THE BOX of DREAMS
by Rodolph Mrs. Stawell · from Fairies I Have Met
Adapted Version
Once there was a kind girl named Gretel. She had a special mother. Gretel's Mother was very sick. She had to leave Gretel soon. "I have a gift for you," she said. "It is a special box. Keep it safe. Do not open it. Wait until your hair is like snow. A big surprise will come." Gretel took the box. She held it close.
Gretel's Mother had to leave. Gretel was sad. She went to live with farmer's folk. Gretel helped with chores. She worked hard each day. She swept floors. She fed pigs. Gretel always kept her special box safe. It was hidden in her room. She did not forget her mother's words.
At times Gretel was alone. She opened the box a little. Inside were soft, pink feathers. They looked like sleeping birds. Gretel loved her pink feathers. She thought they were very pretty. She closed the box quickly. She kept her special box safe.
A boy lived on the farm. His name was Eitel. Gretel and Eitel played at times. Eitel saw Gretel's box. "What is in there?" Eitel asked. Gretel told him it was special. She said her mother gave it. Eitel was very keen.
Eitel was very keen. He asked Gretel to open the box. Gretel knew her mother's words. She must keep it very safe. But Eitel kept asking her. Gretel felt a little worried. She opened the box just a bit. Eitel looked quickly inside. *Poof!* Some pink feathers flew out. They floated high in the air. They went out the window. They flew far away. Gretel was very sad. She cried for her lost feathers.
"They are just pink fluff," Eitel said. He did not know. Gretel felt very sad. She closed her special box tight. She would keep it safe now. She would not open it again. She would wait a long time. She would wait. Her hair was like snow. Many, many years passed. Gretel grew into a woman. She worked hard each day. She always kept her special box safe.
Gretel was a grown woman. She combed her brown hair. She saw a new thing. Two hairs were like snow. "My hair is like snow!" she thought. She knew her mother's words. The big surprise was near.
Gretel found her special box. Her hands shook a little. She opened the box slowly. Inside were not pink feathers. They were shiny, nice stones! Red stones glowed. Blue stones gleamed. Green stones sparkled. They were very bright. Gretel was very, very happy.
Gretel had a happy life. She showed her pretty jewels. Eitel saw the stones. He still did not know. Gretel was patient. She kept her special box safe. Good things happened.
Original Story
THE BOX OF DREAMS
LONG ago there lived in a far country a little girl called Gretel, whose mother was dying. Before she died she said to Gretel—
"I am very poor, and I have no money to leave for you after I am gone. I have nothing to give you but this box. It was given to me when I was a child by some one who was wise and good. You must be very careful of it, for it is full of Dreams, and they are hard to keep safely. You must never open the box except when you are alone, or the Dreams will fly away. But keep them safely till your hair is grey, and something will happen to surprise you."
Gretel took the box and hid it safely, and said nothing about it to any one. Her mother died a few days afterwards, and then Gretel was sent away to be a little servant, and to work very hard. She had to get up early, and light the fire, and feed the pigs, and she had to wash the dishes and scrub the floor, and do a great many other things, so that there was very little time for anything but work. All the time her box of Dreams was hidden away upstairs in her little trunk, underneath her Sunday frock. Often, when she was working in the kitchen, or in the farmyard among the hens, she was thinking of her box of Dreams; and sometimes when she was quite alone she would open it and look inside. The first time she opened the box she felt a little bit frightened, for she had never seen any Dreams before, and she was not sure what they were like; but when she saw them, soft and pink and downy, like lovely sleeping birds, she was not frightened any more.
"Oh, but they are pretty things!" she said to herself. "How I hope I shall be able to keep them safely till my hair is grey! They look as if a breath would blow them away, out of the window and over the hill!"
For a long time she was very careful not to let any one see her pretty rosy Dreams. Indeed, she never spoke of them; and the old farmer's wife, whose servant she was, little guessed that anything so strange as a box of Dreams was hidden upstairs in the garret, underneath Gretel's Sunday frock.
The farmer and his wife had a son about the same age as Gretel. His name was Eitel. He was a big, clumsy sort of boy, and not very clever; but Gretel had very few friends, so when Eitel was kind to her and talked to her over the fire in the evenings she was very glad. Sometimes he carried the big bucket for her when she went out to feed the pigs, and sometimes in the summer they made hay together in the field on the hillside. In this way they became great friends. Gretel told Eitel everything that had happened to her since she was a little child; and one day she told him about her box of Dreams.
"Let me see them, Gretel dear," said Eitel.
"Oh, but I mustn't!" said Gretel. "No one must see them till my hair is grey. If any one sees them they will fly away, out of the window and over the hill."
"What are they like?" asked Eitel. "And what are they for?"
"They are lovely," said Gretel, "but I don't know yet what they are for."
"Come, let me see them," said Eitel coaxingly. "I believe I see a grey hair on your head, Gretel."
It was really a bit of white thread, but Gretel thought her hair must be growing grey, so she ran upstairs and fetched the box of Dreams down to the kitchen. She opened the box very carefully, and Eitel peeped in.
Pouf! Pouf! Half-a-dozen soft rosy Dreams fluttered out from under the lid, and hovered in the air for a moment like wisps of pink mist. Gretel shut the box with a snap, and tried to catch the floating Dreams with her fingers. But it was too late. They floated higher and higher, farther and farther, out of the window and over the hill.
"Oh, Eitel," cried Gretel, sobbing, "I have lost my Dreams—so many of them—so many of them!"
"Well," said Eitel, "I don't see that there's much to cry about. They were only pink fluff after all! I wouldn't cry about pink fluff if I were you!"
So Eitel went out of the house whistling, and thinking that girls were sometimes very silly; while Gretel carried her box upstairs, crying, and thinking that boys were often very unkind. As soon as she was in her room she opened her box again, and found to her great joy that it was still half full of beautiful Dreams.
She soon made friends with Eitel again, but she never spoke to him any more about her box of Dreams.
As the years went by Gretel became first a big girl and then a grown-up woman, and still she had to work for her living. She lived in a good many different places, sometimes with nice people and sometimes with people who were not kind to her; but wherever she lived she had to scrub and sweep, and get up early and go to bed late. She still kept her box of Dreams safely in her little trunk, hidden under her Sunday frock. Since the time that she had lost so many of her Dreams she had never opened the box except when she was alone. She was afraid of losing some more; and, besides, she did not like it when Eitel laughed at her and called her pretty Dreams "nothing but pink fluff." So she made up her mind to wait till her hair was really grey.
It seemed to her sometimes that this would never happen! Her hair was browner than other people's, she thought, and was not going to turn grey at all. But though the time seemed so long to her, she was as a matter of fact still a young woman when she discovered that there were two grey hairs growing among the brown ones. She was combing her hair at the time, and the moment she saw the grey hairs she dropped the comb, and clapping her hands for joy ran quickly to get her box of Dreams out of her little trunk. She was so much excited that her trembling fingers could hardly undo the fastenings of the box.
When the box was at last open she was still more excited. Her mother had promised that she should be surprised, but she had not expected such a strange and delightful and altogether wonderful surprise as this! You could never guess what had happened! Her pretty rosy Dreams had all turned into jewels more splendid than any you ever saw or heard about! Every kind of precious stone was there—emeralds and pearls and fiery opals, glowing rubies and sea-blue sapphires, besides a great many strange stones whose names you have never heard.
Gretel gasped.
She sat on the floor beside the box, and stared and stared. She could hardly believe that the glittering things were real, and she could not believe at all that they belonged to her. At first she expected every minute that they would disappear, and she was afraid to touch them; but presently she took courage and lifted them out of the box one by one. Then she took them to the light, and they looked still more beautiful than before.
As Gretel sat on the floor near the window, with the many-coloured jewels glimmering and shimmering in her lap, she came gradually to understand that when her mother gave her the box of Dreams she gave her great riches.
Gretel lived to be very old, but she never lost her jewels. She was able now to show them to all the world without any danger of their flying away, and as time went on the people flocked to see her and her jewels. Eitel admired them as much as any one, but he could never be persuaded that the fluffy pink things he had once seen had really turned into these shining and wonderful stones.
Story DNA
Moral
Patience and safeguarding one's dreams, even through hardship, can lead to unexpected and lasting rewards.
Plot Summary
Gretel, a poor girl, receives a mysterious box of 'Dreams' from her dying mother, with instructions to keep them safe until her hair turns grey for a surprise. After her mother's death, Gretel endures a life of hard labor as a servant, secretly cherishing her box. She briefly shows the 'Dreams' to a boy named Eitel, who dismisses them as 'pink fluff' after some fly away, causing Gretel to resolve to keep the rest hidden. Years later, upon finding her first grey hairs, Gretel opens the box to discover her 'Dreams' have transformed into magnificent jewels, bringing her lasting wealth and wonder.
Themes
Emotional Arc
suffering to triumph
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
Reflects a time when children, especially orphans or the poor, were often sent into service and faced lives of hard labor.
Plot Beats (12)
- Gretel's dying mother gives her a mysterious box of 'Dreams' and instructs her to keep them safe and unopened until her hair is grey, promising a surprise.
- Gretel's mother dies, and Gretel is sent to work as a servant, enduring a life of hard labor.
- Gretel hides the box and occasionally peeks inside, finding the 'Dreams' to be soft, pink, and beautiful, like sleeping birds.
- Gretel befriends Eitel, a farm boy, and eventually tells him about her box of Dreams.
- Eitel tricks Gretel into believing she has a grey hair, convincing her to open the box for him.
- When Gretel opens the box, several Dreams flutter out and fly away, causing her great sorrow.
- Eitel dismisses the lost Dreams as 'pink fluff,' making Gretel feel foolish and resolve to never open the box for anyone again until her hair is truly grey.
- Years pass, and Gretel continues to work hard in various places, always keeping her box of Dreams hidden and safe.
- Gretel discovers two grey hairs among her brown ones, signaling that the time has come.
- With trembling hands, Gretel opens the box and finds that all her remaining Dreams have transformed into a dazzling array of precious jewels.
- Gretel is overwhelmed with joy and wonder at her newfound riches.
- Gretel lives a long life, sharing her beautiful jewels with the world, and Eitel, though admiring them, never believes they were once 'pink fluff'.
Characters
Gretel ★ protagonist
As a child, she was small and likely thin from poverty. As an adult, she is a hardworking woman, likely with a sturdy build from years of labor. Her most distinguishing feature is her brown hair, which she believes is slower to turn grey than others'.
Attire: As a child servant, she wears simple, practical peasant clothing: a plain, likely coarse linen or wool dress, possibly an apron. Her 'Sunday frock' is her best dress, kept for special occasions, likely made of slightly finer fabric but still modest and practical for a servant. As an adult, her clothing remains humble and functional, reflecting her working-class status, until she becomes wealthy, at which point her attire would likely become more refined, though still perhaps modest given her long-held habits.
Wants: To keep her mother's gift safe and understand its purpose, to find security and meaning in her life.
Flaw: Naivety and vulnerability to others' influence (initially with Eitel), sensitivity to criticism.
Transforms from a poor, vulnerable orphan into a patient, wise, and ultimately wealthy woman who understands the true value of her mother's gift. She learns to trust her own instincts and protect her dreams.
Hopeful, diligent, patient, sensitive, resilient
Image Prompt & Upload
A young adult woman standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has a sturdy build, fair skin, and a kind, somewhat weary expression. Her deep brown hair is pulled back in a practical braid, with two distinct strands of grey hair visible near her temples. She wears a simple, long-sleeved, cream-colored linen dress with a dark blue wool apron tied at the waist, and sturdy brown leather boots. Her hands are clasped gently in front of her, holding a small, plain wooden box. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Gretel's Mother ◆ supporting
Described as 'dying' and 'very poor', suggesting a frail and perhaps gaunt appearance. Her physical state is secondary to her wisdom and love for Gretel.
Attire: Simple, worn peasant clothing, reflecting her poverty. Likely a plain dress of coarse fabric.
Wants: To provide her daughter with a legacy and a path to future happiness and wealth, even in her poverty.
Flaw: Her terminal illness.
Her role is primarily at the beginning of the story, setting Gretel's journey in motion. She represents the enduring power of a mother's love and wisdom.
Wise, loving, prescient, hopeful for her daughter's future.
Image Prompt & Upload
An adult woman, frail and thin, lying in a simple bed, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has a kind, gentle face with a serene expression, and her light brown hair is simply braided and rests on the pillow. She wears a plain, light grey linen nightgown. Her hands are clasped over a small, plain wooden box, which she offers to an unseen child. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Eitel ◆ supporting
As a boy, described as 'big, clumsy sort of boy'. As he grows, he likely remains robust and somewhat unrefined, typical of a farmer's son.
Attire: As a boy, simple, sturdy peasant clothing: rough trousers, a plain shirt, possibly a waistcoat, and sturdy boots, suitable for farm work. As a young man, his attire would remain practical and functional for agricultural labor.
Wants: Curiosity, simple enjoyment of life, perhaps a desire for companionship (with Gretel).
Flaw: Lack of imagination, inability to appreciate abstract or intangible value, insensitivity.
Remains largely unchanged. He never truly understands the value or transformation of Gretel's Dreams, highlighting his static, practical nature.
Simple-minded, insensitive, practical (to a fault), easily dismissive, somewhat kind (initially).
Image Prompt & Upload
A young adult man, tall and broad-shouldered with a sturdy build, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He has a round face with a simple, somewhat vacant expression, and short, light brown hair. He wears a plain, dark green linen shirt, sturdy brown canvas trousers, and heavy leather work boots. His hands are in his pockets, and he has a slight, dismissive smirk on his face. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Farmer's Wife ○ minor
Likely a robust woman, accustomed to farm life and managing a household. Her appearance would reflect her hardworking nature.
Attire: Sturdy, practical peasant clothing: a dark, durable dress, a large apron, and a head covering (kerchief or cap) typical of a working farm wife.
Wants: To run her household efficiently and ensure Gretel performs her duties.
Flaw: Lack of imagination, inability to perceive the hidden depths of others.
Static character, serving as part of Gretel's early environment.
Practical, observant (though she misses Gretel's secret), likely demanding of her servant.
Image Prompt & Upload
An adult woman with a sturdy build, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. She has a practical, somewhat stern expression on her face, with her grey-streaked brown hair pulled back tightly under a white linen cap. She wears a dark blue wool dress, a large cream-colored linen apron, and sturdy leather shoes. Her hands are clasped in front of her. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
Gretel's Childhood Home
A humble, likely small and sparsely furnished room where Gretel's mother lay dying. The atmosphere is solemn and intimate.
Mood: Somber, loving, poignant, a place of farewell and inheritance.
Gretel receives the box of Dreams from her dying mother.
Image Prompt & Upload
A dimly lit, simple German cottage bedroom, with rough-hewn timber walls and a small window letting in soft, diffused light. A narrow, plain wooden bed is central, draped with homespun linen. The floor is made of wide, scrubbed wooden planks. The air is still and quiet. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Farmer's Kitchen
A bustling, functional kitchen in a German farmhouse, where Gretel performs her daily chores. It has a fire, a window, and is a central gathering place.
Mood: Warm, domestic, busy, later tinged with disappointment.
Gretel and Eitel talk by the fire; Gretel opens the box of Dreams, and some fly out the window.
Image Prompt & Upload
A cozy, rustic German farmhouse kitchen with a large stone hearth where a fire crackles warmly. Half-timbered walls are visible, and a sturdy wooden table stands in the center, surrounded by simple wooden stools. A small, leaded-pane window looks out onto a soft, twilight landscape. Warm firelight casts dancing shadows on the timber beams of the ceiling. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
Gretel's Garret Room
A small, private room, likely an attic space, where Gretel keeps her few possessions and finds solitude. It has a window and is where she discovers the transformation of her Dreams.
Mood: Private, hopeful, later filled with wonder and disbelief.
Gretel discovers her first grey hairs and opens the box to find her Dreams transformed into magnificent jewels.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, humble garret room in a German farmhouse, with a sloped ceiling supported by exposed wooden beams. A single, small window with simple panes looks out onto a distant, rolling green hillside. The floor is made of worn, light-colored wooden planks. A simple, small wooden trunk sits against one wall. Soft, clear daylight streams in through the window, illuminating dust motes in the air. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
