Living: the ultimate team sport

Lighten up Mondays

Posted on December 21, 2015 Updated on December 21, 2015

It was Christmas Eve. A poor old lady was sitting alone, except for her cat, in her tiny house in front of a small fire.

Suddenly there was a flash of light and the old woman’s good fairy appeared in the room. The old woman was astonished, but the fairy reassured her, “Don’t be afraid, I am your good fairy. You are very poor and all alone at Christmas so I have come to grant you three wishes to cheer you up.”

The old woman was about to speak but the fairy held up her hand. “Wait! she said, “Before you make a wish, think carefully! You will get exactly what you wish for and no wish can be undone.”

So the old woman sat silently, staring at the fire and thinking. Eventually, she spoke. “First,” she said, “I want to be very, very wealthy.”

Poof! Immediately the tiny house was packed with pots full of gold coins. There was more money than anyone could spend in an entire lifetime. 

The old woman looked around and smiled. She thought some more. “Next,” she said, “I want to be young and beautiful again like I was when I was eighteen years old.”

Poof! The old woman disappeared. In her place sat a beautiful young woman with smooth white skin and long golden hair. The woman looked at her hands and arms, felt her hair, and smiled.

“Third,” she said, “I want you to change my cat into a handsome young prince who will love me and take care of me all my life.”

Poof! The fairy disappeared and the cat leapt up from his place by the fire as a handsome young prince. He reached out to the woman, pulled her to her feet, embraced her and kissed her passionately.

Then he gazed into her eyes and said, “Hah! Now you’re really going to be sorry you took me to the vet all those years ago.”