Little Sister (as Cinderella)
The wife of a very distinguished man fell ill. On her deathbed, she summoned her only daughter to her side.
The wife. Daughter, I feel my death is oncoming, like a low-lying cloud blackened from the hardships within the sea of thought.
The daughter. Ah mother, but isn’t the sea nothing but repetitive waves of the eternal? You see, mother, your thought being eternal means, to my mind, that although your body may die, your spirit will live on!
The wife. Hush daughter, even the sea
with its colorful fish and the thousands of little creatures does not last
forever. Where great seas once breathed their waves of azure, deserts now
remain. Whether through unnatural means, such as the farmer’s irrigation or
through the act of God, seas are, indeed, subdued. As so will I be subdued. The
fact of the matter is, child, that I shall die now. Remember your mother and
your Kingdom.
The death of a mother is a sorrow so heavy it impregnates itself inside the impermeable vastness of the heart, replacing the nurturing maternal love that had always comforted so. Therefore, the girl sobbed tears that were expended in silence, for words could not express her loss. How could it be that she was silent, if speech is the communication of the soul? Without speech, is humanity not reduced to simple fauna? Is man not just a simple organism if he cannot voice the complexities within his complicated state of mind? The daughter searched for the words to speak, not just to fill the silence, but to assure her continued spiritual existence. In her darkest hour, she found the words:
“Ah, mother, I shall not let your death cripple me! I have no home now without the Mother, and now, to my mind, my duty is to the Prince and his Kingdom! For although my home is broken, I belong to an even greater home! Long live the Prince’s Kingdom!”
The wife was buried and not long after, the distinguished man had found another woman worthy to be his wife. The wife had two daughters, both of which were marred in a boating accident long ago. The man’s daughter called her stepsisters Grey Sister and Big Sister. They simply called her “Little Sister.”
At dinner one night the four received an invitation to the Prince’s ball.
Little Sister. Is social event not one of the most ingenious ways for the kingdom’s intellectuals to converse improvements? For without discourse between great minds, we would not have the wonderful Kingdom we have today.
Big Sister. Yes, sister, but these improvements you speak of can only exist between great minds, as you speak. However, my perception in this matter is that there are no great minds within the Prince’s courts. I have read on this matter.
Little Sister. Ah but your perception is but a doily those scholars rest their cups of academic recognition. You may find it intricate and well planned, but it is only paper thin and resting atop an oaken table from the very kingdom you criticize!
Big Sister. Little Sister, there would be no oak table if engineers did not design it. Scholars are responsible for this kingdom.
Little Sister. The Prince’s Kingdom is responsible for educating the very scholars that criticize it and therefore, respect the false word of these scholars, for they were given the gift of being wrong by our Prince.
“Quiet sisters, you give me a headache. As far as academia or politics are concerned, I say it is all boring,” said Grey Sister.
Stepmother read the invitation to herself and announced, “This is no normal ball, the prince is to choose his next wife from among the guests!”
Big Sister said, “Wow! He will wed a guest? Can you imagine the wealth if he choose one of us?”
“Oh you are like all the intellectuals! Exploitation is all that is on your mind. Did you not consider that the Prince would marry someone out of love?” said Little Sister.
Grey Sister. If he marries someone common, he will appeal more to the commoners. If he marries out of love, most likely it will be of his social circle and his royal rank will not be compromised. So, you see, it does not really matter what the prince does.
“Oh here we go again. Shut up, my beautiful daughters, or we will miss this ball. Little Sister, you are not coming,” said the Stepmother.
“Why not, dear Stepmother?” asked Little Sister.
“Because I rule this household and I say so,” barked the Stepmother.
Little
Sister continued, “But Stepmother, the invitation was sent out to every
household in the kingdom – wealthy or poor, ill or well, educated or not. The
Prince delights in having all of his citizens attend. Please let me come!”
Little Sister. Is it not rude to decline an invitation to a royal ball? Is denying my attendance to a national ball refusing the prince’s attempt to entertain us commoners with a party? Refusal implies lack of interest which may prevent such events in the future. Do you see how you hinder the Prince’s intention to bring joy into our lives? Such civic events require attendance – without bricks even the sturdiest buildings will collapse.
Big Sister. No, my dear sister, without bricks the building would not ever exist. The removal of one brick will not cause the building to collapse. No one will even notice if you are not there. So you see, sister, you are an insignificant brick.
Grey Sister. But then again, we all are insignificant bricks composing a building empty aside from the sound of the insignificant muttering of the wind against a thousand bricks.
“Little Sister, you must gather all the fire ants from the thorn bushes tonight. When we get back from the ball, I expect it to be done,” said the stepmother.
Little Sister went straight to work after her stepmother and stepsisters left. The ants bit her and the thorns stabbed her. The thorns started to leave gashes on her legs and the ants were getting caught in her sticky wounds. Little Sister screamed in pain.
Little Sister. AHHHHH!
The Psychic Warrior Eagle of the Prince’s castle heard Little Sister’s cry and swooped down to save her life. She lifted her in her mighty talons and flew her to the prince’s castle. The Warrior Eagle was ten times as large as Little Sister and had the sharpest beak and kindest eyes – none of the other Warrior Eagles from the other kingdoms could compare.
“Little Sister, how you have suffered so.”
“Oh, my! Great Eagle, how did you know?” asked Little Sister.
“The Psychic Warrior Eagle of the Prince’s Castle sees all from her perch above the castle. You may think my eye has forgotten you, but I assure you, I protect all friendly folk in the kingdom.”
“Eagle, can I still go to the ball?” asked Little Sister.
“Yes. Behind that bush over there is the finest dress in all the lands. Next to it, you will find the finest shoes,” the Eagle explained.
Little Sister found the clothes and said “Oh no, these are far too good for me to wear, Eagle.”
“Nonsense,” said the Eagle, “These clothes were made especially for you for this day. It is not a matter of fate but rather justice. The cruelty you suffered tonight is not allowed here. The prince can tell you that himself tonight.”
With that, the Psychic Warrior Eagle of the Prince’s Castle returned to her perch. She continued her watchful gaze over commoners and royalty alike.
Little Sister. What generosity the Eagle bestows upon me! To think that I, a lowly servant girl, would be helped by the Prince’s own Eagle! To my mind, the cruelty I suffered tonight was wrong. However, I never thought I would be helped! I will wear this dress and thank the Prince himself!
When Little Sister arrived to the ball, the Prince was already in the process of selecting a bride. He held a magical slipper in his hand and announced “This slipper will indicate the maiden that is purest of heart and mind! Whoever the slipper fits shall be my wife.”
Throughout all time this was how the leaders were selected. The slipper was a gift from the Almighty Fairy of Ultimate Good and allowed only the most honorable leaders to be selected.
The Stepmother and Stepsisters were next in line to try on the shoe. Big Sister tried to slide her foot inside, but it was too big.
Big Sister. Prince, this is not fair. Tell me how a shoe is supposed to tell if the wearer is pure of heart and mind? Perhaps it shows it by being too small on the wearer.
“No. The shoe does not fit you,” said the prince.
“Suppose I cut off my toes so the shoe would fit?” she said.
“Then you are not pure of heart to cheat to win my heart.”
Big Sister replied, “I do not think anyone can win your heart the first time you meet them.”
He replied
simply, “If she is pure of heart and mind, I will love her.”
He moved on to Grey Sister, next. “Try on the slipper,” he said.
“I am pure of
heart and mind. I don’t need to try on the slipper to show you,” She said.
Grey Sister. Do you not trust those in your own kingdom to obey and trust your orders? If I am, indeed pure of heart and mind, my words should be truth enough. I tell you that I am pure. I trust you as ruler and you should trust me as your loyal subject. How can we say your kingdom is successful if neither lord nor subject trusts the other?
The prince nodded thoughtfully.
Big Sister. Trust not this liar! She backs herself up with neither fact nor reason. She is unlearned and useless and not pure at all! Unless if by “pure” you mean devoid of all thought and philosophy!”
“Is it true you study the philosophy of nothing?” he asked.
Grey Sister. I do not study any thought or philosophy.
Little Sister approached the Prince. Her gown sparkled and shimmered in the moonlight.
“Dear Prince, I would like to thank you for the invitation. Your wonderful Eagle found me,” she said and kneeled.
“Kneel not before me, fair maiden, I want you to try on the slipper,” he said.
He held her foot as he slipped on the slipper. It fit perfectly and the whole kingdom cheered. She lived happily ever after with the Prince and together they led the kingdom to a new era of prosperity. Her stepmother died an unfortunate death through illness. Big Sister became old, ugly, and lonely in her den with all her books. The children were afraid of her. Grey Sister simply vaporized one day.
ANALYSIS
I thought instead of this class that I would take a class on Russian science fiction. I went to one class and changed my mind (the workload). I read one story from the 19th century and it inspired me to become a propaganda writer. To my mind, the obvious nationalism was only thinly veiled by a “sci-fi” world. So, I tried to write Cinderella as a Russian sci-fi story.
What’s so Russian about it? The rambling, overly intellectual diction. Really now, everyone thinks they are a philosopher. As I was writing this more and more I got tired of it, to be honest, which is why the philosophies trickle away towards the end. The only bad Russian to English translation I know is the phrase “to my mind” which sounds funny, at least to me. Also, we’ve got some laughably obvious nationalism for the Prince’s kingdom going on here.
The sisters: Little sister is the ideal citizen. The heroine. Big Sister represents the “corrupt” intellectual…i.e. the intelligent critic to the Prince’s kingdom –the real threat. Grey Sister is the “uneducated” normal. She expressed about a drop of my nihilist views, but I don’t actually like being annoying with my views – i.e. adding personal bias and all of that.
Not very fairy tale-like: The females are actually intelligent and are loaded with dogma. Cinderella wasn’t exactly too passive in the original tales – she made an effort to go to the ball. She was not in a coma or sleeping like the women from the other tales.
Instead of focusing on
Cinderella’s poverty struggles, I focused on the stepmother and stepsisters
discouraging her sense of nationalism. The fairy was the eagle, and the eagle
represented the greatness of the Prince’s kingdom. That the kingdom will save
you even in your darkest moments (as nationalism did when her mother died). So
yes, long live the Prince’s Kingdom.
Have a great summer!