After looking at all those fables yesterday, I’m inspired to be more concise. So, as an experiment, I’m holding myself to a two hundred word limit today.

Once a woman with a flame-haired daughter married a man with two raven-haired daughters. Wishing to unite their new family, the parents made a rule that the three girls could never leave the house unless they were all together. The raven-haired daughters bitterly hated this rule because everywhere they went, no one looked at them but only at their flame-haired step-sister. Many suitors came to ask the flame-haired daughter’s hand in marriage, but none sought after the raven-haired daughters. Full of jealous rage, the raven-haired daughters swore a vow to never leave their house again and so confine their step-sister with them. When the parents asked why they never went out any more, the daughters sweetly said that they were so happy with their family that they had no need of others. In this way time passed, the suitors dwindled to none, and the daughters were left to age in bitter solitude.

Moral: You cannot force a friendship.

Yes, I know, I twisted around the meaning of this phrase. I’m red-headed, what can I say? BTW, does anyone know where this phrase came from? I’ve been trying to dig it up, but I can’t. Just a reference to Anastasia from Cinderella? I’m all curious now.