ONCE
THERE WAS a rich
man's wife who died leaving behind a daughter. Within a
year the widowed man had taken another bride. She was a haughty woman, proud and vain, with two daughters whoÝ resembled her in every
way.
In truth, the trio had little to be vain about, being sour-faced and sour-tempered. Although they bickered constantly with each other the three did agree on one point: they loathed the rich man's daughter. She was so beautiful and sweet natured that her radiance put them all in the shade. To make matters worse, the older she grew the more beautiful she became. To dim her light a little they took away her pretty dresses, put her to work at the heaviest and most menial tasks and made her sleep on the kitchen hearth. As she scrubbed and scoured the stepsisters took a malicious delight in tormenting her.
They called her cindertail because the fireplace left her bottom covered in ashes. The younger of the two was a little less vicious, however, and softened the rude name to Cinderella.
Now, one day, it happened that the King's son summoned all the young ladies of marriageable age and good family to a ball. The invitation threw Cinderella's sisters into a frenzy. For days they squabbled over gown and headdresses and jostled for space in font of the mirror. Dozens of laces were broken in the effort to pull their corsets tighter than ever. By the time they were ready to go, Cinderella's back hurt from ironing acres of ruffles, her arms were stiff from all the corset pulling and her heart ached at being left behind. Exhausted, she sank down into the cinders and cried.
She was sobbing so hard that when her Godmother found her and asked what was wrong she must wept and sniffed. "You'd like to go to the ball, is that it?" asked the old woman, but poor Cinderella could only nod and sigh." If you are good and bring me a pumpkin, I will help you." Cinderella was puzzled but she ran off the the vegetable garden and returned with a fine, fat pumpkin. her Godmother immediately sliced off the top, scooped out the seeds and tapped lightly with her wand. Suddenly the empty rind was transformed into a beautiful gilded coach. Next she looked into the mouse trap, where she found six live mice. As Cinderella free them one by one, the Godmother gave a tap with her wand and each mouse sprouted into a fine gray horse. The largest rat from the rat trap became a big, bewhiskered coachman, and finally, six lizards were turned in to green liveried footmen and climbed up behind the coach as if they had done nothing else all their lives.
Then the fairy turned to her goddaughter and said: "Well, now you have something to take you to the ball. Are you satisfied?" "Yes, but am I to go like this?" said Cinderella looking down at her ragged dress and dirty feet. With one touch of the wand her rags became a magnificent white gown wreathed in lace, a delicate coronet rested atop her shining golden curls and a pair of exquisite glass slippers twinkled on her little feet. As she stepped into the carriage, almost overcome with joy, her godmother warned "Leave the ball by midnight. When the clock strikes twelve you dress will again be cinder-covered rags, the coach an orange pumpkin and lizards, mice and a rat will scamper around your bare toes."
When an unknown princess arrived at the castle in a splendid golden coach the king's son himself went out to greet her. He gave her his hand and led her into the ballroom. All at once silence fell over the assembled crowd. The guests stopped dancing and the fiddlers paused in mid note, so engrossed were they in the beauty of the unknown lady. Even the king, old as he was, could not tear his eyes away. A low murmuring began. "Oh, how lovely she is." "Who is she?" "Where did she get that dress?" whispered the guests, as Cinderella danced by with the prince.
A splendid supper was served and still everyone stared at the beautiful stranger. So wrapped up in watching her was the prince that he couldn't eat at all. Cinderella sat beside her stepsisters and shared the delicacies pressed upon her. They were surprised and gratified by the attention, not for a moment did they suspect that this graceful vision was their very own Cinder-bottom.
Heeding her godmother's warning Cinderella paid attention to the time. When the clock chimed a quarter to twelve, she curtsied her goodbyes to the company and left.
When the step mother and her daughters returned home they were full of the mysterious beauty. They described her wondrous gown and boasted to Cinderella of her courtesy to them. Cinderella smiled and asked the name of the princess. "Nobody knows," they replied. "But the prince would give anything in the world to find out."
On the next evening the two sister's went to the ball, and so did Cinderella, dressed this time in a magnificent silver gown sparkling with golden lace and emerald buttons. The king's son never left her side and he whispered such sweet words that Cinderella quite forgot the time. She was still listening to him as the first stroke of midnight chimed.
Hearing the clock Cinderella sped like a fawn from the ballroom. She ran so fast that one of her shoes fell off. The prince, in hot pursuit, stooped to pick up the tiny slipper and failed to catch her. he questioned the palace guards, but no one had seen a lady go by. Only a poorly dressed girl, more peasant than princess had passed through the gate. Cinderella had disappeared into the night.
Once again, when the two sisters returned from the ball they were full of the lovely princess. They told how the prince had done nothing but gaze at her little shoe and sigh. Undoubtedly he was in love with the mysterious beauty.
A few days later there was a flourish of trumpets and a flurry of excitement throughout the land. The prince had sworn to marry the girl whose foot exactly fit the single slipper. His men began by trying it on the princesses, then on the duchess, and so on throughout the the court. Soon they came to the two sisters who did their utmost to squeeze into the delicate thing, but their feet were too big.
Looking on with a smile Cinderella asked to try the shoe herself and her sisters rocked with laughter at her temerity. If the shoe didn't fit them it certainly wouldn't fit a dirty cinder-bottom like her, they scoffed.
But the gentleman entrusted with the precious slipper looked carefully at Cinderella and saw her beauty shining through the rags and ashes. Placing the slipper under her little foot he was not surprised to see it go on easily and fit like wax.
The sister's, on the other hand, were astonished. Their eyes grew wide and their jaws hung slack. Stunned into silence they could only work their mouths like fish when Cinderella drew the second shoe from her pocket and popped it on the other foot. At that moment the fairy godmother arrived. With one tap of her wand Cinderella's rags fell away to reveal the most beautiful gown yet. The cloth of gold with diamond buttons dazzled the sisters and they threw themselves at Cinderella's feet and begged her pardon for all of their beating and bullying.
A few days later, in a magnificent ceremony, Cinderella wed her prince. Being kind as well as beautiful, she forgave her sisters, gave them apartments in the palace, found them wealthy not to marry and only begged that they try to love her better in the future.
The End.