Written by: Bishakha Upadhyay - 30010, Grade V
Posted on: 08 June, 2022
Once upon a time, there lived a girl with her father, stepmother, and stepsister. The girl’s name was Heather. Heather’s father was a very old but rich businessman. Her stepmother and stepsister were very cruel to her. Even though they had lots of servants at their house, they still made Heather do all their work. One day, her stepmother said that Heather now had to earn money if she wanted to stay in their house, and since her father was very old, he could not protest, so she had to agree. The next day, Heather went in search of work. After walking from hill to hill, she got tired and moved a little further and saw a dry apple tree, a broken oven, a dying vine, a dirty well, and a dirty little puppy. They all asked for help and promised that they would give her something. She helped all of them and walked away. Afterwards, she found a beautiful house and went there. She later found out that seven fairies owned the house. The first fairy said that she had to clean all the rooms in their house except the 9th room, which was on the 3rd floor. Heather did all as she was told. A year later, the fairies opened the gate of the 9th room and there were heaps of gold and silver coins. The fairies told her to roll over the gold and silver coins, and she did as she was told. Her body was covered in gold and silver coins. She thanked the fairies for the reward and started her journey home. She again met the same beings that she had helped. Everyone gave her something valuable, and she went home with the things she got as a reward for helping them. She reached home and told everyone about what had happened. Her stepmother was now jealous of her and decided to send her daughter so that they could be rich too. Her daughter agreed and went. She met all the creatures but did not help any of them. She again found the fairies' house and again got the same orders. She did not clean the house properly and also opened the door of the 9th room. She went inside and saw nothing. When she was about to leave, she was showered with rotten frog skin and honey bees. The rotten frog's skin fell over her so-called beautiful body and the honeybees stung her. She screamed so loudly that even the heaven trembled. The fairies heard her scream and laughed. After that, she headed toward home and on the way, the beings that she had not helped gave her nothing. She became sad and went home. When her mother saw her condition, the mother cried and blamed herself for having such a lazy and foolish daughter. Heather's father gave her stepmother a divorce, and Heather and her father lived happily ever after.
