The brave Princess Molly entered the enchanted castle made of sparkling crystal from floor to ceiling. She took Sir Francis's hand as she approached the throne room. With one kiss, she and Sir Francis would free the kingdom of Dublin from Lord Pryde's evil spell and at last she and her parents could be together to live happily ever after.
Sir Francis lifted the visor of his helmet to reveal his handsome face. He bent down to kiss Princess Molly-
"Molly, where are you?" Mama Becky called out.
"I'm over here," Molly said. She crawled out from beneath a fallen tree covered with snow.
"Sweetie, you shouldn't play out here." Mama Becky bent down to wipe dirt from Molly's face. "You're all dirty."
"I'm sorry, Mama," Molly said.
"It's all right, sweetie." Mama Becky took Molly's hand and led her towards town. They went into the bakery, where Molly found traces of smushed apples still on the floorboards. Mama Becky threw wood into the oven until a roaring fire warmed the bakery. Then she turned to Molly and said, "I've got to make some bread for dinner. Can you be a big girl and get a jar of preserves from the pantry?"
"I don't want to go back there. Ugly Phyllis will be mean to me," Molly said. Her cheeks burned at the memory of Mama Becky dragging her over there yesterday by the ear. Through tears, Molly apologized to Ugly Phyllis for hitting her in the head with the rolling pin and spilling the apples.
"Next time you should be more careful," Ugly Phyllis said. She patted Molly on the head and sneered at Mama Becky. "You should still let me give her a proper spanking. That's what the girl needs if you ask me. You spoil her too much."
"It was an accident, Phyllis. Molly was only trying to help me," Mama Becky said.
"She should be put to work with the other girls instead of coddled like she's something special. Just because she used-"
"That's enough, Phyllis. Molly's already apologized. There's no need to upset her about this any more. Good day." Mama Becky scooped Molly up and carried her back home. Molly had stopped crying by the time Mama Becky put her into bed. "I'm sorry, sweetie. Phyllis isn't a bad girl. She's been under a lot of pressure lately. Like all of us."
"I hate her," Molly said.
"I know you don't mean that. You shouldn't hate anyone." Mama Becky read to Molly from the Bible, but the story of Jesus forgiving Judas even after Judas betrayed him did little to ease Molly's hatred towards Ugly Phyllis.