47
terrible!" "I didn't say it would be easy, did I?" said the prince, "But
that's not the hardest part--you've got to keep saying it over and over,
louder and louder until the spell is broken. If you weaken and quit, it
will make things worse--you would end up even more hurt and angry
than you are now. Is it worth the risk?" Quietly she said, "I'll try."
"Good, you're half way home," smiled the prince, "But there's another
part of the spell I can't tell you. You must figure it out by yourself,
then the spell will be over."
Chapter Seven
"Now, recite the magic words," urged the prince. Sooty Sarah felt
scared, she hesitated, then she whispered so softly he could barely
hear her say, "Go to hell, Mother." "Louder," he said. "I can't," she
said, starting to cry. "But you must," he said, "do it for me, we can't
stop now. Say it again!" Trembling, she spoke the counter-spell again:
"Go to hell, Mother!" and again louder, "Go to hell, Mother!" Inside her
heart there was a terrible wrench; she thought she would die. It was
the old queen waking up and her voice from within screeched, "How
dare you! You awful child! I'll get you." Sooty Sarah yelled back, "I
just want to be happy!" "Say it again," encouraged the prince. "Go to
hell, Mother!" screamed the girl. "You terrible child!" shouted the
queen in fury, "I'll destroy you." "Go to hell, Mother!" "Good, keep it
up," said the prince. The raging queen thundered, "Look at the misery
you've caused me. You don't deserve to be happy! Whoever said you
should be happy?" "The prince did," said the girl. The queen smiled.
"Who says so?" asked the prince. "The wizard says so," said Sooty a
little uncertain. The queen laughed. "Who says so?" repeated the
prince patiently. "I, I, I SAY SO!!" she shouted, "I say I deserve to be
happy, so Go To Hell, Mother! GO TO HELL, MOTHER! GO TO HELL,
MOTHER!"
Chapter Eight
Then a miracle began to happen. Every time the girl said the
words, the wicked queen began to shrink. She shrank down and down
way inside the girl until she was hot like a tiny coal. And she glowed
red hot, down dark inside, tiny, but very angry red. Sooty Sarah knew
she had not won yet. "But what can I do?" she begged the prince,
"What's the rest of the spell? Please!" "You've got to figure it out
yourself...and it isn't easy...and half is something you must tell your
step-mother...and they are words you have never spoken to anyone in
your life," he said and then added, "You must be quick--it's now or
never."
Chapter Nine
The poor little girl thought and thought--what could she say to
herself and her mother that would be words she had never spoken
before? The coal inside her stomach was getting redder and redder.
Time was running out. At that moment the prince leaned over,
touched her hand and said, "I love you." Suddenly, like a flash of
