“Caro, is it okay if I come in?” asked Isabella through the door.

“When have you ever knocked?” chuckled Caro. “Just come in.”

Isabella pushed the door open. Seeing Caro, fidgeting in front of the mirror, she knew it was time for some cheering up.

“Wow, you might be the first bride ever who’s not glowing,” joked Isabella.

“Shut up, Izzy!” exclaimed Caroline. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Well, I mean you’ve only had seven years to decide on Michael so that’s not nearly enough time,” teased Izzy. “Want me to tell you story?”

“Is this going to be another one of your weird fairy tales?” Caro responded.

“They’re not weird, Caro,” Izzy responded indignantly. “Just listen.”

“Once upon a time, there was a princess named Caroline. Caroline was smart and kind and, according to her father, of a marriageable age. The king devised a way to marry her off. He built a tall glass hill in the palace lawn and placed Caroline on top of it with a golden apple. The suitor who could get the apple would marry her.

As the months wore on, many suitors came, but none climbed more than a few steps.

A few miles from the palace lived the son of a poor farmer, Cinder Lad.”

“I’m sorry,” interrupted Caro laughing, “I can take a princess named Caroline. But Cinder Lad? That’s a step too far.”

“I will have you know, Caro, Cinder Lad was a very traditional name back then,” responded Izzy imperiously. “Now be quiet. We’re getting to the good part.”

“Times were hard and Cinder Lad’s dad was struggling to make ends meet. Desperate to help his dad, Cinder Lad decided to enter the contest. To combat the slipperiness of the glass hill, he attached sandpaper to the family horse’s hooves.

Unbeknownst to the suitors, Caroline had been doing her best to ensure she wouldn’t have to be a prize. She had been bribing the kitchen staff to give her lard which she was using to grease up the top half of the hill.

Cinder Lad reached the hill and began his ascent. The other suitors turned to watch as his horse climbed up expecting the poor man on the scruffy horse to fall immediately. Caroline watched with interest as Cinder Lad climbed a quarter of the way up. When he reached halfway, the lard did its job. Cinder Lad slid back to the bottom of the hill. Instead of getting frustrated and yelling at his horse as many suitors had before, Cinder Lad simply dismounted, patted his horse, and walked home.

When he got home, Cinder Lad bent down to check his horse’s hooves. They were coated in a greasy clear substance he recognized as lard. Laughing to himself, Cinder Lad decided to coat the horse’s hooves in flour in addition to the sandpaper.

Back at the palace, Caroline also hatched a new plan. She convinced the kitchen staff to give her a pitcher of olive oil.

The next day Cinder Lad came to the hill and began to climb. He passed the halfway mark. The flour soaked up the lard and he was a few steps from the princess. Caroline looked him in the eye, smiled and poured her pitcher of olive oil. Slowly, Cinder Lad and his horse began to slide backward. Expecting anger, Caroline was surprised when Cinder Lad simply laughed and shouted, “I’m impressed, Princess. Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”

Cinder Lad found himself intrigued by the princess’s cleverness. Ready for the next challenge, Cinder Lad decided to add corn starch to the mixture on his horse’s hooves.

Caroline similarly found herself intrigued by Cinder Lad. His good humor and cleverness had impressed her thus far. She went to the kitchen and asked for the pitcher of olive oil along with a bucket of liquid soap.

The next day Cinder Lad arrived at the hill. The rest of the crowd gathered to watch his third attempt. Cinder Lad began his climb. He reached the halfway point and Caroline poured the olive oil. The cornstarch soaked up the olive oil and Cinder Lad continued climbing. Two steps from Caroline, Cinder Lad stopped.

“What’s it going to be, Princess?” asked Cinder Lad. “I’m sure whatever you have in that bucket will send me right back down the hill, but I’ll just come back tomorrow.”

“I’m not some prize to be won,” responded Caroline defiantly. “Just because you can climb this hill doesn’t mean you should win me.”

“Win you?” replied Cinder Lad. “I think you’ve more than proved you’re not going to be won. I’m sure you could send me back down that hill over and over, but I’d really like the chance to be partners.”

Caroline stared at the bucket. Making her choice, she reached next to her and tossed the apple down to Cinder Lad. They were married the next week. The two grew to love each other and together they lived happily ever after. “

“I’m sorry, what was the point of that story, Izzy?” asked Caroline.

“The point,” replied Izzy affectionately, “is that you got to decide. Like story Caroline you made your choice and you should trust yourself.”

Reaching into her purse, Izzy pulled out a small golden bobby pin with a little apple at the end of it.

“Just a little something new to remind you to trust yourself.”

“Izzy, I’m going to cry,” Caroline responded tearfully.

Turning to the mirror, Caro put the bobby pin into her hair as Izzy slipped out the door. She smiled as she remembered the moment she decided Michael was the one. She’d been coming home from a long day when Michael had called asking to go to dinner. Stressed and tired, she’d begged off. When she got home, Michael was waiting outside with her favorite movie, Mamma Mia, and dinner. He handed her the stuff, kissed her on the cheek, and left. Right then and there she’d decided Michael was the one for her.

Author’s Note: I based this story on The Princess on the Glass Hill, a Norwegian fairy tale by Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe. In the original story, Cinder Lad is the youngest of three brothers who finds a magical horse which he uses to climb the glass hill and marry the princess. I changed a lot in this story, really only keeping the glass hill challenge and Cinder Lad’s name. I wanted to give the princess in the story more agency by having her sabotage the other suitors and then choosing to toss the apple to Cinder Lad instead of him taking it from her. I also changed Cinder Lad’s methods by having him invent ways around the princess’s sabotages. In the original story, Cinder Lad simply stays in a field through the terrible sounds of what seems like an army and ends up being a magic horse. He captures this magic horse and that is how he climbs the glass hill and wins the princess. Instead of this instant magic, I wanted Cinder Lad to show his own positive traits through his inventiveness. In this way, I thought both characters seemed more suited for each other and have more personality.