224. The Little Dressmaker (A Steampunk Parable)

• FADE IN:


• EXT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - DAY


• The Little Dress Shoppe is located in the quaint little village of Sunrise.


• The village has a Victorian feel and the shop itself stands apart from the other buildings, its neatly tiled roof reflecting the sun.


• Chimes hang from the awning, tinkling gently in the breeze.


• An airship circles high above puffing steam.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• Once upon a time in the quaintly old-fashioned town of Sunrise, there lived a little dressmaker.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - DAY


• THE LITTLE DRESSMAKER sits on the floor in the midst of her creations.


• Wooden mannequins covered in her creations fill the shop.


• The clothes look like the hippy love child of goth and boho fashion, corsets and loose skirts.


• Handcrafted wooden cabinets ring the edge of the shop.


• The little dressmaker is busily sewing in the midst of a mountain of cloth.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• The Little Dressmaker wasn't your usual Sunrise entrepreneur. She didn't go to the weekly chamber of commerce meetings, had never attended one the posh bi-monthly soirées, and everyone agreed her clothes were a bit strange.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE ATTIC - NIGHT


• The Little Dressmaker sits on the edge of her bed carefully counting her money.


• She wears a nightgown covered in little glowing stars.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• Every night before bed, the little dressmaker would count her money and smile just a little as she made plans.


• The little dress maker neatly stacks her money into a small metal box and places it under the bed.


• Then she tucks herself under the covers, closes her eyes, and smiles.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - DAY


• The Little Dressmaker sits on the floor sewing.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• For you see, although the town's people thought her uncomfortably quirky and her clothes a bit odd for their tastes, they found that she was an excellent seamstress. So while her beautiful creations collected dust, she sewed what they thought was high fashion and indulged their whims.


• A woman walks past the window in a lavish dress.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - NIGHT


• The little dress maker closes up, looks around at her creations and sighs.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE ATTIC - NIGHT


• She sits on the bed, counts her money and begins to smile.


• EXT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - DAY


• The Little Dressmaker stands at the door of her shop with a large stack of envelopes.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• In no time at all, unbeknownst to villagers of Sunrise, the Little Dressmaker, through a series of thoughtful investments and careful acquisitions, had become, by far, the wealthiest person in town.


• EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY


• Airships float overhead and steam-powered carriages chug along the cobblestones.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• She decided that she wanted to share her newfound riches with the town and decided to throw a party for the villagers, secretly planning to announce that they could become co-owners in her little shoppe.


• The Little Dressmaker rides her bike, stopping occasionally to pull envelopes from the bike's basket and hand them to elegantly dressed villagers.


• The take them, looking with bemused interest at the odd figure winding her way down the street.


• A HANDSOME COUPLE peer at the letter together, the man squinting through his jeweled monocle.


• They shake their heads and toss the letter, then continue to strut elegantly past shop windows.


• The letter floats into the path of a carriage and is crushed into the stone by its wheels.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - DAY


• The Little Dressmaker rushes around, sweeping, dusting, and arranging food.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - DUSK


• The shop is decorated with candles and platters of food and drink fill the small place.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• But when the night of the party came, the Little Dressmaker found herself alone.


• INT. VILLAGE HOUSE 1 - NIGHT


• A GROUP of MEN and WOMEN sit on comfortable couches sipping wine.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• The people of the village decided they would rather not be bothered by the strange little dressmaker, preferring to enjoy the comforts of their wealth and tell each other that they were living at the height of elegance. For they believed that no one else could be quite so couth as they.


• INT. VILLAGE HOUSE 2 - NIGHT


• A GROUP of friends packed around a table salutes each other with wine glasses, content.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - NIGHT


• The Little Dressmaker sits on the floor, chin in her hands.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• The Little Dressmaker despaired for a moment and then an idea appeared.


• The gas lights outside the shop switch on, filling the the front of the store with an eerie light.


• EXT. MAIN STREET - NIGHT


• The Little Dressmaker rides her bike along the deserted cobbles, her wheels drifting through patches of dusty light from the gas lamps far above the street.


• She stops at every HOMELESS PERSON she sees and hands them her carefully created envelopes.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - NIGHT


• A small group of homeless people, ragged and worn from their lives on the street, wander through the shop, eating and staring in at the clothes in wonder.


• A MUDDY-FINGERED LITTLE GIRL plays with the dress on a mannequin, smearing the delicate fabric with mud.


• The Little Dress Maker stands in the center of the room, glowing.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• The Little Dressmaker was delighted. She had found a group of people who loved her creations, a group of people with whom she could share her carefully acquired wealth.


• INT. THE LITTLE DRESS SHOPPE - DAY


• The muddy-fingered little girl, freshly-scrubbed and in a new dress plays happily with an ink well, a saffron-orange bolt of cloth her canvas.


• The Little Dressmaker sits on the floor as several of her co-owners sit by the window, chatting merrily.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• The villagers were horrified when they woke the next morning and heard the news that the local riff-raff had suddenly joined their socio-economic caste. They were even more horrified when they realized how much money they had lost through their hubris.


• Outside the window, Main Street is far more crowded than before and many more people are wearing the Little Dressmaker's creations.


• NARRATOR (V.O.)
• Now, the Little Dressmaker could sew her creations to her heart's content and not one of them every collected dust, ever again. The villagers came to accept the Little Dressmaker, at least in polite conversation; but there was always a twinge of envy and pain when they passed The Little Dress Shoppe.


• FADE TO BLACK.