In a far away land, on top of mountains of sand, Princess Jasmine sits in her palace over looking the city below. Similar to the tucked away villages, Jasmine’s true desires are hidden from the rest of the world. The townspeople frown upon the royal family, scoffing at them when they stroll by on their chariots. Likewise, Jasmine’s father, the Sultan, and his advisor pick up their noses and scoff back. While this imbalance of power goes on, Jasmine secretly wishes to be one of the townspeople. She dreams of living a normal life away from the riches and away from the jewels. She doesn’t want to marry a prince or have the responsibilities that come along with being a princess. Everyday she wakes up feeling like an actress, putting on a show. Jasmine has to eat a certain way, dress a certain way, speak a certain way and even wave a certain way. She feels like no one really cares about her or what she really wants. After being stuck in this palace for so long, she is even beginning to forget who she really is.
On one summer day, Jasmine went into the Village to pick up some fruit. She usually has her servant do it for her but on this day, she insisted that she did it herself. She didn’t want to be isolated from the townspeople so she planned to dress herself in a way that would make her look as if she fit in. All of her princess clothes were covered in gold and jewels. It would be too obvious if she wore anything of her own, so she thought of a clever idea. She grabbed her old sheets and sewed them into a frock. She then took her pillowcase and turned it into a bonnet. She borrowed a pair of her servant’s sandals and went on her way. Jasmine knew that if she was caught leaving the palace in this type of attire she would be scorned and taken back to her room so she thought of a plan. She would wear her princess dress and pack her village clothes in a bag. Once she has made it out of the palace, she would hide behind the nearest barricade and change.
Jasmine managed to make it out of the palace without any question. As she was looking for a place to change her outfit, someone threw an egg at her and yelled “go back to your palace”. In tears, Jasmine ran as fast as she could into the nearest store. When she walked in, the store owner recognized her and got down on his knees to bow to her. She walked over to him, shaking her head.
“You don’t need to do that.” She lifted him up off the floor.
“But Princess, I insist.”
She brushed the dust off his clothes and smiled.
“I’m just like you. A regular person.”
“Princess, you are royalty. You aren’t like anybody down here in the village. You belong with the people in the palace.”
Jasmine sighed and plunked herself in a chair. She cupped her chin between her hands and dropped her eyes to the floor. She mumbled under her breath, “if only you knew what it was really like”. Her tiara dropped on the floor and one of the jewels broke off. The store owner picked it up and offered to fix it. In a daze, Jasmine didn’t respond. The owner said he needed to go pick up some superglue from down the road and he would be right back. He took the crown with him and walked out the door.
The sound of the door shutting snapped Jasmine back into reality. She looked around and noticed that no one was in site. She grabbed her clothes out of her bag and quickly changed. She threw her princess dress back in her bag and snuck out the back door. No one recognized her and it couldn’t of made her happier. On her way to the fruit stand, she noticed the shop owner walking towards her in the distance. She covered her face with her bonnet and looked the other way as they crossed paths. She noticed people laughing and children playing. She could hear birds singing and street musicians performing for coins. She leaned her head back, took a deep breath and smiled. This was the type of life she wanted to live.
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