Back at the bakery, it was no different. The villagers would rather travel miles away to other villages and towns instead of buying bread and cookies from their bakery. The bakeries in those towns are equipped with modern conveniences such as electric ovens and refrigerators. These together with fresher ingredients and beautiful shop decorations have made them successful and prosperous.
But for the girl and her father, they could not afford any of the new luxuries. They continue to struggle against the competition with their slow wood-burning ovens and wooden ice boxes in poorly ventilated conditions. Most of the time, they would be torn between baking and spending the time chasing fruit flies and other bugs away from their ingredients.
One morning, the village was greeted by an overcast grey sky. The winds were picking up and over yonder, a storm was brewing. On days like this, no one would dare venture out of the village. Instead, everyone would be stocking up their supplies from the shops to weather the impending storm, which can last for days. The baker and his daughter saw this as an opportunity but yet no one seems to be buying anything from the bakery.
Disappointed but not broken, the baker decided to close his shop and head into the woods to find the magical plant.
It was his only option.
Though hesitant, the baker was adamant. He strapped on 2 water bottles to his waist with a makeshift belt, carried his daughter on his back in a woven basket that was also filled with some bread in the event they get hungry and set out. The wind is now slowly turning into a gale as they made their way to the edge of the dark woods. It was going to be a long day.
The baker was getting exhausted but the thought of his ailing business and daughter having to go hungry again, gave him strength and he trudged on. His back hurts like never before. It got darker as they went deeper into the woods. The trees were so tall, they blocked out the sun’s rays and all they could hear was the eerie whistling of the wind as it slithered amongst the tree trunks and rustled in the leaves.
Then, the little girl heard strange footsteps as if there was someone or something following them.
She peeked from her basket and saw a pair of fiery red eyes staring at her from amongst the trees! She tried to turn around to warn her dad but was stuck amongst the bread loaves in the basket. Though they were in the dense wood surrounded by trees, the wind was still very strong! She stared up at the canopy of leaves and saw that the tree branches were swaying violently.
The pair of red eyes soon revealed an animal-like figure but it was too dark to see what it was exactly. All she knows, it was catching up with them and very quickly too! The baker must have felt something was wrong as he picked up his pace to running speed. In his haste, the basket on his back was dislodged and the little girl fell to the ground. Not realizing it, as he was struggling against a very strong headwind, the baker continued running!
The little girl called out for her father but he couldn’t hear her. All she could do was watching his figure getting further away and eventually disappearing into the dense darkness. Suddenly, she remembered the menacing pair of red eyes and turned around. It was getting closer! She struggled to free herself from the basket and managed to free her hands.
The animal figure was really close that she could hear its growl. She reached, picked up a stick and started to swing it around, hoping to ward off the creature. With one deep breath, she mustered a powerful swing but she started feeling light headed and dizzy. She fell backwards and the last thing she saw was a menacing dark figure of a beast towering over her weakened body.
She closed her eyes and then there was quiet…
Will she suffer the same fate as her mother, leaving her hunchback father all alone in the cold harsh world?! Stay tuned next week for part three…
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