Colette, the royal housekeeper, stumbles upon three gossiping courtiers who are all excited by the arrival of Princess Meg, who is to marry Prince Henri. They mock and make fun of her for being awkward and clumsy. Colette shoos them away and goes to help Meg set up her room. She marvels at the large collection of toys Meg has brought. She offers to get rid of the “childish” things, but Meg says that the toys are her comfort. Confused, Colette leaves. Meg talks to the toys, expressing her concerns that she isn’t good enough for Prince Henri. It seems, he loves to dance and Meg simply doesn’t have the right steps. Henri pays a call on Meg. He tells her that in honor of her arrival, a festival is called. For three nights, in masquerade, the courtiers will gather. Meg is expected to dance with Henri each night. The final night will be their wedding.
Henri seems rather interested in her toys. Meg introduces him to each of them and, while others have made fun of her in the past for keeping toys, he does no such thing. He is especially interested in her bell jar ballerina music box. Colette returns and shoos Henri away to get ready for the ball. Meg attempts to dance and fails miserably. It is then that Ana, the ballerina in the jar, comes to life. Ana says that she’s been watching Meg for a long time and that she’s never going to impress Henri. She offers to teach Meg how to dance. This proves a failure. Ana instructs Meg to touch the glass of the bell jar and say her name. In that instant, Ana and Meg change places. Ana agrees to go to the ball in Meg’s place and puts on her costume.
Meg’s other toys—Bear, Train, Jack, and Kaleidoscope—come to life. They’ve all been watching Meg and are, for the most part, quite fond of her, though they don’t like Ana very much. Kaleidoscope tries to get them all back in their place so no one knows they’re really alive, but Meg is anxious to know what’s going on at the ball and Train agrees to take her there. At the ball, Henri and Ana dance and Meg overhears the gossiping courtiers raving about Meg’s dancing. Back in the bedroom, Ana changes places with Meg.
The next day, Henri leads Meg through the marketplace. Henri takes Meg to a toy seller and buys her a necklace with a charm shaped like a domino. Meg is touched and tells him that usually, people make fun of her for collecting toys. Henri replies that most people make fun of him for loving to dance. The two of them find they have a lot in common. They are about to kiss when they realize they have to return to prepare for the ball.
As Meg prepares for the ball, Ana comes to life and offers to take Meg’s place again. Meg willingly accepts. The toys come to life again, voicing their disapproval at Meg’s continued reliance on Ana. They warn her that Ana is a selfish and greedy being, but Meg is uncertain. She asks Train to take her to the ball, where Meg is relieved to see that all is going exactly as before. Things go sour, however, when Meg sees Ana kiss Henri. After the ball, Ana returns to the bedroom. Meg is incredibly angry at her for kissing Henri and they get into a shouting match. Ana reminds Meg that she needs her. Meg, however, calls this the end of the line and says that she will not allow Ana to take her place at the ball again. Slyly, Ana says that she won’t give Meg her place back and that she intends to marry Henri and be his princess.
The next day, Ana takes Meg’s dress and goes to marry Henri. Jack tries to cheer Meg up by scaring her and his noise brings Colette. Meg realizes that Jack is much louder than she is. She constructs a plan for Train and Bear to take Jack to the ball, to try and scare Ana into revealing herself. At the ball, Henri and Ana are about to take their wedding vows. Bear winds up Jack’s crank and Jack pops out, just as Henri has put his hands on Ana’s face. She stumbles back and her mask comes off. Henri realizes that she is not Meg and rushes back to her room where he finds her in the bell jar and frees her, thanks to the help of Kaleidoscope.
J.S. Puller's Writing Portfolio 