Chapter Two Dancing Dreams

There was a girl who lived in a large town, her father was the Mayor and her mother was known for charity work. The girl was an only child. Her family gave her everything she wanted, demonstrating love through lavish material gifts. The girl was very lovely and when she walked through the village it was always to smiles and admiring looks. Without asking she always had gifts from various merchants, without ever knowing need in her life she started wanting more.

Her happiness became a fleeting thing, that could vanish as quickly as the petals of a cherry blossom. She wanted a horse so her parents bought her one. This only brought responsibilities and the realities of horse versus the dream of having a horse. These things are so vastly different that the horse made her more unhappy.

Her parents sold the horse after she burst into tears from the burden of tending the horse. Her new wish was to dance. Her parents paid for instructors, the finest they could find to come to the town to teach her and the other village children dancing. At first this made her happy, her smiles were like the sun peering out through the clouds on a cold, grey day. She did not practice, she did not improve. The other children did, and soon all the children danced better than she could. She was envious and took off on a tantrum into the woods. The children ignored her rather than treating her like a lovely goddess as they had before the lessons.

She lost herself amidst the tearing thorns and strangling vines. When the sun set and the night grew cold she huddled near a tree, she was terrified. On that cold, full moon night my Court was trooping through the forest; preparing for the change in seasons soon to come. Autumn would be lovely and cold this year, we were celebrating. Her terror called to us like hot cider simmering on a fire.

I stopped the Court and went to her myself. She was not frightened by me, and was relieved to be found. She told me what she wished for. That she had run away because she wanted to dance better than anyone in the world. She wanted everyone to look at her, to admire her, to love her. She knew that this would make her happy, and that if she could have this she would never be sad again and would be content. Her words were sincere and rang with the truth.

“Child, I can give you shoes that will do what you wish. Wearing them you will dance far better than any other mortal could. The longer you wear the shoes; the sooner you will turn to stone. You will die if you wear them too long.” I gave her slippers that I wove from ice and moonlight. They shone silver, glowing with magic. “I accept the price, I want nothing more than to be happy.” She took the slippers. I had one of my shadows lead her back to her town.

The next day I watched through a pool of water in the forest; she put the shoes on in the morning and danced all day in the streets of the town where everyone could see. I watched as she turned slowly to stone over the next few weeks. She hid the flesh that was alabaster with scarves, and continued dancing as people came from across the land to marvel at her skill. Famous and respected people. The attention satisfied some hunger that she had but at the same time made her desire more. Her eyes burned with the fevered need for recognition. She danced often. She did not stop even when the end was close and her kin realized she might die. She smiled and danced. They begged her to stop.

She died dancing, whirling like a spirit of air; she became a statue of stone in those lovely shoes. Those shoes are still on her motionless feet, the sparkle still in her unseeing eyes. She had everything she could ever need, but it was not what she wanted. What she wanted she felt was worth dying for in the end.

That statue sits in the center of town, the birds know it as a perch. The townsfolk use it as a warning: “Do not dream, do not dare, and do not wish. Be content to exist and have what you need. Be grateful, and do not take chances, never risk the price of a dream!”

She smiles having achieved her dreams, oblivious and unmoved.