Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived with her father. One day, this girl’s father said to her, “Hey you! I’m sick of living here! Pack your stuff and let’s move!” And the girl did as told. They moved across the world, never settling in one place for too long. For a while, the girl and her father lived in a desert. Once again, the girl’s father said to her, “Hey you! I’m sick of this place! Pack your stuff and let’s move!” Once again they moved; this time into a small village by the sea.
Once again, after living in that place for a short while, the girl’s father told her they needed to move once more. They went across the sea and settled in another land—a land where the people were all evil and wanted nothing but chaos and destruction. The king had died without an heir and so his servants fought over who would take his place. Little did any of them know that there existed a princess with royal blood running through her veins; a beautiful girl with eyes like the sky and hair like the earth.
Once again, the girl packed her things and got ready to move—but this time she said no. Instead of packing, she walked out the door and started running; running back home across deserts and seas; through forests and cities; all over to get back where they came from. Once there, she entered her house and closed the door tight behind her: never to leave again. Once upon a time, there was a girl who lived by herself in a house beside an endless sea.
Once Upon a Time By Nadine Gordimer Once upon time there was a happy young girl who lived with her father in the forest. They were so poor that sometimes she went about barefoot, but it did not matter much because they had each other and their cow Bessie. One day her father met three witches who offered to make him rich if he would give them his only daughter. The young girl said, “Oh Father! I can’t let you do that! ” But her father was ambitious for wealth and power and he sold the little girl to the three old women for a great sum of money, since they were very rich witches.
He took their gold and left his daughter with them. You must now become my slave,” said the old women, “and work in my house. ” The girl had no choice but to obey. She did all her work diligently and at night slept on straw. Once she went up late to her attic bed because she was waiting for Bessie to come home, since they always cuddled up together in the hay when it grew dark. Suddenly an enormous cat leaped into the room with a big book. “What are you doing here? ” cried the young girl. “I am the fairy godmother of your cow,” said the cat, “for I love animals dearly and can tell by my magic that you have been most kind to Bessie even though you are so poor yourself. “How can I ever thank you? ” cried the girl.
“Just by working for me for seven years, and then I will reward you. ” And with that she turned into a cat again and leaped out of the window. The young girl was very sad because it meant she had to leave her father whom she loved dearly, but promise is promise so off she went to work for the fairy godmother as both cowgirl and housekeeper. At first they lived in a beautiful cottage near the lake, because the fairy godmother said that Bessie would be happiest there grazing on green grass all day long.
But one day when they arrived home from their walk, she found the whole cottage flooded! The fairy godmother had grown tired of living by the lake, she said. So the young girl took her seven years’ pay and bought another cottage that suited her godmother much better. Once again they lived happily near a big forest until one day when Bessie was grazing outside, three robbers rushed out of the woods towards her to steal her away! As soon as the fairy godmother saw this, she turned into a dove and flew ahead of them to protect Bessie.
But it wasn’t enough so she turned into an enormous cat with sharp claws and terrible teeth before turning back into herself for good measure! This made all the robbers run away because they were so terrified of being clawed or bit badly. The fairy godmother was very proud of herself, but the young girl thought she was too proud and turned her into a dove for good measure. Once again they lived in their pretty cottage until one day when Bessie lay down outside in the sun. A passing prince riding by with his retinue fell instantly in love with her and wanted to marry her at once!
The fairy godmother said that if the prince could choose between them, Bessie would be free to follow him and in return he must let the young girl live with them too or provide them both handsomely for life! The young girl, although sad to leave her dear cow, went along with this idea because she loved Bessie so much and took comfort from having some company besides her beloved godmother. Once again it all went well until the prince brought Bessie to live in his castle by the lake. One day when he was out hunting, three thieves rushed into the castle and stole Bessie away!
They took her back to their cave that led down to a dark little hole where they kept all their treasure buried. Once inside, Bessie neighed so loud that she attracted passers-by who realized something was very wrong with this underground lair. The first person who happened along was King Arthur’s son on his way home from war who told them he would see if he could find anyone stronger than him to fight off the robbers before coming back for Bessie. The second person who came along was the young girl, who had heard about Bessie’s plight and decided to come running.
Once she arrived at their cave, she banged hard on the door until all the robbers rushed out. As soon as they saw her they ran away because of course by now they knew that fairy godmothers are very dangerous especially if angry! Once inside the cave she discovered Bessie with a gold collar around her neck and started thinking how she could get it off without hurting her beloved cow. Then suddenly there was a flash of lightening and everyone turned into statues because King Arthur’s son had defeated two knights who were guarding the treasure!
