Grandpa was always the prince! Illustration by Gavin & Rodgers |
Once upon a time, in real life, there was a little girl who had a wonderful grandma. This grandma read her stories, and even acted them out with her! Their favorite was Cinderella. Grandpa was always the prince, and the little girl, of course, was always Cinderella. And the Grandma pretended to be both of the two mean sisters. What fun they all had. When the little girl had a cold, and once when she had the flu, her Grandma came to take care of her. She helped her little grandgirl to feel better, and told her to "Be a brave soldier." But one awful day, Grandma called her family together. She told them that she had cancer. "For about three years, she had to take medicine for cancer, and that made her feel sick." But the medicine did not work, and her body got weaker and weaker. One day, the little girl's mother took her to see Grandma. She was lying in her bed, which had been moved down to the dining room. The little girl helped her mother paint Grandma's fingernails and toenails red, because "that was her favorite color. Grandma had always painted them that color." When they were done, Grandma looked beautiful. But she was very sleepy. The family held hands with Grandma, and prayed together. Then the little girl and her brother and her mother and father all went out of the room. Grandpa stayed in with Grandma, and, after awhile, he came out again. He told them that Grandma had died. The family felt very, very sad. They all drove back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. It felt terribly empty with Grandma, but "Pastor Besel was there, reading the Bible." Then the girl's mother asked the girl if she remembered playing Cinderella with Grandma. The girl did, and her mother told her that "maybe a chariot was coming to take her to heaven." She said that in heaven, they would surely "roll out the red carpet" for Grandma. When the girl asked what that meant, her mom told her that "It's a carpet used for very important people, and movie stars." Later that day, a man came to take Grandma. He covered her gently with a red blanket. That's when the girl said, "Look, Mom! The red carpet!". The little girl's family believed that Grandma "went to the Royal Ball in heaven, to live with the Holy Prince forever." They believe that with God, one can "live happily ever after."
From Cinderella Grandma by Gavin, H. & Rodgers, T. (2008) Oklahoma: Tate Publishing and Entertainment LLC
Notes: This is a very sweet story, good to read if you are in need of a good cry.
Montessori Elementary Connection: Fundamental Needs of People/Spiritual Needs/Grieving/Christianity
1. Read this story, and learn that the Grandma really did play Cinderella with the girl.
2. Learn about Christianity:
3. Learn about how other religions help people grieve: