Once Before A Time | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Once Before A Time | Previous Challenge Entry
By Allison Egley
03/03/16
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Once before a time, there were no happily ever afters. In fact, there were no fairy tales at all. Children's stories were all based on the truth. Oh sure, there were embellishments, exaggerations, and outright lies in those stories, but they were at least based in truth. Even dreams were based in reality. There was no fantasy and little imagination. Well, at least on earth. But here in Fairy World, tales of knights in shining armor and princesses abounded. Actually, we lived in fantasy.

So how did fairy tales start on earth, then? Well, one day, I, the Sand Man, took notice of earth, and I decided to do something about it. Children need an escape, where they don't have to think about reality all the time. So what did I do? Well, first I entered their dreams. Not the nighttime makings of a sleepy brain, but their hopes and desires. Then I got together with all the other residents of Fairy World. We put our heads together and came up with all sorts of stories to delight the children. It was so much fun to see everyone work together. Why, even the villains knew that there was some greater good in this effort.

For example, there was the little girl who was made fun of at school because her feet didn't work quite right. So I sent her Cinderella, and she dreamed that she danced all night with the Prince, who found her again, all because of her lovely feet.

There was the boy who was tired of always being the smallest. So I gave him the dream of Jack and the Beanstalk, where he helped defeat the giant, and learned that size doesn't matter.

Next was the girl who didn't think she was pretty enough. She got the story of Beauty and the Beast, and learned that it's really love and what's on the inside that counts.

At first, I just used the dreams to make children happy, and to help distract them for a bit. I always made sure they remembered the dreams when they woke up, so they could think about that happy dream whenever they were feeling down.

Then I decided it was time for a change. I could use the dreams to teach kids who were misbehaving a lesson. Like that boy who was always boasting about how strong and fast he was. Maybe he could dream that he was in a race and lost. To a tortoise. Now I'd never given the same dream to two kids before, nor had I even given two fairy dreams to the same child. But I decided I should make an exception for this one. So I made the little girl who couldn't walk well dream that she was the tortoise. You should have seen their faces… both of them… when they woke up the next morning. It made everything worth it.

Now I know what you're thinking. But I promise you, all those fairy tales came from children's dreams. So when you see an author's name on some fairy tale, don't believe it. They didn't write it. Well, not really. Why, I'll bet even this story of mine will one day have the name of some author, claiming he or she wrote it. But don't believe 'em. It's really all in the dreams.

The End?

No.

The Start.

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