The Wooden Rose

 

Once upon a time there was a charming little doll named Quinilia. She lived in a famous little antique store.  The store was famous around the world because of its beautiful china, its elegant and quaint golden tables and chairs which only kings and queens sat upon, for its lovely silver candlesticks and for its many chandeliers which dangled from ceilings and glittered with shimmering diamonds.             The antique store also had the loveliest puppets and dainty porcelains dolls of sheer beauty and elegance. But Quinilia was there most beautiful doll in the store.  She had very pretty brown hair that was real or made to look real. Big blue eyes that looked deeply into ones face. A few dainty tanned freckles spotted over her straight, but plump, little nose. And a sweet rosy mouth shaped like a rolling hill. Ahhhhhh, our Quinilia was very pretty indeed and not for sale. She was there only to be looked at. The owner, of the store, Miss Frumpoh loved Quinilia and really wished for her to become a real girl, not a pretty porcelain doll. Unfortunately, Quinilia was a doll and there was nothing to be done about this. Oh really?

            Miss Frumpoh had a cat named Smoky. Smoky was very cute, round like a ball and, smoky with black and white fur. Miss Frumpoh thought she knew Smoky very well. But… there was something she didn’t know about the little cat. Smoky was not really a cat at all. He just made himself look like a cat for Miss Frumpoh so that he could live in a nice house and sit next to Quinilia and talk in the language where words are not necessary. Quinilia could converse with him too. Of course, Miss Frumpoh never saw this. In the evenings when Miss Frumpoh went to bed, Smoky and Quinilia often sat on the big blue couch in the kitchen and had interesting conversations. They didn’t always agree on everything but on one topic they always agreed on. And the topic was… Why were humans always so complicated?

            After a big day of having lots of people in the shop and being admired by so many inquisitive people, Quinilia said to Smoky,

            ‘Ah, I’m so glad the shop is closed now. Smoky, you have no idea how tiring it is to look nice for all the people and make Miss Frumpoh happy!’

            ‘Yes, I know what you mean’, said Smoky, ‘poor Miss Frumpoh… she cried again after dinner.’

            ‘Why did she cry?’

            ‘Well, she wants you to be her little girl, a real little girll!’

            ‘But how can I do that? I’m a doll, a porcelain doll?’ cried Quinilia in dismay.

            ‘ Now, now, don’t get upset.’

            ‘I’ve always wanted to turn into a little girl but I never had a fairy god mother who was able to turn me into one… like my cousin Pinocchio.’

            In all earnest, Smoky sat on his chubby hind leg and said,’ OK now, look at me and tell me the truth. Do you REALLY want to be a little girl, Quinilia? Tell me… yes or no… none of that maybe so business, you know, I can’t stand that. People are always doing this and it drives me crazy.’

            Wiping her dolly tears, Quinilia looked at Smoky straight in the face and replied, ‘Yes, Smoky, yes……. I want to make Miss Frumpoh happy! And I want to be a real little girl.’

            ‘OK, see that pretty wooden rose with the green leaves on it? See it there, on the big book shelf?’

            ‘Yes, what about it?’

            ‘Well, that, my darling dear, is not a plain rose. It’s a magic rose.’

            ‘Smoky, don’t be silly. It’s been there for ages. Miss Frumpoh put it there for decorations. Honestly, Smoky, this is not funny,’ said Quinilia quite sternly in her little old fashion dolly way.

            ‘I am not being funny! I should know because I put it there!’

            ‘What, you? Up there? But you’re a cat and I’m sure you didn’t put that wooden rose in your mouth and scramble up to the top shelf… the wooden rose is so heavy!’

            ‘I carried the rose in my mouth but the rose wasn’t wooden back then. No, it was a fresh garden rose at the time. It’s a magic wooden rose. It can turn into a fresh rose or into a wooden rose. Humph!’

            ‘What, a magic garden rose? Smoky, I’m sorry but you have got to be kidding me.’

            ‘No, I am NOT! Quinilia, I have something to tell you, something very important and I need your full attention.’

            Quinilia had never had seen Smoky so serious before and was getting a little frightened about this but she said,

            ‘ Smoky, I’m all ears.’

            ‘Well… I’m not really a cat but a prince who was turned into a cat by an evil enchantress.’

            Quinilia looked baffled and said nothing but, ‘Oh.’

            After a long silence Smoky continued, ‘It happened a very long time ago. I wept and wept for days after realizing the doleful plight I was truly in, being a cat and having to crawl on four legs, and I could not undo the awful enchantment I was already in. You have no idea how awful this was, o man, o man, o man. Then I saw this tiny little elf smiling so glowingly at me and he carried a garden rose and said “Hi there Prince Cat, my name is Elfie Delfie and I will help you to get out of your drastic situation. Hey, now, young prince, do not cry or fret about your messy mess, that’s only for the weak ones. You’ve got to be strong about this, be a strong cat. I’m afraid to say this but you are going to have to roam around the world for a long time, the spell is quite strong. But don’t panic, you will always find a good home. You know that evil lady could have turned you into a plastic bag or some other dreadful object, but being a cat is not as bad as you think.”

            Quinilia was in total awe, ‘Uh… well… what happened? Did the elf help you more?’

            Glad to have such a good listener finally, Smoky settled into his nice regal pose and continued, ‘Well…. Elfie Delfie produced from his little pocket another garden rose, a beautiful rosy rose and said, 

            “Eh my Cat Prince, here is a magical rose. I am, though I don’t look it, Elfie Delfie the Garden Rose Elf. The rose won’t, I’m afraid, turn you back into the gallant prince you used to be. But it will always be able to give you food, a bowl of milk and fresh bread chopped up thinly and with bits o’ bacon in it. One day, years later, you’ll find this shop, a pretty antique shop that sells old beautiful things like tables and chairs. And you’ll see some pretty porcelain dolls and old cuddly teddy bears. When you see that house then go inside. There you will meet Miss Frumpoh and she’ll fall madly in love with you right away, she adores lost kitties, and give you an excellent home. Just stay with her and make her happy. Got it? You’ll meet lots of porcelain dolls but there is one that Miss Frumpoh loves the most and her name will be Quinilia. You may talk with her because she’ll understand you. But before you do all this … you must put the rose, it won’t feed you anymore then, on the top of the bookshelf. OK…. Got that? The rose will automatically turn into a pretty wooden rose that Miss Frumpoh will keep for decor. Oky –doky? Then make friends with Quinilia, good friends, chatty friends. In time you’ll see and hear Miss Frumpoh crying and wishing that Quinilia might turn into a little girl. But, don’t say or do anything cute to Miss Frumpoh, no, let her moan and groan a bit. But… go to Quinilia and ask her if she really wants to be a little girl, yes or no. If she says yes then you tell her about the magic rose, which is now the wooden magic rose, and tell her to get it from the bookshelf, she MUST give the wooden rose three kisses and, then eat the wooden rose. Then Quinilia will turn into a real little girl and she’ll run right to Miss Frumpoh and they’ll kiss and cry and live happily ever after, for a while. OK, got that?  Oh, I forgot if everything goes as planned you’ll turn back into a shapely prince and marry Miss Frumpoh. OK?’

            Quinilia had been listening so intently that when the end came it left her so bewildered. But after a moment, she said,

            ‘But Smoky, how am I going to get up to the bookshelf? I mean really, it’s so high up and I’ll never be able to get it down without breaking the wooden rose and that’s no good!’

            Getting up Smoky shouted, ‘Oh, what a whiner you are! Do I have to do everything for you? I’ve been waiting for years for this day! I want to be a prince again!’

            Poor Quinila was having a silent sob, this made Smoky feel so bad and so he said in a much gentler voice,

            ‘Ok. Stop this, Quinila, get a hold on yourself, you know that I can’t stand hearing that sniff. I’ll go to the wooden rose myself and give it a little push but you have to catch it and don’t let it drop and crash. You’re going to have to somehow slide it on the floor to get the wooden rose in you hands or your lap when I drop it. I’ll help you. But stop this silly crying, honestly it’s driving me up the wall.’

            So… Smoky jumped to where the wooden rose lay on top of the bookshelf and gave it a little push and Quinilia, after sliding closer to the bookshelf, caught it with her dolly arms. She then tried her hardest to slide the rose, remember Quinilia was still a stiff doll, closer to her while Smoky pushed the wooden rose, with his nose, closer to her. Finally, after an hour of hard work, Quinilia was sitting next to the wooden rose.  She gave it three kisses, and then suddenly she said,

            ‘ I can’t eat this. It’s wood!! I can’t bite into wood, magic or not! Smoky, really!’

            ‘Oh, I forgot, Elfie Delfie did mention that when you start to eat the wooden rose it would turn into candy grass. He told me, that was what all dolls liked to eat.‘

            ‘Well… he’s right about that.’

            So our brave little doll ate up the wooden rose, which instantly turned into soft and delicious candy grass and BINGO she turned into the prettiest little real girl! She picked up Smoky, gave him wild hugs and kisses and ran, holding him the whole time, right into Miss Frumpoh’s bedroom and screamed in one happy and delightful sentence,  ‘Mommy-Mommy-look-I’m-little-girl-and-not-a-porcelain-doll-and-it’s-all because-of-Smoky!!!!’

            It was four o’clock in the morning but Miss Frumpoh was wide awake and believed it all because she believed in magic and knew that the impossible could always be possible. Also, she always knew that Smoky was a tremendously clever and a very special cat. She was utterly ecstatic to see her beautiful little girl. They all held hands, with Smoky in the middle, and danced until dawn when the sky put on its loveliest rose-pink gown. They all lived happily ever after but not quite. The story doesn’t end yet.

            Some days later something terrible happened. No one could find Smoky. Although blissfully happy with her darling Rinila, as Quinilia was now called, Miss Frumpoh was quite devastated not to find her darling Smoky and went into fits of tears and searched for her beloved furry baby doll.

            But Rinila knew that Smoky must have turned back into a prince and was taking his time to visit Miss Frumpoh but of course, she said nothing to Miss Frumpoh.           

            The next day someone knocked at Miss Frumpoh’s back door. Rinila, quick as a wink, ran to open the door. Well, what do you think happened? It was a handsome gentleman all dressed in smoky colors and holding in his right hand a lovely ginger cat named Marmalade. He saw the charming little girl and knew who she was, the little doll who used to be Quinilia and who was now called Rinila. He said most politely,

            ‘Hello, young lady. My name is Mr. Samuel Smoke. Is your lovely mother here, Miss Frumpoh?

            Just then Miss Frumpoh walked by, took one look at dashing Mr. Smoke and was instantly smitten by his charming manners.

            ‘Hello Miss Frumpoh, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Mr. Smoke. My good friends the Günter’s have told me that you are missing a cat named Smoky, a black and white cat. Correct? With longish gray hair and a bushy tail? I think I saw him walking a long way off, running after some violet butterflies. Ahh now, now Mrs. Frumpoh no need to fret. Look what I have… a charming little cat that I found amongst the rubbish…. And see here, a collar around his neck with his name Marmalade. Ahhh…. I know that Marmalade is looking for a good home.’

            Well, not a year had gone by and the wedding bells did toll for Mr. and Mrs. Smoke along with their little girl, Rinila, who was followed by Marmalade.

            Oh I forgot… of course, they all lived happily ever after in the little charming antique store, which flourished to no end.