"Mom", the little girl pleaded. "Tell us a story!"

"Yes!" Her sister, who was elder to her by two years, nodded her head enthusiastically.

Their mother smiled, picked up their poodle, and sat on the bed with her children.

She began telling her story.

"Once upon a time, in a land far far away, a man and woman were blessed with a baby girl. The baby was beautiful- like all babies, but as she grew up, she was made to realise that she was anything but that.

She was called fat, ugly, dark- people would stay away from her. Even her parents were ashamed of having given birth to such a daughter."

Her children looked wide-eyed at their beautiful mother. She simply smiled and continued.

"At a young age itself, her parents started searching for suitors for her. She was turned down by everybody. This made her parents dislike her. They wouldn't talk to her. They wouldn't even look at her. She cried herself to bed each night, cursing her existence."

The little girls were horrified. The eldest whispered, "What happened then?"

"Then one day, her life changed", replied their mother.

"She met her Prince Charming!" squealed the youngest in delight.

Their mother chuckled, "You can say she met her knight in shining armour."

The two girls were ecstatic, since the story had finally taken a happy turn.

"Who was it?" They asked, eager to know what happened next.

"It was the girl's teacher", their mother smiled.

The girls looked confused. "Teacher?" the eldest asked.

"Yes", their mother nodded. "This girl had a favourite teacher, who was very kind and motivating. She motivated the young girl to stand up on her own feet, and live her life the way she desired. She knew the girl had a talent for writing, so she persuaded the girl to take up a job first and then work on her novel. She made the girl realise that outer beauty isn't everything. She made the girl realise that she was beautiful in her own way. She was beautiful, kind, caring and talented and that is what mattered. She taught the girl to be independent. She saved the girl from ruining her life."

The little girls were astonished. This wasn't a usual story that they had heard. They had always heard of stories about how a handsome Prince saves a beautiful Princess and how they live happily ever after. The prospect of a teacher being a Knight in shining armour amazed them, enthralled them.

"Then?" the younger urged her mother to continue the story, not wanting it to end.

"Then", said their mother, taking both the girls in her arms and hugging them tightly. "Then, she lived happily ever after."

"But she didn't have a Prince?" The elder asked, perplexed at the idea of somebody not having their Prince.

"No", smiled the mother. "She did not have the Prince. But she had two beautiful Princesses, just like the two of you. And they made her very happy."

The little girls smiled widely and kissed their beautiful mother on her cheeks before going to bed.

The mother walked towards her bookcase, and picked up the book she had treasured. She opened the first page and read the message again.

"I couldn't be more proud- Mrs. Swami."

She then looked up and caught her reflection in the bookcase. She looked just the same as she did all those years ago.

"Mom."

She turned around and saw her elder daughter holding a doll in her hand.

"Yes, honey?" She asked, concerned.

"I think you look very beautiful."

The mother smiled, tears filling her eyes. For the first time, in a long time, she had cried because she felt beautiful.