Philippe and the Old Woman’s Purse
By Amanda Schuler
For many years, a married couple had wished for a child of their own and when this finally happened for them they were surprised to learn they were having twins. When the time came for the birth of these children, the couple was surprised once again. The first child was a normal size of 9 pounds 2 ounces, while the second child was well under a pound and was no bigger than the size of an adult thumb. The couple quickly became concerned with how their family and friends would react to their odd child and what would be said of them.
One week later, in the darkness of night, the couple walked the along the Seine river with the mother carrying the small child that she had wrapped up in an equally small piece of cloth. They came upon a set of stairs that lead down to the side of the river. It was at the bottom of these stairs where they tucked away their child and left without looking back.
Now at the top of these stairs, there was a row of trees that lined the walkway and it just so happened that a family of squirrels lived in one of these trees. The squirrel named Adrien heard the couple walk under their tree and became curious due to the late hour. He watched them walk down the stairs and leave a small bundle of something and walk away. Thinking they left some form of food, Adrien scurried down the tree and the steps to retrieve what they had left. When he pulled the cloth away he saw the tiniest sleeping human boy. He was immediately taken aback by how small this child was and then with the realization that he was just abandoned by his parents. Adrien bundled the child back up in the cloth, carried him up the tree and woke up the rest of his family to show them their new addition.
The child, who came to be named Philippe, grew up in this tree with endless love from this family. He never outgrew his squirrel brothers and sisters so he never knew that he was any different from them. He helped carry out the daily tasks required of each family member, the main one being finding food or items that could be traded for food.
One day, Philippe set out with his older brother Adrien to go ‘hunting’. They headed straight for the centre of the city which was always busy with people. Adrien would start by positioning his tail in the path of a person too preoccupied with life to notice a squirrel and when the person got close enough he would start howling and crying as though they had stepped on him. When the person, and a few more onlookers who showed sympathy bent down to assist Adrien, Philippe would climb into their bags and pockets to see what he could be of value to them. It was on this day however, that Philippe climbed into an old lady’s bag. As he was searching around in her bag he found a girl, the same size as him, in a cage. As soon as the girl saw him her eyes grew wide and said in an anxious hushed tone, “You must get out of here! Climb out the way you came before the old lady notices you are in here.”
Philippe was so shocked he could not move. He had never seen someone that looked like him before, he always thought he was just an odd-looking squirrel. As his shock faded, horror settled in as he realized that the girl was locked in the cage. He asked the girl, “how did you end up here, how long have you been locked up?”
“I have lost count of the years I have been in here for. I was a young girl when the old lady took me away from my home,” the girl replied, “I was once a full-grown girl, but as a punishment for something my father did she made me small and put me in this cage. If she finds you in here she will lock you up to.” As soon as the girl said this the purse started jostling around as the old woman began walking. Philippe realized that it was too late and he had missed his chance for an escape.
Around fifteen minutes later the old woman entered her home and placed her purse on the table with a thud. Philippe and the girl looked up with fear as they watched the zipper slide open. The old woman had many deep wrinkles on her face, frizzy grey hair, and cold dark eyes that appeared almost black. Her face twisted into a cruel grin when her eyes fell upon Philippe. “What is this that I have found in my bag?” she said with a cackle coming from the back of her throat, “Are you here to try and rescue my little pet? Should I make you into one of my pets as well?”
Philippe’s eyes scanned the surrounding contents of the bag to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. Off to the left of where the girl’s cage sat, he saw a long, thin piece of wood that resembled a wand. Before the old woman could process what Philippe was doing he lunged for the wand and as he did so, he turned and pointed it at the old woman. “You will not make me into anything, and you will set this girl free,” Philippe demanded.
“Are you sure that is what you want? I could make you into royalty, I could make sure you would have everything you have every want,” the woman replied.
The thought crossed Philippe’s mind, he would no longer need to steal with his family in order get food to eat. While this was a tempting offer, he new in his heart what was the right thing to do, “I do not wish for wealth as long as it has to do with you. You will set us both free at once, this is what I wish for.” When Philippe spoke the last word, a purple mist shot out from the wand and covered the old woman and bound her so that she could not move and at the same time the cage of the young girl swung open. Philippe quickly took hold of her hand and together they climbed out of the purse and ran out of the old woman’s home. Neither of them stopped running until they reached the gate of the girl’s house.
The girl turned to him and said, “You saved me, even though you had to turn down a future filled with wealth! How can I ever thank you?”
Now that they were both in full daylight, Philippe was struck by her beauty and all he could think to ask for was “Tell me your name.”
“My name is Marie,” she said with a smile.
Philippe could no longer resist her beauty so he leaned in and kissed her. When he did this, they were both surrounded by the same purple mist that came from the old woman’s wand earlier and they both grew into full human forms.
The following week, Philippe and Marie were married and Phillippe’s squirrel family moved into the castle. Marie’s father, the King, was so overjoyed by his daughter’s return that he made Philippe the successor to his kingdom.
Word count: 1249