The Ornamented Being

And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness as long as they lived.

“Perhaps your name is Rumpelstiltskin?”

“The devil has told you that! the devil has told you that!” cried the little man, and in his anger he plunged his right foot so deep into the earth that his whole leg went in; and then in rage he pulled at his left leg so hard with both hands that he tore himself in two.

“The snow-flakes grew larger and larger, till at last they looked just like great white fowls. Suddenly they flew on one side; the large sledge stopped, and the person who drove rose up. It was a lady; her cloak and cap were of snow. She was tall and of slender figure, and of a dazzling whiteness. It was the Snow Queen.  … The Snow Queen kissed Kay once more … “Now you will have no more kisses,” said she, “or else I should kiss you to death!”“

  ‘Aha!’ she cried mockingly, ‘you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you; you will never see her again.’

“You’ll bitterly regret ever breaking your promise,” he said, and vanished… .That night, freed from the nightmare of the rats, the citizens of Hamelin slept more soundly than ever. And when the strange sound of piping wafted through the streets at dawn, only the children heard it. Drawn as by magic, they hurried out of their homes… .A great landslide came down the mountain blocking the entrance to the cave forever… . And no matter what people did, the mountain never gave up its victims.

Kirsty Mitchell’s Wonderland Series

(Source: kirstymitchellphotography.com)