The Selling

ONCE UPON A TIME…there was a girl named Ali. She lived with her Mommy in a delightful cottage. It was special because it looked like a ginger-bread house. There were flowers everywhere. The home was a cheerful as the Mommy and Ali.

They always had fun together and did different projects everyday. One day, they started a garden. They raked and planted neat little rows.

The next day, it rained. The Mommy made hot chocolate while Ali watched for the blooms. Suddenly she saw two little kids running and called her Mommy to see. They looked scared, so the Mommy put her loving arms out to them. Bringing them in, she dried them off.

The girl, Sally, explained they escaped from the Wicked Witch. And Billy warned the witch would come for them at night. The Mommy was brave, and said they were safe. Then she made them dinner. Billy helped and told her she was his favourite.

Meanwhile, Ali made beds as Sally followed, asking her, “what do you do here?”

“We make fun and give it away!” Excited to share.

“Like what?”

“Pictures, clothes and baskets of goodies.”

“Can I see?”

Ali showed her their lovely wonders.

“These are nice. You should sell them.”

“What’s that?” Ali asked perplexed.

“You put prices on these things and take them to the village. People will give you money for them.”

“Why?” Even more puzzled.

“Because to be the best, you must sell your things. Did you do this painting?”

“Yes.”

“What did your Mommy do?”

Ali held up a new painting for Sally to see.

“Your’s is much better, you can ask more money.”

After dinner, Ali and Billy washed the dishes. He told her she was his favourite and always wanted to be with her. The Mommy sewed a dress and Sally told her she was talented. Her painting was the best she had ever seen. The Mommy was pleased.

The next day was beautiful. They all decided to have a picnic. Ali ran ahead to her favourite spot. She loved to run through the tall purple lupins and fluorescent orange poppies. Her place was on top of a hill with a huge oak tree.

Halfway up the hill, Ali stopped to wait for them. She giggled at the “slow pokes”. But as they got closer, she could see they were not happy. They hung onto The Mommy. She looked tired too.

Ali reached the top of the hill. Trying not to worry, she laid out the quilt that she and The Mommy made together. She looked around, smelling the delightful smells of Mother Earth. Turning to watch the others, she became afraid.

Approaching, The Mommy said, “hi Honey! What a lovely day we picked.” Ali felt better, but the others complained. She showed them the vista, but they didn’t want to see anything nice. The Mommy put out the picnic food.

Soon it was time to go because the rain clouds made the sky dark. Ali helped pack the things away in the basket, folded up the quilt and wanted to hold her Mommy’s hand for the way back. But the others whined and got to her hands first. Ali followed behind, very sad.

Then there was a whooshing noise. It was the Wicked Witch flying on her broom. She flew over and threw sticky green slime on them. Everyone ran toward the cottage. Making another pass, she hovered and laughed at them.

When the rain came, she went away. They continued running to the cottage. The slime was gone, but Billy and Sally were screaming with fear. Ali made a fire and the Mommy got dry clothes out for them all. After calming down, they went to bed.

The witch went to their dreams after the rain stopped. She told The Mommy to sell her wares at the market. Ali’s were not as good. Then she went to Ali and suggested she compete with her Mommy. Because her things were much prettier, they would sell faster.

The next morning, Ali wanted to win her Mommy’s attention. To outdo her would make her Mommy proud. Then they could be happy again. The others awoke grumpy until they watched The Mommy and Ali hurried out of the house. They both raced while the kids laughed at them. When they got to town, they rushed to the perfect spot for selling. There was frenzied activity.

Finally, each had one project left to sell, but there was only one buyer. They looked each other in the eye. Ali stopped, took her object and walked away. The Mommy made her sale. Pleased with herself, she looked for the other children. She asked people to help, but everyone turned their back on her. Soon there was no one around. She was alone.

Meanwhile, crying, Ali went home. She missed her Mommy and their happiness. She saw the garden growing with many weeds. Ali pulled at the biggest one but couldn’t budge it. Pulling harder, made her fall back. She got up, brushed herself off with determination, and started to pull out the smaller ones instead. She was preoccupied with tears and the dirt, not realizing the witch and nightfall were upon her.

The Wicked Witch was mad because Ali was taking her power away. Ali already broke her evil spell in town. Now with the weeds almost gone, she was becoming even stronger. As Ali made her way back to the biggest weed, the witch flew over and threw the dreaded green slime on her to slow her down.

The Mommy walked home and figured Ali would never talk to her again. When she saw the Wicked Witch, she screamed, “the witch will not hurt my Ali.” Running, she picked up a shovel and swacked at the witch. Ali pulled at the weed while her Mommy took another swing, hitting the witch into the pond. Just then Ali pulled out the huge weed. They watched together as the witch dissolved into the water.

They hugged and kissed each other, promising they would never turn against each other again. Then they saw a man and a little girl walk up. The man explained the Wicked Witch had put an evil spell on them. They were Billy and Sally. Now, he was The Daddy and Sally was the Little Sister. Being together, nothing could hurt or come between them again. They would always be happy and trust each other forever.