At last the day of the ball arrived, and in HindaElla's house pandemonium reigned. Both stepsisters were demanding and weepy by turn. Their mother had her hands full and could only nod apologetically to HindaElla. Mrs. Gottenmuter, having anticipated all, arrived early and whisked HindaElla away. The stepmother gratefully thanked her: two girls getting ready for the ball was one too many--adding a third would be terrifying.
All the single girls in the kingdom arrived at the castle in a mad rush. The ball was called for 8:00, but by 7:00 carriages were already lined up outside the castle door. From the vantage point of the upper floor window of Mrs. Gottenmuter's house, HindaElla could see the tumult already in progress at the castle. "Shouldn't we be leaving?" HindaElla reluctantly asked.
"Come here HindaElla," Mrs. Gottenmuter requested, and HindaElla seated herself on a footstool at the kindly widow's feet. "It's time that we had that talk together."
HindaElla blushed furiously. "I know all about that already," she stammered.
Mrs. Gottenmuter sighed. "Not that talk, dear." She looked straight into HindaElla's eyes. "It's time that you learned all about marriage."
HindaElla looked confused. "Isn't that talk what marriage is all about?
Mrs. Gottenmuter shook her head and began: "What do men want? What do women want?" and so passed the better part of an hour.
It could be seen that HindaElla had a new look in her eye. Throwing her shoulders back and tossing her beautiful hair, she motioned to Mrs. Gottenmuter. "Let's do it!" she tossed over her shoulder as she descended to the waiting coach.
To Be Continued
1 comment:
If the godmother can cover what men want and what women want in less then an hour I'd like to make an apoointment to see her. I'm married almost 25 years and I still can't figure out completely the what men want part.
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