The Magical Red Dress

“The Magical Red Dress” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Olumide Songonuga, Nigeria.

The Magical Red Dress

There was once a young princess, who loved new dresses. She had over a hundred dresses. Her dresses were flashy, fancy and pretty. Several designers, tailors, cloth makers and specialist in all sort of needlework all over the twelve kingdoms of Edensor had made dresses for her. The princess loved new dresses above everything else. She was indeed very vain.

On her sixth birthday, her mum got her an exquisitely beautiful red dress and had prepared a ball to mark Erika’s birthday. The red dress beamed like a luminous pearl. When she tried it on and it fit so well. It was her perfect size, Princess Erika was very happy. The dress was made out of an extraordinary fabric. Erika went straight to admire herself in the mirror.

As soon as she looked in the mirror she became fairer and extra beautiful. Her beauty was amplified. Her hair was up on top of her head and it was sparkled with golden stars. It was simply magical.

Princess Erika looked amazingly beautiful in her new red dress. She couldn’t wait to show off her new dress to her friends. She ran off to the ball room where her guests were dancing. Everyone stared at her. Her friends thought she look gorgeous. Erika was so excited. She immediately joined the dancing guest. She waltzed up and about elegantly as most people gazed in amazement of such beauty. Suddenly, she stepped into her dress and tripped over. Her dress got torn.

There was a loud scream. Erika had turned into an ugly creature. The red dress had magic. The magic on the dress made anyone who wore it extremely beautiful but it was never to get torn. If it got torn, it made the person who had it on become an ugly creature.

The king and Queen summoned the man who had sold the dress. They were worried about their only daughter Erika. The man was brought before them to undo the magic. The frail old man told them there was nothing to be done until it was a full moon. The red dress would be stitched with a golden woollen under a full moon.

For seven long years Erika was locked up. No one could behold her ugliness. Her face was flat and her hair grey. She had a snout for a nose and teeth like fangs.

At last the seventh year came. When the moon was to be full, as the moon shone bright and full with a golden woollen thread the red dress was stitched. Princess Erika’s body began to heal. Her skin began to beam again. Her face was sparkling clear. She was prettier than she had ever been.

Many people travelled from far and near to behold Erika’s beauty; a beauty that was so rare. Princess Erika had learnt her lesson. Erika never cherished dresses or material things more than anything else. She loved and cared for everyone rich or poor, big or small.