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When M. Sprüngli came to the lobby of his hotel, he was pretty surprised. He had expected to find at least four applicants for the position of maid for the hotel. Instead, only two women were sitting on the sofa. One was Svetlana Petroskaja, who already worked for him as a maid. The other woman was unknown to him. The woman was already wearing a maid’s outfit. She had coffee brown skin but it was her facial features that astonished M. Sprüngli. Her nose was very long and point, her front teeth were quite large and stood out a bit and so did her ears. All in all, she had a rather mousy appearance.

“Good morning, Ladies!” M. Sprüngli greeted them. “Svetlana, shouldn’t there be more applicants?”

Svetlana remembered that only a few minutes earlier, there had in fact been three more applicants. Thanks to a wish granted by Gregorios, they had all been transformed into new cleaning utensils. By doing so, all had been “served”: the other applicants would work at the hotel (but not in the way they expected), her protégé Amelia wouldn’t have to fear the competition and Svetlana would get new tools for her work. “I haven’t seen any other applicants, chef!” Svetlana lied.

“What a pity!” M. Sprüngli said. “And what’s your name?” he addressed the other woman.

“Amelia Maus!” the other woman replied, shyly.

“Looks like a cake walk for you, doesn’t it? Still I want to see how you do work before I…” M. Sprüngli said as he was interrupted by a female voice.

“Sorry that I’m late. I hope not TOO late!” a woman yelled while running towards M. Sprüngli. She wore rather cheap and plain clothing. Her light brown hair looked a bit uncared for. She passed a bunch of paper to M. Sprüngli. “Here’s my curriculum vitae and the formal application”, she said.

M. Sprüngli took a brief look at the CV. “You’re originally a musician, Miss Whelan?” The woman nodded, out of breath. “And you haven’t worked as a maid yet?” M. Sprüngli asked.

“That’s not completely correct. At the mental hospital, I earned a bit of money as a cleaning lady. I know how to do the job.” Roisin replied.

“We’ll see!” M. Sprüngli decided. “Please change into a maid’s uniform and come back here. Svetlana, please show her the way. We’ll meet here in a few minutes.

Later that morning, both applicants were cleaning the lobby under the watchful eyes of M. Sprüngli and Svetlana. Suddenly, one of the receptionists came over to M. Sprüngli. “Hello, Martha! What brings you to me?” he asked.

“We need you at the front desk, M. Sprüngli. One of our guests wants to talk to you personally.” Martha explained.

M. Sprüngli wasn’t happy at all. “I’ll be back in a minute. Carry on cleaning. Svetlana, you keep an eye on them”, he ordered before he followed Martha to the front desk.

While M. Sprüngli was away, Svetlana pointed out two oil lamps to Amelia. “Amelia, be careful with these lamps. There are two evil genies inside. Unlike Gregorios, they won’t help you but turn you back into a mouse. So be careful!” Amelia nodded and continued to work. Unnoticed by Sevetlana, Roisin had heard these words too. An idea formed inside her head.

A few minutes later, M. Sprüngli returned. “Shall we continue, Ladies?” he asked.

Later that afternoon, the tryouts were over. Both performances were below M. Sprüngli's expectations, but Amelia clearly did the better job. Finally, M. Sprüngli returned his verdict: “Ladies, both of you basically know how to do the cleaning. But we are a top hotel and our guests expect a lot. Miss Whelan, it is obvious that you haven’t worked as a maid yet. And you are already quite old so I won’t take you in as an apprentice, either. I’m sorry.
Fräulein Maus, you did much better. Still, you need some time to develop the necessary routines. Since I need a new maid right now, I’ll give you a limited contract of, let’s say, three months. I’ll also put Miss Petroskaja by your side so she can give you some hints. In three months, I’ll evaluate your progress and decide if you’ll get a permanent position.”

Roisin felt crushed. Now she had only one slight chance. She waited in to lobby until M. Sprüngli and the two maids had left. Then she headed towards the lamps.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 2: [link]
Part 3: [link]
Part 4: [link]
Part 5: [link]

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Description
When M. Sprüngli came to the lobby of his hotel, he was pretty surprised. He had expected to find at least four applicants for the position of maid for the hotel. Instead, only two women were sitting on the sofa. One was Svetlana Petroskaja, who already worked for him as a maid. The other woman was unknown to him. The woman was already wearing a maid’s outfit. She had coffee brown skin but it was her facial features that astonished M. Sprüngli. Her nose was very long and point, her front teeth were quite large and stood out a bit and so did her ears. All in all, she had a rather mousy appearance.

“Good morning, Ladies!” M. Sprüngli greeted them. “Svetlana, shouldn’t there be more applicants?”

Svetlana remembered that only a few minutes earlier, there had in fact been three more applicants. Thanks to a wish granted by Gregorios, they had all been transformed into new cleaning utensils. By doing so, all had been “served”: the other applicants would work at the hotel (but not in the way they expected), her protégé Amelia wouldn’t have to fear the competition and Svetlana would get new tools for her work. “I haven’t seen any other applicants, chef!” Svetlana lied.

“What a pity!” M. Sprüngli said. “And what’s your name?” he addressed the other woman.

“Amelia Maus!” the other woman replied, shyly.

“Looks like a cake walk for you, doesn’t it? Still I want to see how you do work before I…” M. Sprüngli said as he was interrupted by a female voice.

“Sorry that I’m late. I hope not TOO late!” a woman yelled while running towards M. Sprüngli. She wore rather cheap and plain clothing. Her light brown hair looked a bit uncared for. She passed a bunch of paper to M. Sprüngli. “Here’s my curriculum vitae and the formal application”, she said.

M. Sprüngli took a brief look at the CV. “You’re originally a musician, Miss Whelan?” The woman nodded, out of breath. “And you haven’t worked as a maid yet?” M. Sprüngli asked.

“That’s not completely correct. At the mental hospital, I earned a bit of money as a cleaning lady. I know how to do the job.” Roisin replied.

“We’ll see!” M. Sprüngli decided. “Please change into a maid’s uniform and come back here. Svetlana, please show her the way. We’ll meet here in a few minutes.

Later that morning, both applicants were cleaning the lobby under the watchful eyes of M. Sprüngli and Svetlana. Suddenly, one of the receptionists came over to M. Sprüngli. “Hello, Martha! What brings you to me?” he asked.

“We need you at the front desk, M. Sprüngli. One of our guests wants to talk to you personally.” Martha explained.

M. Sprüngli wasn’t happy at all. “I’ll be back in a minute. Carry on cleaning. Svetlana, you keep an eye on them”, he ordered before he followed Martha to the front desk.

While M. Sprüngli was away, Svetlana pointed out two oil lamps to Amelia. “Amelia, be careful with these lamps. There are two evil genies inside. Unlike Gregorios, they won’t help you but turn you back into a mouse. So be careful!” Amelia nodded and continued to work. Unnoticed by Sevetlana, Roisin had heard these words too. An idea formed inside her head.

A few minutes later, M. Sprüngli returned. “Shall we continue, Ladies?” he asked.

Later that afternoon, the tryouts were over. Both performances were below M. Sprüngli's expectations, but Amelia clearly did the better job. Finally, M. Sprüngli returned his verdict: “Ladies, both of you basically know how to do the cleaning. But we are a top hotel and our guests expect a lot. Miss Whelan, it is obvious that you haven’t worked as a maid yet. And you are already quite old so I won’t take you in as an apprentice, either. I’m sorry.
Fräulein Maus, you did much better. Still, you need some time to develop the necessary routines. Since I need a new maid right now, I’ll give you a limited contract of, let’s say, three months. I’ll also put Miss Petroskaja by your side so she can give you some hints. In three months, I’ll evaluate your progress and decide if you’ll get a permanent position.”

Roisin felt crushed. Now she had only one slight chance. She waited in to lobby until M. Sprüngli and the two maids had left. Then she headed towards the lamps.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Part 2: [link]
Part 3: [link]
Part 4: [link]
Part 5: [link]

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