To Be or Not To Be a Princess
by Kathy Sattem Rygg
Jetta Rose wanted to be a princess. Every day she spent hours practicing her princess moves. She was good at twirling and gliding, but her specialty was bowing. She even knew how many times to flutter her eyelashes when she smiled—five, to be exact.
Her closet housed an entire wardrobe of princess clothing, shoes, and accessories. Frilly dresses in pinks, purples, blues, and yellows lined the rack. Glittery shoes filled the shelves. And one beautiful, sparkling tiara rested on a white satin pillow tucked neatly inside a box. This was Jetta’s prize possession, and she only wore it when conducting serious princess business, such as trying to turn a frog into a prince. She hadn’t been successful at this yet, even though she had kissed a lot of frogs—six, to be exact.
One day during princess practice, her older sister Jordan Violet bounced into her room. “Which princess are you practicing to be today?”
Jetta Rose stopped in mid-twirl. “I’m Cinderella,” she said, taking her best bow.
Jordan Violet glanced at her sister’s light blue satin dress and silver slippers. “You can’t be Cinderella. She only wears one shoe.”
Jetta Rose looked down at her feet and frowned, then kicked off one of the silver slippers. “There. Now I’m Cinderella,” she said with a grin. Then she went into her closet and carefully removed her tiara from its satin pillow. She placed it on her head. Being Cinderella qualified as serious princess business.
The rest of the day she wore only one shoe. Her toes got a little chilly and the bottom of her bare foot got really dirty. Wearing only one shoe made her legs lopsided. She stumbled every time she tried twirling and gliding and lost her balance when she bowed, causing her tiara to fall off a bunch of times—seven, to be exact.
“I don’t want to be Cinderella anymore,” she said, taking off the silver slipper. That night she put her princess clothes back into the closet and carefully placed the tiara back on its satin pillow.
The next morning Jetta Rose put on a silky purple gown and gold shoes. Right after breakfast she started princess practice.
Jordan Violet galloped into her room. “I thought you were Cinderella?” she asked.
“That was yesterday. Today, I’m Rapunzel,” said Jetta Rose, taking her best bow.
Her sister looked at Jetta Rose’s dark, brown hair. “You can’t be Rapunzel. She has long, golden hair that goes down to the floor.”
Jetta Rose glanced at her reflection in the mirror and frowned, then grabbed a yellow ribbon from one of the dresses in her closet. She clipped it into her hair. “There. Now I’m Rapunzel,” she said with a grin. She carefully removed the tiara from its satin pillow and placed it on her head. Being Rapunzel was definitely serious princess business.
The rest of the day she wore the ribbon in her hair. It reached all the way down to the floor. One time it got caught in the door. At lunch it got caught in her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And each time she tried twirling and gliding, the end of the ribbon wrapped itself around her ankles. When she bowed, she tripped and her tiara fell off a few times—eight, to be exact.
“I don’t want to be Rapunzel anymore,” she said, removing the yellow ribbon from her hair. That night she put her princess clothes back into the closet and carefully placed her tiara back on its satin pillow.
The next morning Jetta Rose slipped into a bright pink dress and put on shimmery red shoes. She skipped breakfast and immediately started princess practice.
Jordan Violet hopped into her room. “I thought you were Rapunzel?” she asked.
“That was so yesterday. Today I’m Sleeping Beauty,” Jetta Rose said, taking her best bow.
Her sister turned toward the empty bed. “You can’t be Sleeping Beauty. She sleeps all day.”
Jetta Rose walked over to her bed and frowned, then she plopped down onto it, resting her head on the fluffy pillow and closing her eyes. “There. Now I’m Sleeping Beauty,” she said with a grin. “Will you carefully get my tiara out of the closet and hand it to me, please?” Jordan Violet gave her sister the tiara, and Jetta Rose placed it on her head. Being Sleeping Beauty was super duper serious princess business.
The rest of the day Jetta Rose lay in her bed. Since she had skipped breakfast, her stomach growled with hunger. Her legs became restless, and she grew bored. Instead of twirling and gliding, the only thing she could do while lying in bed with her eyes closed was count the number of times she heard the phone ring—nine, to be exact.
“I don’t want to be Sleeping Beauty anymore,” she said, getting out of bed. That night she put all of her princess clothes back into her closet and carefully placed her tiara back on its satin pillow.
The next morning Jetta Rose pulled on a pair of black pants and a white shirt. She didn’t bother practicing her princess moves.
Jordan Violet skipped into her room. “I thought you were Sleeping Beauty?” she asked.
“Nope. Today I’m just Jetta Rose.”
Her sister blinked several times. “You can’t be just Jetta Rose. You’ve wanted to be a princess your whole life. You practice every single day.”
Jetta Rose looked at the floor and frowned. “I’m not very good at being a princess. I can’t walk in one shoe like Cinderella, or handle having long hair like Rapunzel, or sleep all day like Sleeping Beauty.” She sniffed back the tears forming in her eyes—ten, to be exact.
Jordan Violet put an arm around her sister’s shoulder. “You don’t need to be Cinderella, Rapunzel, or Sleeping Beauty to be a princess,” she said.
“But every princess is good at something. What am I good at?” Jetta Rose asked.
“You’re good at twirling and gliding,” Jordan Violet said. “You practice those moves every day.”
“That’s true,” Jetta Rose said. “But my specialty is bowing.” She ran into her closet and carefully removed her tiara from its satin pillow then placed it on her head. Being your very own princess was the most serious princess business of all. “There. Now I’m Princess Jetta Rose,” she said with a grin. And to prove how good she was at bowing, she demonstrated for her sister, and her tiara didn’t fall off—not once, to be exact.
Question Time
1. What did Jetta Rose do to be Cinderella?
2. What princess was she next?
3. What did she do while she was Sleeping Beauty?
4. Who was she at the end?