Annie lived in a town in the forest with her father and mother. When Annie was six her mother lay dying.
``Don't ever do anything you don't want to,'' she told her daughter, ``and keep your hair out of your eyes.'' These were the last words she said.
When Annie was eight her father remarried. A woman with two daughters. Annie didn't like them much. When she got home from school in the afternoons she would take the garbage out and burn it and put the vegetable scraps in the compost. It would take her two hours to burn the garbage. Some times she would walk the dog too. If it wasn't cold and wet she would stay out until dinner time. She would eat quickly then sit down to do her homework until bed time.
Her step sisters tried to make friends.
``Annie, come and help us, we're making snickerdoodles,'' they'd say.
``I have to rake leaves,'' she'd answer.
Annie shared a bed room with her step sisters because her stepmother needed a sewing room. This made Annie angry but she didn't say anything.
When Annie was sixteen her father and stepmother decided that all three girls should go to the Christmas Fund Raiser Ball at the Royal Gardens. It was the big social event of the year, and there was a rumor that a young Internet prince would be there.
The stepmother shut herself in her sewing room, and the sound of her sewing machine continued far into the night.
Annie sulked in the kitchen as her step sisters tried out new hair styles on each other in their bedroom.
``Why do I have to go to a stupid ball?''
A Philippine cleaning woman in a blue nylon smock appeared in front of her.
``Where did you come from?'' Annie asked.
``Don't ask,'' said the woman, ``I'm your fairy godmother. I have a great outfit for you. You must wear it to the ball. You'll be a stunner.''
``But my step mom is making me a dress.''
The fairy godmother shrugged.
``Who would you rather offend? Your fairy godmother or your stepmother? My dress will self destruct at midnight so then you can wear the other dress.
Next day Annie's step mom came out of her sewing room with a bouquet of dresses. One pink, one pale sea green and one light blue. For a moment Annie's girlie side loved the dresses, all satiny and bouffant.
``The pink one's for you, Annie,'' her stepmother said, ``with your tan you will look beautiful.''
Annie tried to imagine herself in the pink puffy dress, but her mind rejected the whole idea.
On the day of the Ball when it was her turn in the bathroom, her fairy godmother appeared with a black dress on her arm.
``Don't wear anything under it - you don't need to,'' she said, ``no panty hose either. But wear these little slippers.''
``Wow!'' Annie said. The dress was a marvel of nothing. Plain. Black. Hardly there.
When she came out of the bathroom her stepmother was taken aback.
``Where did you get that dress?''
``The cleaning lady gave it to me -''
``But we don't have a cleaning lady - don't you like the one I made you?''
``It was kind of you to make it, but I feel more comfortable in this.''
Her stepmother said nothing but went in the kitchen and dabbed at her eyes with her sweat shirt.
``You look lovely, Annie,'' she said.
At the Ball Annie danced with many men both old and young. During a samba she and her step sisters danced in a trio and laughed and flirted with the people watching.
As midnight approached she was dancing with the Internet prince. He seemed pleasant but slightly bored. When she saw it was nearly midnight she said excuse me and made a run for it losing a slipper as she ran. The Internet prince raced after her - ``Hey you lost your shoe!''
He found her in the parking lot in her pink puffy dress. Midnight had struck.
The Internet prince was transfixed by her tan, her blue eyes, her blonde hair, her pink dress, her sweet femininity.
``Wow!'' he said.
``Gimme me my shoe.''
``You are so beautiful in that dress!''
``Gimme a break!'' She jumped in her car and drove away.
The Internet prince threw her shoe after her retreating tail lights, muttered something and returned to the Ball.