knights to keep the peasants safe. And there was always music and dancing. And those stories always and forever began with Once Upon a Time and it was always a long, long, time ago in a place far, far away. And they always lived Happily Ever After...yes, they always had adversity to overcome, hard work scrubbing this or that, polishing someone else's silver, sweeping and mopping wooden floors on hands and knees. Cleaning fireplaces. Sweeping chimneys. Being forsaken by some prince because of a mean-spirited step sister.
But never once was a kid lowered down a well with a rope tied around her waist and told to scrub the field stone rocks with a scrub brush dipped in bleach. Their parents did not ask them to stick their hands inside Mason jars because they were small enough to wash them out thoroughly. They never had to shovel 10 buckets of snow away from the leaky foundation every spring night before they got a snack and had just gotten off the school bus!
So, although there must have been snow a long time ago and so very far away, I had never heard that so I formulated the opinion that my life as a child in Vermont was one hell of a lot more difficult than even the brothers Grimm could think up in their dark, crazy minds. And, come to think of it, I still do. (But, don't get me wrong, I learned many a lesson. All the morals any story book could offer. I developed what my parents had---a strong institution, an ability to overcome any obstacle dropped in my path, and let's not forget, most importantly? Memories for stories such as this.)
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