Ardelia

There was a poor couple living in a box. Everyday they searched around their neighborhood for scraps that they could have for food that day. One day while the poor man was looking for scraps he came across this house. Through the gates, there were fruits and vegetables growing all throughout the whole backyard. So he took search around the area. He tried to find a way inside.

“Maybe I can hope the fence,” the poor man said to himself. So he started climbing on the rocks and before he could get to the top he heard a sound. A sound of the door opening. He jumped down off the rock wall and hid in the bushes that were near him. The gate opened, a dog and a woman dressed in black started walking out. He moved and the woman turned towards the bush he was in. The woman looked beautiful, with her long dark hair, blue eyes and tall figure but she also looked like she was hiding a dark secret about within herself. The woman just shrugged her shoulders and walked away. When the woman was far from view he ran past the gate since the woman forgot to lock the gate. The poor man ran into the back and started gathering as much food as he could carry in his pockets that he could, then he headed home. He did this for several weeks, waiting everyday for the woman to give her dog a walk. But one day the woman was looking out her window to wonder why her garden was getting very low on food. So to see what little vermot was scurrying and stealing her food, she left and gave her dog a short walk, in a circle around her house. When she got back, she started walking towards her garden.

“How do you dare take food from me!” The woman said angrily. “Now since you took food from me you are going to pay!”

The poor man looked at her in shock. “I’m sorry, I’m only trying to help my wife and I because we are poor and are in need of food.” He replied.

The woman gave him a look and thought of an idea. “If you say things are as you say I will give you a wish but in return... You have to give me your first child your wife gives birth to and she will be giving over to me, and i will take care of her as if she was my own child.”

The man thought to himself “Any wish I want?” he said.

The woman nodded to him.

The man agreed and started to think for his wish. After a view minutes he thought about the best wish that would be great for his wife and himself. “I wish that my wife and I were rich. We lived in a mansion with butlers and lots of food that never ran out!” He said to her.

Smiling to him, she did as he asked and granted him his wish.

After a year and a half the wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and named her Ardelia. She had blonde straight hair, sun-kissed skin and eyes as blue as the sea. When Ardelia started to get older she started to go to school. When she was twelve years she was going to the playground by herself.

“Don’t forget to come home when the sun starts to go down,” her mother told her. She nodded and smiled and ran off towards the playground, which was right around the corner from her. When she got there she ran towards all the screaming children and was having fun. Kids young and old came and gone. Hours passed and the sun started to go down, so she remembered what her mother told her and started to go home. On the corner of her street there was a woman she passed.

“Hello there.” said the woman.

Ardelia turned and looked at her with a weird look on her face. “Do I know you?” She asked.

The woman smiled and said “I am your aunt and I’m going to take care of you since your parents aren’t doing so well. I also have candy!“

Ardelia looked at her, she didn’t look like a bad lady, she thought to herself.  The woman had her hand out with, and she took it. Ardelia paused and said “what about my parents, how will they know that I am with you?”  she said.

The woman looked at her and said “I already sent them a letter telling them that I am sorry for their bad situation and you are coming with me.”

Ardelia smiled and started following the woman where she was going and after a while of walking they finally got to a tower. The tower and no doors or any windows except for one all the way at the top.

“How are we going to get up there?” Ardelia said to her.

The woman looked at her and then she looked up at the window. “Close your eyes little one, it’s a surprise.”

So Ardelia closed her eyes. The woman held tight to her hand and snapped her fingers. When Ardelia opened her eyes she was in a tiny room, filled with all pink things like pink walls, furniture, a pink kitchen and pink kitchen supplies.

“This looks all very pretty,” said Ardelia and gave the woman a big smile.

“Well” the woman started to say, “You are going to live here for the rest of your days. I will come every afternoon and evening to feed you but the rest you can do on your own, like cleaning, reading and such.”

So Ardelia looked around, picked up some cleaning utensils and did as she was told. This went on for the next couple years, day after day doing to the same routine.  Four years passed by and Ardelia grew up to be a beautiful woman with her long locks of hair that looked as blonde as gold.

One afternoon, King Charles’ son, Prince Emmett, was playing hide and seek in the forest with his trusty steed Rocky. It was Prince Emmett’s turn to hide so he started to search for a hiding place, he ran towards the open area of the trees and he finds a tower. He starts to head over towards it until a lady walks over to the bottom of the tower and starts to speak. “Ardelia,  Ardelia, let down your locks of hair and pull me to the surface.”  The woman demanded.
Hair flew down the side of the window and landed down to her feet which she pulled the witch up. The prince waited for the woman to leave so he hid for a while. Finally when locks of hair flew out of the window he knew that the woman was leaving for the rest of the day. The woman climbed down and left. Rocky came over to him and started to neigh at him, but Prince Emmett just pulled him towards the tower. He looked up and started to say the words, “Ardelia, Ardelia, let down your locks of hair and pull me to the surface.”
Ardelia did as she heard and dropped her hair.

“Wait here Rocky, I will be down in a short while.”  Prince Emmett said.

Rocky neighed and he started to climb up the tower. When he got to the top and climbed in the window he saw Ardelia. He thought she was the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on. Ardelia looked at him and was a little frightened, but before she could take a bathroom utensil and beat him senseless with it he caught his breath to explain to him who he was. He told her that he was a prince and that he begged her to marry her. She told him that she would marry him but she had to tell her aunt first before she could marry. So he agreed and told her that he would be back another day. She let him down and he galloped off. Day after day Prince Emmett came by to visit Ardelia. She enjoyed his company. The woman didn’t know anything that was happening until one day Ardelia told her.

“Auntie, I want to tell you something,” She said to her.

“Yes,” the woman answered.

“I wanted to tell you that Prince Emmett asked me to marry him, he comes here day after day and we spend a lot of time together when you’re gone, and I just wanted to tell you that I accept, and also I wanted you to accept as well.” she said trying to catch her breathe.

The woman looked at her with a nasty look, but then thought of an idea of her own.

“Yes, I accept that you may marry him.” She said with a nasty smile and she went out the window.

So the next day Prince Emmett comes and visits Ardelia. She tells him the great news and they start to head off with him on his horse to his castle so they can wed. While they were galloping off, the woman was in the bushes just waiting for them, so when they galloped off the woman stood up, stepped back and snapped her fingers. She put a spell on her and made her bald so the prince would think she looked disgusting and Ardelia would come back to live with her. So when the prince stopped to get a drink from the well he noticed that Ardelia’s hair fell off.

“Ardelia, what happened to your long ch other. beautiful hair?” He asked.

Ardelia didn’t understand, so she looked in the water well and saw that her long hair was gone. She was bald. She felt ugly and disgusted with herself. So she ran into the forest and cried to herself that she was hideous and thought that no one would love her now.  But the prince ran after her and grabbed her before she could run any farther into the  woods. He looked into her deep blue eyes and said to her, “Ardelia, you look beautiful with or without your hair. I will still love you because you are beautiful inside and out,” he said and then kissed her forehead. She smiled at him and they went off into the castle. His parents accepted her in the family and they threw a huge wedding inviting everyone, even her parents and the evil woman. Her parents were so shocked at the woman taking Ardelia because she had them think she was dead. So they they grabbed her, roped her up and also added chains on her feet. They threw her into the ocean that was right behind the castle. She drowned to death. So now Ardelia, Prince Emmett, and their two families lived happily ever after with peace and happiness from each other.