Another Tale…

LaShaya Langoski

Rumpelstiltskin

Bella had no skill

& she relied on a midget

Quite creepy looking

He took her belongs

Until one day all alone

The spinning wheel spoke:

“He’s a cheat

He sits here at night

And watches you sleep

As he takes your belongings

And watches me work

I turn straw to gold

With no help

He keeps your necklace

Keeps your ring

Pawns them for money

And next your first born

He shall take from you”

The following night the midget

Is back and Bella pretends

to sleep. As he kicks

Back she springs up

He looks startled like a

Visible ghost and stutters uncontrollably

He snaps his fingers and disappears

But a year later he returns

For Bella’s first born

Bella accuses him of dishonesty

The midget is enraged

and snatches her baby

Both disappear immediately

Bella weeps to the spinning wheel

But then gets an idea

She gathers straw

Crys and the midget returns

With a baby upon his back

She offers her life

For his magic work

he agrees and approaches

The spindle, as he does

Bella grabs her baby

Ties him to the spinning wheel

And the wheel rotates

3 times around

And spits out straw

Ugly as a corpse

Bella takes the straw

Sets it to flames

“Karmas a bitch” Bella whispers

The baby watches in awe

as the straw turns to ashes.

Cinderella
Rene Goco

So we were told
Retell a tale
Of a story
We know so well
And since I know
Not much of this
Then I’ll just tell
The life of Cindy

Cindy’s Dad as we were told
Was filthy rich but got no honey
How he got dough
We don’t know
It didn’t seem like
We need to know

Then the Dad shopped for a wife
Stupidly, picked up a bride
Who I imagine was hot but bossy
And not just that
She’s got 2 daughters
Completing our story’s
Triad of evil

Luckily, as all tales tell
Our Cindy is armed as well
Her mom who died
Some years ago
Comes to her
That no one knows
As a mouse, a household pest
Or as a lady in long white dress

So anyway, as the tale goes
Cindy didn’t have much to go
No pretty dresses, no jewelries
Just a mommy in fairy dreams

Then one day
Came the announcement
That the prince
Will need a bride
Throws a ball for everybody
So he can pick the bride to be

But then our Cindy
Just couldn’t go
The wicked pseudo-mommy
Won’t just let her go
So when it’s time
And all are gone
Wished for a dress
A shoe and a carriage

Then off she goes
To the magic ball
Caught the eye
Of handsome groom
And as she leaves
The party place
Left the shoe
In the palace stairs

The handsome prince
As we all know
Looked for her
Using the shoe
Whoever’s foot fit in the shoe
Will be the girl
To be his bride

And so it goes
That the step sisters
Tried the shoe
And claimed it too
But then of course
As we all know
The prince will know
Of Cindy’s shoe

Finally comes the wedding day
And they lived like
Prince and princess of town
Didn’t get old to become a king
Or a matron like the kingdom’s queen
Lived happily ever after
As they say
Their stories retold unendingly


So here’s a question
I sometimes ask
What really happened
The night at the ball
Did they get wasted
Or served drugs
That not one recalled
About Cindy and
Her fairy tale shoe

Hatem Ghandour
“3 Little Puppies”

3 little puppy Chihuahuas lived
In a straw house
There was…
Bella-the older one
Ciara-the middle one
Tinkerbell-the baby
They lived alone
In puppy- ville
The puppies had no
Where to live
And decided to build houses
Bella wanted to make
Her house of cardboard
Because it was the easiest
Ciara made her
House of dog bones
Because she can eat
The walls when she’s hungry
Tinkerbell, the youngest, but
Most naïve wanted her
House to be of wood
That night they
Slept in their
Cozy little homes
Feeling very safe until
The big bad bully
Rottweiler came into town
He was roaming the
Neighborhood and saw the houses
He went to Bella’s house
And said “let me in”
Bella yelled “no way bully”
“PLEASE GO AWAY”
The big bad Rottweiler
Gasped in air for his lungs
And blew the house away
Bella ran into Ciara’s house
For safety and comfort
The big bad dog went
To Ciara’s house and yelled
“LET ME IN”
Ciara yelled back
“Go AWAY YOU BULLY”
The big bad dog
Was like the devil
He blew the house away
The 2 little rug rats ran
Into Tinkerbell’s house that
Was made of wood
The dog wasn’t able to
Catch them as they ran
Out because the 2 little
Dogs were as
Fast as lightning
They big bad dog
Yelled again and said
“LET ME IN”
“I’LL BLOW YOU AWAY”
The big bad dog tried
But couldn’t blow it away
He tried again and still
Couldn’t blow it away
The house was built as
If it was made of steel
Tinkerbell then shouted
“YOU WON’T BLOW
IT DOWN YOU BIG
FAT UGLY MUT”
Bella yelled at Tinkerbell saying
She was going to anger
Him even more
The wolf climbed on
The roof and jumped through
The chimney but got stuck
Halfway in it
The next day the puppies
Called his mother and
Invited her over for tea
When she came over
She wasn’t surprised to see
Her bully of a son wedged
In the middle of the chimney
She said "You see it
is just as I told you
The way to get along
In the world is to
Do things as well as you can"
Fortunately for that little dog
He learned that lesson
And he just lived
Happily ever after!

Fairy Tales Retold

The name is Golman.
Ya got it? Say it.
Okay that is close enough.
Quit staring already;
take a picture or something.
What I’m not big and
green like you thought?
Well you muttons,you
got something to learn.
I heard you said
“he’s as dumb as a rock”
did you ever hear this?
If you live in
a glass house,
you shouldn’t throw stones?
I’ll even tell you why..
You believe big Gruff’s story.
So typical of a mutton
to lay it on thick.
Here is how it really went…

I chose this spot
For a good reason
Quiet, nice, far from everything
Plus she’s a beauty.
She rarely creaks, and if
She does it only squeaks
When I sleep it’s
Like I’m hibernating
LEAVE ME ALONE
That’s all I ask.
Well these three brothers
They thought they could
Pull one over on me.

I woke up,
Cleary off one’s rocker
“Tip tap tip tap”
So I thump
“it’s only a baby goat”
More were coming I knew
I might as well wait
“one more—he’s the biggest”
Well this “biggest” Gruff
I admit, was bigger
Than any mutton I’d seen.
He may have been strong,
Enough to push me off, but
What do you think trolls
Do all day?
We do nothing but think
And I thought revenge

You’ve heard half already.
Those goats sure were
Going to get fat. Mmm
I waited. I can sometimes…
But this time I learned
I’ll teach you a lesson
Take what you can get.
And what I could get,
Was that little goat.
The same one who though
He could outwit me.
Well now his belly
Is full of shrubs.
So I’m gonna get
That little scrub.

Yeah I got him
And it took a while
For the muttons to notice
And when they did
They didn’t suspect me
For I “was thrown by
The mightiest Gruff,
Into the shallow lake,
Never to be seen again”

That’s the thing with us
Yeah, about us Trolls.
We don’t need to bluff
About no stupid Gruff
We just chill and rejoice
Knowing we made
The Better Choice.

Marissa Brown



Fairy Tale Poem: Sleeping Beauty

Prince Philip: The Chauvinist

The beautiful princesses
Always beautiful always musical
Always witty always pure
What about us?
Telling my story like Aladdin,
The Prince of Thieves

Prince Eric, Prince Philip,
Prince… Charming?
Charming. Even the name.
Charming. What a laugh.
We are men.
Always in the back

She was a baby.
A small, tiny baby
Fists as big as walnuts
As pink as a tulip
She was a baby.
But I was betrothed
I was a child myself
And this was my wife
She was a baby.

The baby was granted,
As we all know,
The gift of beauty,
To be self absorbed
The gift of music,
To hear herself speak
The gift of…Death
Death? Of course
Just my luck







Of course Death
Not only will she be
Beautiful, have a pretty voice
Death. How appetizing
Saying it is bitter
Death, like chewing citrus peel
Causing blisters in my mouth
White sores, white burning sores
That is what I want
I always wanted

No arrangement, it’s binding
Need to feel free
To grow into a man
Not a prince
To feel free
How can I not choose
My path is my own

Sixteen years of being free
To fence to dance
To ride to study
Handsome, intelligent, humorous
I can take any woman
I can choose my woman
A woman I see
The one in my dreams
The voice that I hear

You are betrothed
Betrothed? I need to choose
I need to think
I need to ride
Betrothed. That’s not me
Not what I want
I did not choose










I know you.
Oh she was beautiful
Her voice was mesmerizing
Her creamy skin
Her long neck
Follow that neckline
Down to where
Every man’s eyes roam
Those long slender legs
Those hands, soft and small
And that voice.
Her beautiful voice

You know she’s the one
When the animals follow
When she talks to them
A little crazy
But that is the one
Especially when she speaks
To those animals
“We’ve met before”
I say to her
“We have?” she asks
“But of course
don’t you remember?
We’ve met before
Once upon a dream”
Cue the charming smile
Charming. What a laugh
My best pick up line

I danced with the girl
She was beautiful
Her voice was stunning
She was like a Rose
A Rose who can sing
I can hear the petals
Soft, delicate, pure
Oh her voice
Clean and beautiful
Like a Rose





I want her
What is her name
She runs off
Agrees to meet
In her cottage
In her cottage.
Now this is a woman
In her cottage

Father should be happy
I found a woman
She makes me feel free
My father cares…
About a union
Between two kingdoms
“Now father you’re
Living in the past
This is the fourteenth century!”
She is a peasant
A beautiful, musical peasant girl

I knock on the door
I know I look dashing
More than handsome
She will swoon over me
How can she not
But…where is she
The beautiful girl
Her cottage is empty
Except for...what is that

In a dungeon
How did I get here
Chains around my wrists
And in comes trolls
Now that was never
In my fantasy
The trolls I mean
The witch is here
She reveals the story
A true fairy tale
The beautiful Rose
Is actually the princess
My princess. My true love
Will only awaken
With a kiss
I want to slit
That long, ugly throat
Doesn’t lead to anything
Doesn’t have a heart
Doesn’t have love
My eyes don’t roam
If only we know
Like Romeo and Juliet

Pink, Green, Blue
Those lights comfort me
Free me from the chains
The fairies who give gifts
The gift of beauty,
That wonderful face
The gift of song,
That lovely voice
And the power to sleep
When Death tries to enter

My two gifts
Shield of virtue
Sword of truth
Onto the road
To true love
Of course the road
Is full of deathly vines
A forest of thorns
And what is a story
Without a dragon

The fire burns my body
I feel myself flaming
The blisters form
Red, burning blisters
The shield of virtue
Guards my body
It’s as if it has
A mind, a spirit
The sword of truth
Picks up my arms
I feel a force
Through my arm
A beautiful voice
I throw, into the heart
The heart that never was
Up the stairs
The hundreds of steps
My luck, so many steps
Note to self
Invent the elevator
She is up there
At the top
Top isn’t an exaggeration

But my complaints are gone
When I see her
So beautiful and pure
Her lips as red as
The Rose in her hands
I feel pressure
True love’s kiss awakens
I better be the one
For the pain
I was put through
The fourteenth century
Sexual harassment isn’t an issue
But I’m careful
Lips close, a light kiss
On her mouth

True love conquers all
So I’ve witnessed
Fairy tales, princesses
Witches, fairies
Don’t forget the prince
Without us, the women
Would not exist
The story comes to an end
And yes, we scored

Teresa Pesa