F The

Fairy tales of

Magical Objects

Kelli Devon Porta

The

Fairy tales of

Magical Objects

C

Ci

The Man in the Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Stolen Slippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Deadliest of them All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Beast to Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Once Upon a Nightmare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

6

10

14

18

Contents

Introduction by Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Man in the Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Stolen Slippers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Deadliest of them All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Beast to Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Once Upon a Nightmare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

4

7

12

16

20

Stories

Illustrations

I

I1

Introduction

The wonderful thing about fairy tales is that there is no original

version, or original author of the tales we know and love. You can

tell your own version of Little Red Riding Hood and you can call it

your original version. Tales were recorded by folklorists, such as the

Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, who went to different villages

in Europe and wrote down the stories that women would tell to their

children. Now, because of the foklorists, there are so many versions of

Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and so on.

The Fairy Tales of Magical Objects is no ordinary fairy tale collection

book. Yes, this book is filled with stories about the fairy tale land, but

it’s not the stories you know. You’ve probably heard of the tales of

Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, but you don’t know the

tales of the poison apple, the golden slipper, the magic mirror, and the

nightmares one has under the sleeping spell. This book is filled with

stories answering the question why, how, and when? Where did the

poison apple come from, how does the mirror know who is the fairest

of them all, why does the golden slipper fit only one person, and what

happens when someone falls under the sleeping curse.

Enjoy the book!

M2

the

Man in The

Mirror

M

O4

there was a king and a queen and they were the most beautiful people

in the kingdom. But they both ignored each other because they wanted

to be more beautiful than the other.

One day, the king heard of a tale by the servants in the castle.

They told a story about a mirror that could tell anyone who asked,

who the fairest is in the kingdom.

After hearing this, the king sent his most noble knight to search

for this mirror. Months passed and the knight finally returned with

the mirror and placed it in the king’s secret chamber.

The king unveiled the mirror. It was a handsome sliver mirror

with an engraving on the bottom of the frame, “Mirror, mirror on the

wall.”

And so the king asked, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the

fairest one of them all?”

A hooded figured appeared in the mirror. “For you, you are not. It

is your wife, the queen who is the fairest of them all.”

Furious, the king took the mirror off the wall and smashed it into

the ground. The mirror shattered into a million pieces, but standing

in the middle of those pieces was a man. The man was young and

handsome. He looked around the room, amazed. He lifted his arms

and legs, moved his hands and feet.

Once upon a time . . .

5

The Man in the Mirror

“I’m free!” he screamed with joy.

“Excuse me, but who are you?” asked the king.

“I was a prisoner in this mirror for 100 years. I too, asked who

was the fairest of them all and when I found out it was my younger

brother, I smashed the mirror, freeing the woman who was inside it.

She then cursed me into the mirror.”

“Why were you cursed?”

The man smiled:

“Beautiful and handsome you are, but full of selfishness is what

you really are.

You will be trapped in a mirror and see your reflection in others,

who are as corrupt in their beauty as you are.

And you must answer the question of those selfish beings who

ask who is the fairest of them all!”

The king tried to run from the man, but the king could not move.

He was standing in a dark room with only one window. He was frozen,

unable to move a muscle in his body. All he could do was look out the

window and see the handsome man standing in the chamber laughing.

Soon the window was covered.

The next thing the king saw was his wife, the queen. She looked

into the mirror and asked, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the

fairest one of them all?” Without thinking, the king was forced to say,

“You are my queen.”

S6

Sthe

Once upon a time there was a beautiful young girl, named Rora.

The girl was imprisoned by the fairies for she was the daughter of the

mischievous and evil Rumpelstiltskin. The mother gave Rora to the

fairy godmothers so she could be protected from Rumpelstilskin, but

the fairies locked her up when she started to turn fabric into sheets of

gold. Even though she was a prisoner, Rora would make clothing and

shoes out of gold whenever the fairies would ask.

StolenSlippers

8

The Stolen Slippers

One day, a fairy came to Rora and asked her to make a dress and

a pair of slippers out of gold for a young maiden who was going to a

ball at the kingdom’s palace to dance with her prince again.

Rora heard of this young maiden. There was a mysterious girl,

who was as lovely as the clothes fairies made for her to go to the ball,

where danced with the prince, who has now fallen in love with her.

But she ran from him and now the prince holds more balls for her so

he could call her his bride, but she would run again.

Rora wanted to go to the ball. She wished to go see the people

dancing and see all of the beautiful dresses. The fairy told her she

could go to the ball but only if she made the dress and the pair of gold

slippers for the young maiden. Rora agreed.

She went straight to work to make a beautiful dress and slippers

that matched. She then made a dress and slippers for herself, but as

she did, the fairy came back and told her that she could not go

anymore, that it was too dangerous for her to be seen. Rora was

heartbroken.

As the fairy tried to take the beautiful dress and slippers, Rora

said the dress was not finished yet. The fairy said Rora only had less

than a day to finish the dress, but she said she could do it.

After the fairy left, Rora continued making her dress, but she

altered the slippers for the young maiden. She made sure the slippers

would fit, but not a perfect fit so when she ran again, the slippers

would slide off.

The fairy came back at the end of the day and Rora gave her the

dress and slippers. As the fairy left, Rora stole her wand. Rora got

ready for the ball and used to wand to escape her prison.

Rora went to the castle where the ball was being held. She was

9

The Stolen Slippers

amazed by how beautiful the palace was and how lovely the people

where dancing in their beautiful clothes. But she wanted to find the

young maiden to see if, and hopping, she would run again.

The young maiden ran out of the castle, but as she ran, the golden

slippers fell off. She continued to run and she left the kingdom. Rora,

who was hiding in the shadows, emerged and retrieved the slippers.

Rora used the wand to make the shoes fit her feet perfectly. When she

was putting the last slipper on, the prince came out of the castle, Rora

tried to run, but the prince caught up with her.

“Why do you have the young maiden’s slipper?” he asked.

“It’s mine” She said. The prince laughed.

“Yours? The woman who ran out of here was wearing

those slippers.”

Rora put on the slipper and showed the prince how they fit her

feet perfectly The prince was amazed.

“I’m sorry young maiden, I apologize. And for my apology, I

would be honored to have a dance with you.

“I be glad to dance with you.”

The prince and Rora went backed into the castle and danced the

night away. The prince forgot all about the young maiden and made

Rora his bride.

On their wedding day, people came from all over to give gifts to

the prince and his new princess. The fairy godmother, whom Rora

stole the wand from and was the fairy godmother to the other young

maiden, gave the new princess a gift.

The fairy put Rora under a sleeping spell and sent her off to an

abandon castle. To this day, the prince continues to search for his wife.

D10

the

Deadliestof them

All

Dthe

Deadliestof them

All

O12

there was a village, which was surrounded by thousands of apple trees,

all of which grew green apples. During the time when the summer

season was ending, the villagers would hold a festival full of dancing,

food, games and of course picking apples from the tree.

One year, when the festival was ending and all of the apples were

picked, something unusual happened. An apple started to grow on

one of the trees. This particular apple wasn’t green. It was red. None

of the villagers bothered to pick it, since it wasn’t fully-grown. And so,

the red apple was left on the tree.

The red apple still held on to the tree and grew even in the depth

of the harshest winter the village had ever seen.

When spring arrived, the apple trees’ beautiful flowers started to

blossom. When the villagers came to see the flowers, they noticed the

red apple was still there and growing. The apple had held on through

the winter and looked more delicious than any of the apples the trees

had ever grown.

The villagers celebrated the red apple during their annual festival.

They believed the apple was a gift for healing since it survived through

the harshest of seasons. With it’s bright red skin and rosy cheeks, it

was the most delicious looking apple, able to make any mouth water.

As the villagers celebrated, a beautiful woman stole the apple. She

Once upon a time . . .

13

The Deadliest of them All

and her husband longed for a child. She hoped that the apple could

help her so she could bear a child.

The moment after she took a bite, she fell to the ground and died.

Terrified, the villagers tried to destroy the apple tree, but not

even fire or axes could bring it down. The tree grew more red apples

while the surrounding trees were dying. Over time, the scared villagers

left one-by-one until the only thing left standing was the tree and it’s

poisonous red apples.

The tree kept growing more of the poisoned apples, but when

they fell from the tree, the apples were left rot on the ground. The

poison from the apples seeped into the ground and into the tree’s

roots, killing the tree.

One day, a queen from a far away kingdom visited the dying tree.

The queen was very beautiful, but arrogant, proud, and deadly. The

queen heard of the apple and how it killed a beautiful woman with a

single bite. The queen saw the dying tree and its rotting apples, but she

also saw one apple hanging from the tree’s branches with bright red

skin and rosy cheeks. She took the apple and cut down the tree and

took its roots.

The queen returned to the kingdom and went into her secret

chamber where no one else could enter. She used the tree’s roots to

create a potion to make more apples with the most deep and subtle

poison.

The poisoned apple became the queen’s deadliest weapon, but

she only used it once. She gave the apple to her stepdaughter, who had

skin white as snow, lips red as blood, hair as black as ebony, and was

the fairest of them all.

B

B15

the

Beast Fearto

T16

There once was . . .

a husband and a wife. Both were extremely happy and both were

adored.

However, one night, the husband was on his way home, when

he meet another woman. She was mysterious and he was attracted to

her. That night he didn’t go home to his wife; he went with the other

woman. This was the start of his affair.

Over time, the man grew arrogant, selfish, demanding, and power

hungry. He manipulated his wife and abused her. She tried to be

kind to him, but he was horrible to her. Soon the wife became silent

and isolated. She didn’t go out because she was embarrassed by her

husband and how self-involved he became. Whenever she did go out,

some people ignored her and treated with cruel comments, while

others pitied her for the life she choose.

One night, the mysterious woman told him that in order for him

to be with her, and only her, he had to kill his wife and bring back her

heart. This act, she told him, would prove his love for her and only

her. Over powered by lust, he did what he was told. He got rid of his

wife. In the middle of the night, he snuck back into his house and

murdered his wife. When she saw him with a knief she screamed loud-

ly as he cut her heart out. When she was dead, he stored the heart in

a box and brought it back to the mysterious woman.

T the beast to fear

17

When she sawit the heart, she grinned and said, “You sir, have

committed an act that only proved to me that you are hideous.”

The man was confused by this, “I thought you wanted me to do

this. You told me to do this.”

“Exactly, you destroyed your happy marriage for something that

was evil. You are an ugly man, and now you should look like one too.

You will be avoided by all woman, because they will fear you and how

hideous you are!”

Then suddenly, the man was screaming in pain. All of his hair

was slowly being ripped from his head, his face, and his body. He was

completely hairless, but then his beard started to grow back, except it

was not his natural hair color, it was blue.

For years the man hide in isolation because of his hideous trait.

People ran away from him, woman loathed him because of how ugly

he looked. But then, slowly he used this new look to manipulate and

scare people. Soon he became the wealthiest man in the land. Out of

fear, families would give him their daughters for he wanted a wife, but

he could love or trust them. And so he killed them and stored their

bodies in the room where he committed his first murder, the bedroom

of his first wife. He was forever known as Bluebeard, a man of wealth

and power, an ugly man to fear.

18

NOnce Upon a

Nightmare

T20

a spell that few have experienced. Some view the spell as a

weapon, others view it as blessing or a gift. But those who have been

under the spell say it’s a curse. A curse that can be easily broken, but

when it’s broken, it never truly leaves you.

The spell, is a sleeping spell, from which one can be woken by

true love’s kiss. But while those who are asleep and are waiting to be

awoken, they are living in a nightmare.

A young maiden wakes up in a forest. She is covered with vines.

The maiden tries to tear apart the vines, but they would not break. She

hears a noise in the forest, a noise that sounded like someone stepped

on and broke a fallen tree branch. The sound sounded like it was right

next to her ear. But nothing was there. She panicked and furiously

ripped through the branches.

As she stood she checked her surroundings. The sky was a very

dark blue night and the forest seemed colorless.

She heard a harsh breathing right behind her. She turned around

and saw nothing. She slowly walked away from the spot she was at. As

she walked, she found a path. She started walking on the path when

she heard the noise of a wolf growling. She looked around anxiously

for the wolf, but saw nothing. The noise kept getting louder and loud-

er. She frozen in her spot. She felt the wolf’s eyes on her, even though

There was a spell . . .

T21

Once Upon a Nightmare

she could not see it. And then it was silent. The wolf’s growling was

gone, and the birds singing slowly came in. The feeling of being

watched was gone.

The young maiden felt relieved and started to walk on the path,

but the harsh breathing started again, only it was louder this time and

she could feel someone was watching her.

Slowly she continued to walk, hopping the breathing would go

away, but then the sound of snakes’ hissing replaced the harsh

breathing. She looked around anxiously on the ground for the snakes,

but saw nothing. The noise kept getting louder and louder. She frozen

in her spot. She felt the snakes’ eyes on her, even though she could not

see them. And then it was silent. The snake’s hissing was gone, and

the birds singing slowly came in. But the feeling of being watched did

not disappear as the harsh breathing started again but now even more

louder.

Scared the young maiden started to run. She thought she was

running away from the breathing, but it was still there, right next to

her as she ran. Then the sounds of the wolf and the snakes chased her.

The faster she thought ran, the harder it felt against her legs. Her legs

felt like they were being weighed down and that she was slowing down.

She stopped running and feel to the ground. The forest started to

spin around her. She covered her head and ears to block the sounds

and the sites, but the sounds kept getting louder and louder and the

feeling of spinning was still there. She felt the wolf and the snakes

approaching her. But then everything stopped. The sounds of the wolf

and the snakes were gone. The forest had stopped spinning. There was

no sound. Not even the birds singing could be heard.

The young maiden lifted her head up, but stopped when she saw

22

Once Upon a Nightmare

a pair of black boots standing in front of her and the harsh breathing

started again. She slowly lifted her head to see who was standing in

front of her. As she sat up to see the figure, the figure pushed her so

she laid flat on her back.

The figure was wearing a black cloak. The hood was up so no one

could see it’s face. It’s arms where crossed cross it’s chest. The harsh

breathing kept getting louder and louder as the maiden continued to

stare at the figure.

The figure started to bend down toward the maiden. The

breathing grew more louder as the figure got closer to her. Then the

maiden realized that she was facing Death as she saw it’s blood red eyes

staring at her.

Then Rora woke up and she was looking at the smiling face of her

true love, the prince, who had just kissed her to wake her up.

Even though Rora wasn’t under the spell anymore, Death would

visit her dreams every night and she would be woken up by the prince

because she was screaming. She never was able to stop the nightmares

as she lived out the rest of her life.

23

A

AAbout the Author

Kelli Devon Porta fell in love with fairy tales after she took a

literature course that focused on fairy tales and folklore. The

idea of telling stories about the magical objects in the fairy tale

world came to her when she was reading the Brothers Grimm

tale, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and asked the question,

“how did the apple receive such a bad reputation.” After gradu-

ating in May of 2013, Kelli now currently promoting her a short

narrative film, which is an adaptation of one of the stories that

started the book; “The Deadliest of Them All.” Kelli lives in the

Greater Saint Louis area with her husband, Alex.

WThis is no ordinary book of fairy tales. This book

is filled with stories about magical objects that made characters like Snow White and Cinderella famous. Objects, like the magic mirror, the poison apple, and the perfect slipper, and enchantments like the sleeping spell. The tales with in this book give the spotlight to those objects to tell their stoires answering the questions who, what, why, and how.

Illustrations, Cover Art, and Stories By Kelli Devon PortaC

Why a posion apple?Who made the gold slipper?

Who is the man in the mirror?

$5.99 US