E16

Snow White With Good Habits

     Once upon a time, there was a princess called Snow White. She was a very lazy girl! She was engaged to a prince from another kingdom and the wedding would be held three months later.  However, the prince didn’t like Snow White because she was too lazy, so he wished to cancel the wedding!

     The King heard of this and was very worried. He told Snow White to get rid of her bad habits and replace them with being tidy by learning how to cook, doing housework and being more considerate within two weeks’ time. However, two weeks later, Snow White didn’t change a bit! The King was very angry and made a command that the name of Snow White should be changed to ‘Slow White’ because of her bad habits. All the citizen of the kingdom should follow this command. Slow White regretted her bad choices and she asked the King to seek some tutors to help her develop good habits.

     The next day, the King sought the seven dwarfs for help. They were the star tutors of the city. The seven dwarfs requested that Slow White was to be trained in a house in the magic forest so that Slow White could live without servants which was very important for her training. The King agreed.

     The seven dwarfs led Slow White to the forest and left her alone in the little house. In the house, Slow White heard a voice, “Princess Slow White, I know you are very tired after the trip from the Kingdom. However, if you want to sleep, you must tidy the house. If the house is not tidy, the bed will not appear.” Slow White tried her very best to clean the house and then she opened the door of the bedroom. A bed appeared. She was so glad that she jumped into the bed and fell asleep straight away.

     The next day, the house became messy again because of the magic. Slow White now understood the importance of being tidy.

     A few days later, the seven dwarfs said, “Princess Slow White, starting from tomorrow, you need to cook meals by yourself.” The next day, when Slow White woke up, she saw some ingredients in the kitchen and she started to cook. On the first day, she couldn’t eat the food cooked by herself because it was too salty and overcooked. However, after a few days, her cooking skills gradually improved.

     Later, Slow white needed to collect ingredients for cooking in the forest. At the very start, she only knew how to collect vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. After a few more weeks, she knew how to catch fish from the pond and river. Slow White completely changed after one and a half months. She tidied the house and prepared meals all by herself.

     One day, she saw a man sitting under a tree. His face was pale. Slow White went next to him and asked if he needed help. “I am very sick. I got lost in this forest and I’m very hungry. Can you give me some food?” the man said. Slow White replied, “No problem. You can take a rest in my house. I have some food there.”

     When they went back to the house, Slow White cooked for the man. “Delicious! Thanks for your food.’ Then the man fell asleep at once.  After sometime, the man was woken up by the delicious smell of dinner that Slow White had prepared. He rubbed his eyes and said, “It smells so nice! You are really a good cook.” The man looked around and found the house was very neat and tidy. He said, “Do you live here alone?” Slow White smiled and said, “Yes, I have lived here alone for almost one and a half months. I was sent here by my father to learn how to be a good girl.” The man said, “You are already very good. Do you need my help to find your father?” Slow White said, “Thanks for your offer, but this forest is covered with magic. I can only leave this forest when I have received all very good habits.” The man was very shocked, “I think you are a girl with good habits. The magic should have disappeared.”

     Suddenly, the seven dwarfs appeared by the door and said, “Well done! Slow White. You have finished the training and you can go back to the palace.” The man was very surprised and asked, “Palace? Slow White? Who are you?” Slow White replied, “I am the princess of the Kingdom next to this forest. My name was Snow White. However, my father changed my name to Slow White because I was too lazy.” The man said, “I am the prince who was supposed to marry you. I think you are already a hardworking princess. Let’s go back to the palace together.”

     Slow White went to the palace with the prince. The King was very happy and he announced, “Princess Slow White is no longer lazy.  Her name is now Snow White again.”  Snow White and the prince got married and lived happily forever.

 

 

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