It was a very dull winter day, and 19-year-old Hugo was shoveling the snow when the royal messenger came along and handed him an envelope.

"An urgent message from His Majesty," the messenger said.

"Thank you," Hugo said.

Hugo went inside to show his stepfamily the message.

"Stepfather, this message just arrived from the palace," Hugo said. "It's very urgent."

"Thank you, Hugo," said Sir Addams. He read the message carefully and told his sons, "Roderick! Vincent! There's to be an ice-dancing ball tonight at the palace. Princess Sophina is in need of a husband, and by royal command, every eligible gentleman is to attend!"

The wicked stepbrothers were very excited.

"Why, that's us!" Roderick beamed.

"And we're so eligible," Vincent added.

Hugo thought this was exciting. "An ice-dancing ball? How delightful!" he beamed, twirling in a circle.

But the wicked stepbrothers just laughed at Hugo.

"Imagine Hugo, dancing with the princess!" Vincent scoffed.

"Does he really think he stands a chance?" Roderick smirked. "He's not even allowed to ice-dance!"

But Hugo just held his head high and told his stepbrothers, "Well, why not? After all, I'm still a member of this family. The invitation says that every eligible gentleman is to attend. That means I should go, and it doesn't matter if I'm not allow to ice-dance."

The stepbrothers were stunned, and Sir Addams reread the invitation carefully.

"Yes, so it does," Sir Addams agreed. "Well, I see no reason why you can't go. But first, you need to get your work done and find something to wear."

"I'm sure I can do that," Hugo smiled. "Thank you, Stepfather!"

Hugo took off to complete his chores. Roderick and Vincent were very unhappy with what their father had said.