Creative Writing: The Handmaid's Tale

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Once upon a time, there was a King who loved to hunt. No one in the kingdom enjoyed it as much as him. One day, while hunting with his consorts, he left them behind and found himself lost in the forest. As the sun dipped below the mountains, he found himself outside a small hut. Upon knocking, an old woman answered, whom he recognized to be a witch. After hearing his plight, the witch agreed to show him the way on one condition. “I have a daughter,” the witch said, “who is more beautiful than anyone else in the world. She deserves to be your queen, and if you will have her, I will show you how to escape the forest.” The King yearned to refuse the witches deal, but he knew that if he did, he would never escape the forest. So he consented, …show more content…

The children, upon seeing her approach, mistook her for their father. The boys ran out to meet him, only to find the Queen instead. She threw one shirt over each boy, turning them into gorgeous swans, and they flew away. The Queen, thinking she had found each of the King’s children, happily left for home, but the King’s daughter had hid herself in the castle and watched everything. When the King next visited his children’s castle, he found only his daughter there, weeping. She explained how her brothers left her alone, showing him the feathers dropped as her brothers few away, and the King was very distraught. His daughter hadn’t recognized the Queen, however, so she only claimed it as the work of a sorceress. The King feared that the sorceress would come back to steal away his daughter as well, and decided to return her with him to his castle. His daughter did not trust her step-mother, however, and convinced the King to leave her for one more night in the forest. After the King left, the girl contemplated what she should do. She thought, “I must find my brothers. I can’t stay here …show more content…

“Now we can be together again.” “No,” they replied, “we can only be ourselves for a quarter of an hour each evening before becoming swans again.” This broke their sister’s heart. “Is there no way to break this spell?” The brothers’ sad smiles turned to frowns. “Breaking the spell is no easy task. For six years you cannot speak or laugh. During that time, you must sew together six shirts made of starwort, but if a single word falls escapes your lips, all your work will be ruined and you will have to start over again.” Their sister did not have time to weep, for as soon as her brothers finished explaining her task, they became swans again and flew away into the forest. She resolved to free her brothers from their curse, even if it took her a lifetime. She left the field and found a tall tree deep in the forest. She climbed the tree and slept until morning. The next morning, the girl searched the forest for starwort and then began to sew. She decided to stay in the forest, for she could speak to no one and had no desire to laugh. In the forest, she could focus on only her

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