Blog Archive

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Fairy Tale Not

Once upon a time a small girl lost her way in a dark forest ruled by an evil ogre, who captured the girl and shackled her with strong chains. The ogre often came by to amuse himself by frightening her, until the girl grew accustomed to him and to living in darkness and terror. And when she grew to be a maiden the ogre made her fully his.

Many years passed, and the young woman sometimes wondered if dreams of a loving papa and beautiful little girl in a sparkling city might be memories. But she once caught her reflection of dirty face and matted hair in a rain puddle, and saw her tattered rags and thought of her life with the ogre, and knew her dreams could not be real.

One day a woodcutter arrived in the forest. He offered her fresh water and fed her with warm bread and asked if she wished to someday follow him to the city. She feared the plain stranger and refused him, but he returned every day with food and the same offer.

When the ogre next came by, he found her well fed and raged against the woodcutter, warning her that the strange man sought to capture her so he might shame her filth and ugliness if she went to the city. The woodcutter returned the next day, and the ogre screamed that he could not have the girl for she belonged to the forest and to himself.

The woodcutter drew a sword and a key, bargaining his life for hers with the ogre, promising the girl he would one day return and marry her if she chose to be free. The ogre received the sword with a laugh and slew the woodcutter. The girl took the bloody key from the woodcutter’s hand, while the ogre ridiculed her dead hero and any thought of being a bride.

The girl long wept for the woodcutter, until one day she drew the key and unshackled herself. The ogre appeared at once and his taunts prevented her running away from him. But each night thereafter she dreamt of the woodcutter, who stood in clothes of gleaming white and spoke kindly to her and told her of secret treasures He’d hidden for her in the forest.

The girl began to venture farther and farther away from her chains, discovering beautiful garments and perfumes and jewelry and a rushing waterfall in which to bathe. The ogre never went away or ceased to torment her, but he no longer touched her and she came to stop fearing him. In her dreams the woodcutter had become a prince, assuring her that he lived to return for her, and she believed him and dwelt with joy even in the dark forest.

Then one day the living woodcutter become prince was crowned king, and he came for her on a white horse. She did not know that she radiated beauty in her joy and cleanliness and white garments, for she'd never quite stopped thinking of herself as a dirty little girl with matted hair in rags defiled by an ogre.

But her beloved woodcutter had always seen her as she would be this day, and had loved her from the beginning.

And they lived happily ever after.


~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~


"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
~ Revelation 19:7-8 (NKJV)

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True ... And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
~ Revelation 19:11,16 (NKJV)


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Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
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28 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness. Coming back to read this again later today. I like. I like. I love.
    ~ Wendy

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  2. Your redemption parable rings true. Matted hair and all, we come with nothing. And He loves us

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  3. Amen. So glad He sees not only what we are now or have been, but what He has created and purposed us to be. Thanks Anne.

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  4. Wendy ~

    I've been working on the storytelling skills. It's time to do more with them again, I think.

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  5. David ~

    I can look at nearly any fairy tale and see the same redemptive elements. Snow White receives the poisoned fruit and is resurrected by the kiss of a prince. Cinderella receives gifts supernaturally which manifest her beauty to the prince. The good vs. evil redemption by a hero theme should always give us another view of Christ, with ever greater love.

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  6. Jason ~

    And it all comes from Him in the first place.

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  7. And the King crushed the Ogre's head. The End.

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  8. just beautiful....

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  9. ...had to read this a few times. it sure had me thinking!

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  10. Doug ~

    I was trying not to go on too long. But I certainly should have finished off the ogre. I'll definitely remember that, tho, if I repost this.

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  11. Favorite Fish ~

    Not applied too thickly I hope. :D

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  12. Bud ~

    I might have painted clearer pictures with more words. I hoped to simply comment on Bridegroom and His bride, and His rescue, in a fresh way.

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  13. When I was young I was fascinated with fairy tales ending, "And they lived happily ever after". I grew up and reasoned it would never happen. When I accepted the LORD, I got to know it was even better, "And I live happily forever and ever"

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  14. This touched my heart, bless you sis. I love you.

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  15. Ah, this was excellent, Anne. You aren't, by chance, a fiction writer, are you? ;-) You are quite skilled painting word-pictures.

    Thank you for this lovely story.

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  16. Bible Lover ~

    I too have come to believe the fairy tale ending. :D

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  17. Mary ~

    You still have time for fairy tales with everything else? Good for you! Love you. ♥

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  18. Denise ~

    It's not so very much longer.

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  19. Gwen ~

    You are the mistress of word pictures. I learn much from you.

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  20. T ~

    I was pretty sure you would. It was SO tempting to embelish more.

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  21. ...so i'm back here again and THIS TIME understood it clearly! here because i'm still doing the following-up of the scriptures from yesterday. it's a long trail too (holiness)

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  22. Bud ~

    You really do bless me by combing my back forty and reminding me of things I've forgotten. This really is a sweet story. Forgetting that I'd written it enables me to enjoy it purely as a reader. :D

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