Chapter 5 Cinderella Once upon a time there lived a rich man whose wife was very ill.
Before she passed away she called for her daughter.
Cinderella, she said, be good and do everything you are told.
I will look down on you from wherever I am and always be with you.
Cinderella promised her mother that she would be good and obedient.
Just days later, Cinderella's mother passed away.
The girl was sad, beyond belief.
Before long, Cinderella's father remarried.
Her new stepmother brought two daughters to live with him.
The two girls were very pretty on the outside, but they were mean and nasty on the inside.
Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters made her life hard whenever her father was not there.
When he was around, they pretended to be kind to Cinderella.
Her father never knew how cruel they really were.
Cinderella never told him.
From morning to night, Cinderella worked very hard.
She carried water, got the fire going, cooked, cleaned, and washed.
The girl never had a moment's rest.
Her evil stepmother and stepsister wouldn't even let her sleep in her own bed at night.
Instead, they made her lie down near the fire.
And so she was always covered in dust and ash.
The sisters cackled and said, no wonder she's called Cinderella.
One day their father was going into town.
He asked all the girls what he could bring back for them.
Dresses and pearls for every one of us, the stepsisters said.
Father Cinderella said please break off the first branch that brushes against your hat on the way home.
That's a strange request.
Are you sure you wouldn't like dresses and pearls like your stepsisters? her father asked.
I'd like to plant it in the garden, near my mother's grave.
Her father patted her on the shoulder and said Then I shall find you a lovely branch that will grow into a beautiful tree.
When the father came back home he had beautiful jewels and dresses for the stepsisters.
He handed a small hazel branch to Cinderella.
That afternoon she planted the small sprout right next to where her mother was laid to rest.
Cinderella hoped something beautiful would grow to honor her mother.
The next few months were awful for Cinderella.
Her stepmother and stepsisters were nasty to her.
For comfort, she visited her mother's grave.
She cried and cried beside the little hazel branch.
Her tears watered it so much that it quickly grew into a tall tree.
Soon, a little white bird came to live in the tall hazel tree.
Anytime Cinderella made a wish, the little bird happily fulfilled it.
One day the king announced he would hold a festival to find his son a bride.
The whole kingdom was to it end.
Cinderella's family received an invitation, but she knew her stepmother would never let her go.
The evening of the festival arrived.
The stepsisters made Cinderella comb their hair and help them get dressed in beautiful silk gowns.
Cinderella begged her stepmother to let her go.
Cinderella, she said, how can you possibly go anywhere?
You have no shoes or dress and you're covered in dirt.
But what if my father asks why I'm not going with you?
Surely he wants me to go?
Her stepmother answered, I've told him you are ill.
Then the stepmother hurried into the carriage with her two daughters.
They raced away to the ball before Cinderella could say another word.
Cinderella went outside to the back garden to cry.
She sat under her hazel tree by her mother's grave and said, Shake your branches, little tree.
Toss gold and silver down to me.
The little white bird granted her wishes.
A dress of gold and silver and beautiful silk slippers fell from the sky.
Thank you, Cinderella cried.
This is the loveliest dress I've ever seen.
She slipped it on and raced toward the palace to attend the festival.
When Cinderella arrived, the ballroom was lit by candles and filled with people.
Music echoed throughout the halls.
Couples were laughing and dancing.
All was joyful and merry, but everyone stopped and stared the moment Cinderella entered the room.
Her dress was elegant, and she looked radiant.
Many of the king's guests thought she must be the daughter of a visiting king.
Even her father, stepmother, and stepsisters didn't recognize her.
The prince noticed her immediately.
He stepped forward to welcome her to the ball.
Would you like to dance with me?
He asked kindly.
She smiled and said yes.
He took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
They danced together all night.
The prince was enchanted by her.
Whenever another woman would approach him to dance, he would simply say, No, thank you.
I already have a dance partner.
It grew very late.
Cinderella told the prince that she had to go home.
He offered to take her there, but she refused.
When the prince turned around for a moment, Cinderella slipped away.
Where could she have gone?
The prince thought.
I cannot believe I've lost sight of her.
I must find her.
He spent the rest of the evening looking for Cinderella, and he refused to dance with anyone else.
By the time Cinderella's family arrived back home, she was dressed in her rags, asleep by the kitchen fire.
She looked as dirty as ever.
On the final day of the festival, Cinderella went back to the tree at her mother's grave.
She called out as she had before.
Shake your branches, little tree.
Toss gold and silver down to me.
Another fine dress fell down to her, and this time she also received slippers covered in gold.
She hurried off to the ball.
The prince grinned from ear to ear when he saw her come into the ballroom.
He could not take his eyes off of her.
No one else existed for him.
I'm so glad you came tonight, he said.
I just wish you would not disappear again.
He winked at her.
Cinderella smiled as he led her onto the dance floor.
I'm going to be careful not to let you out of my sight, the prince said.
Cinderella worried for a moment that she wouldn't be able to get home.
What if her stepmother and stepsisters found out she had been coming to the ball?
I'll have to slip away, she thought.
I'll do it the first moment he's not looking.
For a little while, Cinderella let herself get carried away by the party.
The prince was so kind and he danced so well, she had never felt happier.
There was a break in the music and the prince led Cinderella off the dance floor.
The pair stood in the doorway of the castle, admiring the night sky.
The king came out to speak with the prince.
The moment the prince turned to greet him, Cinderella slipped away.
The clever prince had figured Cinderella might try to escape again.
He had his servants cover the staircase in sticky tar.
Anyone trying to race down the stairs would stick.
Cinderella did get stuck, but she managed to free her foot from its golden slipper.
She fled the palace.
It all happened so fast.
The prince suddenly noticed Cinderella had slipped away.
When he ran outside to catch her, all he found was her golden slipper stuck on the stairs.
Breathless, he reached down to pick it up.
Cinderella raced home, quickly changed, and lay down in her usual place.
Just moments later, everyone arrived back home.
The next morning, the prince brought the shoe to his father.
The woman whose foot fits this golden shoe will be my bride, he said.
I must find her.
The prince and his footmen visited every house in the land.
The tiny, delicate shoe didn't fit a single girl.
No one had feet so small.
The very last house he visited was Cinderella's.
When the stepsisters learned the reason for the prince's visit, they became very excited.
They both thought they had beautiful small feet.
Each girl was sure the slipper would fit her.
The eldest sister went to her bedroom to try it on.
She couldn't get her big toe to fit in the shoe.
Her mother said, Oh, bend your toe all the way.
It may hurt now, but once you are queen, you will not need to walk.
The girl forced her foot into the shoe.
She swallowed her pain and went out to meet the prince.
Once he saw the shoe fit, he immediately took her for his bride.
They left on horseback.
As they rode past the hazel tree by the grave, the little white bird called out The foot's too long and far too wide.
Go back and find the proper bride.
The prince looked down and saw how poorly the shoe fit.
He turned around and took the stepsister right back to the house.
Then it was the younger sister's turn to try on the gold slipper.
Of course, it was too small.
Her mother said, force your heel in, my girl.
What will the blisters matter when you are the queen?
The girl limped out to meet the prince, who was delighted to see that the shoe fit her.
He lifted her up onto his horse to take her back to the castle.
When they passed by the hazel tree, the bird called out again, The foot's too long and far too wide.
Go back and find the proper bride.
The prince noticed that the stepsister's heel was red and raw.
She could barely keep the shoe on her foot.
The prince swiftly turned his horse around.
Once back at the house, he said to Cinderella's father, Do you have another daughter?
The father replied, There's no one left but Cinderella, the daughter of my first wife.
She cannot possibly be the one you were looking for.
She was too ill to attend the ball.
Send for her immediately, the prince said.
I have vowed to see every single girl in the land.
She is the only one left.
Cinderella's heart leaped when she heard this.
She scrubbed her hands and face until there was not a spot of dirt to be found.
Then she went out to meet the prince.
Cinderella curtsied before him, and he handed her the golden slipper.
She sat down on a stool and slipped it on.
It fit perfectly.
When she stood up, the prince remembered her elegance and her sweet, beautiful face.
He shouted happily, You are the girl from the ball.
You are my beautiful mystery woman.
The prince got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
Cinderella said yes and embraced her dear prince.
The prince picked up Cinderella and carried her out of the house.
He set her upon his horse and climbed up, To the castle, the prince shouted and kissed his bride.
As they rode through the back garden, the little white bird from the hazel tree sang.
The foot's not too long, nor too wide.
The true bride's riding at his side.
Cinderella and her prince lived happily ever after.
