Green Apples

Once upon a time there was a young peasant girl named Nerissa who was sitting in the forest and wishing aloud, "Oh wouldn't it be nice if I could marry a prince".
When suddenly an old woman, in a bright flash of light, appeared beside her and said, "I can help that dream come true".
"Who are you?", asked Nerissa.
"I am your fairy godmother", said the old woman, "And I promise you that you will marry a prince but only if you promise to follow my instructions however strange they may seem and never ask why".
And so Nerissa agreed but then her fairy godmother asked her to dye her hair half blue and half green.
"Dye my hair blue and green?", asked Nerissa, "Why do you want me to do that?".
"Remember", said her fairy godmother, "You promised that you would do as I instructed however strange my instructions may be".
"Then at least tell me why", asked Nerissa.
"Green Apples", said her fairy godmother.
"Green Apples?", asked Nerissa, confused.
"Yes", said her fairy godmother, "Thats all I can tell you so ask no more".
And so Nerissa dyed her hair half bright blue and half bright green.
But then her fairy godmother told her that she must put on her dress back to front.
Again Nerissa was not happy because her fairy godmothers instruction was so strange and when she asked her fairy godmother why she must wear her dress back to front, all she would tell her was "Green Apples".
But her fairy godmother swore to her that if she did as she was instructed she would marry a prince and so, even though she felt very foolish, Nerissa put on her dress back to front.
"Good", said her fairy Godmother, "Now you only have to do one more thing".
"What now?", asked Nerissa in a worried voice.
"Well all you have to do is hop up and down on one leg", said her fairy Godmother.
But hearing this Nerissa started to think that perhaps the old woman was playing a joke on her.
"Thats it", she said, "I've had enough of your strange instructions".
"But Nerissa", pleaded her fairy godmother, "If you don't follow the instructions I can't help you marry a prince".
"Then atleast tell me why I have to do all these strange things and don't say green apples", said Nerissa.
But her fairy godmother shook her head.
"I'm sorry", she said, "I can't".
Throwing her hands up in the air, Nerissa sighed and started to walk away.
And so, in desperation, her fairy god mother leapt up high and stamped hard upon her foot.
Hopping on one leg, Nerrissa clutched her sore foot.
And the girl was so angry that, inspite of being a good girl who always respected her elders, she felt she might kick the old woman in the shin.
But then, just as she was hopping up and down, suddenly, through the forest there came a handsome prince riding upon a white horse and, seeing Nerissa, he asked,
"Why are you hopping up and down and dressed so strangely and why is your hair green and blue?".
Nerissa started to blush, feeling embarassed because of the way she looked.
"Umm", she said, "Green Apples".
But then the Prince, to her astonishment, got off of his horse and down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
Apparently you see, when the prince was just a child it was prophesied that he would one day meet and marry a girl who had blue and green hair, wore her dress back to front and hopped upon one leg and when asked why she looked so odd she would only reply, "Green Apples".
And because Nerissa was all of these things, the Prince believed it was his destiny to marry her.
Ofcourse she wasn't wed in a back to front dress but in a beautiful wedding gown and her hair wasn't blue and green but bright gold and she didn't hop down the aisle either but walk but then, just as her Fairy Godmother had promised, at the end of the wedding ceremony she was married to a prince and lived happily ever after.