Ella Enchanted Chapter 3 Summary

  • Ella's nice black silk mourning gown got all dirty while she was doing her tree-hugging at the funeral. Since they've got a bunch of important people coming over after the funeral, her father orders her to change into something clean.
  • Poor Ella just wants to stay in her room with her favorite dolls and miss her mommy, but her dad gave her an order.
  • She remembers Mandy and head maid Bertha talking about how her father is basically a horrible person: cold, selfish, and empty.
  • She knows he'd want her to wear a proper black mourning outfit, but instead she picks out a grasshopper green dress that her mother had loved (since she hated black clothing).
  • When Ella rejoins the party, she's immediately swooped into what is supposed to be a comforting hug by someone with chubby arms.
  • The owner of the arms is Dame Olga. She's got long wavy hair and wears a lot of blush. And she's got two daughters: Hattie, with very large teeth; and Olive, with thin curled hair and a constant frown.
  • Ella has to hang out with the girls while their parents talk, and it's not too fun. Hattie and Olive are totally obsessed with money.
  • Hattie counts the windows in each room, speculating on how much they all cost to install. Seriously? What teenage girl thinks about window installation costs?
  • Olive, who seems too stupid to count, just talks about how nice it is to be rich.
  • In an attempt to shut them up, Ella takes them over to the food. Hattie, after remarking on just how expensive quail eggs are, stuffs herself with them. Olive follows suit. It's pretty gross to watch.
  • Instead of watching this disgusting scene, Ella looks at the hunting scene on a rug. She has a weird experience where it actually seems to be alive—like, she can actually hear and smell the scene.
  • When everyone's gone home, Mandy and Ella have a chat. Mandy seems to feel sorry for the girls. (Good—that saves us the trouble.)
  • Then, Ella brings up the rug. Oh, Mandy says, all no big deal: it's a fairy rug.
  • Speaking of fairies, Ella says, does Mandy happen to know who her fairy godmother is?
  • Mandy hems and haws for a while before finally spitting it out.
  • Surprise! It's Mandy.