The untold story of Bobbity Boo (part 1/3)
Posted by Bluebell Woods on
A true account of a legendary fairy godmother.
In her younger years Bobbity Boo was a timid fairy but with age she had become more assertive, even a fierce force not to be messed with, though she remained as kind and loving as she ever was. After many years of adventures she came to settle in a quiet unimportant town not far from the extraordinary palace, where the King lived and ruled over his human subjects. Bobbity never much cared for the idea of royalty and hadn’t visited her own queen for some years.
One day, Bobbity overheard a woman crying from an open window. Inside, the woman lay in bed, sick with some sort of illness that humans have. In her youth Bobbity would not have been so bold but not content to see such sadness, the beautiful fairy revealed herself to the poor woman and pleaded with her to stop her tears.
Although it must have been the fever, the sick woman told the fairy hallucination that although she was dying, it was not for herself that she cried. She would leave behind a young daughter and a husband who was himself sick and frail.
Bobbity Boo could not bare the heartbreaking story and promised there and then to watch out for the young girl called Cinderella. And she kept her promise. Some years later, Cinderella’s father remarried a rich widow from the village and although Bobbity would not have chosen this stepmother for the lovely Cinderella, she was happy that the girl would at least be cared for, when her well-meaning father passed.
Sadly, Cinders’ father was not long for the world and after he too was gone, her new stepmother revealed her true colours. The wicked woman, who had spent the fortunes of her former husband, moved into Cinders’ home and sold all her toys and possessions to fund the lavish lifestyle of her own daughters Drizella and Anastasia, Cinderella’s horrible stepsisters. She also sold all Cinderella’s mother’s clothes and jewellery, all except what Bobbity Boo managed to salvage and hide for Cinders to have. Amongst those items were a pair of beautiful glass slippers that Bobbity knew Cinderella would like to wear when she was older.
The rest of Cinderella’s childhood would be a sad one. But to stop her being lonely, Bobbity bewitched the mice of the house, so that they could speak and keep Cinders company. She also used her magic on the birds of the town to help Cinders with her chores, which her wicked stepmother gave her. And Bobbity made sure that Cinders remained safe until she was old enough to live by herself. She watched the little girl she loved grow into a lovely young woman, who despite her stepsisters cruelty, was kind and gentle and down to earth.
One day, the town was suddenly abuzz with exciting news. The King was holding a ball in the palace and all the common folk were invited. Everyone in the town was excited and even Cinderella had heard the news and was starting to have grand dreams about meeting the royals. Bobbity hoped she wouldn’t get her hopes up too much. It was unlikely that her cruel stepmother would even take her to the ball.
As the big day came closer, Cinderella worked extra hard on her chores and eventually summoned the courage to ask her stepmother to take her along, when she and her daughters went to the ball with the charming captain her stepmother was now dating. The answer surprised everyone, not least Bobbity.
‘Very well, Cinderella. You shall go the ball’ her stepmother had said. ‘But you must get all your chores done. And you shall have to dress nicely. You can’t go in those filthy rags. I will not have you embarrassing me in front of the Captain. And if I catch you talking to the rats again, I will keep you locked in the cellar with them. Do you hear me?’
Cinderella did not argue. She was so pleased to be going to the ball. Of course, Bobbity knew that her stepmother had no intention of such an event coming to pass. She had explicitly demanded that Cinders dress nicely, knowing full well that the poor girl had no nice clothes nor any money to buy any. But she hadn’t reckoned on the young woman’s fairy godmother. Bobbity had saved a special dress from her mother’s belongings, which would now be a perfect fit. So when the night of the ball finally arrived and Cinderella had exhausted herself, praying every night, the fairy laid out the dress on Cinderella’s bed.
Cinderella ran downstairs. She could only assume that her stepmother had given her the dress, as unbelievable as it may seem. Her stepsisters, on their way out to the carriage waiting for them, stared in shock as Cinders practically fell down the stairs in a beautiful dress. Their mother and the good Captain came out of the sitting room. The look on her face told a thousand words but she couldn’t let any of them out. She didn’t want to show her true self to the Captain; the timing had been part of Bobbity’s crafty plan.
The Captain pleasantly greeted Cinderella and waved them all out to his carriage. It was all going like a dream. But, the wicked stepmother’s voice broke through, and the dream was at once shattered. ‘Cinderella, a word if I may?’
‘I heard one of those rat traps go off in the cellar. You must go and reset it. It is one of your chores.’
Cinderella could hardly hold back the tears. If one of her mouse friends had been caught, she would be devastated. She had kept her promise and not spoken to them for some time. She quickly lit a candle and ran down to the cellar but when she got there she found not a single trap had been sprung. Her relief was only temporary as she heard the cellar door close. She had fallen for her stepmother’s cruel trick and she was now locked in the cellar for the rest of the night.
Bobbity could barely withhold her outrage and she very nearly pounced on the wicked woman to show her what bullies deserved. Instead, she waited until the evil witch had made her excuses to the Captain and left for the ball. Then, she went and opened the cellar door, letting the poor cinderella out, bemused and then startled when she saw her fairy godmother for the first time.
‘Are my eyes playing tricks on me?’
‘No dear Cinders, your eyes are fine. I’m Bobbity Boo, your fairy godmother.’
End of part one