How many times had the king said this? The prince had lost count long ago. In his father’s mind, everyone stayed busy. A poor man worked to feed his family. A wealthy prince worked to help others.
The prince thought differently. Why work, when he could spend his days laughing at the court jesters, or drinking mead with his knights?. Life was too short to fritter away with labor.
And those hideous dwarfs! One morning, the king woke him from his slumber and dragged him to the tower window, where they could see the entire kingdom below. The seven mini-men were trundling along, tools swinging at their sides as they sang their happy tunes.
“Off to work they go.” The King would nod sadly.
“They’re so … short,” the prince replied, stifling a yawn.
He hated those dwarfs.
So when the beautiful woman who dwelled with them in their stumpy little cottage bit the apple and took a nap, the prince leapt into action. He kissed her red-wine lips, woke her up and spirited her away. He knew that she’d be eager to leave those frumpy worker-bees and become his wife.
“Take that, shorties,” he chuckled as she waved the dwarfs a hasty farewell.
She couldn’t wait to become his bride. A month after their wedding day, he was shaken out of a sound sleep. He stirred, wishing he hadn’t had that last tanker of mead last night. Now it was Snow White, not his father, who smiled down at him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Out of bed, Sleepyhead,” she sang. “We’re riding through the kingdom with food for the poor today, remember? The men need your help loading the corn and wheat.”
Sighing, he hauled himself from bed. A prince just couldn’t win.
***
The staff loved that this entry acknowledged that whomever Snow White was in terms of moral character, she had clearly learned how to work while with the dwarfs. This seems true in almost any version of the "Snow White" story. Plus, we liked how the people around him believe in diligence. In total, this piece just worked!
Pam, you need to check your email! To the rest of the entrants: You made the judging very difficult. Well done!
4 comments:
Congrats! I really liked this version. The prince hopefully will find he has a "kinder" spirit. :)
I just checked my email and it made my day - Thank you! I really enjoyed reading the other entries in the contest comments sections, and was glad my lazy prince was in such good company : ).
Congratulations Pam. This was awesome! I love the spin. You were most deserving. Way to go!
Fun! I loved reading this.
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