”
“Tell me about it.”
“So what did you do?” asked the prince.
“Well, I knew I had to change their story, as mine had been changed.”
“And?”
“And I considered the options available to me.”
“Very wise, my love, very wise indeed. And these options were?”
“Pretty scarce, actually. There was a barn filled to bursting with marshmallows, a well filled with chocolate syrup, and a young girl with a grudge... and armed with an axe.”
The prince twirled his moustache and looked very pleased with himself. “Say no more,” said he. “It's clear that your plan involved marshmallows and chocolate syrup.”
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this sample, The Lost Diary of Snow White Trilogy is available from Amazon.
