Cinderella

After her beloved mother dies, a kind young girl is left at the mercy of a cruel stepmother and two vain stepsisters who force her into servitude and ridicule her daily. She sleeps in ashes by the hearth and is mockingly called “Cinderella.” When her father brings her a hazel twig, she plants it on her mother’s grave, where it grows into a magical tree visited by a white bird that grants her wishes. When the King invites all young women to a royal ball so his son may find a bride, Cinderella’s stepfamily forbids her from going. But with the help of the bird and the tree, she receives beautiful gowns and attends the ball in secret—capturing the prince’s heart each night before slipping away unseen. On the final evening, she loses a golden slipper on the palace steps, which the prince uses to search for his mysterious love. Though the stepsisters try to deceive him by cutting off parts of their feet to fit the shoe, the prince eventually discovers Cinderella as the true bride when the slipper fits her perfectly. As they ride to the palace, doves from the hazel tree confirm her identity. At the wedding, the stepsisters attempt to reconcile, but are punished with blindness for their cruelty. Cinderella, once forgotten and mistreated, finds love and justice—not through revenge, but through patience, kindness, and quiet resilience.