In the story The Fairy Tale a prostitute named Miss Noi lives in Saigon, Vietnam. She begins by asking the difference between up on and upon and is told that they have the same meaning. She beginnings telling the her story which she refers to as her fairy tale with the words once upon a time. In her story she has sex with any men from the American army. Miss Noi enjoys fruit but apples are in Saigon. As the GIs come to sleep with her they bring her apples.
The GIs give her fruit as they come to sleep with and she receives pleasure and happiness from eating the apples. She enjoys the apples because this is something rare to her. The fruit can be taken as lust we are not supposed to indulge in. She meets an American man and falls in love. He promises to marry and wants to bring her America. She thought she would become a housewife with a toaster machine and a vacuum cleaner. When she comes her dreams are not fulfilled, she and the man break up.
She goes back to prostituting dancing in a bar in New Orleans on Bourbon Street. In New Orleans, she can buy and eat all the apples that she wants, the taste of an apple no longer becomes special to her. The indulgence that was once rare now has become sickening to her. One night, while dancing in the bar she meets a man. She notices that he is a nice man because he does that refer in any negative way as most men in the club. He calls her beautiful and asks her if she wants a drink. The man, Mr. Fontenot, tells her that he was in the army served in Saigon.
The talk for a while about Saigon and later that night they have sex. Before they have sex, she begins to think about the comparison between men and apples. She has slept with many men and it is like eating too many apples. You take a bite now and you can make yourself remember that apples are sweet, but it is like the apple in your mouth is not even there. You eat too many apples and all you can do is remember them. She has slept with so many men that she can no longer remember the men, just like the apples.
She remembers that apples are good but not a single apple by its self. . The next time, he comes and visits her at the club. He brings an apple but he would not go in the bar to see her. The last time, he comes in a suit and tie and wants to marry Miss Noi. In the end the story tale ends happily, she goes off to live with him in Thibodaux, Louisiana. She gets to be the housewife that she wanted to be with the toaster machine. She never eats an apple unless he gives it to her. Thus the apple represents the love and happiness she has found with her husband.
