Once upon a time there was a little girl, her hair was a tangled web of gold and her eyes were crystal clear blue and bright as sapphires. She had full, rosy cheeks and a sweet little smile with teeth that resembled straight little pearls. She was the most beautiful little girl in all the world. She owned 300 mirrors placed strategically all around her house. She loved how beautiful she was and enjoyed staring into her mirrors for hours and hours on end. She would brush her hair 10,000 times when she woke up and 10,000 times before she went to sleep. Her parents would enter her in countless beauty contests, all of which she won. She would stroll through her villages and laugh at all of the people who weren’t as beautiful as she. Especially her sister, who wasn’t beautiful at all. In fact, her sister was the ugliest girl in all of the land. But she was clever and cunning and had a heart of gold, which is why she was much more popular than her condescending sister.
One day the beautiful girl wandered outside on one of her long walks and she found a river of clear blue water, she was able to see her reflection clearer in the river than in any of her mirrors. She was horrified by what she saw. She saw a gangly girl with sunken in cheeks and dull, matted hair and her eyes with dark ringed and the color of a hideous mixture of moss and mud “Oh my!’ the little girl exclaimed, ‘What has happened to me?!” The girl was struck with a wave of fear, panicking she ran home, tripping on the roots in the woods. She burst into her home in a panic, “Mother, Father! Come and see! Your prized daughter is a prize no more” she hollered.
Her concerned parents rushed downstairs, “Whatever do you mean, darling? You are as stunning as ever.” they said confused. The girl explained about the river and her sister, overhearing said “Dearest sister, show me what has frightened you.” The beautiful sister nodded and they ran together to the river, they both peered in, the beautiful sister saw her ghastly reflection but the uglier sister saw a beautiful reflection, with flowing hair and bright green eyes. The girls peered deeper into the water until they both fell in! With a splash the girls were submerged for about 2 minutes when they came up gasping for air they ran back home.
The girls’ parents were in awe. The sister who as once been ugly was stunning and the sister who had been beautiful was horrid looking. Their father ran to find the river and ran into an old witch doctor who said “This is a magical river whomever looks into it sees the reflection of who they are inside and if they fall in they become on the outside who they are on the inside.” And with that he vanished leaving the girls’ father dumbstruck.
THE END