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21 " My downfall, inevitably, was triggered by food. "
― , Princess Ben
22 " A princess,” (Queen Sophia) would proclaim, “requires a graceful and willowy carriage, not the appetite of a swineherd. "
23 " I mulled on the tower-bound princess whose lover employed her hair as rope. My own curly locks – one of my better features, I will admit, better being a relative term – hung just past my shoulders, and barely draped over the windowsill. "
24 " No matter how I prayed, no fairy godmother appeared. No elf or leprechaun or world-weary wizard materialised to provide the secret weapon against my foe. I remained alone in a mouse-infested cell, empty but for a pallet and the nightdress into which I now had to struggle. "
25 " I could not help but notice that in this regard the book, inanimate though it was, cared more for my welfare than any human in the castle. "
26 " Finally I halted, my cloak soiled with grease and jam. Why was it that jam always coated me so? "
27 " The day of the ball was spent preparing me much as one prepares a goose for Christmas, with the same ultimate effect. "
28 " Night soil oozed onto my cloak, and I wondered why all my adventures involved foul odour. Why could I not for once frolic in a meadow of flowers, or escape in a hamper of fresh laundry? No, I must endure night soil and prison cells and unwashed soldiers… "
29 " The situation collapsed completely at dinner one September evening. Perhaps it was the full moon that drove me to madness, or the gnawing, relentless emptiness of my heart. Whatever the trigger, the powder had been well packed, and my explosion, though shocking, was not altogether unexpected. "
30 " Does this smack of magic to you? Because allow me to inform you, my handsome young prince, that this be not enchantment – it be work!” With that I hurled my slipper at him, not caring if I caused his decapitation. (I did not.) Marshalling what little dignity I yet possessed, I stomped down the corridor – challenging indeed with one shoe – and around the corner. "