@gA Small Manor
@w
@g[ Exits: north south ]
@w(Hidden) @y(Golden Aura) @yElla's dying father leans against his horse, coughing out his last br@yeath.
@y(Golden Aura) @yElla weeps beside the body of her dying father...

@wOhh cripe...Ella's dying father is telling you his life story!  Where's a gun when you need @wone...
@wElla's father leans back against his horse, coughing up blood.
@wHe turns his eyes to you and whispers:
@wElla, my poor sweet Ella, what will become of her.  Here, take her this, my amulet, and tell@w her that I have always loved her more than life itself.
@wHe coughs again and sags against the horse, dead.
@w
@wOr maybe not.  He struggles to sit once again and whispers:
@wLife is so cruel...it hands you a rose but forgets to tell you about the thorns.  As, the bi@wtter sting of a thorn is upon me now, a thorn on a rose I thought once to love and cherish..@w.
@w
@wBut, with a gasp, he sits up once again, looks at you as if he wanted to
@wspeak, clutches his chest, and falls again.
@w
@wThere is a wail behind you and you turn to see young Ella, barely 10
@wyears of age, running towards you.  She sinks to the ground by her father,
@wand takes one limp hand in her own, crying softly.
@w
@wHer father (apparently still not dead) raises himself to his elbow
@wpainfully and embraces her, leaving red blood stains down the front of her
@wdress.  She holds him tightly, and looks at you accusingly, as if she
@wknows that you were the one to cause her father's demise.  Her father
@wbreathes out another word of love and dies in her arms.
@w
@wYou shake your head sadly, thinking that, yes, this is entirely too
@wmelodramatic a scene.  Maybe you should chat with the producer?
@wElla gives an amulet to Ella's dying father.
@CElla's dying father exclaims 'Alas, my life is over!  I had so many things planned!'
@w
@wYou get an amulet from the frazzled corpse of Ella's dying father.

@wYou give an amulet to Ella.
@wElla sinks to the ground, sobbing quietly to herself.
@CElla asks, @c"@CWhy, stepmother, why did he leave me?  Did I not love him enough?  Was I not an @Cobedient daughter?  Why would he go away and leave me?@c"
@w
@wShe clutches the amulet to her chest, turns to you.
@CElla says, @c"@CMy father chose you for his wife, and I shall always be an obedient daughter to @Cyou as I was to him.@c"
@w
@wShe turns and trudges away from the scene.  A piece of paper flutters from her pocket
@wto the ground, which you pick up in curiousity.
@wYou receive a sheet of lyrics from Ella

@wEvery time she'd find a minute
@wThat's the time that they begin it
@wCinderelly, Cinderelly
@wCinderella!
@wCinderelly, Cinderelly
@wNight and day it's Cinderelly
@wMake the fire, fix the breakfast
@wWash the dishes, do the mopping
@wAnd the sweeping and the dusting
@wThey always keep her hopping
@wShe goes around in circles
@wTill she's very, very dizzy
@wStill they holler
@wKeep a-busy Cinderelly;
@wWe can do it, we can do it
@wWe can help our Cinderelly
@wWe can make her dress so pretty
@wThere's nothing to it, really
@wWe'll tie a sash around it
@wPut a ribbon through it
@wWhen dancing at the ball
@wShe'll be more beautiful than all
@wIn the lovely dress we'll make for Cinderelly
@wHurry, hurry, hurry, hurry
@wGonna help our Cinderelly
@wGot no time to dilly-dally
@wWe gotta get a-goin'
@wI'll cut with these scissors
@wAnd I can do the sewing
@wLeave the sewing to the women
@wYou go get some trimmin'
@wAnd we'll make a lovely dress for Cinderlly
@wWe'll make a lovely dress for
@wCinderelly

@CYou say 'and the sweeping and the dusting'
@w
@wThe mice scamper around the room happily at your
@wsong, gathering up ribbons and fabric and beads.
@wThey press the pile into your hands and race off,
@wstill singing...
@w
@wI wonder, I wonder
@wI wonder why each little bird
@wHas a someone
@wTo sing to
@wSweet things to
@wA gay little lark melody
@wI wonder, I wonder
@wIf my heart keeps singing
@wWill my heart go winging
@wTo someone
@wWho'll find me
@wAnd bring back a love song
@wTo me
@w
@wYou receive a pile of ribbons from Cinderella.

@gIn the Pumpkin Patch
@w  You stand amid a pumpkin patch filled with yellow and orange pumpkins, some
@wripe, some not.  While hardly prize-winning, these vegetables are in good
@wcondition, and should fetch a decent price on the market.  Why, there's
@whardly any worms nesting in them, and the moldy pieces won't show if you
@wset them up right at the marketplace... 
@w
@g[ Exits: north south ]
@w     A huge, orange pumpkin sits on the ground here...
@w(Invis) @y(Golden Aura) @yA faerie godmother stands here with an annoyed look on her face.
@y(Golden Aura) @yA small mouse runs away from you in terror.
@y(Golden Aura) @yA small mouse runs away from you in terror.
@y(Golden Aura) @yA small mouse runs away from you in terror.
@y(Golden Aura) @yA small mouse runs away from you in terror.

@wYou get a small mouse from the frazzled corpse of a mouse.

@wYou sit on a pumpkin.
@wYou sit down heavily on a pumpkin, squashing it.  Standing
@wup quickly and trying to brush the slimy remains off your
@wclothes, you are surprised to find a tiny woman in front of
@wyou, jumping up and down and screaming.
@w
@wThe little faerie peers intently at you.
@CA faerie godmother exclaims, @c"@CWell, you've done a fine job destroying your carriage, now I'l@Cl have to go and find another one, I suppose.  What do I look like, Farmer Jones?  These thi@Cngs don't grow on trees, you know!@c"
@w
@wShe glares at you.
@CA faerie godmother says, @c"@CI hope you brought the mouse like I told you.@c"
@w
@wThe little faerie nods approvingly.
@CA faerie godmother says, @c"@CVery good, very fine specimen.  Hand it here, will you?  Careful o@Cf the tail, it would be a pretty poor footman without a bum to sit on.
@c"
@w
@wYou begin to wonder if maybe this woman is a little loopy.
@w
@wYour eyes grow wide with amazement as the little faerie drops
@wthe mouse to the floor and begins singing:
@wSalagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
@wPut 'em together and what have you got
@wbibbidi-bobbidi-boo
@w
@wSalagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
@wIt'll do magic believe it or not
@wbibbidi-bobbidi-boo
@w
@wSalagadoola means mechicka booleroo
@wBut the thingmabob that does the job is
@wbibbidi-bobbidi-boo
@w
@wSalagadoola menchicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
@wPut 'em together and what have you got
@wbibbidi-bobbidi bibbidi-bobbidi bibbidi-bobbidi-boo
@w
@wThe mouse twists and squeaks and elongates into a human form,
@wwhich blinks up at you stupidly.  She may have been able to
@wgive it human form, but not human intelligence, apparently.
@wYou turn around and see with amazement that the pumpkin has
@wbecome a carriage, drawn by four white horses shod in silver.
@wThe door is held open for you as you sweep into the carriage.
@wYou receive an invitation from a faerie godmother.

@wYou sit on a bench.
@wThe prince sits next to you on the bench, his arm creeping around
@wyour waist.  He looks soulfully into your eyes, and pledges his
@weternal love to you.  Kind of silly, when you think about it.  I
@wmean, he met you, what, 2 minutes ago?  Not including the time he
@wtossed you out of his castle, that is.  Of course, most kids these
@wdays don't understand about committment, so what do you expect?
@wAnd, quite frankly, you're not sure he's hitting all four bases on
@wthe homerun, if you understand where I'm going with it...
@wThe clock strikes 12, and you remember the warning your faerie godmother
@wgave you.  Gathering your skirts up, you gratefully flee, stopping only to
@wconveniently drop a slipper and snitch a rose from a nearby thorny bush...
@wFunny how these things always seem to work out, isn't it?
@wYou receive a red rose from Prince Charming.

@wYou give a red rose to Prince Charming.
@wThe prince gasps as he sees you, and motions you to sit on the chair
@win front of him.  He fits the slipper to your foot, and almost falls
@wout of the stool he's sitting on.  He quickly stands up and
@wembraces you passionately, kissing you repeatedly.  He picks you
@wup and sweeps you out the door, into his carriage, and up into the
@wcastle, where he leaves you with the royal dressers to fit you out
@wfor the wedding.  They strip you down to the buff, ready to fit you
@wout for your wedding gown.
@wYou can't remove a silvery dress.
@wYou remove a pair of glass slippers from your feet.
@wThe dressers fit you out in your sparkling, shiny, really spiffy
@wwedding dress, and lead you to where the prince and the chaplain
@ware waiting for you.  The chaplain pronounces the words, waves his
@whands, and you are married!
@C[ @M[ @Y[ @WBells ring across the realm as @CRuhamah @Wand @CPrince Charming @Ware happily married! @Y] @M] @C]
@wHey!  Wait a minute!  Wasn't he supposed to ask you if you wanted
@wto do this?  You don't recall ever saying, 'I do', but it's too late
@wnow, you're married!  The prince, as a wedding gift, has your stepmother
@whauled from her manor and forces her to dance in iron shoes that have
@wbeen heated over a fire, while he gets drunk and eventually lumbers off
@wto have sex with the serving wench.  Your stepmother, weakened though she
@wis, takes advantage of his absence to attack you!  Guess she's not a very
@wgood loser...
@wYou receive your stepmother's head from Prince Charming.
@wThe Evil Stepmother is in perfect health.

@wYou give your stepmother's head to a weasel.
@w
@W**@Y Task Done  @w: Bring your stepmother's head back to the weasel.
@W** @GTask Added @w: Bring the Beast's wedding ring back to the weasel.
@CA weasel says, @c"@CWow, she looks pissed.  Obviously she didn't go quietly into that great good@Cnight.@c"
@w
@wA weasel stares at the sky.
@CA weasel says, @c"@CWell, any way to get a head.@c"
@w
@wThe weasel giggles madly to himself for a few minutes.
@CA weasel says, @c"@CWhere was I?  Oh yes, your next task!  Bring to me the Beast's wedding ring.@c"
@w
@CA weasel says, @c"@CPreferably without his finger attached.  Animal fur makes me sneeze.@c"
@w
@wA weasel looks around and whistles innocently.
@w
l33t bin
