Misguided Premise--a modern fairy tale

    "Aunt Nee?"

    "Yeah, baby."

    "You promised to read me a bedtime story."

    "I did?" she teased.  Her niece stood at the doorway with the corner of the blanket up to mouth, and her thumb firmly entrenched between her lips.  At her aunt's joke, the child began to pout.

    "Yes, you did," she stated firmly.  Her eyebrows shot up quickly. "Did you forget?"

    "No, I didn't forget, honey.  I was just teasing you."  The woman rose from the arm of the couch were she had been precariously sitting and followed the child to the bedroom.

    "Come on, honey.  Climb into bed.  What kind of story do you want to hear?"

    "I want one with a happy ending."

    "Well now, that leaves a pretty big selection.  Besides, not all stories have happy endings.  And not all happy endings look happy at first."

    "Just tell me your kind of story."

    "My kind of story, huh?  Hmmm….well my kind of story isn't in any of your books."

    “That's okay."

    "All right, little one.  I'll tell you a story about a little girl who reminds me a lot of my favorite little rug rat…."

    "Who's that?"

    "You, you silly bean.  Anyway, this is a story about a little girl whose name was Robin.  Now Robin lived with…"

    "Aunt Nee.  That is NOT how the story is supposed to begin.  Remember?  You’re supposed to start it with 'once upon a time.'"

       The woman smiled.  "You know, I think you're right.  Okay, let's begin this again."
 

    “Once upon a time, there was a small girl who dreamed of being more than she was.  She dreamed of becoming famous, of having happiness, of being loved.  This little girl's name was Robin.  And although she never thought so, she was quite pretty.  And she was also very smart.  Unfortunately, her  father didn't see her that way.  You see, he hadn't been a grown-up long himself, and he really had NO idea what he was doing.  So for a very long time, he just pretended that she didn't exist.  The little girl didn't know this at the time, so she  thought her life was just fine.  She visited with the older grandparent types that lived next to her house and went on day trips with her mother.

    “When the little girl was about five years old, her father began to notice her.  The bad thing was, once he noticed her, he realized she was not a little boy.  And he was not happy about that.  He was rather insulted.  And not only was Robin not a boy, but she was still just a child.  You see, he wanted a boy that he could hang out with and play catch with, and work on cars with.  But every time he tried to do those things with little Robin, they both ended up very frustrated and angry.  The father began to punish the little girl for very small things, such as handing him the wrong size socket or not catching the ball.  Robin was very confused by this and did her best to try and make her father happy, but nothing seemed to work.  Finally, she decided that should just quit trying to make him happy.

    “But what was done, was done and she grew up thinking that she was a failure.  Her mother did try to change  the little girl’s opinion, but by then it was too late.  She began to daydream, about growing up and finding her own version of Prince Charming, like the ones she was always reading about.  In her dreams, her Prince was kind, smart, handsome, and most importantly, loved her to distraction and would never tell her that she was stupid or a failure.

    “When Robin was sixteen years old, she found her Prince.  His name was Darius and he was handsome, and funny, and he seemed to be kind.  She waited for a while before telling him that she loved him.  She thought that it would be okay they liked to do different things.  Darius enjoyed drawing, and hunting and fishing and camping.  Robin liked to read, and dance, and sing, and be by herself.  But she loved him and when she told him this, he said that he loved her too."
 

    "Aunt Nee, I thought you said that not all happy endings looked like happy endings," the child said between yawns.

    "Well, if you would be a bit more patient, you'd know this is not the end of the story, little bean."

    "But she found her Prince.  And even I know that once a girl finds her Prince, they always live happily ever after and that's the end of the story."

    "Maybe in your kind of fairy tale, but this is my fairy tale.  And Robin has much more to learn.  Do you want to hear the rest of it?"

    "Yes."

    "Okay, now where was I?  Oh yeah, Robin and Darius told the other that they loved each other."
 

    "So Darius and Robin got married.  But unlike the normal fairy tales, things weren't always happy.  Darius tried to be the Prince that Robin wanted him to be, just as Robin tried to be the Princess that Darius wanted.  But every time they tried to be what the other wanted, they forgot what it was to be themselves.  Because they forgot this, neither of them stayed happy for very long.  Eventually, Darius decided that he needed to be himself and left Robin.  She was very hurt by this and spent more than one night crying herself to sleep.

    “One day, Robin was visited by her own aunt.  Now, even though Robin had not seen her Aunt for a very long time, because her Aunt lived so far away, she was very happy to see her.  She gave her Aunt a very big hug and then ran into the house to cook her favorite meal.  Her Aunt noticed that Robin was very sad and asked her why.  Robin told her that she was sad because she was a failure.  She had failed her father all those years ago and now she had failed Darius as well.    Her Aunt asked her how she had failed either of the men in her life.  Robin told her tearfully  that she had failed to make either of them happy, and that was why she failed.  Imagine Robin’s shame when her Aunt burst into laughter.

‘My precious little bird, I am not laughing at you.  But tell me, where did  you ever get the idea that you were the one who should be responsible for everyone else’s happiness?’ her aunt asked.

    “Robin thought about it for a few minutes and realized that she couldn’t remember anyone ever telling her that it was her responsibility.  Her Aunt gave her a hug and let her continue to think about it.

“After a while, she began to look at her situation differently.  She realized that she was wrong to think that Darius should live his life based on what she thought.  And she shouldn't live her life based on what he thought.   She began to realize that what was truly important was not that she be happy with a Prince Charming, but that she be happy with herself."

    "Did she ever find another Prince Charming?" the child asked sleepily.

    "Maybe.  Maybe not.  I can tell you that the next time she thought she did, she made sure that everyone knew what was going to happen first.  And no one expected the other person to be anything other than  themselves."

    "That's important?"

    "Of course it is, silly bean.  How can you expect to be loved for who you are if you are always trying to be someone else?"

    "I guess so.  Aunt Nee?"

    "Yes, bean?"

    "Will I ever find a Prince to love me?"

    "I'm sure you will someday, honey.  The important thing to remember is that when you do, you are still going to be responsible for your own happiness, just as he will be for his.  You can share your happiness with each other, but you will still be you no matter what."

    The child nodded slightly and closed her eyes.  Her aunt pulled the covers up and tucked the child in, then rose and walked to the door.  She looked again at the sleeping child and turned out the light.
 

 © JadeRyan  1999-2000.