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A/N: Written for an assignment in creative writing class. An original fairy tale—hope you enjoy!
One day, an evil sorceress came to the castle and overthrew the king, and the happy kingdom was cast into darkness.
The remarkable thing about the new ruler was that she was folded from paper. Because of this weakness, she was worried the people in the valley, who were loyal to the king, would try to destroy her.
The sorceress’s first order of business was to outlaw knives, scissors, and all other cutting tools, lest she be shredded. She did not care that the people would not be able to make their daily living. She simply ordered them to turn in all their sharp implements, and she wielded her magic wand to coerce them into it.
Soon it occurred to the sorceress that there were other ways she could be destroyed, so she outlawed fire, lest she be burnt. She did not care that the people would not be able to cook their food. She simply ordered them to put all their fires out, and she wielded her wand to coerce them into it.
But it would not be enough, the sorceress knew. There were other ways of destroying her. Finally she decided to outlaw the collection of water, lest she be made weak and easy to tear. She did not care that the people would be forced to find other things to drink, expensive things like milk and the juices of fruits. She simply ordered them to fill in their wells and drain all the lakes, and she wielded her wand to coerce them into it.
The commoners could not cut things; they could not cook their food. They were no longer allowed to drink water or even to bathe (as they had every year or so). But they had one thing left, one good thing.
That is, until the sorceress decided that in order to attain the proper respect befitting a ruler, she must be the only piece of paper left in the kingdom. So she decreed that all paper—documents, books, records, journals, creative writing assignments, and letters—were to be turned in to be destroyed. One man refused, and even the threat of her wand could not coerce him into it, for he was the peasant who had been in love with the princess, and he would not give up her letters. The sorceress was not used to being disobeyed, and she determined to invite the peasant to the castle and, once she had trapped him, to lock him away forever.
The peasant was suspicious of the sorceress’s invitation, so he devised a clever plan. The next morning, he took the princess’s letters and headed up the road toward the castle, keeping an eye out for the things he would need to carry out his plan.
On the way, he spotted a flat, black stone, like the kind you could have skipped on a lake had there been any lakes anymore. The peasant picked up the stone and put it in his pocket, then continued on toward the castle.
A few miles down the road, the peasant spotted a discarded ring, rusted in places with disuse. He picked up the jewelry and put it in his pocket, then continued on toward the castle.
Finally, the peasant reached the castle. A paper butler met him at the door and invited him in, and when the sorceress saw him, she told him to sit down and make himself comfortable. Well, he saw the eager glow gathering at the tip of her wand, and he knew better than to trust her, but he was weary from such a journey, and he did as he was told.
“You must be hungry after such a long journey,” the sorceress said, and she sent for her paper waitress to bring him a fine dinner. The peasant knew better than to trust her, but he truly was hungry, and he ate his fill.
Finally, the sorceress could contain herself no longer. “I have something to show you. Follow me,” she ordered. The peasant knew better than to trust her, but he saw his chance to carry out the plan, so he followed her down a flight of stone steps toward the dungeon.
When they reached the bottom, she turned, wand glowing eagerly, but he was too quick for her. Having taken out the ring and the black stone, he struck them together, and sparks flew. As everyone knows, evil magic burns as quick as kerosene, so the sorceress was ash in a matter of moments. The peasant took her wand and broke it against the stone floor. Then he went to find her servants and kill them, too, to rid the land of the evil queen’s presence.
But lo! Instead of two paper servants, the peasant found none other but the king and his princess, who had been imprisoned in folded paper this whole time!
“You have freed us!” cried the king. “What is there I can offer you in compensation? Gold, money, land?”
“There is only one thing I desire,” answered the peasant, and told the king what it was.
Seeing his sincerity, the king gladly granted his wish. He took back his throne—and the peasant and his princess were married. All the king’s subjects were invited, their papers were returned to them, and there were silverware and water and a roaring bonfire for all.
Of course, as is common in tales such as this, they all led a pretty nice life after that.
