http://hikuishoujo623.deviantart.com/gallery/30419094
Here's the story, text only. The spaces indicated picture changes.
The Little Flower Girl
by Adrianna J.Z
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Once upon a time, in a small mountain kingdom, there lived two sisters named Rose and Lilli who owned a small flower cart in the village square. Together, they sold beautiful flowers to the people of their village.
Rose had perfect yellow hair, beautiful green eyes, and bright red lips. She wore beautiful dresses and wore fine jewelry, and spent hours everyday making herself look beautiful. But in spite of her immense beauty, she was very mean and cruel to her younger sister. She forced her younger sister do all the work for their little cart.
But the younger sister, Lilli, did not mind; she liked working in the square and making people happy. But although she was also very pretty, hard work had not treated her well. She had messy brown hair and wore a simple, patched dress. There were scratches on her face and arms from the thorns on the flowers and dirt on her face from picking flowers, yet Lilli smiled at everyone she met.
And although she was dirty and her clothes were shabby, the villagers all thought she was more beautiful than her sister.
One day, a royal messenger arrived in the town, and the entire village crowded into the town square to hear it. He read aloud this announcement:
"His Majesty the King announces that his son is looking for a bride. The King requests that all the eligible young ladies of the village come to the palace for to meet with His Majesty the Prince. After the two days, the prince will make his decision, and the girl he chooses shall become his wife."
The messenger then announced that the carriages would be arriving the next day for the girls, and all of the girls squealed with delight. They had all heard the rumors about the strong and handsome prince who lived in the castle a day's carriage ride away.
Rose immediately went home to get out her finest dresses and pack her bags. She thought, "How grand would it be if I became princess! I would have as many beautiful dresses as I want and more money than I could dream of, and servants that would do whatever I ask! And what is more, someday I would be queen!" She giggled at the thought.
Lilli turned to her sister. "Sister, what do you think I should bring to wear?"
Rose stared at her for a moment, then began to laugh meanly. "Haha-ha!!! You? Go to the palace? As an eligible young lady?! Why would the prince even give you a second look?"
Lilli looked at her feet and stammered, "Well, I…I thought…"
Rose got up from packing, looked her sister in the face, and gave her a pitying look. "Dear sister, I'm sorry. But do you really think the prince would even look twice at a girl like you? Look at yourself! You're covered in dirt and scratches, and you don't even know how to be a lady!"
Lilli began to cry, and Rose smiled evilly to herself. Now she wouldn't have to deal with any competition from her sister! She told Lilli, "Look, why don't you come with me to the castle and help get ready. Who knows, maybe if you do a good job, you'll be the sister of a queen soon! Now, come, help me pack."
The next day, the carriage arrived to take the sisters to the castle. Rose had packed three trunks, while Lilli, who didn't even own a fancy dress, carried only a small pack. After forcing the driver to pack the trunks into the carriage, and Rose grandly pranced from the house and climbed into the carriage. Lilli tried to get in, but selfish Rose said smugly, "There is no room for you in here. I can barely fit here myself! I'm very sorry, but you'll have to sit with the carriage driver." Tears filling her eyes, Lilli did as she was told.
"Need a hand?" Lilli looked up into the young, handsome face of the carriage driver who had offered her his hand. Smiling through her tears, she accepted his hand. What a handsome gentlemen!
The boy turned away from Lilli for a moment, and snapping the reins. The boy asked, "So the girl inside the carriage...who is she? She must be quite the lady to have so much luggage!"
Lilli laughed bitterly. "No, just my older sister, Rose, the flower girl."
The boy looked surprised, and asked her why then, if the girl inside was her sister, why she herself was not also wearing fine dresses. As they rode along the bumpy path, Lilli told him all about her promise to her sister, and how she probably would not be joining in the 'princess contest' the next day. "Because I am simply the little flower girl from the square, nothing more. My sister is a far more suitable to be princess than I could ever be."
They continued talking all the way down the road.
*Meanwhile, Rose was having a difficult time keeping all of her trunks upright inside the carriage. "Stay strong," she thought to herself. "One day, when you are queen, you will have five carriages and twenty servants just to carry your dresses! Just stay strong 'til then."*
Within a couple of hours, the carriage arrived at the palace, where a group of servants were waiting. Rose emerged from the carriage, still looking as perfect as ever. "LILLI!!!" she yelled. "Come get my things! NOW!!!" And with that she turned and strutted inside.
Lilli sighed climbed down from the carriage after her sister. "Thank you very much for letting my ride with you. It's nice to meet you...?"
The boy smiled and handed her the trunks. "Call me Edwin."
"Then, thank you...Edwin."
When night came, Rose was summoned to meet the prince. Jumping with joy, she told Lilli, "Help me get into my finest dress and dress my hair, for tonight, I will become the prince's fiancé." After hours of preparation, Rose went to the gardens. She was told, "Go to the center of the garden, and there you will see whether you are fit to be the next princess."
In the center of the garden, there stood a small, ordinary fountain. Rose looked around expectantly, but seeing no prince, she sat down irritated. Suddenly, a woman appeared from within the fountain.
"Dearest human child of earth, look into the watery hole. Peer into the deep blue depths, and see what lies within your soul."
Rose approached the fountain fearfully.
She peered into the water. At first, all she saw was her own face staring back, but then fountain nymph touched the image. It rippled and changed, becoming the face, not of the beautiful girl rose, but of a snake. She screamed, and backed away, and the fountain woman said, "Vain child of earth, bear my curse, that falls upon your head: you only looked to your own needs, not the tears your sister shed. Now when look in a mirror, you'll see a snake instead."
And with that, Rose fled the garden to their room, and ran in her sister's arms. "Lilli!" she cried. "Don't ever, ever go in there..." It was then that she caught sight of herself in the mirror. "Don't look at me! Don't look at me!" Rose screamed in terror, and promptly fainted.
Just then, a knock came on the door. "Miss Lilli! The prince requests that you, as the next young lady in line, go meet him in the garden." After Lilli tucked her sister into bed, she headed out into the garden to meet the prince.
When she arrived in the center of the garden, the fountain nymph appeared, just as it had with Rose, saying, "Dearest human child of earth, look down the watery hole. Peer into the deep blue depths, and see what lies within your soul."
Timidly, she looked into the water of the fountain. But she did not see the horrors that her sister had. No, Lilli saw herself, with no scratches on her arms, and all the dirt and grime gone from her face. The girl in the water was wearing a beautiful lavender and purple dress of fine silk, and wore a golden cronw in her long brown hair. "How beautiful," whispered Lilli. "What a wonderful dream!"
The fountain nymph spoke again.
"Dear child, have your gift, that virtue brought to you; for the pure and meek receive rewards, and the vain receive theirs too."
Lilli looked down at her clothes, and saw that the girl reflected in the water was, in fact, herself.
"I knew it would be you," said a voice from behind. Lilli turned.
"Edwin! What are you doing here?" For before her stood the carriage boy from before, but instead of the uniform of a servant, he wore fine clothes and a crown. He knelt to the ground.
"I am Prince Edwin, son of the King of this land. This fountain was placed here to find the perfect, pure bride from among the maidens of the land. Now would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Lilli consented, and the prince and the flower girl were married the next day. And the two sisters lived happily ever after, one as crown princess, and the other as a gardener in the princess's garden.
~The End~
"...man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7a, NIV
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The area in astericks was taken out because I didnt have time to make a picture for it, but if you guys like it I might keep it in.
Please tell me what you think! My Bible teacher at school, my grandmother, my parents, and my superintendent say I should try getting this published, but I don't know.
