The Picture Frame

Mini was bored. She had come to her grandfather’s house for her summer holidays, and there was nothing to do. Her grandfather lived in an old mansion in a little village. For many years, nobody had lived in this creaky old place. Now her grandfather had bought it and had begun living in it.

It had many rooms and Mini had spent long hours exploring the rooms, till she had explored every single room, and today there was nothing to do. Her mother had woken her up early, so she had spent the whole morning in the garden, but now it was too hot to go outside. It was no use complaining to her mother, who had already told her, “There’s so much to do in this house, just find something!”

Mini looked around the mansion, “I might as well be useful,” she said to herself, “I think I’ll clean all the pictures frames in the mansion.” There were quite a few of these in the house, some of them held portraits, or pictures of people. So cleaning them would keep her busy the whole day.

Mini got a large bucket of soapy water, she got a big sponge and begun cleaning the picture frames. But after cleaning three picture frames she got quite tired. Her arms were aching, “I think I’ll clean only one more frame and then I’ll stop”, she said to herself.

The picture frame she chose to clean had a painting of a very strange looking person. He wore a top hat, which was really tall. In his hand was a stick. His eyes were almost red, while his fingers were long. His nails looked like claws, it seemed that the nails were tucked inside in fingers. “How very strange,” thought Mini, “I just hope he is no relative of mine.”

She looked closely at the frame and thought, “This picture frame is very dirty, no one has ever cleaned it.” So Mini put her sponge in the soapy water and begun cleaning the picture frame.

She began rubbing the picture frame. “Kich, kich,” went the wet sponge. And strangely enough “Fff, Fff” went the painting! Mini was startled, she stopped, and the noise also stopped, “Must be my imagination,” said Mini. So she started rubbing the painting again. “Fff, Fff, foee!” went the painting and suddenly there was a cloud of smoke…

The room turned dark, flames leapt from everywhere, shrill sounds filled the room and in the middle of the room was standing the man in the picture! He wore a top hat, which was really tall. In his hand was a stick. His eyes were almost red, while his fingers were long and his nails looked like claws.

Mini was terrified, she ran around looking for a place to hide, just when she heard a loud and unearthly laughter. “Ha, Ha, Ha, where will you run?” screeched the man in the painting. “You have released me from the painting, Thanks ever so much!’ he croaked. “Once more I am the lord of the mansion, I am the cruel one! You child can call me the Evil Lord!” He leaned to the frightened child and said, “Be afraid - be very afraid!

Mini could hear her heart pound like a drum; she was frightened out of her wits. In a distance, she saw her mother come running in with her little brother. She did not want them to get hurt. Mini knew this was not the time to be afraid! She thought hard, there had to be a plan. When a little phrase that she had hear somewhere went through her head. “If you can’t fight them, join them.”

But there was no time to think, Mini’s mother had entered the room and was screaming her head off! “Get out, get out leave my daughter alone!” The Evil Lord just grinned, “Get out lady? Why should I? I am the Evil Lord. Fifty years ago I got extraordinary powers, with these I used to frighten the silly villagers. I could not be destroyed or killed! But one day they called a magician and managed to lock my soul up in the frame.”

The Evil Lord looked grim when he said this, and then his face broke into the most horrible grin that you have ever seen! “Before they did that I managed to put a magic spell on the frame. If anyone rubbed it, I would be out in a flash. I will never get back into the frame again, I will never be locked up again!” Now the Evil Lord had a really-really big grin as he said in a croaky and ugly voice, pointing his long and terrible nails at Mini he said, “You little girl have set me free – Whoeee!”

Mini’s heart was beating hard, but she had to save her family, so with brave face she said, “I bow to you Evil Lord. It was magic the way you came out of the frame. Show my mother the magic. Please lord, get into the frame and show my mother how you came out…please, pretty please!”

The Evil Lord laughed and flew into the frame. There were flames all over and a loud banging noise, as if something was shutting. The Evil Lord was once again stuck in the frame. He screamed, “This is trick!” slowly his voice faded away, and he began looking like a painting again. Once more the Evil Lord was stuck in a frame, there was no escape for him.

Mini’s mother could not believe her eyes; she was astonished with what she saw. “Mini you are so clever!” she exclaimed.

Mini was a heroine with her family. Everyone was very proud of her. Her grandfather took down the painting, broke it and burnt it. There was no Evil Lord anymore, he had disappeared forever.