| abstract
| - "And so for seventeen long years, the whereabouts of the princess remained a mystery, while deep in the forest, in a woodcutter's cottage, the Three Princesses carried out their well-laid plan. Living like mortals, they had reared the young snake as their own and called her Cherry Blossom." Looking out the window, Cherry Blossom hummed a lovely tune called "I Wonder," attracting many bluebirds. For seventeen years, her eyelashes became longer, and her mouth was covered in black scales, though she still had her green body scales, forked tongue, and azure eyes. A pair of white lotus flowers was set on top of her head, one on each side. The only things she was not wearing were clothes. She was indeed beautiful. As she hummed a tune, she closed the shutters to her window and walked away. "On this her seventeenth birthday, the Three Princesses had planned a party and something extra special for her surprise." Minnie, Alice, and Wendy were downstairs looking over a book of dresses, picking something out to make for Cherry Blossom, who is actually Master Viper. By the time the day is over, they can finally tell her that she was a princess. "Well, now about this one?" asked Wendy, as they look over the book. And they found the perfect one. "This is the one I picked." said Minnie. "Oh, she'll look beautiful in that!" Alice smiled. "Now I thought of a few changes here..." said Minnie. "Uh-huh." said Wendy. In the book, the Three Princesses found a green dress similar to Anna's dress she wore at the coronation. "Don't forget a pretty design." said Alice. "Yes, and we'll lace the neckline." said Minnie. "We'll make it blue." said Wendy. Minnie giggled. "Oh no, silly, magenta." "But..." Wendy began. "How about green?" suggested Alice. "Of course, we'll need a few pleats..." said Minnie. "Yes, but how are we going to get her out of the house?" asked Wendy. "Oh, I'll think of something." said Minnie. Of course, they didn't know that Cherry Blossom slithered down the stairs and into the living room and heard them. "Well!" Cherry Blossom smiled. Minnie, Alice, and Wendy hid the book from the snake's eyes as she slithered towards them. "And what are you three dears up to?" "Up to?" repeated Wendy. "Up to?" repeated Alice. "Up to?" repeated Wendy. "Eh, eh, eh, we, we, well, we, we ..." stuttered Minnie, as she tried to say something. Cherry Blossom continued to stare at the mouse and human girls with a lovely smile. And she doesn't know that she was a princess and her real name was Viper. As Minnie tried to think of something, Wendy spoke for her. "Want you to pick some berries." she finished. "That's it, berries!" said Minnie, as she handed Cherry Blossom a green cloak with a hood and a decorative button at the neck and showed her to the door in a quick manner, leaving her confused about what was going on. "Berries?" said a confused Cherry Blossom, as she put on the cloak, buttoned it up, and put up the hood. "Lots of berries!" said Alice, as she, Minnie, and Wendy escorted her out the door. "But I only picked berries yesterday." said Cherry Blossom. "Oh, we need more, dear." said Minnie. "Lot, lots, more!" added Alice. "Yes!" said Minnie. Then the mouse and human girls pushed Cherry Blossom out of the cottage through the front door. She looked back with a suspicious look and smile on her face. Something's not right with them. "Now hurry back, dear." said Minnie. "And don't go too far." said Wendy. "And don't speak to strangers." added Minnie. "Goodbye, dear!" called Alice. "Goodbye!" called Wendy. "Goodbye!" called Minnie. "Goodbye!" said Cherry Blossom, as she waved goodbye and slithered off deep into the forest, carrying the basket in her mouth. Then the mouse and human girls closed the door and got back inside. "I wonder if she suspects." said Wendy thoughtfully. "Of course not, come on. Will she be surprised!" said Minnie, as they went around the room, gathering things. Minnie went to the trunk and took out multiple magenta fabrics and sheets as Alice went into the kitchen to find ingredients to make the birthday cake. All three are very excited. "A real birthday party!" said Wendy. "With a real birthday cake!" said Alice. "Yes, and a dress a princess can be proud of!" said Minnie. "I'll get the wands." said Wendy, as she headed up the stairs. "Yes, you...the wands?" said Minnie. But she was startled when Wendy mentioned the wands and closed the trunk quickly. "Oh no!" gasped Alice, who was also startled. "No wands, Wendy!" Minnie warned. "But the seventeen years are almost over" Wendy protested. "We're taking no chances." said Minnie, as she handed Wendy the fabrics for making the dress. "But, I've never baked a fancy cake." said Wendy. "Oh, you won't have to, dear." said Minnie. "I'm going to bake the cake!" Alice called from the next room. "You?" asked Wendy, who was kind of surprised. "She's always wanted to, dear, and this is her last chance." said Minnie. "Well,..." said Wendy, who was not so sure about Alice cooking. "I'm going to make it sixteen layers with blue and green, lotus flowers, jonquils, forget-me-nots..." said Alice, as she thought about what to put on the cake. "And I'm making the dress." said Minnie. "But you can't sew, and she's never cooked!" said Wendy. "Oh, it's simple." chuckled Minnie. "All you do is follow the book." said Alice. Minnie pulled out a small stool and directed Wendy to stand on it. "Up here, dear. You can be the dummy." she said. "Well, I still say we ought to use magic." said Wendy. Then Minnie threw a sheet of magenta cloth over Wendy and began cutting with a pair of scissors. Then Alice laid all the ingredients for the cake before her. She looked into the book and read the ingredient instructions. "Flour, three cups." said Alice, as she searched for them, muttering, "Cups, cups, cups, cups, cups..." At that moment, Alice realized that the three cups of different sizes were already on the table and used them to pour flour into the bowl. "One, two, three." Minnie cut a circular hole into the sheet. "What's that for?" asked Wendy. "Well, it's got to have a hole in the bottom." replied Minnie. "That's for the tail to go through." added Alice. Then Minnie tossed the sheet over Wendy again, and Wendy noticed there was something wrong with the sheet. "It's magenta!" said Wendy. "Oh, lovely shade, isn't it?" Minnie smiled. "But I wanted it blue!" complained Wendy. "Now, dear, we decided magenta was her color." said Minnie, flatteringly. "You decided?" asked Wendy. Minnie giggled to herself as she left Wendy inside the sheet and went over to get tape measure. Wendy mumbled incoherently as Minnie came back with the tape measure and wrapped some around the waist. "Two eggs, fold in gently." said Alice, reading from the book. But she didn't understand what fold in meant. "Fold? Oh well." Alice shrugged, and she just put two eggs into the bowl and folded them in. She pressed down on the batter, and she heard the shells cracking, causing the batter to overflow from the bowl. Now Wendy was completely covered in the magenta cloth from head to toe. "I can't breathe!" she called, whose voice was muffled under the sheets. Minnie cut the cloth open at the top, and Wendy popped her head and arms out and took a look at the dress from the inside. "It looks awful!" Wendy complained. "That's because it's on you, dear." said Minnie, cutting the remaining cloth from the right side. "Now yeast, one tsp. Tsp?" said Alice, looking into the book. This time, she didn't understand what the word Tsp meant. "One teaspoon!" Wendy corrected her. "One teaspoon, of course!" Alice giggled sheepishly. She put the yeast on the teaspoon and finished adding the rest of the ingredients to the batter. Then Minnie measured the size of the dress. "Oh, gracious how the child has grown!' she exclaimed. "Oh, it seems only yesterday we brought her here!" said Wendy, remembering the old days. "Just a tiny baby!" said Alice, remembering as well. Then all of a sudden, Wendy sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. Minnie and Alice saw that. "Why, Wendy!" said Minnie. "Whatever is the matter, dear?" asked Alice. "After today, she'll be a princess. And we won't have our little Cherry Blossom!" Wendy sobbed tearfully. "Oh, Minnie!" said Alice, who began to cry about Cherry Blossom as well. "Now, now, now, now, we...we...we...we all knew this day had to come." said Minnie, shedding a tear and wiping it from her eye as well. It had been seventeen years, and they began to think of Cherry Blossom as their own child that they never had. "But why did it have to come so soon?" Tears slid down Alice's cheeks. "After all, we've had her for seventeen years." said Minnie. "Seventeen wonderful years!" Wendy said dreamily. Then there was a moment of silence as they thought about the wonderful years they had with the child. They fed her, bathe her, and helped her go to sleep. Wendy sniffled and wiped another tear from her eye again. Then suddenly, Minnie changed her expression. "Good gracious, We're acting like a lot of ninnies! Come on, she'll be back before we get started." said Minnie. And they all resumed their work.
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