* Yo u n g A u t h o r C l u b * Yo u n g A u t h o r C l u b *
Magic & Fantasy
Topsy-Turvy Cinderella
JonathanSamuel Tan Samantha
Topsy-Turvy Cinderella
Written and illustrated by Jonathan Tan
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I dedicate this story to my mother, who gave me the most guidance for this book.
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Chapter 1 “…. and you can mop the house, clean the windows, and do the laundry!” Cinderella commanded her weary stepmother in a cold voice. Her evil green eyes flashed and her thin cruel lips were drawn in a straight line. “Err, Cinderella? When are we going to buy a new mop?” Stepmother asked in a small voice. Stepmother had been mopping from the top third story to the basement with a mop whose hairs were hanging by a thread. She was dressed in rags but her beauty shone through. Her hair fell like a sheet of pure silk over her shoulders. Her skin was as smooth as a child’s, while her lips were as red as cherries. The sight of her stepmother looking so beautiful even in such a raggedly state only angered her further. She hated her stepmother and was jealous of her beauty. “Never! It costs too much money!” Stepmother sighed as she thought about those expensive dresses Cinderella bought everyday. These mops were so cheap yet Cinderella simply refused to get a new mop as it would make Stepmother’s cleaning job much easier. “I’m going to take a nap! Finish the chores by the time I wake up! YAWN!” Cinderella stretched and then swept out of the living room with her nose up in the air.
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Chapter 2 But instead of taking a nap, she was casting a spell that would help her in her evil plan. Nobody knew, but Cinderella was in fact a powerful sorceress who had learnt magic from a master and was now far more powerful than any magician, except for the Grand Wizard himself. Today her plan was to create something that would help her become beautiful. “Elscrodz Brumtrooku!” she chanted. Purple fire spurt out from her fingers and swirled around. Slowly the flames took the shape of a full body mirror. “Gladzbromtey crompelcazay!” As Cinderella chanted the last spell, blue lightning shot out of her fingers to join the purple fire. A shockwave made out of a blast of energy shattered everything in the room that was fragile. Finally, the magic mirror was completed and it now stood in the hazy mist in front of Cinderella. Cinderella gazed at her reflection in the magic mirror and laughed evilly as her plan was almost complete.
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Chapter 3 “Cinderella? Cinderella? Wha- what’s happening up there?” stepmother asked as she knocked timidly at the door. It sounded like an explosion had gone off in Cinderella’s room but now not a sound came from the room. She tapped at the door again but there was still no reply. Worried that something might have happened to Cinderella, Stepmother turned the doorknob. To her surprise, the knob turned easily and door came open. It was not locked! She pushed the door slowly and stepped quietly into the room. The room was in a mess. Shattered vases lay strewn on the floor. The dressing table was overturned, its mirror horribly cracked. But the room was deserted and Cinderella was nowhere in sight. Then, something caught her eye. It was a huge full body mirror! She had never seen the mirror in Cinderella’s room before, but there it stood with a strange glowing mist around it. Curious, she walked over to take a look. And there, she got the shock of her life. Cinderella was inside the mirror! Cinderella’s image gestured for her to come closer. Stepmother was standing right in front of the mirror when suddenly, rays of green light shot out of the mirror towards stepmother. Immediately, she started feeling sleepy. The magic mirror was sucking out her consciousness, and soon she lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. “Mwa! Ha! Ha!” Cinderella laughed, stepping out of the mirror. She stood over her stepmother, her cobra-green eyes appearing even greener in the light. “And now, to suck her beauty!” 5
She uttered a single command that would suck up all her stepmother’s beauty and transfer it to herself. The magic mirror glowed orange and unleashed a huge beam of orange light with all its power and….WHOOSH! The magic mirror was gone, as all its power was used up. In the strange silence that followed, Cinderella gazed at the still form of stepmother and a cry of despair rose to her lips. Stepmother was still beautiful! Her magic mirror had failed in taking her stepmother’s beauty.
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Chapter 4 “Ding Dong!” the doorbell rang. It was the mailman! Cinderella rushed to collect her mail. It was the day of the ball and she knew that the Prince would be choosing a wife from among all the maidens in the kingdom who were at the ball. Would she get an invitation? “Yes! I got an invitation to go to the ball!” Cinderella exclaimed joyfully, clutching the golden envelope which bore the crest of the Prince. Then she realized that there was another invitation card! “Harrumph! Stepmother got one too!” Cinderella was about to hide the invitation cards when her stepmother came over to Cinderella and saw all the invitations. “Oh, we got invited to the ball!” Stepmother said happily. Angry that Stepmother would have a chance to enjoy herself, and worried that her stepmother’s beauty would overshadow her own, she shouted, “But you can only go if you finish your chores!” “I have already done all my chores,” Stepmother said, her eyes lighting up. She was already dreaming of dressing up and waltzing the whole night through…when her thoughts were swept away by Cinderella’s piercing voice. “No you haven’t! I have some more chores for you to do. You must scrub the kitchen floors again, and the laundry is not clean enough, do it again!” Cinderella then gave Stepmother a chore list as long as she was tall. Stepmother’s face fell as she listened to Cinderella. At this rate, she would never finish in time to go to the ball! She sighed as she looked at the lovely invitation in her hands. Well, that would have 7
to wait. She had to do her chores or Cinderella would get mad at her again.
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Chapter 5 After giving Stepmother the chore list, Cinderella started getting ready for the ball. She put on her most beautiful gown and thick makeup to hide her freckly skin. Then she put on a sparkling diamond necklace and matching earrings. She wanted to be the most beautiful maiden at the ball tonight so that the Prince would choose her as his wife. If she failed to attract his attention, well, there was always Plan B. As she stepped out of her Limousine carriage, she could hear an orchestra playing a waltz: Dum dee dee dum doo doo… Just as she entered the grand ballroom, the music stopped. The Grand Wizard, dressed in silk purple robes, stepped up onto the rostrum and announced grandly into the microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you… the Prince!” The whole hall broke into applause as the prince walked down the stairs. Cinderella’s heart began to thump heavily as the Prince started to walk towards her. Could it be the Prince was going to choose her? Hope welled up in her. Alas, the Prince stopped midway in front of Lady Ariel, inviting her for a dance. As they started waltzing, Cinderella felt her hopes die, and in their place fury and revenge swelled. She muttered a chant softly under her breath, unleashing a spell on the Prince to make him love her. But unfortunately, the spell never touched him. The Grand Wizard, who was on a lookout for foul play and danger that night, 9
immediately sensed a spell blasting towards the Prince. He blocked the spell easily with a few mumbled words and a wave of his hand. Worried that the prince might be in danger, he stayed by the prince for the rest of the ball. Cinderella was shocked that her spell did not work, as she had not seen it being deflected by the grand wizard.
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Chapter 6 Needing help, Cinderella ran off to the Forest of Wealth to find the cunning Rumplestiltskin. After walking for awhile, she finally saw Rumplestiltskin resting under a tree with solid gold leaves. He was Cinderella’s spell teacher when she was young, and he had immediately recognised her as his best student. He led Cinderella to the underground school where she had studied her magic. After sitting down, Cinderella told him about her problems with the prince and her stepmother. Rumplestiltskin knew exactly what she needed. He reached into a chest and pulled out a poison tomato and a magic straw. Then, he explained how to use them. “You can’t take a person’s beauty unless that person is dead. That is why your magic mirror failed. Kill her first with the poison tomato. Then, collect half a cup of her blood and drink it with the magic straw. Do you understand?” Cinderella nodded. Rumplestiltskin gave her the things and she set off to kill her stepmother.
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Chapter 7 Cinderella made the poison tomato into some tasty-looking tomato juice and put it on the coffee table. But little did she know that it would ruin her plan. After thinking for some time, she invited an old beggar into the house to con her stepmother into thinking she had changed. Her stepmother fell for it and accepted some tomato juice. This was the part where the plan went wrong. The beggar was seated in front of the coffee table. He thought the juice was meant for him, so he took hold of the cup of poisoned tomato juice when Cinderella came in. “Stop!” Cinderella yelled at the top of her lungs. Unfortunately for her, the beggar was deaf and he drank the poisoned tomato juice. “What happened?! I heard you yelling,” Stepmother asked. “He drank the tomato juice!” Cinderella said. Suddenly, the beggar started to suffocate and then he died.
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Chapter 8 Now that stepmother knew that Cinderella wanted to kill her, she lodged a complaint to the King. As it was against the law, he drove Cinderella out into the wild to fend for herself. But one day, the Grand Wizard was having a walk along the wilderness when he spotted Cinderella. Using his magical skills, he saw Cinderella’s weakness – a lack of kindness. He mumbled a few words, raised his hand and turned himself into a huge ferocious tiger. He purposely walked into a quicksand pit, roaring out in fake dismay. Cinderella heard the roar and went toward the noise. When she saw the tiger (the Grand Wizard), she thought, “If I leave the tiger to die, I will feel bad. If I rescue it, it might kill me. But maybe it would be grateful and just walk away.” So she helped the tiger out. After the Grand Wizard walked away as a tiger, he changed back to human form and made himself invisible. He went up to Cinderella and whispered faintly “You can be kind if you want to. Just remember, if you are kind to others, others will be kind to you.” After Cinderella understood the true meaning of kindness, she became a changed person. She was nice to everyone she met. She even helped small animals. Soon after, the Prince heard about her and wanted to marry her. He sent some men to try and find her, and she was later brought to the palace. That night, Cinderella and the Prince married. And from that day on, peace reigned in the kingdom. 13
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Cinderella was upset. Her stepmother was so much prettier than her. She wanted to destroy her and get her beauty for herself. Read this story about Cinderella gone wrong....
My name is Jonathan Tan. I am in Pri 4 in Kong Hwa School. I am a bookworm. I enjoy reading every kind of book. I got the idea for my story from Beast Quest. I also like to play tricks on people. I manage to get away most of the time. If I don’t, I’ll be in great trouble.
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