Cinderella A long time ago there was a very beautiful girl namedCinderella.Cinderella had long red hair, green eyes, and freckles all over her nose. Shewas clever and kind, and she loved to tell jokes. But she was very unhappy. Her fatherand mother had died, and Cinderella lived with her stepmother and twostepsisters.Although they all lived in a big house, they were actually quite poor. Theirmoney was nearly gone. Cinderella's stepmother wanted oneof her daughters to marry a rich man so they would no longer be poor.But Cinderella's stepsisters were not as pretty as Cinderella, not as kind asCinderella, and not as funny as Cinderella. The men who came to the house alwaysfell immediately in love with Cinderella, and never noticed the stepsisters.This frustrated the stepmother, so she ordered Cinderella to do all the chores. "Sweepthe hallway!" demanded the stepmother."Cleanthe kitchen!" "Cookour dinner!""Tidyour bedrooms!" "Mopthe bathroom!""Wipethe windows!""Quick!Hurry!" The stepmother tried hard to makeCinderella miserable.The stepsisters had beautiful dresses and shoes, but Cinderella's dress wasmade of old rags. The stepsisters always ate the mostdelicious foods, but Cinderella always ate scraps.And the stepsisters slept in their comfortable beds in their bedrooms, butCinderella slept on a straw bed on the kitchen floor. The animals were Cinderella's onlyfriends. In the evening she sat beside the fireplace in the kitchen and toldjokes to the family of mice who lived in the wall. She talked to the cat. "Thingswill get better one day," she told the cat."Meow…" thecat replied. One day, while Cinderella was in thegarden picking pumpkins, a letter arrived at the house. It was an invitation tothe king's summer ball.Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters were very excited. "Theprince will be there!""Heis so handsome!""Heis so rich!""Heneeds a wife!" The stepsisters spent weekspreparing for the ball. They bought new dresses, new shoes, and new handbags.On the day of the ball, Cinderella helped them put on their dresses and dotheir hair. "Oh,I have a wonderful idea!" exclaimed the youngeststepsister. "Cinderella, come to the ball with us! It will be more fun if you arethere!" "Oh,but you don't have anything to wear…" laughedthe oldest stepsister. "You can’t meet the prince wearing those dirtyold clothes. What a shame. Maybe next time.” Cinderella tried not to cry. Shefinished dressing her sisters and then went down to the kitchen. She sat besidethe fire and sighed."Thingswill get better one day," she told the cat."Meow…" thecat replied. Just then, there was flash of light,and an old woman appeared in a corner of the kitchen."Who…who are you?" stammered Cinderella."Iam your fairy godmother” said the old woman. "You are anorphan, and all orphans have a fairy godmother." The fairy godmother stroked the cat."Thiscat tells me how kind you are. And how you always wish for things to get betterone day. Today is that day, Cinderella. You are going to the king's ball. Fetchme a pumpkin!" Cinderella ran into the garden andpicked a big, orange pumpkin. The fairy godmother touched the pumpkin with hermagic wand and it turned into a golden carriage. "Comehere, little mice!" she said to the mice in thewall. She waved her wand again, and the mice turned into six beautiful horsesto pull the carriage. "ButI don't have a dress!" said Cinderella."Standstill," said the fairy godmother. She waved her wandagain, and Cinderella's dirty clothes turned into a spectacular silver dress.Two beautiful glass shoes appeared on Cinderella's feet. "Nowgo to the ball!" said the fairygodmother. "But you must be home by midnight! When the clock strikes twelve, yourdress will turn back into rags, and your carriage will turn back into apumpkin.... Havefun!" And with another flash of light, thefairy godmother disappeared."I'mgoing to the ball!" said Cinderella."Meow…" saidthe cat. At the king’s ball, the prince wasvery bored. He felt like he had danced with every young lady in the kingdom. All of theladies were wearing beautiful dresses, but none of the ladies were interesting.None of them understood his jokes. The prince had just finished dancingwith one of Cinderella's stepsisters when the room suddenly fell silent.Everybody turned to look as the most beautiful girl walked through the door. She had long red hair and kind greeneyes. Her dress was silver. Her shoes sparkled, like they were made of glass.It was Cinderella, but nobody recognised her. Not even her stepmother andstepsisters! The prince's mouth dropped open. Hehad never seen a woman as beautiful as Cinderella.He asked her to dance. They danced together all evening. The prince thoughtCinderella was beautiful, but also kind, clever and funny. She laughed at hisjokes, and he laughed at hers. Cinderella was having such awonderful time that she didn't notice that it was so late. The clock began tochime midnight.Dong…dong… dong… "Ohno! I have to leave!" gasped Cinderella, and she ranout of the ballroom."Don'tgo! I don't even know your name!" shouted the prince. ButCinderella was already gone. Cinderella fled from the palace sofast that she lost one of her glass shoes on the stairs.When she got to the bottom of the stairs — DONG! — The clockfinished chiming midnight. Cinderella's beautiful dress turnedback into rags, and her golden carriage turned back into a pumpkin."Drat," saidCinderella. Just then, she saw the princerunning towards her, holding the glass shoe she had dropped.She did not want him to see her dressed in her dirty old rags. She feltashamed, but there was nowhere to hide! "Excuseme, miss," he said, panting. "Did you seewhere that beautiful girl went? This is her shoe! I must find her!"The prince didn’t recognise Cinderella without her beautiful clothes! Cinderella shook her head. Theprince ran off to continue his search. Cinderella walked all the way home. Three weeks passed. The princecouldn't sleep. He could not stop thinking about the beautiful girl at theball.He waited for her to return to the palace, but she did not return. He waitedfor her to send a letter, but no letters came. Finally, in desperation, he gave theglass shoe to a trusted messenger and ordered him to visit every house in thekingdom."Findthe girl who this shoe belongs to, and bring her to me!" The messenger visited hundreds ofhouses. At every house, women claimed the glass shoe was theirs. But when theytried on the shoe, their feet were too big, or too wide, or too small. Finally, the messenger arrived atCinderella's house. Cinderella’s stepmother opened the door."Ofcourse! Of course! Come in!”She led the messenger into the dining room, where the two stepsisters werewaiting. The oldest sister said "Thank God!That's my shoe!" But when she tried the shoe, her footwas too wide. The youngest sister said "Silly sister... It's not your shoe, it's myshoe!" But when she tried the shoe, her foot was toosmall. The stepmother said "Get out ofthe way, girls, it's not your shoe. It's MY shoe!" andtried the shoe. But her foot was too long. "Ohhow silly!" said the stepmother. "The shoe musthave shrunk in the rain..." But the messenger was not so easilyfooled. "Are there any other women in this house?" heasked."Noone but our serving girl, and the shoe is certainly not hers... " saidthe stepmother. "Fetchher immediately. Every woman in the kingdom must try the shoe," insistedthe messenger. When Cinderella arrived in thedining room she was wearing her usual rags, and her face was covered in dirt. She put her dirty foot into the glass shoe and… amazing! It wasn't too wide. Itwasn't too long. It fit perfectly! In a quiet voice she said, "It's myshoe.""Pleasecome with me," said the messenger. And beforeCinderella's stepmother and stepsisters could stop them … the messenger hurriedCinderella out the door and into a carriage. Cinderella was taken to the palaceto meet the prince. She was still wearing her dirty old dress, and her arms,legs and face were dirty. She looked at the floor because she felt so ashamed. The prince took Cinderella's hand. "Miss, please look at me," herequested kindly. And when she lifted her head and he saw her kind, green eyes,he knew that she was the girl he had fallen in love with at the ball. They were married the next spring,and spent the rest of their lives laughing at each other's jokes.
