• Once upon a time there lived two fraternal twin sisters, born seven minutes apart. The eldest sister was named Isabella, and the younger was Aurora.
    Though they were twins, Isabella and Aurora couldn’t be more opposite. Isabella was gorgeous, with bright blue eyes and long, golden locks. She lived a life of pure luxury and glamour. Of course, with all of her comfort she developed an awful personality. She had no patience to learn, so she was quite dumb, arrogant, selfish, and very contemptuous.
    On the other hand, Aurora was dark-haired and dark-eyed with a bright smile. She was polite, intelligent, sweet, and always willing to provide any kind of assistance when necessary. Unfortunately, she lived an average life, hidden behind her sister’s shadow. Even under the circumstances of tending to all of her sister’s needs, Aurora never complained.
    In three day’s time there was to be the most crucial point of the young girls’ lives. On that night, a ball would be held in honor of the prince’s birthday, where he would choose his queen. Of course, Isabella and Aurora were the two top choices for him to pick from.
    Later on that day Isabella took Aurora on a stroll through the forest to discuss her premature plans of marrying the prince. The forest was bright with light filtering shadows through the trees. Magical, talking creatures roamed the glittering forest. After a few moments of strolling, a yellow fluffy duckling approached the twins.
    “Follow me, and the most beautiful sister shall be revealed!” the duckling squeaked. Of course, Isabella was quick to follow, exclaiming in delight after the small creature as Aurora followed behind. The duckling stopped in front of a glossy, pristine, pool of water. “This is the Reflecting Pond of True Beauty,” it stated. Immediately Isabella peered out over the water to see her reflection, and Aurora followed suit. Unlike every other mirror that Isabella gazed at, this one showed her with disgusting, blemished skin, dirty dark hair, and a half-toothed smile. She shrieked in fright and rage once she noticed Aurora’s gorgeous skin, curling locks and glowing countenance cast over the pond. The pool exposed their inner-beauty.
    “How…?” she screamed, shoving her sister into the still waters of the pond. What Isabella didn’t know was that the prince was standing mere feet away, watching the scene unfold. Without hesitating the prince jumped into the water and pulled Aurora onto the shore. Once he’d seen her reflection and heard her gratitude of the experience, he fell deeply in love with her, as did she, with him.
    Two evenings later he asked for Aurora’s hand in marriage. Months later they were happily married, with Isabella standing half-heartedly as the maid of honor.
    Now the kingdom has learned, as the reflecting pond displayed, that beauty is merely skin deep. Beneath the skin lies the most attractive thing of all: one’s soul, and without it, a person is only as useful as the reflection staring back at them.