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 Challenge: Write your own spin on the fairy tale "Beauty & The Beast". You can write it in either in short story or poetry form. You can paint a picture of real life, or the setting could be in the old west, or it could be in the future... however you wish to do it. It can be a tragedy, a love story, a comedy, anything! Just let your imagination run wild!! You do not have to use my ideas... but you can if you want... just remember, to have fun with it!!! Chewy ~n~ Jani: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder The local mall was swamped with people of all ages, shoping as if it were Christmas all over again. The Antique shop was unually busy with people, buying dressers or clocks from the 18th and 19th century style antique dealers. On this particular day, Jani Cressman has gone to the Antique shop to buy an `old-fashioned' mirror or looking glass - as her mom calls it. Jani wanted an unusual looking mirror for her unusual looking room. That mirror would put the finishing touches on the "weirdest room ever!" as she would say. "Good afternoon Mr. Aaron. I came to look at your antique looking glasses. My mom says you have some pretty unusual ones in stock." Jani politely said to the sales clerk, Mr. Aaron. "Why Jani Cressman... everytime I see you, you're looking more and more like your mother. Tell me, how is Elaine these days? Rumor has it that she's pregnant." Mr. Aaron declared. "She's doing fine sir, thank you, and yes she is pregnant. The baby is due in September. Now, Mr. Aaron, may I please have a look at the mirrors?" Jani was getting a little perturbed with Mr. Aaron. He was always a flirt and always asking about Jani's mom. "Sure, follow me please." he responded. When they arrived at the section where Mr. Aaron kept the mirrors (looking glasses), Jani looked around in amazement. She couldn't believe how elegant the handiwork on the frames of the looking glasses were. Mr. Aaron left Jani alone to choose the mirror that she wanted. It was a hard choice for Jani because each one was unique, their styles were different, and they were all beautiful in their own way. After choosing the mirror with the eighteenth century style inscriptures which were written in Spanish, Jani payed thirty-five fifty for it and took the looking glass straight home. No one was home for Jani to show the mirror to, so she took the looking glass straight to her room so she could hang it on the closet door. Jani was hanging up the mirror when she read the one inscripture. It wasn't that hard for Jani to translate. The inscripture read "Tener todo de vida y belleza!". When translated into english, the inscripture means "To have everything is life and beauty." Jani read the inscripture outloud. "To have everything is life and beauty. What the heck does that mean?" Jani was really puzzled by the inscription. "Well honey, why don't you find out instead of standing there looking like a dumb-founded mule!" came this voice from out of nowhere. "Who said that?" Jani sounded scared as she backed into a corner in her room. "I did, babe. Over here. Look into the mirror. I guarantee you won't regret it." Jani identified the voice as belonging to a male. Jani slowly walked back over to where she had hung the mirror. She looked into the mirror and saw the strangest looking teenager she could ever imagine. He was a cross between Sylvester Stallone, Alf, and the Flying Monkees from the movie `The Wiz'. Now if that wasn't ugly, Jani didn't know what was. "Uh, how did you get in my mirror and what in the world are you?" Jani asked the creature. "My! Aren't we forward! I do declare you are a fiesty one. Well, deary, for your knowledge, my name is Chewy. This is a looking glass and not a mirror. You and only you may gain access to this magical looking glass and all its wonderful and not so wonderful tales by translating any one of those phrases from Spanish to English." Chewy announced proudly. "What if I don't want to explore the lands in your world? How do I get out of it?" Jani questioned Chewy. "You simply say `no mas', which means `no more' in english or you leave the room. Any more questions?" "Yeah, how come you look the way you do?" Jani wanted to know. To her and every human, Chewy would be considered an ugly retard. His face was badly deformed and from what Jani could see of Chewy, she only saw one arm with fingers and his chest was badly marred. He looked like he was malnutritioned. "You mean, how did I get this way? Wait a minute... I don't even know what your people call you. What is your name?" Chewy really didn't want to answer Jani's questions because he was afraid that she'd leave and would not want to talk to him anymore. "My name is Jane, but you can call me Jani. C'mon Chewy, please naswer my question. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of something? You're shaking something terrible!" Jani now sounded very concerned. "Aw Jani. Do I have to? I'm not `fraid of nothing. I just don't want to scare you away. You don't want to hear how I got this way. Let's talk about you. C'mon what do you say?" Chewy really wanted to forget the question. "No Chewy, I want to hear everything about you. You're not that bad looking. Beauty comes from within. Not from your outer appearance. You have to have faith in yourself in order to believe in yourself. It shouldn't matter what others think of you. Look at me. Here, wait a minute. Let me find a picture of myself from last year, when I took everyone's opinions and comments seriously. I looked and felt awful. Then one day, my older brother said to me that it doesn't matter how you look or how you feel to other people. Only to yourself. What my older brother meant was to be confident about yourself. Don't rely on what others think of you. If you want to look or feel better, then go do it for yourself, not anyone else. When my brother said that to me, you know what I thought?" she paused to see if Chewy would answer. He did. "What did you think Jani?" "I thought to myself that maybe for once my brother was right and that maybe I should listen to me and me only. This past year, I've looked at myself differently and so has everyone around me. I've dressed better, I have a lot more confidence in myself, and I believe in myslef. So, what do you say? Will you tell me what happened? I promise that if you tell me about yourself and what horrible thing happened to you, I'll tell you about me. Okay? Do we have a deal?" Jani was smiling. She was almost sure that Chewy would say yes. There was a short period of silence before Chewy finally spoke. "Okay. We've got a deal. On one condition though," he pointed out. "Sure. You name it." Jani was dying to know what the condition was. "You have to promise you'll be my friend for always and forever, no matter what." Chewy looked deadly serious. "Well, Chewy. I'm afraid you've got yourself a deal. Hey, here's the picture of me from last year. See how ugly I was?" Jani showed Chewy the picture. "You weren't that bad! I've looked worse!" Chewy gasped. "You have?" Jani was quite startled by this. "Yeah. Whenever I'm really depressed, my eyes turn a light greenish-yellow and I look like a frog." they both laughed. "I love your sense of humore, Chewy. Now. Tell me everything about yourself. Don't be afraid. You can do it. I'm listening." Jani sat down on the floor with her pillows from her bed surrounding her. "Well, to start off. I am 16 years old your time, but 32 years old my time. I have three brothers, eight sisters and a ferret as a pet. My parents are both doctors at the local hospital here in Ferretown. The way the town got the name is because when the town was first founded, there were ferrets everywhere," he paused for a drink of soda before continuing, "Last year, I was badly hurt in a motorcycle accident. I lost my left arm. See that picture of the kid in the "I love sports" shirt? That was me before the accident. Anyway, my neck and my face were badly mangled. I had two severly broken ribs, my spleen was ruptured, and my kidneys failed. According to my father, I almost lost my right eye. They savied it, but I have to wear a special contact lens and safety glasses for sports." Chewy stopped for a minute to catch his breath. "Chewy, do you have a problem gaining weight? I've noticed that you're pretty skinny." Jani was very interested by what Chewy was telling her. "I have to be careful about my weight. See, the two severly broken ribs haven't completely healed." Chewy said matter-of-factly. "I don't understand, Chewy. What's your ribs got to do with your weight?" Jani was curious. "My anatomy is different from yours. My stomach is in my rib cage. If my stomach gets any bigger, I couild die. So until my ribs completely heal, I have to be careful about what I eat and about exercising. I still play sports and stuff but I also wear protective padding around my ribs." Jani interrupted him. "Chewy, I don't mean to interrupt, but I have an idea. Would you like to hear it?" Jani was quietly hoping he would. "Alright, Jani. Let's hear this idea of yours." Chewy answered. "How about you coming into my world for a day? This way, we could sit on my bed and have some milk and cookies while telling each other stuff about us. How's it sound to you? I want an honest opinion. Now if you don't like it, I'll understand. I promise." Jani actually started to beg. "I'm not sure. I've never passed into another world. I've always had people or animals pass into my world. Do you really think I should? It sounds fascinating, but I mast admit, I am a little scared," Chew quickly thought it over. "Oh, alright. I'll do it, but you have to promise not to let anyone in your room." Jani could tell that Chewy was real serious. "I promise. Here, let me help you. Give me your hand." As Chewy journeyed through the window, he began to change into a handsome looking young fellow. "Oh my goodness, Chewy. You've changed into a human!" Jani screamed in excitement. Chewy was no longer deformed. Instead, he became human and lived with Jani and her family until he was finished with college. He and Jani wed within six months after graduating from college. They now have four children and two pet ferrets. And the looking glass? Well, it hangs in the living room so that they can visit with his family from time to time. Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder PROLOGUE Through their eyes, I hope you have learned that beauty is inside of you. It's not your physical appearance, but your emotional appearance. As a famous person once said: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." The movie had just ended it was a pitch black night. She had to drive through a wooded area that had no street lights. Sam could see were that of the oncoming cars and hers lighting the road before her. Her friend screamed ' watch out.' But before she had realized what was going on they felt the bump bump as she ran over what her friends said was a dog. She pulled right over thankfully there wasn't any cars coming up behind her. Sam jumped out an ran to the little dog. He wasn't bloody and he was still breathing her friends told her to leave it, there wasn't anything they could do. Sam didn't listen she ran to her car and opened the hatch and pulled out a blanket. She went back to the little dog and wrapped him up. She put him on the floor board of the passenger side making Fred sit in back with Vanessa. She called information on her cell and asked them to connect her to a Animal Hospital. She talked to the doctor on call and he told her he would meet her there. Fortunately the vets was only a couple of blocks away. Sam beat the vet there but only by a couple of minutes. He unlocked the door and they walked into the exam room. Dr. McKinnon asked her if she knew anything about the dog. Sam said no but she wanted him to do whatever he had to do to make the dog better. Dr. McKinnon examined the dog thoroughly. "He has a broken hip. That's going to cost you anywhere around $1,000.00 will you be able to pay for that?" "Well I was saving it for school but I'll pay just fix the poor little guy." Sam replied. "He sure is a f'ugly looking mongrel, have you thought what your going to do with him?" Dr. McKinnon asked. "If I can't find his owners yeah I'll keep him. He might not win best in show but you look into his eyes and you can tell he is a sweet loving dog. I want to call him Ricky." Sam answered. "Okay we'll keep Ricky overnight and do the surgery in the morning. Just fill out this form and we will call you when were done." Dr. McKinnon handed her a clipboard with a little form to fill out. "We'll make sure he's comfortable tonight." Sam filled out the form and handed it back to Dr. McKinnon. She kneeled down so she was eye to eye with little Ricky. "Good night boy, I'll see you tomorrow." Ricky's eyes seemed to smile. The girls left the Animal Hospital and Sam took them home. She had a hard time falling asleep, she just kept worrying about Ricky. The night seemed to just drag on she must have finally fell asleep because the next time she opened her eyes it was morning about 8:30. She grabbed the cordless taking it into the bathroom. Her mom would have already went to work so she was by herself. Sam was glad she had the day off. She took a quick shower and got ready as quickly as she could. She wanted to be able to leave immediately if the Vet called. Sam had just sat down to eat when the phone rang. "Hello." "Hello, Miss Nance?" A woman asked. "Yes." She replied. "Ricky has had his surgery and is doing great you can pick him up after 4pm." "Thank you so very much." They hung up. Sam got the phonebook and started making calls. She placed a found ad in both of the local papers. She called the Humane Society and the NO KILL Rescue Home giving Ricky's description and her number so someone could call and claim him. Then she went to the pet store, she put a 'found' note on the bulletin board. She got a collar, leash, food and a food and water bowl. She saw a big cushy bed and had to get him that to so he could be comfortable during his recovery. She didn't know what kind of toys he might like so she bought him a little of everything. Sam grabbed a bite to eat then went home to set everything for him. It was just a couple of minutes after 4 so she brought the collar and the leash and left to get little Ricky. Sam walked up to the receptionists desk the were standing in a hall behind the desk. Sam still could hear them and they were all joking and laughing at how ugly her Ricky was. "Excuse me I'm here to pick up Ricky." Sam said loudly so they would shut up and get her Ricky. "Sorry, come back this way, Dr. McKinnon would like to talk to you about his care." The girl lead her back to an exam room then left to get the Vet. Dr. McKinnon brought Ricky in in a travel Kennel. "Hello Sam, Looking good this afternoon. Ricky is resting and it's important that he doesn't try to run around for a couple of days. He has to keep the cone on for at least till I see him in two weeks. We can't have him gnawing on his sutures or the cast. Here are some antibiotics to help make sure he doesn't get an infection. He gets one pill 3 times a day till they are gone. Do you have any questions?" "Just, can I borrow the kennel for the next couple of weeks?" Sam asked. "Oh, and how am I suppose to take him out to go to the bathroom?" "Yes you can borrow the kennel. Then you will just have to but him on a leash, carefully carry him out put him down let him do his business then carry him back in." Dr. McKinnon explained. "I've decided to let you make payments. You were so sincerely selfless in the care of Ricky, I don't want to take your savings." "Thank you so very much!" Sam was so excited. She would still be able to save for school. "Just stop at the desk on the way out and make the arrangements. Call me if you have any concerns, See you in two weeks." "Okay, Than you!" She went back out to the desk, she set the kennel with Ricky in it at her feet. She made the appointment, the payment arrangements and headed home. Ricky loved his new bed he got in it and went right to sleep. The next two weeks flew by. She would put Ricky in the kennel when she was at work but otherwise she was doating on him. No one had called and she was glad she was getting really attached. Sam took him to see Dr. McKinnon. He examined Ricky said he looked good. Then he offered her a job. He had to fire one of his because she got mouthy with a customer/patients. Sam said she would love to but had to give the store 2 weeks notice. Dr. McKinnon said they could work around that and she could bring Ricky to work with her everyday. So they sat down together and worked out a schedule, having a set schedule at the store made it easier. She filled out all the government documents. When she went to work she gave notice. She spoiled Ricky like crazy he healed up perfectly. She had come to love that ugly little dog. She never wanted to imagine life without him. There were hardly anytime's when he wasn't with her. She had graduated high school that spring and started taking night course to be a vetenary Assistant. For two years thing ran smoothly this. She rarely dated but when she did it never seemed to last long. It didn't really bother her because between work and school her schedule was full. Then one night she came home from school and plopped down on the couch. Ricky jumped up beside her and licked her cheek. "Ricky if you were a man we would live happily ever after. I love you little guy." She kissed him on his nose. Ricky started to glow, bright white light was radiating from him. Sam jumped up watching her puppy floating about the floor suddenly there was a flash of intensely bright light. When she could see again a gorgeous naked man stood where her Ricky had been. She was Awe struck. "Hello, Sam I am Stephen a prince in my home land. Because of my vanity I was cursed and transformed into that dog you called your own. The curse could only be broken by the kiss of one who loved me no matter how ugly I was. I would like you to be my princess." Stephen recited to Sam all the while wrapping the throw from the couch around his waist. Sam had tears in her eyes when she ran into his arms and whispered yes. Happily Ever After He wasn't much Of a sight to see May would laugh At a man such as he But she saw his heart And knew it was kind No nicer of a man Would she ever find They became friends And stayed that way a while He'd always make her laugh He'd always make her smile Until one day Not too long ago Everything changed In her heart and soul She saw this man In a different light She knew from that moment This felt so right She knew he loved her Almost everyone knew She told him her feelings And their love grew They soon were married In the wedding she dreamed of And lived happily ever after Completely and madly in love The entire contents of this site is copyrighted. Please do not use it without prior permission from the owner or author. |
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