Once upon a time,

there was a

very ugly little girl,

and her father hated her

as much as he could.

He made her live in the barn,

while her five older sisters

lived in the big yellow house,

and he made her do

all of the worst chores,

like cleaning out

the hog pens

and picking the mud ticks

from the bellies of the oxen.

If she did not do her chores,

or if she spoke with a smart mouth,

the ugly little girl’s father

would beat her.

Sometimes,

he would beat her

for no reason at all.

The ugly little girl’s mother was dead.

The ugly little girl

had never known her.

Her mother had died farther back

than the ugly little girl could remember,

and she had been led to believe,

by her father

and her five older sisters,

that her mother’s death

had been her fault.

The ugly little girl

thought of her mother often.

Maybe if she were here,

things would be different,

maybe

if the ugly little girl’s mother were here,

her father would love her.

But,

if the ugly little girl’s mother

had loved her, why had she

abandoned her

in this horrible place?

One day, everything changed.

The ugly little girl’s father

limped out to the barn

and told her

it was time for her

to get married,

and he had found

the right man —

the old murk ghoul

who lived on the

other side of the river.

The ugly little girl knew

that this man was

notoriously and gleefully

cruel

to animals, birds, insects,

and children —

anything

that could not fight back.

The ugly little girl knew

she could not fight back.

The ugly little girl

made a decision.

One night,

under the gibbous moon,

the ugly little girl

snuck out of the barn,

and into the big yellow house.

She had never been inside before.

The ugly little girl

tiptoed into the kitchen,

and peeked into the pantry.

There were two loaves

of fresh bread.

She stuffed them

into a bag.

Then,

the ugly little girl

quietly opened the cold box.

There was a plate of chicken,

a few ripe tomatoes...

...and a slice of a chocolate cake.

The ugly little girl

took the bag of food,

and tiptoed out of the big yellow house.

She walked down to the old road

at the edge of the farm,

and stepped over

the chaotic pattern

of stones,

jubilation in her blood.

There was a town,

about fifteen miles southwest,

she had been there once,

and had been enamored

with its hectic movement.

The ugly little girl

thought she could find work

in a factory,

and a place to live of her own.

Why had she not done this

years ago?

Why had she stayed so long?

After a few hours,

the ugly little girl was tired,

so she sat on a log

beside the road.

She looked into her bag.

The chicken cutlets

would nourish her,

and the tomatoes

would refresh her,

but she wanted the cake.

She broke off a piece

and lifted it to her lips.

Its scent was intoxicating.

She tasted it;

pleasure exploded in her mouth!

Why had she been denied

such delights?

The moon was sinking.

In a few hours,

it would be dawn.

The ugly little girl wondered

what the sun would feel like

now that she was free.

to be continued....