CINDERELLA Once upon a time there lived a rich man who had a very beautiful daughter. The mother of the child died and after a time the man married a widow who had two daughters. He thought she would make a good stepmother for his little girl, but the wedding was scarcely over when this stepmother began to treat the girl unkindly. She was jealous because the girl was so much more beautiful than her own two daughters and has a much sweeter disposition. The girl was always so gentle and kind that it made her stepsisters seem even more disagreeable than they were; they were already disagreeable enough. The daughters, too, became envious of their stepsister and they persuaded their mother to deep the girl working in the kitchen day and night, scrubbing and rubbing and doing all the hardest tasks. Each night when her work was finished, the girl was so weary that she would sit right down in the chimney corner among the cinders. So the stepmother and the stepsisters began to call her Cinderella. One day Cinderella heard her two stepsisters shouting and shrieking and acting altogether in such a dither that she was sure something unusual had happened. And so it had. The two stepsisters had been invited to a royal ball at the palace of the king! The ball was to last three nights in a row and, most exciting of all, the prince was to choose his bride from among the young ladies was were present. The two stepsisters went out at once to buy the most gorgeous gowns they could find. When the first night of the ball came, they dressed themselves in all their finery and demanded that Cinderella curled their hair and nicely, too; brought their gloves and fans; polished their slippers; and fetched and carried for them, upstairs and down, till at last when they were ready to go, Cinderella was completely worn out. When the door shut behind them, the poor girl sank down her stool among the cinders and wept. "Oh, I wish I could go, too", she sobbed. "Tears, tears, tears!" said a soft voice. "Dry your eyes, child." Cinderella looked up and saw a little old woman with a tall, pointed hat on her head and a golden wand in her hand. "Who are you?" asked Cinderella. "I an your fairy godmother," said the little old woman. "Because you have always been good and gentle, I shall grant your wish. You may to the ball, if you will do exactly as I tell you. Run out to the garden and fetch me the biggest pumpkin you can find." Cinderella did not see how a pumpkin could help her get to the ball, but she did as she was told and soon returned with a fine big one. The little old woman touched it with her magic wand. Lo and behold! The pumpkin turned into a golden coach! Next she took six mice out of the mousetrap and changed each one into a sleek gray pony. "Bring me a fat rat from the cellar," said the godmother. When Cinderella did so, the rat was turned into a handsome coachman in full livery. Then the fairy godmother said, "Now run out to the garden and lift up the watering can near the fence. Under it you will find six lizards which you must catch and bring to me." These were turned into six footmen, who immediately jumped up behind the coach! "There!", cried the godmother. "Off you go!" But Cinderella looked down at her soiled, ragged dress and her eyes filled with tears. "Tears, tears, tears," cried the godmother. "Dry your eyes, child." And she waved her wand. Immediately the rags and tatters that Cinderella was wearing were changed into a beautiful dress as blue as the sky and covered with jewels. Her shoes became the daintiest pair of glass slippers ever seen. "Now," said the little old woman as she helped the happy girl into the coach. "Have a good time, but remember this: you must not stay one minute after midnight. If you do, your coach will become a pumpkin again; your horses, mice; your footmen, lizard; you coachman, a rat. And your beautiful dress will turn into rags." Cinderella promised she would leave the ball before midnight. She thanked her fairy godmother many times and drove off. When her golden coach drew up at the palace, the news quickly spread that an unknown princess had come to the ball. The price greeted her and was so delighted with her beauty that he promptly asked her for the next dance. She was so graceful that everyone in the room turned to admire her and the Prince scarcely left her side all evening. He had just gone to bring her a dish of sweetmeats when Cinderella noticed that it was nearly midnight. She quickly slipped away and returned home in her golden carriage. Her fairy godmother was waiting for her. Cinderella told her what a wonderful time she had and how the Prince has begged her to come back the next evening. The little old woman was quite pleased and promised Cinderella that she should go to the palace again. The following evening, as soon as the two stepsisters had gone, the fairy godmother appeared. She gave Cinderella a gown as sweet and dainty as a pink rosebud, and off Cinderella went. The Prince was so delighted to see her that he would dance with no one else. But shortly before midnight, she darted away from him and vanished so quickly that he could not follow her. The godmother was pleased because Cinderella had remembered to come home on time and promised her she could go the third night also. The next evening, dress of Cinderella was as golden as sunshine. She made such a charming picture with her golden curls and golden dress that a murmur of admiration went through the crowd as she entered the ballroom. The Prince, who had refused to dance until she arrived, came to her at once, and it was easy to see that he was very much in love with her. The Prince was so charming that Cinderella forgot all about the time until the clock began to strike twelve. She jumped up and fled from the room. The startled Prince raced after her. She managed to escape him, but in her haste she lost one of her glass slippers. Just as the last stroke of twelve died away, she reached the courtyard. In a twinkling, the beautiful princess was just a shabby little cinder girl again. The golden coach was nothing but a pumpkin, and the coachman and footmen were no longer there. Cinderella reached home quite out of breath and nothing remained of her lovely costume but one little glass slipper. When her sisters returned home, they told Cinderella all about the mysterious princess who had fled from the ball. Her heart beat faster when she heard how the Prince had picked up the lost glass slipper and looked at it fondly all the rest of the evening. But she said not a word. The next morning, the news went around that the Prince would marry the maiden whose foot exactly fit the glass slipper, for it was so tiny that he was sure only the mysterious princess would wear it. When the stepsisters heard this, each one was sure that she could squeeze her foot into the slipper somehow. A messenger was sent from house to house with the slipper, and all the young ladies tried to put it on. But they tried in vain, for it would not fit. At last the two sisters had their turn. They tried so hard to squeeze into the slipper, that their bones cracked. The messenger was about to leave when Cinderella said, "Please, may I try to put on the slipper?" "You!" shrieked the stepsisters. "Go back to the kitchen where you belong!" But the messenger said that the Prince had given orders that every maiden was to try the slipper, and he handed it to Cinderella. Of course the slipper fit her perfectly and when she pulled the mate from her pocked, the sisters and the stepmother were speechless with amazement. At that instant, the fairy godmother appeared, waved her wand over Cinderella, and once more clothed her in the beautiful golden dress. The stepsisters threw themselves at her feet and begged forgiveness for treating her so badly. Cinderella, who was as good as she was beautiful, forgave them at once and asked them to love her always. Then the messenger took Cinderella to the palace and the Prince asked her to marry him without delay. A few days later, the wedding took place. Cinderella became a real princess and lived happily with the handsome Prince, ever afterward.