Apparently, the way her mother put it, she had found these beautiful ruby red slippers that she simply had to have. Exactly what for, Bella had no idea. All she knew was that her mother, a simple country woman who rarely had an opportunity to be dressed so elegantly, had decided that there was nothing more valuable than those brilliant shoes. That being said, the beast of a salesman named a price that was clearly too high for a woman who was a farmer's widow. Dismayed, her mother recalled how she had to refuse the offer, but the salesman wasn't quite ready to give up just yet. Instead, he inquired if she had any young daughters suitable for a young man looking to take a wife. Of course, you can put it together at this point, and figure that beautiful Bella's mother jumped at the opportunity for the shoes and willingly traded her daughter for them.
The beautiful, must have shoes that Bella's mother
traded her to the salesman for to be married to his
son. Source: Flickr
Several hours later, Bella trudged up to the ornate house; however, to her, it looked more like a prison and she was to be the prisoner. She thought of all the things she would miss in this place: her sisters growing up, her family's holiday traditions, going out with her friends. The list went on and on. Hesitantly, not knowing what else to do, she rang the doorbell and found herself face to face with the beast that would now be in charge of her life as she knew it. Soon, there would be a wedding, she would be a wife, and eventually a mother to this wretched man's children. This was what her life had become, thanks to her mother's thoughtless decision, and there was nothing that she could do about it at this point.
Author's Note:
The story above is a rewrite of Beauty and the Basilisk which follows the tale of a young girl who finds herself traded for three red roses to a Basilisk. However, I didn't like how Beauty was never given a voice, so that is what I attempted to do in my rewrite. I also changed the item for which she was traded and set it a little bit differently to where it wasn't an actual creature that she was given to, but rather a "beast of a man" that she was to spend the rest of her life with, all because her mother had to have these new shoes.
Bibliography
"Beauty and the Basilisk." from The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis. Web Source.
I think your story is great! I love that you gave Beauty a voice because it makes for a whole new perspective on the story, Beauty and the Basilisk. It is definitely something to think about, especially for these all these children's stories that we are familiar with. But really, they all have a much deeper meaning and some of them if you read the Grimm brothers version. Speaking of, this reminds me of a book series I read back in the day that could inspire you more in writing these types of story: The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley. I think your take on this tale is fantastic, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your story and I liked how you actually gave Bella a voice, which she didn’t have in the original story of “Beauty and the Basilisk.” I also thought it was interesting that you used beautiful shoes instead of roses as the thing that lost Bella’s freedom. I am supper excited to read your other stories cause if they are anything like this one I know I will enjoy it. Great work!
Ah, thank you for giving the beauty a voice! It bothered me that in the original story she just went to live with the beast without a word because her mother told her to. I liked that you gave her a bit of angst and resentment toward her mother, who made a really silly decision. I also like that the story doesn't necessarily work out for the best, because that exposes the mother's mistake. Also, calling the man "a beast of a salesman" was a clever reference to the original story. This was so fun to read!
ReplyDeleteI love your story! Especially because it is told from the "Beauty" point-of-view! I thought it was strange in the original because she just went with the flow of things and agreed to live with and marry the beast. Of course it all works out in the end; However, I also changed this story in the sense of giving the beauty an opinion about the situation. This version reminded me more of Disney's the Beauty and the Beast, and I really enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDelete