Handsome and the Feast

By: Emilie Foster
 

          Once upon a time there was a young woman named Daphnie who had the most beautiful heart of any woman who had ever lived.  She was also blessed with incredible physical beauty.  Men from all over the world came to her home in Paris, France to seek her hand in marriage, but she was never satisfied with any of them.  These men did not even know her heart; they could only see how beautiful she was on the outside. 

          Once she was infatuated with a very handsome prince named Pierre.  She knew all about what a noble knight he was and had heard countless heroic stories about him.  She longed to meet him so she could really get to know him.  It was a warm June afternoon when she received an invitation to the royal ball.  The prince himself had requested her presence.  She was so excited to finally get to meet this legendary man and quickly began to plan what she would wear.  She was thrilled at the opportunity to spend time with Pierre to find out what he was really like.  As soon as she arrived at the palace, she was immediately disappointed.  The prince greeted her with a kiss, which she found much too forward and offensive; after all they had only just met.  He was possessive over her all night and would not allow a single other man to speak with her.  He bragged about all of his great accomplishments, which she found arrogant and completely unattractive.  When he wasn’t speaking of himself, he was droning on and on about how beautiful Daphnie was and what a handsome couple they made.  Not once did he ask a single thing about her and he hardly even let her speak.  Later in the evening he told her of his great plans for their life together and Daphnie was appalled!  How dare this man just assume she would spend her life with him!  They had just met only a few hours ago and so far she was not impressed.  Devastated once again by another man who was only interested in her for her physical beauty, Daphnie went home and cried herself to sleep.  This always seemed to be the case for the gorgeous young woman and she was finally fed up.

Daphnie’s crying was not unusual, but her reaction to it this time was.   This time she sobbed “I wish someone would love me for who I am and not for what I look like!  I wish for a way to make people see my hear t!”  Well, at that very moment a tiny fairy appeared.  Daphnie was very surprised and rubbed her eyes in disbelief.  She asked the fairy what she was doing there and the fairy replied “I have come to grant your wish, dear!”  With three shakes of her tiny wand, the little fairy transformed Daphnie’s physical appearance unrecognizably.  Her body, which only seconds ago was “perfect” based on the world’s standards, was now very much over weight.  Her flawless complexion was now splotchy and rough, and her long, silky, gorgeous blonde hair was now short, frizzy and black.  Daphnie looked in the mirror and beamed with happiness!  Once the word got out that Daphnie wasn’t gorgeous anymore, hardly anyone ever came to visit her.  A few of her old admirers came to see if the heartbreaking news was true.  When she opened the door with an enormous smile on her face, they screamed and fled, never to return.   While she was often lonely, she had great hope that one day her true prince would come. 

Finally, several months later, there was a knock at her door.  Excited to have any visitor she hurried to answer it.  As Daphine opened her door, she saw a very handsome man standing in front of her.  His name was Campbell, and he was selling vacuum cleaners.  Ecstatic for the opportunity to have some companionship for even a few minutes, she eagerly invited him in.  After a brief demonstration she was sold…and not just on the vacuum.  Being the kind hearted woman that she was, she asked the man if he would like to stay for dinner, since it was already 6:30, she figured he was tired and hungry from a long day of work.  He gladly accepted and she excused herself to the kitchen.  She prepared an elaborate feast for them.  Since she had gotten her new body, her love for food had grown greatly and she could eat quite a bit more than she used to!  They sat down and enjoyed the feast.  They had pleasant conversation and for the first time in her life, Daphnie could feel the man’s affection for her growing with every glance, every smile, and every laugh.  For once, someone was seeing her heart and not distracted by her outward appearance.  By the time they had finished their dessert and coffee, he was head over heels for her!  He insisted on seeing her again and she accepted. 

One week later, they had a date.  Daphnie had never been so nervous in all her life.  She was also overwhelmed with emotions she had never dealt with before.  On one hand she was thankful for her new outward appearance so this man would have to truly love her heart to love her as a person, but at the same time she didn’t have much self confidence.  She thought maybe if she was a little less ugly, she would have a better chance with this man, but she knew that wasn’t truly what her heart desired.  She would never be truly happy until she knew someone loved her for who she was.  As soon as Campbell arrived at her front door with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for her, she let out a sigh of relief.  They spent the most fabulous evening together.  They had delightful conversations and laughed the whole time.  Throughout the evening they both became more and more comfortable with each other.  When Campbell brought Daphnie home that night he walked her to her door, looked into her eyes, and told her she was beautiful.  Daphnie knew he wasn’t talking about her hair, her body, or her outfit.  He thought she was a beautiful person.  Swept over with joy and relief, she wept while they hugged.

Daphnie and Campbell’s relationship continued on and grew even more wonderful with each passing day.  Eventually they were married and are still living happily in Paris to this day…