Once, upon a time, in the dark kingdom of Demitria, there lived a queen named Jezebel. Before Jezebel came to power, Demitria was the most beautiful kingdom for a thousand miles. But she was cruel and treated her kingdom with no respect. Jezebel was a beautiful queen. With her long brown hair, a stunning smile, and dazzling green eyes, she was truly the most beautiful girl in the kingdom.
Yet, on the inside, Jezebel was very vain. She used her beauty to lie and trick people into doing bad things. The queen never showed love or compassion, except to herself. Jezebel worshipped her hair. She was always brushing it and admiring herself, for she could not see her ugly personality beyond her looks. The queen spent so much time on her appearance that Demitria started to become a dark, poor kingdom.
On a rainy, thunderous night, an old woman with starch white hair and a dark purple robe appeared at Jezebel’s castle.
“Beware, beauty is a curious thing,” the old woman said. “Do not let it define you or your kingdom, or surely Demitria will die.”
The queen scoffed and said, “Foolish old woman, do you think you can tell me how to rule my kingdom? Surely you are jealous of my beauty and my hair, for you have aged poorly. Go now for I pity you, so I will show you mercy.”
But the old woman did not move. Instead, with a wave of her hand Jezebel began to turn ugly. Scars ran up and down her face, while her hair began to fall out and turn to dust. Wrinkles began appearing on the queen’s body like a crumpled piece of paper.
“Witch!” Jezebel shouted. “Guards, guards, arrest her!” Out of the corners of the castle men ran at the old lady attempting to grab her, in which their attempts failed. Their hands went right through the old lady and the guards fell on top of one another.
The old woman began to speak again. “I shall return in three days time, and your beauty shall be restored upon the showing of true compassion to others. But if you fail, you shall stay in this form forever!” With a strike of lightning, the old woman vanished.
The queen sat in despair on the first day, crying over her hideous state. On the second day, the royal doctors were ordered to make medicines to heal the queen, but alas, they all failed. On the third and final day, Jezebel was left with no choice but to visit the homes in her kingdom.
Jezebel was such a terrible queen that the people of Demitria turned her away. The queen was still so vain; she thought she was being turned away because of the way she looked. Jezebel tried to offer people gold as a sign of compassion, but all attempts failed as the queen was not sincere.
With dusk quickly approaching, Jezebel sat down on a bench, feeling defeated. She wept like she had never wept before, for the queen had never been so upset. Seeing her distress, a young boy approached and sat down next to the queen.
“Queen Jezebel, why are you crying?” asked the little boy.
Looking up at him, Jezebel responded hopelessly, “My beauty is gone. I am an ugly person, and no one wants to be in my presence. In a few hours, my fate will be sealed.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re ugly, Queen Jezebel. I think everyone is beautiful in their own way, even you,” the boy declared. With that, the little boy gave the queen a kiss on the cheek.
The queen was astonished. Her? Beautiful? Like this? Jezebel had never been more thankful to hear a compliment about her beauty, something she normally took for granted.
“Thank you so much, little boy,” replied the queen gratefully. Suddenly, Jezebel began to glow. Her long brown hair began to grow back and her wrinkles became smooth. Scars disappeared from the queen’s face, and her beauty was restored. The old lady appeared and smiled, for Jezebel had shown true compassion and was a changed soul.
Hope, love, and light were restored to Demitria, and the kingdom lived happily ever after.

The end.