Cinderella”
Once upon a time, there lived a sweet little girl called Cinderella. Cinderella had rosy cheeks and blonde hair. And you know what else? Cinderella had the biggest heart of all. Cinderella lived in a big old house with her stepmother and two stepsisters. Life was not always easy on sweet Cinderella, but she smiled anyway. She dreamed and never lost faith that someday things would be better. So dry those tears away. Just squint those eyes shut tight. And I will tell you the magical story of Cinderella. The girl who went from rags to riches did so just by being KIND and PATIENT.
Now, Cinderella’s father had died when she was just a little girl, and he left her with a stepmother. Cinderella’s stepmother’s name was Lady Tremaine. She was a cold-hearted woman with a permanent frown on her face. Cinderella’s stepmother never showed her any love or affection. Even her daughters, Anastasia and Drizella, never gave Cinderella love. They were greedy and selfish. They would ridicule Cinderella and compel her to perform household chores throughout the day. Every morning before the sun came up, Cinderella would sweep floors, do dishes, cook breakfast, and even scrub the walls until they shone. But as soon as Cinderella finished one of her chores, her stepmother would always find more work for her to do. Poor Cinderella, and yet she never stopped being sweet and kind-hearted. Whenever Cinderella went anywhere, she had friends follow her. The little mice and birds that lived outside Cinderella’s window were some of her favorites. She would talk to them and sing them songs. She even tossed them leftover scraps of her brown bread to munch on. The mice fell in love with Cinderella and wanted more than anything to help her. Two of Cinderella’s favorite mouse friends were named Jaq and Gus. Jaq and Gus were the smallest mice you’ve ever seen. But they were also the smallest, bravest, and most loyal mice in all the world. One bright and shiny morning when the sun shone through Cinderella’s window, a messenger from the palace came bobbling along. He had stopped at every household in the kingdom to spread wonderful news. The king had declared that there would be a royal ball at the palace! The prince was having this ball so he could meet all the beautiful girls in the kingdom. He was looking for a girl to marry! Every girl in the kingdom had received an invitation to this ball, INCLUDING Cinderella. When Cinderella heard the news, she did a silly little dance all by herself. She hopped up and down, screaming, and ran to her stepmother’s house, begging to go to the ball. Her evil stepmother giggled and said, “Yes, Cinderella, you can go—but only if you finish cleaning AND find a proper dress to wear.” Cinderella’s stepmother knew that it was nearly impossible for Cinderella to do. She chuckled to herself evilly and ran upstairs with her daughter. Cinderella hopped over to her little mouse-filled room to see what she could potentially wear to the ball. She searched through her drawer and finally dug up an old dress her mother used to own. Maybe she could clean it and wear it. But unfortunately for Cinderella, she did not have much time. Her stepmother kept sending her on chores all around the house. That is when Jaq, Gus, and every other one of Cinderella’s little mouse friends wanted to help. While Cinderella was doing her step-sisters… The birds and mice cleaned up ribbons, beads, and curtains that her stepsisters didn’t need and threw away. They all worked together on Cinderella’s gown so it would be beautiful by the time Cinderella was done doing chores. The mice and birds sewed and stitched and pulled flowers from the garden to help bedazzle Cinderella’s gown. Once they had FINALLY finished, Cinderella’s gown was MAGICAL! On the day of the ball, their finest attire adorned both stepsisters. When Cinderella bounced downstairs in her gorgeous gown, she felt like a princess. Oh, but Cinderella’s stepsisters took notice of those old beads and ribbons Cinderella had on her gown. The selfish vixens were so jealous that they ripped Cinderella’s new gown and dumped it onto the floor. Poor Cinderella was left with rags while her stepsisters rode to the ball in the shiny gold carriage. Cinderella sobbed as she ran into her backyard garden and collapsed onto the old fountain, crying because she felt like nobody cared about her. Then, out of thin air, something glittery came. There was a flash of golden light, and from that light emerged a pudgy, chubby little old woman with a magic wand. It was Cinderella’s fairy godmother! “Oh, don’t cry, dear.” The Fairy Godmother smirked as she spoke. ‘You will be going to the ball tonight!’ Cinderella giggled at her fairy godmother. ‘But how? I have no gown to wear! ‘ The fairy godmother winked and immediately got to work. She pointed her wand at a large orange pumpkin in Cinderella’s garden—AND WHOOSH— The pumpkin transformed into the fanciest, gold, shiny coach you ever did see, sparkling in the sunlight! The fairy godmother waved her wand at 4 small mice— and POP POP POP POP—those mice turned into 4 lovely, pure white stallions! That pudgy old woman turned into a handsome coach driver. And her frog friends turned into Disney characters! Her friend’s lizard became her footman. Finally, her fairy godmother waved her wand over Cinderella. Cinderella closed her eyes, and quickly POOF! In a burst of silver and gold sparkles her dull, ordinary… Cinderella’s tattered knee-length dress transformed into the most dazzling ball gown in the entire world. It shimmered silver-white, was smooth as satin, and was fairy godmother AMAZING! On Cinderella’s feet appeared a pair of fancy, glitzy glass slippers that Cinderella had ever laid eyes on—and they FIT! Cinderella screamed and spun around hysterically. She was so excited that this was actually happening! ‘Oh, thank you so much!’ she yelled joyfully. The Fairy Godmother giggled and said, ‘Alright then, my dear. Off you go. But remember, when that clock over there starts chiming, the spell will expire. Everything will revert to normal, and you will HAVE to leave the ball by midnight. Got it?’ Cinderella bounced out of the carriage and into the ball, popping. When she got there, everyone turned to look. NO ONE recognized her—especially not her stepmother and stepsisters. They thought she was from another royal family because she was THAT stunning! Then the prince spotted her across the giant ballroom. He fell in love at first sight. He walked right over to Cinderella and asked her to dance, and from their first dance, they BOTH didn’t want to dance with anyone else. They danced the evening away. They laughed and talked, realizing they had so much in common. The prince had never seen anyone so kind, caring, and unique. Cinderella was living her dreams, not thinking about her past, until she heard the grand palace clock begin to strike. BONG… BONG… BONG… IT WAS MIDNIGHT! She turned around to leave. ‘I have to go!’ She yelled desperately. Before the confused but in-love prince could speak, she kicked him out of the way, ran down the royal stairs, and dashed out of the palace as quickly as she could. When she was hurrying down the steps, one of Cinderella’s magic slippers flew off. However, Cinderella didn’t have an opportunity to look back! She jumped into the carriage, and they were off just as the clock hit twelve. Then POP! Just like Fairy Godmother warned, everything turned back to normal. The carriage turned into a pumpkin, the horses turned back into mice, and Cinderella woke up back on the side of the road in her old ratty clothes. She sat up. Looking down at her feet, she giggled because she still had one glass slipper in her hand. When the prince dropped to one knee in front of her, looking for the girl who had captured his heart at the ball, she quickly vanished. She left behind one little twinkling glass slipper on the palace steps.
The prince grabbed the small slipper and yelled that he would search high and low, inside every house, village, street, and town of the kingdom, until he found the girl whose foot it would fit. And she will be his princess.
The next morning, the royal herald went door to door all over the kingdom, asking every young woman to try on the glass slipper. When they knocked on Cinderella’s door, both stepsisters squeezed and stretched and pinched until they could barely see. But it wasn’t big enough for them.
Growing suspicious that this mysterious girl who lived under her roof could only be Cinderella, the stepmother shoved her daughter into a closet and tried to hide her. However, the royal herald heard rumors that there was another daughter in the household and insisted that Cinderella be allowed to try on the slipper too.
Cinderella sat down on the little stool and pulled her knees to her chest. With great care, she lifted her frail foot and slipped it into the glass slipper. It fit! It really fits! As if it were MADE for Cinderella’s foot. As if Cinderella were MADE to fit that slipper.
And then she reached into her pocket and pulled out the other glass slipper. The stepmother gasped, and the stepsisters stood there with their mouths agape. But suddenly, the Fairy Godmother appeared, clicked her fingers, and transformed Cinderella’s torn rag dress into an even fancier dress than the one she wore to the ball.
Away to the palace Cinderella bounced, where the prince greeted her with the widest smile Cinderella had ever seen on anyone’s face. They had a royal wedding with flowers and music and cheered from all over the kingdom. Jaq and Gus came to the party too, in their fancy clothes.
Prince Charming never let Cinderella forget those mice who lived with her or the not-so-wonderful life before he came along. Cinderella poured fairy love into her kingdom as it was given to her and made sure that no one else ever felt unseen or unaccepted.
And they all lived happily ever after, filling their grand palace with love, happiness, and joy for the rest of their lives. The lesson we learn from Cinderella is that love overcomes all obstacles. Love loves everything. Even when it seems like things will never get better for you, they will. Even when you’re going through something that nobody else knows about, it can be hard to cope. If you just remain kind and virtuous and patient, you will end up right where you’re meant to be.
Ok, pumpkin, it’s time for bed. Time to close your eyes. Dream about mice and magic carpets and wonderful parties where girls like you are the star of the show. Goodnight, sweetie pumpkin.
