In a remote village on the outskirts of Etude Kingdom, there lived a little girl. She lives with her father, the baker. The tiny bakery he works in is also their house. Made up of coconut leaves and driftwood, the rickety structure long needed some improvements done but the baker’s age was fast catching up and his health was ailing with each day that passes. Even baking these days has been taking a big toll on him lately.
It didn’t used to be like that.
Their bakery was a thriving and flourishing business that was one of the more famous and sought after in Etude Kingdom but since the passing of his wife, the baker has lost all interest. These days, father and daughter are barely making enough to even put food on the table much less new clothes on their backs.
He had lost his wife to the dark woods. It is rumored that deep in the woods lies a special plant with magical ingredients that could make any food taste exceptionally good! So when Etude Kingdom announced a baking competition to find the best bakery in the country, the baker’s wife decided to head out into the woods to find the magical plant, hoping to create the best baked goodies and win the contest.
One day when her husband and their young daughter were taking their afternoon nap, she set out. She never came back. There were no rescue parties as no one dared to venture out into the woods and the baker couldn’t leave his daughter behind to look for his wife.
Till this day, he blames himself for sleeping and not preventing his wife from venturing out.
Sometimes late at night, after the bakery is closed and he is resting on the front porch, he could hear his wife’s voice coming from the woods. “사랑해 (Saranghae)” - which means I love you in Korean - the voice would echo and tears would roll down his sunken cheeks accompanying him in his sleep.
Now while the other children in the village went about their daily lives as normal children would; going to school, play time with friends and more, his daughter did not have any of that. Instead, she would be in the kitchen helping her father. His ailing health has been a cause of great concern lately and there was no one else around to help him.
Life was hard for both father and child. The years of baking had taken a toll on him and his back had become hunched from the pain and discomfort. He was nicknamed “The Tortoise” by the cruel villagers. The little girl wasn’t spared as well.
Everywhere she went, she received sneers and snide remarks from the other children in the village and adults alike as well. Her trips to the village market to get medicine for her father or staple food like rice, salt and sugar were an ordeal each time. The villagers would mock her tattered clothing and turn their noses away in disgust.
Many of the village shopkeepers and store owners even refuse to serve her as they were afraid her stench which reeked of fermented yeast and sour dough, would turn away other customers. The smell was likened to dirty socks and that’s what the villagers call her, “Dirty Socks.”
Both father and daughter have had to go to sleep hungry many a time as no one would sell them the basic necessities. Life was truly unkind to them.
To make matters worse, the children would splash water and throw stones at her each time while making fun of her disheveled appearance and her hunchback father, “Hey Dirty Socks, where’s The Tortoise?”…
What happened to the little girl? Was she bruised and blue from those stones? Did father and daughter go to bed hungry again tonight? Stay tuned next week for part two…
Guess which product this fairytale is referring to!
There are 5 parts to this fairytale, which is published every Tuesday. The product will be revealed on the last part of the fairytale on 1st July 2014.
Every week in June, 5 winners with the correct answer in the comments below and who have LIKED Etude House Singapore’s Facebook page and FOLLOWED their Instagram account will win Magic Any Cushion 3 pcs Special Kit.
3 grand winners will also be picked. The 3 Grand Winners will each win 1 Magic Any Cushion (winner's choice on shade), 1 Precious Mineral Any Cushion and 1 Macaron Pouch!
All winners will be announced on 4th July 2014.
Good Luck! xoxo