Lilly's Big Moves

Hello, readers. I have to confess, writing a modern version of Thumbelina was more difficult than I thought. Some of my modern stories have magic and some don't, but it was pretty clear to me that this story needed at least some magic.

Also, since I do sort of pull back the curtain on the writing process, I wanted to write a quick word about our protagonist's name. Hans Christian Andersen, the author of Thumbelina, was Dutch. Thumbelina's other name in his original story was "Tiny" and tiny in Dutch is "lille bitte". So, our protagonist's name is Lilly. Sometimes it's the little things that matter.

Now imagine that a tiny girl was inside this flower.

Lilly often begged her mother for the story of her birth. Smiling, Flora would always tell it. "I was a young woman who wanted a child, but I was unable to have one. One day, I came across a woman selling flower seeds. She said that she could sell me my heart's desire."

"But you didn't believe her," Lilly cut in.

Flora laughed. "Not at first, no. But I told her anyway that I wanted a child. She looked me up and down and nodded once, and then started rummaging through her bags. Finally, she pulled out a small, brown bulb. She told me to plant it in a pot inside my house and to give it a little of whatever I was eating for three days. Well, I'm not sure why, but I went home and did just as she said. After three days, a little shoot started growing. I watered it and talked to it."

"Talked to me!" Lilly insisted.

Flora smiled. "Yes, although I didn't know it was you yet. The shoot grew bigger and a little flower bud started to grow. It was folded up tight, though, and it wouldn't bloom. Until one day, I saw it bloom all at once and there you were, fast asleep in the middle."

"And then I woke up and said, 'Hello, Mother.'"

"Yes, you did," Flora replied.

"And you were so glad to have your wish granted," Lilly said, smiling as big as she could. "I'm a wish come true!"

"Yes you are," Flora said, looking at the flower pot that had grown Lilly and was now turned upside down to serve as Lilly's bedroom.

Lilly had as normal of a childhood as Flora could give her. Flora quickly realized that she couldn't send Lilly to school. Lilly was much too small to be safe from the other children when they were young and rambunctious, and anyway, Lilly was forming full sentences in her first day. What grade would she go into? So, Flora did her best to teach Lilly at home and she encouraged Lilly to read whatever interested her. Flora bought Lilly a smart phone so Lilly could use it as a computer.

The years passed and Lilly discovered a knack for singing and talking along with movies. She decided she wanted to be a movie star. Flora wasn't sure how to make that happen, but Lilly started posting videos of herself online. She performed monologues from Shakespeare. She sang Top 40 hits. She knew she was something special, and people took notice almost immediately. It wasn't long before Lilly was on talk shows. Proving that, yes, she really was that small. All it took was saying on the air that she wanted to be a movie star and agents were calling and emailing her.

Lilly and Flora picked Dave Jackson to be her agent. He seemed like the best out of the bunch. He was as good as his word. He got Lilly a cameo in a movie two weeks later. After that, when Lilly chatted with the director and anyone else on set that she could, she started getting real roles. Soon she was cast as the lead.

Everything was going great. Lilly barely noticed when Flora started slowing down. Flora used to be at every filming, every premiere. But she started staying home more. Lilly hired someone to help around the house, but Flora still seemed to be tired all the time. When Flora finally went to the doctor, there wasn't much they could do.

"My heart's just giving out," Flora explained to Lilly.

"But there's got to be something to fix it," Lilly replied, blinking hard. "We can pay for it, whatever it is."

Flora chuckled and shook her head. "Money can't buy everything, my dear. Let's just enjoy the time we have left."

Lilly stopped acting so she could spend more time with Flora. They hired a nurse when Flora started having trouble walking. Lilly sang all of Flora's favorite songs. But eventually, the day came when Flora looked at Lilly and said, "You were my wish come true, little Lilly. I love you." Then she closed her eyes and never opened them again.

Lilly was heartbroken. Her friends all tried to come see her, but the only one she wanted to talk to was Harvey. He had written the music for her last few movies and he had never treated her like anything other than an actress and a singer. Lilly knew everyone else acted like she was different, but Harvey never did. It was through Harvey's help that Lilly started to get back on her feet. And Harvey was the one who suggested she check on her finances.

Among all of the medical bills were bills for things Lilly didn't remember buying. Lilly told the police and the money led back to her agent, Dave Jackson. The trial was long, but he ended up in jail and Lilly got her money back. She acted in a few movies after that, but anyone could see that her heart wasn't in it anymore. She let herself fade away from the public eye.

Lilly spent her time at home. She and Flora had never left the home Lilly had been born in. Moving was never worth the hassle, and a smaller house was better for Lilly than the mansions of most movie stars. With two-hour online deliveries and a revolving door of staff, Lilly never needed to leave the house and she never got to know her latest maid or butler before they left.

Harvey came to call one day when Lilly had just been left by her latest servant. Harvey had knocked, rung the bell, and waited, before finally trying the door. He looked around and found that Lilly had left the working doll house they'd set up for her and she was walking across the dining room carpet.

"Thank God it's you," she said. "Put me back on the table."

Harvey set his hand down for Lilly to step onto and he moved it up to the table, where she stepped off. "Shutting yourself away like this isn't healthy," Harvey said.

Lilly laughed. "I can't go anywhere by myself. I can't drive, and the farthest I can walk is the next house over. They have a dog who loves me a little too much."

"You keep running off your servants?" Harvey asked.

Lilly sniffed. "It doesn't concern me what other people choose to do or where they choose to work."

"And I suppose you don't want to go back to acting?"

Lilly turned to Harvey. "Harvey. Look at me. I'm not the adorable little girl I was. Now I'm just little. What would there be for me in a movie? No one wants to cast the old actresses and no one wants to have to rewrite their script for a washed up has been."

"How's your voice?" Harvey asked.

"Fine," Lilly muttered, turning away.

"Do you still have a piano?"

"Assuming the last maid didn't sell it," Lilly replied.

"Come with me," Harvey said, holding out his hand.

Sighing, Lilly stepped onto his hand and let him take her into the living room. There was the same upright piano that Flora had used to teach Lilly how to sing. Harvey set her down on top of it. Then he sat down and started playing.

Slowly, Lilly began to sing along. Her voice grew stronger and anyone could hear that she could still give herself over to the music. That in music, it didn't matter what size she was. Her voice could soar just like anyone else's. The song ended and Harvey went right into another one. Lilly sang that one too. They kept going until Lilly's throat started getting dry. Harvey got up to get her a tiny glass of water.

He waited until she had finished drinking it. Then he asked, "Do you want to give music a try?"

Lilly set the water glass down. "Harvey, I think you're the best friend I've ever had."

Harvey smiled at her. "I'll take that as a yes. I'll come back tomorrow and we'll figure out how you want to do this."

Harvey brought Lilly back to her house on the dining room table. "Harvey?" Lilly asked.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Thumbelina Again

Traveling by sparrow is the best way

Greetings, dear reader. This week, we'll be looking at the tale of Thumbelina. I did talk about this story before on my blog, but it's worth talking about again. Click the first link to read the story and then continue with me below.

Let's start with the toads. Firstly, when Momma Toad sees a beautiful, tiny human, apparently her first thought is to kidnap the girl and make her marry a toad. I don't know how Momma Toad was raised, but she isn't very nice. I am still confused about how Tiny/Thumbelina is supposed to live under a marsh. She can't hold her breath nearly as long as a toad can. So, it could be very problematic for her to get in and out of their house. Although, I suppose that wouldn't bother either of the toads since they don't seem to care about what she wants. It'd be easier to keep her captive if she couldn't leave the house.

We'll leave the other assorted animals for a bit. It's interesting how Thumbelina's beauty switches between being a good and a bad thing. It's a good thing in the beginning when her mom loves her right away and she's safe at home. However, Momma Toad kidnaps her because of her beauty. But the fish and butterfly save her because she's beautiful. Then the cockchafer kidnaps her because she's beautiful, but abandons her when he's convinced she isn't. After that, there's the field mouse and the mole. Well, the mole is blind, and there's nothing in the text that says the field mouse took Thumbelina in because she's pretty. The field mouse just asks that Thumbelina do some chores and tell some stories. This might be the most genuine friendship Thumbelina has. Except for the part where the field mouse tries to make Thumbelina marry for money when Thumbelina has no interest in that. Kind of a big deal.

Often, beautiful women in fairy tales get in trouble because of their beauty, so it's nice to see that it gets Thumbelina out of trouble, but also that she can take care of herself. Assuming she got away from the bug in the spring, she lives in the forest for months until the cold of winter nearly kills her. For someone who's possibly never left her house before, this is very impressive.

Let's jump ahead to the king of the fairies at the end. It's interesting that Thumbelina would only be happy marrying a king. Now, he has a lot more to recommend him than her previous suitors, one of the biggest things being that he didn't try to force her to marry him. He also didn't try to keep her away from anything like the sun. I suppose at this point, Thumbelina no longer cared about going home to her mother. Which makes me wonder if Thumbelina really cared for anyone before the swallow whose life she saved. She puts in the effort to save him and talks to him for months. Most importantly, neither of them tried to change the other. I think he was her first true friend.

So, I suppose the moral of this story is to try to save the life of a bird if you can. They may save you from a forced marriage. Alternatively, learn to lie about not being married if folks around you keep trying to marry you off.

Have a different moral? Want to talk about how the fairy king just renamed Thumbelina as soon as he met her? Have another story you want me to cover? Comment below!

Frenemies

Greetings, reader! For whatever reason, my brain turned birds from the outback into high society ladies. There's no murder in this one, but there is plenty of intrigue. Enjoy!

Some people are like purses. A pretty outside goes best with a lot of money.

It was one of the nicest gala dinners Brittany had ever been to. Of course, she would never say that. Tiffany was the one who had organized it.

"Hello!" Tiffany trilled, floating over to Brittany. "How are you enjoying the gala?"

"It's nice," Brittany replied, with a smile as fake as most of her face.

"Oh," Tiffany replied. "Well, we can't all be used to the Barrington way of life, can we?"

"I suppose not," Brittany Barrington said. She happened to look at Tiffany's left hand. "What happened to your ring? Did it fall off?"

"No, " Tiffany replied. "Brittany, I have to tell you something."

"Yes?"

"Only because you are my dearest friend." They both knew this was a lie. "My husband and I are getting divorced."

Brittany managed a gasp. "No!"

"We are, and my lawyer is the best in the business. I'm getting so much money that I can keep our house here and keep living in it. Brad will have to move to an apartment somewhere."

Both ladies shuddered.

"You can do that?" Brittany asked. "Get so much in the divorce?"

"Why, of course. You just have to say what you want and be firm about it." Tiffany smiled. "I'll be better off without him." She looked past Brittany. "Oh, excuse me. The ambassador is here "

Brittany wasn't paying any attention to Tiffany's name dropping. Brittany had never loved her husband and having the life she was living now without him in it seemed too good to be true. But the thought wouldn't leave her mind.

The next day, Brittany hired a lawyer and told her husband she wanted a divorce.

"Really?" he asked, his eyebrows rising. "Very well. Have your lawyer talk to my lawyer. They'll work something out."

It was a longer process than Brittany had thought. And she got a lot less than she had thought. Now she couldn't afford a nanny for their child. Instead of getting easier, her life had gotten a lot harder.

It was a few months later that Brittany ran into Tiffany again.

"Oh, Brittany! I haven't told you. My husband and I decided to stay together." Tiffany grinned.

Brittany tried to control her face. "How nice," she managed.

"Oh yes. It is lovely keeping our relationship alive. Oh, but I heard you divorced your husband. How are you holding up?"

"Just fine," Brittany lied. "I got more than he thought I would, that's for sure."

They both laughed.

"Now, Tiffany, there's something I need to tell you."

"Yes?" Tiffany leaned in a little.

"In the divorce, we talked a bit about our children and heirs. My lawyer told me it was a good thing we only had one child because there won't be any dilution of the family standing. Of course he is treated like royalty and he doesn't have any siblings to ruin the spotlight. My lawyer said if I had more than one child, he would suggest I put the rest up for adoption. By the way, how is your Agatha?"

Tiffany's smile slipped a trifle. "Fine, just fine. She's at the premiere boarding school in the country."

"How lovely. I'm sure they'll improve her until there's nothing left."

The two laughed and parted ways.

Tiffany couldn't stop thinking about what Brittany had said. Tiffany dismissed it, knowing Brittany would want revenge. But it would be so much easier if they didn't have to deal with Agatha's stains on the family honor.

It didn't take a lot of convincing. Brad and Agatha both agreed to put Agatha up for adoption. "At least I'll be out of your terrible house!" Agatha spat while they signed the papers.

Now Brad and Tiffany only had little Alice. Alice was such a good girl. She would carry on the family name much better.

However, the day after the paperwork was finalized, while scrolling through social media, Tiffany saw an article about a cold, rich, uncaring woman who abandoned her child. With a pit of dread in her stomach, Tiffany opened the story and saw her most recent family picture starting back at her.

Still, maybe it was only one person who shared that story. But as Tiffany scrolled and scrolled, she saw almost everyone had shared it. Then her phone started ringing. She almost dropped it.

"Hello?" Tiffany asked.

"Hello. Are you Tiffany VanBloune?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Greg with Child Protective Services and I have a few questions for you."

Tiffany let the phone drop from her fingers. Her reputation was ruined. Her phone buzzed again and she saw the beginning of a text from Brittany. "So sorry to hear about..."

With a cry, Tiffany threw her phone at the wall and ran out of the room.

Dinewan the Emu and Goomblegubbon the Bustard

Hello, dear reader! This week's story comes from Australia. Dinewan the Emu and Goomblegubbon the Bustard is a story of bitter revenge between birds. Check out the story at the link and continue reading below for my analysis.

Funny, she doesn't look like a murderer.

I am pretty surprised how vain Dinewan is. Firstly, there's the thought that Goomblegubbon has no wings and that this might make her better than all the other birds. That's already a lot to believe, but Dinewan believes it. So, if Goomblegubbon has no wings, then Dinewan had better cut her wings so she can't fly. After only seeing Goomblegubbon once, crouched in the grass. If Dinewan wasn't so worried about status, she wouldn't have mutilated herself.

However, it's even worse what Dinewan convinces Goomblegubbon to do. Who cares if someone else has fewer children than you? That's a terrible reason to kill most of your children! I don't even know how Goomblegubbon decided which two kids got to live. It's frankly horrifying. So, even though Dinewan has problems trying to "keep up" with Goomblegubbon, I would say Goomblegubbon is far, far worse. I know this is a story to explain why things are a certain way, but my goodness. This is definitely a brutal fairy tale.

Finally, I have to take a quick look at these ladies' husbands. Dinewan's husband agrees to mutilate himself so they can try to "stay ahead" of Goomblegubbon. He's got issues to work through as well. Goomblegubbon's crazy decision to kill most of her young comes out of the blue, and it doesn't look like her husband was around when she did it. I have to wonder what his reaction was later. I really hope he took their remaining kids and kept Goomblegubbon away from them. That's probably the best outcome, so let's pretend that's what happened.

The moral of this story is not to make yourself less than you are to try to compete with someone else. Alternatively, don't mutilate yourself or kill your kids just because your frenemy tells you to. I can't believe I had to say that.

Have a different moral? Have a story you want me to talk about? Just love fairy tales? Comment below!