Miriam's Fairytales

Miriam’s Fairytales

  Miriam Guerrero

  Copyright June 2013 Miriam Guerrero

  Cover photo: Thanks to Lydia Gutierrez

  Nallely’s Fairytale

  Once upon a time, there was a Nallely. She had long, black, shiny, curly hair, so beautiful and so long, it stretched down past her knees! But Nallely lived in the desert, where the heat would suck out all the moisture of her hair and left it dry at the ends

  One day, she said to herself: “I must find a cure for my dry hair!” She went to tell her mother of her idea. But her mother was not so receptive.

  She said to her, “Alas, child, but you cannot do it on your own! You lack a brain! We had to use it for supper two days after you were born!”

  In her 18 years of life, Nallely had never gone anywhere alone; perhaps it was true that she had no brain, she pondered.

  Sad, Nallely went into her barn. She sat and thought, and thought and sat. Night fell and soon dawn came again. And still she sat and thought. Around noon something finally struck her, literally! A piece of wood from the ceiling of her barn fell and hit her on the head.

  So Nallely went to her father and said: “Oh Father of mine, the roof of my barn is falling apart! You must give me money and allow me to go into town to buy wood, nails, and a hammer to fix it.” But her father was not so receptive.

  He said to her, “Alas, child, but you cannot go on your own! You lack a brain! We had to use it for supper two days after you were born!” He seemed to think for a second. “But let me speak with your mother tonight and we will see what we can do.” Ecstatic at the prospect that she may go on her own, Nallely went about her day with a smile on her face.

  That night, she heard her parents whispering over dinner and while they were getting ready for bed and while she was falling asleep. Her parents told her they would have reached a decision the following morning and they bid her a good night. Nallely fervently hoped she would get to go.

  When she woke up bright and early the next morning, her parents were already up and about. She said to them: “Oh dear mother and father of mine! Have you reached a decision?”

  They replied: “Yes, daughter, we have.” Her father continued: “Daughter, because you lack a brain, we have decided to send you with our donkey for transport and this comb for your hair. Every night before you sleep, you must brush your hair, 100 brush strokes, and you shall be fine.”

  Nallely, overjoyed, gathered her supplies to set off on her trip. She had money in her pocket to purchase the materials she needed, her comb, and food for it would be a long trip.

  She travelled all day and at night set up camp by a small creek where she washed her hair and brushed it, 100 brush strokes. She did not notice that already, her hair had begun to moisturize itself. She let the donkey ear grass while she ate her food and then slept.

  The next day she did the same, travelled by day and at night set up camp by a small river, washed her hair and brushed it, 100 brush strokes, and then she slept. Her hair became even more beautiful, full of volume, thick and dark.

  The next day she travelled for only a few hours before she reached the town where she was to purchase the materials she needed. However, the Prince of the country of Hunterdom caught sight of long, beautiful, black, and curly hair, without dry ends! He set off to find who said maiden the hair belonged to. He saw Nallely (though he didn’t know her name then) go into a smiths shop and ask for nails and a hammer. Then, she went to the lumberyard and asked the lumberjack for some wood. She gathered all of her things and set them on the donkey. By this time, evening had come and night was soon to fall. He saw Nallely set up camp by the creek again and saw her wash and brush her hair, 100 brush strokes, as she counted out loud.

  He, by the name of Prince Joseph, was so taken aback by her beauty and her long, luscious locks that he decided to make her his wife. He ran back home to his palace and told his father, the King, that he had found the girl he wanted to marry. The next morning they set off to find the girl with the beautiful hair. They found her just as she was setting off to go home.

  “You there! Woman!” The prince called. Nallely turned around. “Where are you headed?”

  “I am riding my donkey back home for I have what I came for: a hammer, nails, and wood to fix my barn that is falling apart! But I cannot be gone for long because I lack a brain; my parents had to use it for supper two days after I was born.

  Prince Joseph looked at her with wide eyes, even more intrigued with her now, at her curious way of speaking, and falling even more in love with her.

  “Woman, what is your name? Where are you from?” he asked her.

  “I am Nallely of Hartsfordshire, daughter of Mary and Earl of Hartsfordshire,” she replied.

  The prince asked how she had such beautiful hair.

  “My hair is not beautiful!” she answered. “It is very dry at the ends because I live in the desert.”

  Prince Joseph replied negatively. “Nonsense! Your hair is absolutely beautiful. Come with me, oh fair Nallely, to my castle and we shall rule over my lands together.”

  Nallely was sad. “I cannot, oh Prince. I lack a brain so I would be of no use to you as a wife or a ruler.”

  Again, the prince replied negatively. “Nonsense! Why, if you didn’t have a brain, you would not be alive right now!”

  Nallely thought about it and concluded that he was correct.

  “All right then, I shall go with you. But I must tell my parents first!”

  “I will send my servants to them. You must come with me now, you and your beautiful hair, to make preparations for our wedding!” Prince Joseph replied, jubilant that Nallely had agreed to become his wife and future queen.

  Nallely went with him and his father the King, with her long, black, curly, beautiful hair and newly restored brain to marry the prince and rule the kingdom with him forever.

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  Denise’s Fairytale

  Once upon a time, there was a Denise. She loved pine trees and ever since she was little she had wished she could become a pine tree.

  One day, whilst she was walking in the forest, she saw a pine cone on the ground and picked it up.

  “Oh, pinecone!” she smiled at it as she talked. “You are so beautiful! How I wish I could be a pine tree so I could be tall and eloquent and have you as a friend on my branches!”

  From behind the nearest tree walked out a little man, about 4 feet tall. He walked up to Denise and said: “So, you wish to be a pine tree, eh?” Denise turned around, surprised.

  “Yes!” she replied. “Oh, how I wish it could be so!”

  The little man said to her: “I can make it happen! But, you must let me have a lock of your hair. Afterward, however, you may never have that lock of hair again as long as I have it, do you understand me?”

  Thinking he only wanted a small piece of her hair, Denise agreed to the little man. He walked up behind her with a giant pair of scissors, grabbed her entire ponytail in one hand, and with a swift movement, chopped all of her hair off! Before she could lament, she turned into a pine tree, tall and eloquent. But because the little man had cut off her hair, she was a bald pine tree!

  “Oh no!” Denise cried. “Oh no, what has happened? Little man come back, this is not how I wanted to be!” But the little man was gone, nowhere to be seen. Denise was sad at seeing her bare branches with no pine needles or pine cones whatsoever. How she wished she could cry but since she was now a pine tree, she had no tear ducts.

  She was now doomed to a life of being a bald pine tree.

  Days and months went by and Denise was still a bald pine tree. She saw the other pine trees around her change with the seasons, the pine cones falling to the ground only for more to grow back,
the pine needles changing colors and falling. But nothing happened to Denise because she was a bald pine tree. She had nothing but bare branches and that made her so sad. Every day that went by Denise regretted ever having wished to be a pine tree and she missed her hair.

  But one day, many months later, a girl named Miriam ran into the clearing where Denise the pine tree was and stopped to catch her breath leaning on what she thought was just a pine tree but was really Denise. Miriam was holding a lock of hair in her hands and was laughing.

  “Ahahaha! Stupid little man couldn’t run fast enough! I stole what he had! But what do I need this hair for?” She threw the lock of hair upon the ground, right where the roots of the tree that was Denise were at. Immediately, Denise turned into a human once more, with all of her hair back.

  “Oh thank you!” she cried, hugging the girl. “Thank you so, so much! I am no longer a pine tree! Or bald!” Miriam was so startled she pushed Denise away.

  “Who are you?!” she exclaimed. “Where did you come from?”

  “Oh, I am terribly sorry! I am Denise and I