Go back to Story 1: Coronavirus in the Fairytale Land. Princess Reasonzel and a Mysterious Virus
The Little Mermaid felt as if her world had moved several adventures backwards. She had already got used to her happily ever after, splitting her time between her family in the ocean and the love of her life on the land, and now she had to choose again. The salty waters of her home country appeared safer. No one had ever coughed or sneezed there, so it could be assumed that they were virus-proof. Triton’s kingdom was totally independent of others; therefore, his subjects didn’t need to worry about possible disruptions to the delivery of goods. Nevertheless, she couldn’t take prince Eric with her, for – as much as he respected her father – he wouldn’t have been able to bear the pressure of living with him for more than a few minutes.
Ariel’s dilemma was solved when all borders closed. Waterways were controlled no less scrupulously than others. Pinocchio, who tried to flee from one of the most severely affected countries in a whale’s belly, found out about it in a hard way.
“Signore, I was just trying to wash my hands in the seawater. Isn’t that what we’re all supposed to be doing? I was washing my hands, and I fell…”
The border guard looked down on him sceptically.
“And, besides, I can’t be infected. Viruses can only be transmitted by humans, and I am just a wooden puppet. I could jump back to the sea and prove that I will float on the surface!”
“If I were you, con boy, I would stop lying right away,” cut in the guard, “or else instead of sitting in a safe isolated cell, you will remain here exposed to close contact with herds of newfound nature lovers while your mile-long nose is stuck in the bush.”
The officer’s warning was, unfortunately, not unfounded. The citizens of fairytale lands mostly conformed to their rulers’ instructions. Towns and dwellings did appear deserted. Forests, however, were full of insubordinate strollers, who made it hot for the Red Riding Hoods delivering food and medicine. Some of them already had to resign due to an enforced preventive quarantine.
The Seven Dwarfs met a similar fate. On the one hand, they had shared quarters with the first famous death case due to the virus. On the other, they still cohabited with a dwarf who showed symptoms of a disease.
“It’s just an allergy! I’ve had it since birth!” His explanations interrupted by sneezing fits didn’t convince the Chip’n’Dale Rescue Rangers.
“You’d better stay home instead of transmitting even a hypothetical virus,” decided Chip, grounding Sneezy. “If you break your quarantine, we will take away all the diamonds you have mined this year.”
“And remember to sneeze in your elbow!” added Dale. “Just because we won’t see you doesn’t mean we won’t find out about any improper sneezes!”
Fretting the loss of their main source of income, the usually combative dwarfs surrendered and limited their daily activity to composing a capella songs, whistling them in seven parts and uploading their compositions in order to share them with a broader audience.
Still before the time of their first inspection by the local police, concerned about the already accumulated valuables, Doc – convinced by Grumpy – spent all of their savings on groceries, and – to Happy’s delight – littered their entire hut with supplies of dry provisions, tinned food and toilet paper, leaving no space for Sleepy to take a nap, making it even harder for Dopey not to falter and depriving neighbours of key supplies, which was a point that Bashful was too embarrassed to make.
For a moment, it seemed that Alladin was capable of saving the day by offering his genie, but it soon transpired that the spirit had no authority over life and death matters. Given the limited access to stores, buying out of crucial supplies and the difficulties with securing tonic, some observers following this thread decided they had no use for a gin(ie), while the more creative ones suggested using his qualities at least for hand disinfection.
Due to the growing numbers of diseased, quarantined and those fearing both predicaments, life moved to the BALL social networking platform. Apart from listening to songs whistled live by the Seven Dwarfs or hearing about creative yet ineffective means of protection against the virus, Wendy found it a perfect place to address Peter Pan.
“My dear Peter,” started her recording, which showed a stern-looking girl in a shortish nightgown. “I heard that you and the Lost Boys keep roaming the Neverland quite carelessly. That’s frightfully irresponsible. STAY HOME! Even if it’s true that children have much milder symptoms of the disease, your prancing endangers the Indians, the Sirens and the Pirates. Especially the Pirates, who are the oldest of the lot. I can imagine your eyes rolling at me defending these villains. But, please, stop and think: would you rather beat Hook all by yourself or let him be finished off by a disease? How would you rather be remembered? As the one who defeated Hook in a face-to-face duel or the one who accidentally infected him with a virus? I ask you once again, Peter: STAY HOME because if you let the disease spread at the current rate, you will soon have no enemy to torment, and I’m quite sure that’s not what you wish for.”
At that point, Wendy paused to let Peter mull over her words. After a few seconds, she raised her head again and gazed straight at the camera with tears in her eyes.
“If I could only come to visit you… I could tell you stories, teach you games and – above all – ensure you WASHED YOUR HANDS. Unfortunately, all travels, including flights, are now out of the question. But I could still tell you your favourite story at the BALL.”
Wendy carried on to recall how Peter had once cut off Hook’s hand, spicing up the story with “oohs!” and “aahs!” and blushing as if she was hearing it for the first time herself. Most guests at the BALL, however, didn’t listen to her that long, but instead looked for channels with more helpful content, for the issue mentioned by Wendy was becoming increasingly pressing. What can one do with children that can go neither to school nor to the playground?
The question was most frequently answered by large families, especially those who practised homeschooling on a regular basis and whose life didn’t change that dramatically. One of the most popular channels was “The Kennel” of 101 Dalmatians. Pongo and Perdita encouraged their puppies to describe their favourite pastimes. That was how they created a collection of “99 fun ideas for kids at home”. The number seemed impressive, yet after careful study, it transpired that all of the ideas were just a variation on thieves and cops.
A much broader variety was provided by Bella’s Publishing House, which offered series of educational materials for free. Rumour had it that it was Bella’s courtiers – bored beyond endurance without sumptuous parties – who prepared digital versions of such how-to books as “The Cultivation of Roses in Closed Rooms”, “Polishing Silver Linings” or “Turn Your Biography into a Musical”; the latest hit “Use the Crisis to Lose Weight. Forty Unleavened Flatbread Recipes”, as well as the bestselling trilogy: a romance – “In Love With a Beast”, a thriller – “Defeating a Beast” and a drama – “Living With a Beast”.
All the activity at the BALL, which was impossible to follow in real-time, stopped each week at the same hour. Punctually at high noon, the sound of bells transmitted on the Quasimodo channel announced the beginning of a mass in the Notre-Dame cathedral, streamed live by its hunchbacked bell-ringer.
The only character who didn’t dress up for the occasion and wasn’t overcome by the feeling of threat, bothered by imposed limitations or moved by societal changes was Shrek. When his dream of freeing himself from all social obligations finally came true, the radically introvert ogre heaved a sigh of relief and kept letting his beloved bio-waste bog consume all invites to the BALL received from strangers and friends alike.
I hope you enjoyed this story. Feel free to share the link to this page with anyone you want!
If you would like me to write a similar (or a totally different 😉 ) story for someone you know, please read my OFFER or contact me directly at joanna@mypresents.eu .
And if you are at a loss as to how you can celebrate someone’s special day while maintaining social distance, read my ideas for “12 safe gifts to give in the time of a disease”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JOANNA OSESIK – Polish-English-German translator, teacher, lecturer; privately wife, mother, friend and blogger. In 2020 she published the first of her numerous short stories, which have so far been enjoyed only by her family and friends.
What she cherishes most in fiction is uncovering stories that are concealed or inconspicuous and providing ordinary content with an original, magical lining.
On her blog mypresents.eu/en, she recalls wonderful, ingenious gifts she has given or received and shares her ideas on how to make others smile with personalised presents. In her free time, she also helps readers to write stories as gifts for their nearest and dearest.
Feel free to consult your ideas by writing at joanna@mypresents.eu .
Follow the adventures of fairytale characters in the next story: Coronavirus in the Fairytale Land. Doctor Dolittle and the Little Lighter Girl