章 11: Cinderella's tragic ending
The kids huddled together, frightened that Jun would eat them up if they wouldn't listen to him.
Mrs. Quan Su came back as Jun was finally back to normal. She clapped her hands. "Thank you everyone for coming here. I am sure the children are excited to hear lots of stories today."
"Yayyyy!!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Quan for inviting us."
The event started with a few children reading aloud from story books. It was a good way to practice their speaking and language skills. The teachers then came forward and read some fantasy books to them one by one. There were some women too who had just started writing as a hobby and were excited to tell the short stories they wrote.
When it was Ai's turn, the children were more than excited to listen to her.
"It's pretty sister!"
"Pretty sister's voice is pretty too!"
They bent forward, their ears fully open.
Ai bowed. "Let's begin."
Jun shrugged and went back to his work.
She opened her notebook.
"The title of the first story is Cinderella. She was a very beautiful woman. She was an orphan bullied by her stepmother and stepsisters. They made her do all the laundry work and cruelly punished her for her mistakes. But then came an invitation for a Royal Ball that changed her life forever…"
When she was done, the kids clapped hard. "The Prince and Cinderella live happily forever!"
"I want a Prince too!"
"I want to wear a beautiful dress!"
Ai put the notebook on her lap and said, "If you will tell me what you learned from this story, then I will tell you a secret."
Secret?
The children were immediately pulled in.
One of the girls raised her hand. "Pretty sister! Cinderella was very kind. That's why the fairy Godmother helped her, and she found her prince! I learned that you should always be kind."
She nodded.
Then a boy said, "Pretty sister, I want to be rich like the prince! Then I can buy all the chocolates and live in a castle!"
The teachers and others laughed.
Ai nodded. "Anybody else?"
"Pretty sister, Cinderella was forgiving. I learned that we shouldn't be angry at others and forgive them!"
"Good. Anybody else?"
The children shook their heads.
"Okay. Then I will tell you the secret. It's about what happened after the Prince and Cinderella got married."
They brightened.
"They had a happy wedding and spent their time in bliss. Then Cinderells was carrying his baby. They were very happy. But Cinderella became fat as the baby grew in her tummy. The Prince didn't like a fat Cinderella and began to ignore her. Cindrella then came to know that the prince was having an affair with another beautiful countess. He kicked Cinderella and his baby out of his castle and married the countess. Heartbroken and nowhere to go, Cinderella came back to her stepmother's house with her newborn baby. Her stepmother and stepsisters started bullying her again and this time, they bullied her daughter too. Cinderella could only cry and lament on her fate. The end."
Silence.
The children - "..."
The teachers - "..."
Mrs. Quan Su - "..."
Jun, who was just doing his job but was listening to her anyway - "..."
His lips parted in shock, and he stared at Ai until his eyes began to ache.
What?
Some of the kids, especially girls, started to cry.
"Waaaa. The Prince and Cinderella are not happy?"
"But it was a happy ending."
They felt very bad for Cinderella and wailed. Their teachers and parents tried to console them. One of the mothers furiously said, "You. What are you doing? You made them cry!"
"Why did you have to do this? Everybody was so happy."
"Who called her here?"
Ai was calm. She looked at the children. "If you stop crying and listen to me, then I will give you candies again."
Upon hearing the candies, their mood lifted a bit. They quietened down.
Ai smiled. "Good. What you learned from the story is indeed right. But there are faults in it.
Yes, you should be kind and forgiving. But there is a limit to it. If the bully doesn't change, then you have to retaliate, otherwise, they never stop hurting you."
Ai glanced at the adults. "Would you want your children to bear all the bullying and forgive the ones who hurt them?"
"That…of course not…"
"Hm. That was Cinderella's first mistake. She forgave her stepmother with a big heart when she married the prince. But did the stepmother change? Was that enough? No. That's why she bullied her again when Cinderella came back. She thought she was weak. If she had fought for her rights earlier, then she wouldn't have tried to hurt her again.
So you learn that you should always stand up against whatever wrong is happening to you. Some people are just evil. No matter how kind you are, some people don't change. So, you need to understand the boundary of when you should stop being kind and start to fight."
The kids slowly nodded.
"The second thing you learn is to be independent. This is especially for girls. If Cinderella had worked to earn for herself, then she wouldn't have had to return to her stepmother's place when the prince kicked her out and suffer a bullied life once again. She would have her own house and own money to raise her daughter and give her a better future. Independence gives you great empowerment."
The parents and teachers slightly coughed in embarrassment.
Ai continued. "The third thing to learn is that happily ever after doesn't end at a wedding. The true journey starts from there. Cinderella was beautiful. The prince fell in love. But it quickly died down when her body changed. He abandoned her. Which gives us an important lesson. You shouldn't just love anybody's outer appearance. It's not love if you cannot love him or her in their worst state. Would you want your friends to tease you if you become fat one day?"
The kids vigorously shook their heads. "No!!!"
"So love them as they are without prejudice. But it's not just the prince's fault. I think Cinderella was the same. She was attracted to the prince's beauty and his wealth. She might have dreamt that all her problems would be over if she married the prince. But he showed his true face and was let down.
Which tells us expectations don't always go our way. What you expect can be very different from what reality is. Marriage has adjustments, worries, uncertainties and disappointments. Of course, there are happy moments too. That's why it doesn't end at a wedding because a marriage needs a lot of work and compromises from both sides."
Suddenly, Jun coldly exclaimed. "Bullshit!"
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