Stanley Meadows and the Three Curel Toads
A Fairy Tale
by me myself and I
Once upon a time there was a chubby girl called Stanley Meadows. She was on the way to see her grandfather Rob Meadows, when she decided to take a short cut through Kensington Gardens.
It wasn't long before Stanley got lost. She looked around, but all she could see were trees. Nervously, she felt into her bag for her favourite toy, Blankey, but Blankey was nowhere to be found! Stanley began to panic. She felt sure she had packed Blankey. To make matters worse, she was starting to feel hungry.
Unexpectedly, she saw a curel toad dressed in a pink dungarees disappearing into the trees.
"How odd!" thought Stanley.
For the want of anything better to do, she decided to follow the peculiarly dressed toad. Perhaps it could tell him the way out of the forest.
Eventually, Stanley reached a clearing. She found herself surrounded by houses made from different sorts of food. There was a house made from peas, a house made from biscuits, a house made from sweets and a house made from crisps.
Stanley could feel her tummy rumbling. Looking at the houses did nothing to ease her hunger.
"Hello!" she called. "Is anybody there?"
Nobody replied.
Stanley looked at the roof on the closest house and wondered if it would be rude to eat somebody else's chimney. Obviously it would be impolite to eat a whole house, but perhaps it would be considered acceptable to nibble the odd fixture or lick the odd fitting, in a time of need.
A cackle broke through the air, giving Stanley a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Blankey!
"Blankey!" shouted Stanley. She turned to the witch. "That's my toy!"
The witch just shrugged.
"Give Blankey back!" cried Stanley.
"Not on your nelly!" said the witch.
"At least let Blankey out of that cage!"
Before she could reply, three curel toads rushed in from a footpath on the other side of the clearing. Stanley recognised the one in the pink dungarees that she'd seen earlier. The witch seemed to recognise him too.
"Hello Big Toad," said the witch.
"Good morning." The toad noticed Blankey. "Who is this?"
"That's Blankey," explained the witch.
"Ooh! Blankey would look lovely in my house. Give it to me!" demanded the toad.
The witch shook her head. "Blankey is staying with me."
"Um... Excuse me..." Stanley interrupted. "Blankey lives with me! And not in a cage!"
Big Toad ignored her. "Is there nothing you'll trade?" he asked the witch.
The witch thought for a moment, then said, "I do like to be entertained. I'll release him to anybody who can eat a whole front door."
Big Toad looked at the house made from crisps and said, "No problem, I could eat an entire house made from crisps if I wanted to."
"That's nothing," said the next toad. "I could eat two houses."
"There's no need to show off," said the witch. Just eat one front door and I'll let you have Blankey."
Stanley watched, feeling very worried. She didn't want the witch to give Blankey to Big Toad. She didn't think Blankey would like living with a curel toad, away from her house and all her other toys.
The other two toads watched while Big Toad put on his bib and withdrew a knife and fork from his pocket.
"I'll eat this whole house," said Big Toad. "Just you watch!"
Big Toad pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from biscuits. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.
And more.
And more.
Eventually, Big Toad started to get bigger - just a little bit bigger at first. But after a few more fork-fulls of biscuits, he grew to the size of a large snowball - and he was every bit as round.
"Erm... I don't feel too good," said Big Toad.
Suddenly, he started to roll. He'd grown so round that he could no longer balance!
"Help!" he cried, as he rolled off down a slope into the forest.
Big Toad never finished eating the front door made from biscuits and Blankey remained trapped in the witch's cage.
Average Toad stepped up, and approached the house made from sweets.
"I'll eat this whole house," said Average Toad. "Just you watch!"
Average Toad pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from sweets. She gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.
And more.
And more.
After a while, Average Toad started to look a little queasy. She grew greener...
...and greener.
A woodcutter walked into the clearing. "What's this bush doing here?" he asked.
"I'm not a bush, I'm a toad!" said Average Toad.
"It talks!" exclaimed the woodcutter. "Those talking bushes are the worst kind. I'd better take it away before somebody gets hurt."
"No! Wait!" cried Average Toad, as the woodcutter picked her up. But the woodcutter ignored her cries and carried the toad away under his arm.
Average Toad never finished eating the front door made from sweets and Blankey remained trapped in the witch's cage.
Little Toad stepped up, and approached the house made from crisps.
"I'll eat this whole house," said Little Toad. "Just you watch!"
Little Toad pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from crisps. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.
And more.
And more.
After five or six platefuls, Little Toad started to fidget uncomfortably on the spot.
He stopped eating crisps for a moment, then grabbed another forkful.
But before he could eat it, there came an almighty roar. A bottom burp louder than a rocket taking off, propelled Little Toad into the sky.
"Aggghhhhhh!" cried Little Toad. "I'm scared of heigh..."
Little Toad was never seen again.
Little Toad never finished eating the front door made from crisps and Blankey remained trapped in the witch's cage.
"That's it," said the witch. "I win. I get to keep Blankey."
"Not so fast," said Stanley. "There is still one front door to go. The front door of the house made from peas. And I haven't had a turn yet.
"I don't have to give you a turn!" laughed the witch. "My game. My rules."
The woodcutter's voice carried through the forest. "I think you should give her a chance. It's only fair."
"Fine," said the witch. "But you saw what happened to the toads. She won't last long."
"I'll be right back," said Stanley.
"What?" said the witch. "Where's your sense of impatience? I thought you wanted Blankey back."
Stanley ignored the witch and gathered a hefty pile of sticks. She came back to the clearing and started a small camp fire. Carefully, she broke off a piece of the door of the house made from peas and toasted it over the fire. Once it had cooked and cooled just a little, she took a bite. She quickly devoured the whole piece.
Stanley sat down on a nearby log.
"You fail!" cackled the witch. "You were supposed to eat the whole door."
"I haven't finished," explained Stanley. "I am just waiting for my food to go down."
When Stanley's food had digested, she broke off another piece of the door made from peas. Once more, she toasted her food over the fire and waited for it to cool just a little. She ate it at a leisurely pace then waited for it to digest.
Eventually, after several sittings, Stanley was down to the final piece of the door made from peas. Carefully, she toasted it and allowed it to cool just a little. She finished her final course. Stanley had eaten the entire front door of the house made from peas.
The witch stamped her foot angrily. "You must have tricked me!" she said. "I don't reward cheating!"
"I don't think so!" said a voice. It was the woodcutter. He walked back into the clearing, carrying his axe. "This little girl won fair and square. Now hand over Blankey or I will chop your broomstick in half."
The witch looked horrified. She grabbed her broomstick and placed it behind her. Then, huffing, she opened the door of the cage.
Stanley hurried over and grabbed Blankey, checking that her favourite toy was all right. Fortunately, Blankey was unharmed.
Stanley thanked the woodcutter, grabbed a quick souvenir, and hurried on to meet Rob. It was starting to get dark.
When Stanley got to Rob's house, her grandfather threw his arms around her.
"I was so worried!" cried Rob. "You are very late."
As Stanley described her day, she could tell that Rob didn't believe her. So she grabbed a napkin from her pocket.
"What's that?" asked Rob.
Stanley unwrapped a doorknob made from biscuits. "Pudding!" she said.
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https://www.quotev.com/story/11025261/Raven-Morrell-and-the-Three-Red-Foxes/1
At first, I was unimpressed with the start of the story. But I quickly got pulled in when the witch and the toads appeared. The story gives me the children's story kind of feel, reminding me of stories like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or Jack and the Beanstalk.
The moral of the story is to do things one step at a time. And not to bite off more than you can chew. And not to take shortcuts when visiting your grandparents ;p