Written for the watsons_woes JWP day 26 prompt: Blood on the Snow. Many fairy tales have their roots in horror stories. Others are bright and shiny and sparkly by design. Use a fairy tale or horror story as the inspiration for today's entry.
"Watson, why would someone refer to a comely woman as an 'ugly duckling'?" Holmes asked me one evening, frowning at the paper.
I recalled my list of Holmes' limits and its first entry: Knowledge of Literature.–Nil. "It is likely a reference to the fairy tale of a bird who was considered unsightly in its youth but grew into a beautiful swan. Haven't you heard of it?"
"I don't keep anything as fanciful as fairy tales in my brain-attic," he retorted.
For Christmas that year, I gave Holmes a collection of Andersen's tales. To my surprise, he actually read them.