Enchanted: Erotic Bedtime Stories for Women (24 page)

The townspeople were no different from her family; they insulted and criticized the youngest and plainest sister and other girls like her. Since her older sisters were thought to be so much more beautiful by comparison, the youngest sister soon came to be known to everyone as "the ugly duckling."

As the girls grew up, the four oldest daughters grew more and more beautiful. And as they grew more beautiful, they also grew more arrogant and insensitive. But the ugly duckling became more kind and generous with every day, so that, in spite of their constant mistreatment of her, each of her sisters preferred her company to any of the others'.

Soon the girls grew into women.

Now, the eldest of the five sisters was quite a striking woman, and thought to herself, "Why should I continue my education when I can earn a better living by simply letting men look upon my beauty?" For, indeed, in those days women could earn startling sums of money for displaying their beauty openly and explicitly to men who valued women according to that one quality. And so the eldest daughter went into the world with only that one asset to make her fortune.

The second-eldest sister was also very beautiful, and thought to herself, "Why should I have to do anything at all when men find me so attractive that they are quite willing to do everything for me?" And so she went out into the world with the viewpoint of making her fortune through the generosity of her many male admirers.

The third-eldest sister never had the opportunity to formulate a plan of any kind, for destiny intervened, and she was married to the young man whose child she found herself carrying.

The fourth sister thought, "Of what use are men to me when I am more beautiful than all three of my older sisters put together?" And she resolved to make a larger fortune than her other sisters without having to demean herself before men as they did. Having much confidence in her beauty, she set out to reach the highest achievement offered beautiful women of her time, which was to be a professional model of fashion and beauty.

Now the youngest sister, who was the ugly duckling, had no illusions about making her way in the world by means of her appearance, and so she perceived that she would be best served by continuing her education. She found a small university in the country, far away from the cruel prejudices of her hometown. Keeping to herself, she took a small cottage near the school campus and began her new life.

The ugly duckling immediately took to college life. She enjoyed her studies immensely and was strengthened by her growing knowledge of herself and the world around her. The people she chose to associate with did not seem to notice so very much that she was not beautiful, for they valued the many other qualities that she possessed. Without the constant reminders of her lack of perfect beauty, she slowly began to gain confidence in herself. She was repeatedly surprised by the continual flow of little joys in her life, and was happier than she had ever thought it possible for her to be.

One spring afternoon, as the ugly duckling rested languidly under the shade of a large tree in her yard, reading a book, there suddenly appeared a dark shadow directly above her. She looked up and beheld the most beautiful creature she had ever laid eyes upon.

He was well formed and dark, and stood smiling down at her. Half thinking the apparition to be a figment of her imagination (perhaps a character out of the romantic story she had been reading) she at first only stared mutely at him. Seeing her startled expression, the young man spoke to her in a friendly tone, explaining that he was merely passing through on his way to a nearby pond for an afternoon swim. Apparently the only way to reach the obscure little pond was by trespassing through the ugly duckling's yard!

The ugly duckling recognized the handsome young man as a fellow student in the same school that she attended. She secretly felt that she would enjoy seeing him on warm summer days as he made his way to the pond for an afternoon swim. Perhaps a bit too warmly, she informed him that he was perfectly welcome to cross her yard as often as he liked.

But the handsome young man did not immediately leave her upon gaining her consent, lingering instead to ask her about the book she was reading, her classes at the university, and other matters about herself that no man had ever asked her about before.

The ugly duckling's eyes shone with happiness as she chatted with her new friend, but suddenly the images of her sisters flashed before her and she remembered that she was ugly. At once she felt ashamed to have any man look upon her, and so, making up an excuse, she abruptly escaped into her cottage, where she watched from a small window as the young man left in the direction of the pond. He was energetic and healthy, with large arms and shoulders, and she wished for the thousandth time that she was beautiful like her sisters.

The days grew warmer and before long the trees and flowers were in full bloom. The young man now passed through the ugly duckling's yard nearly every day on his way to the pond beyond. And each time he passed he would stop and speak to her. Slowly she got over her self-consciousness around him, even looking forward to his visits, and they got to know each other better. Sometimes they would pass each other at the university, and he would thrill her by calling out to her.

One day the handsome young man asked the ugly duckling to join him at the pond. She abruptly declined, but from that day forward she felt a strange pull towards the pond, and often found herself wondering what the water was like, and how it would feel to splash around in it with her handsome friend.

And so it went, until one unusually warm summer morning, when the ugly duckling crept out of her bed very early and slipped down to the pond in her nightdress. She told herself she only wanted to look at the pond, but behold, it was more beautiful than she had imagined it. She glanced around guiltily. Certainly no one would be around at this hour of the morning. She would just slip into the cool water for a moment and then go back to her cottage. Before she could stop herself, her nightgown was shed and she was in the water.

The ugly duckling splashed the water all around her as she swam about happily. The water felt like silk on her skin. When she got tired of swimming she floated about, gazing up at the soft, hazy clouds that hovered in the blue summer sky. Occupied in this way, she completely forgot about the time.

The ugly duckling was not aware of his approach until she heard the huge splash as he jumped in the water. She stood perfectly still, frozen in horror as she waited for him to surface. She dearly hoped he didn't have his eyes open under the water, for she was ashamed to have him look at her body. And how on earth was she going to get out of the pond and put her nightgown back on?

Finally his head and arms bounced up to the surface. There was a huge smile on his beautiful face.

"I figured you for a natural girl, but I never dreamed you'd have the nerve," he said cheerfully.

So he had opened his eyes under the water! She was so horrified and embarrassed that tears came to her eyes. He was slowly swimming closer to her. She wanted to ask him to turn the other way so that she could get out of the water, but she was afraid of the sound she would make if she were to try and speak.

He was still smiling as he approached her. She saw that he was holding something out to her and, numbly reaching out her hand, she realized they were his swimming trunks. "Now we're even," he said, laughing.

She did not feel like she was in any respect "even" with the beautiful young man, however, and she merely stood there in awkward silence, holding his trunks in midair.

He seemed then, at last, to sense her discomfort. Very slowly he took the trunks from her stiff fingers and threw them over to the shore. He was standing very close to her, and she imagined that he was thinking about how ugly she was, and even expected that he would laugh at or insult her in the next moment, but to her utter shock he slowly lowered his head and gently placed his lips on hers.

The feeling was so glorious that she nearly lost her footing, but at the same moment, he took hold of her, drawing her even closer to him, so there was no danger of her going anywhere.

His body was exceedingly warm. His lips were demanding and insistent. His arms clutched her tighter, causing their bodies to press closer together. The water fluttered and swelled around them.

In the tumult of her first kiss, the ugly duckling forgot that she was ugly, and she returned his kiss with all the passion that she felt. She realized then that she was falling in love with him, and wondered if he guessed her feelings and, if so, what he felt. Just as she was dwelling on these thoughts, he drew his lips away from hers to search her eyes. He smiled at her uncertain expression, confessing that he loved her, too. Then he kissed her again, and again, and even then again! She clung to him, never wanting the kissing to stop.

But suddenly his kisses grew more passionate, and his hands were touching her everywhere. She discovered that she loved the feeling she got from pressing her naked body up against his. She felt dizzy with happiness to have his strong hands and beautiful lips upon her skin, but the kissing was becoming more and more urgent and demanding, and his body was rigidly pressing against hers. She was totally unprepared for what was happening. What's more, she could not help wondering if his declaration of love had a part in it.

With a little cry, she pulled herself away from him. She knew he cared for her in some way, but could he really love her? She would not allow herself to be taken for granted, ugly or not!

For good or for bad, I must know for certain what his intentions are respecting me,
she thought,
and if I am agreeable to them, whatever they may be.

For a moment they both stood apart, and for an instant he seemed almost angry at her. But at length, he smiled.

"I will turn and face the woods while you dress," he said kindly. "But will you wait for me?" he asked.

"Yes, I will wait for you," she promised.

"Well, if it isn't our own dear, plain little sister!" all four sisters exclaimed cheerfully.

The youngest of the five smiled warmly at her sisters. "I'm sorry I'm late," she said. "But how nice it is to see all of you again!"

"I must say," remarked the oldest sister to her younger sibling. "The years must have been good to you. I have truly never seen you looking better!"

The ugly duckling smiled. "I doubt the details of my life could keep your attention for a single moment, as exciting as I'm sure your own lives have been," she replied. She blushed slightly as she said this, though, for she was thinking of the previous night she had shared with her beloved husband and was certain that, even with all their beauty, her sisters could not have experienced greater happiness than her own.

"Exciting!" repeated the third eldest sister with bitterness. "I was cheated out of the excitement I should have had."

"At least
you
got married," snarled the second-eldest, even more bitterly.

"Married!" she returned. "Imprisoned would be a better word."

"Aren't you happy to be married?" asked the ugly duckling, shocked.

"Do I look happy to you?" she answered, with tears welling up in her beautiful eyes.

Her four sisters stared at her in surprise.

"Oh, my husband never loved me," she confessed. "When we were young, he was attracted to me, but he only wanted one thing. I mistook that for affection. I never stopped or held back to see what he really felt for me. I was so happy to have the attention and so sure that my beauty would make him love me. Then I got pregnant…and he was obliged to marry me. But he doesn't love me! Women are just replaceable objects to him. He has affairs while I stay home and take care of our children."

"My God," uttered the eldest. "And I thought I had it bad."

"I would give anything to have your life!" the unhappy lady pronounced.

"No, I don't think you would," the eldest sister rejoined. Then she turned to her sisters with her own sad tale.

"You see, I thought to make my fortune by showing my beauty openly to men, so I became an exotic entertainer. I figured I could earn a better living that way than through anything an education could teach me. And I was right about that at first. But you can only do this for a little while. Soon there are younger girls that come to take your place and you don't earn very much after that."

"Perhaps," said the unhappily married lady, without seeing the irony, "you should have married one of your admirers while you were still young."

"Then I would be in the same boat as you!" the eldest replied with disgust. "Besides, most of them were already married." She sighed unhappily before she went on. "Anyway, how could I ever trust a man after I had seen firsthand how lecherous their behavior becomes when they are not in their wives' sights?"

"It's quite true," said the second-eldest sister, who had made her way in life by selling even more of herself to men than her older sister. "Once you see that side of men you can never trust them." She looked sadly at her older sister and added, "And once you sell that part of yourself it's no longer your own. It becomes a tedious occupation. I have never genuinely enjoyed being with a man because it has never really been for me, or on my terms."

"You've made it so easy for men to treat you like that," said their unhappily married sister harshly, adding under her breath, "and the rest of us, too."

"Oh, so it's our fault that men are the way they are," her older sister replied defensively. "Why are women always so quick to blame the other women?"

"Maybe it's because you are willing to do for a fee things that men would otherwise have to prove themselves worthy of," she said resentfully, now worked up into full anger. "Lots of women, just like me, continually work to improve themselves— and they are, in fact, far more than their men deserve. But the men don't have to put forth any effort; yet they can have the most beautiful women imaginable at their fingertips if they have money."

"Well, it should make you happy to know that we have paid a high price in offering that service to men," her sister argued back.