blue fairy tale book

Chapter 2 Cinderella and the Glass Slipper (1)
A gentleman once had a second wife who was the most haughty and unreasonable woman I ever saw.The two daughters she had with her ex-husband have almost the same virtues as her.Gentleman also has a young daughter with his ex-wife, but she has an incomparable kindness and gentle temperament inherited from the best biological mother in the world.

Soon after the wedding celebrations, the stepmother began to reveal herself.She simply could not stand the good qualities of this beautiful girl, and it made her own daughter all the more repulsive.She forced the poor little girl to do the heaviest chores in the house: washing the dishes, wiping the table, cleaning her room and that of her two daughters.She lives in a lousy attic and sleeps on nasty haystacks; her sisters live in cozy rooms with carpeted floors and the latest beds, and they have life-high mirrors .

The poor little girl endured all this in silence, not daring to tell her father.He would have kicked himself out of the house because he was already completely at the mercy of his stepmother.When she had done all her work, she used to sit in the cinders and ashes in the corner of the fireplace, and people usually called her "the cinder girl"; ".But Cinderella, though poorly dressed, was a hundred times more beautiful than her two sisters, though they were always richly dressed.

One day the prince was going to hold a grand ball and invited all the people of high society to attend.Our young ladies are also being invited, because they are considered to be of high status.They were naturally very happy to receive the invitation, and they were busy choosing suitable evening dresses, dance skirts and headgears.These things were a problem for Cinderella, for she had to iron and frill the clothes of her two sisters, and they had nothing to do all day long but talk about how to dress themselves.

"Well, I'm going to wear my red velvet dress in the French style," said the eldest sister.

"And I will be wearing my usual ball gown, but I'm going to have to modify it so I can wear a cape embroidered with gold filigree and the most unusual diamond corset in the world."

They invited the best hairdressers to make their own heads, modified the headscarves, and bought the red clips and bows they needed from the most prestigious shops.

Cinderella was always called for advice in these matters, for she had a pretty good opinion and could always give them the best advice.Not only that, but she also helped them fix their hair, which they were more than happy to do.As she did so they asked her:

"Cinderella, aren't you happy to go to the ball?"

"Oh, stop mocking me," she said. "How can a man like me go to a place like that?"

"Yes," they replied, "it will be amusing for Cinderella to go to the ball."

The godmother saw that she was full of tears, and asked her why.

"I wish I could...I wish I could..." Before she could finish her thoughts, she was interrupted by tears and sobs.

Her godmother, a fairy, said to her, "You wish you could go to the ball, don't you?"

"Yes." Cinderella sighed deeply.

"Well," said the godmother, "you're a good girl, and I'll try to get you to the ball."

Then she took Cinderella to her room, and said to her, "Now go into the garden and pick me a pumpkin."

Cinderella immediately picked the best pumpkin and brought it to her godmother, but she couldn't figure out what the pumpkin had to do with the ball.The godmother hollowed out the pumpkin, leaving only the shell.Then she tapped lightly with her wand, and the pumpkin was instantly transformed into a luxurious gilded carriage.

Then she examined the trap again, and finding six live mice in it, bade Cinderella open the trap a little, and let them escape.When she touched each mouse with her wand, they instantly turned into thoroughbred horses.Six mice can just make up a luxurious cavalry team.But it seems that the coachman is still missing.

"I'll go and see if there are any mice in the mousetrap, so we can come out as a coachman."

"Not bad, go and have a look."

The godmother replied.Cinderella brought the mousetrap, and sure enough there were three huge mice inside.The Fairy picked the mouse with the biggest nose from among them, and touched it with her wand, and it turned into a plump, cheerful coachman with the most clever eyes.

Then the godmother said to her, "Go into the garden again, and you will find six lizards behind the water tank. Go and catch them and bring them to me."

As soon as Cinderella brought six lizards, the godmother transformed them into six gorgeous attendants.Immediately they followed the carriage, and one after the other they stuck as close as if they had never done anything else.The fairy asked Cinderella:

"Well, now you can have a proper carriage for the ball. Do you like it?"

"Oh! of course!" she exclaimed joyfully, "but shall I go in rags?"

Godmother just touched her lightly with her wand, and at once her gown changed into fine gold and silver and bejeweled.Then the godmother gave her a pair of the most beautiful crystal slippers in the world.After everything was ready, Cinderella got into the carriage.But her godmother told her to be home before midnight, because after midnight her rat driver, her lizard attendant, and her clothes would all be the same again.

She promised her godmother that she would be home from the ball by midnight, and set off happily.When the prince learns that a beautiful princess whom no one knows is coming to the ball, he runs out to meet her—helps her out of the carriage with his own hands, and leads her into the ball surrounded by the crowd.There was a sudden silence, people stopped dancing, the musicians forgot to play, and everyone was staring at this unknown new face, deeply attracted by her beauty.

At this time, only vague shouts were heard from the crowd: "Oh! She is so beautiful! Ah! She is so beautiful!" Even the old king couldn't help looking at her, and whispered to the queen that he had been so beautiful for a long time. I have never seen such a beautiful and lovely person.

And all the ladies were talking about her dress and her tiara, wishing she could dress the same way the next day.Of course they must be able to find the same fine fabrics and skilled craftsmen.

The prince took her to the most respectable seat, and then asked her to dance with her.She danced so gracefully that people began to envy her more and more.The young prince didn't seem to have much of an appetite for the lavish dinner that followed, for he was engrossed in admiring Cinderella.

She went and sat down beside her two sisters, and politely shared with them the oranges and candied fruit the prince had given her.This really surprised them, because they didn't recognize her at all.While Cinderella was playing with her sisters, she heard the clock strike: 11:45.So she immediately said goodbye to the people politely, and left the ball in a hurry.

Back home, she ran to find her godmother.After thanking her godmother, she said that she really hoped to be able to attend the ball the next day because the prince fell in love with her.

Just as she was anxious to tell her godmother what had happened at the ball, the two sisters came back, and she had to run out to open the door for them.

"Why have you been here for so long?" she asked, yawning, rubbing her eyes and stretching herself as if she had just woken up from a dream.

"If you'd been at the ball, you wouldn't be so tired," said one of the sisters. "There came the most beautiful princess, the prettiest woman in the world. She was very polite to us, Even gave us oranges and candied fruit."

Cinderella pretended to be indifferent to the matter, but asked the princess's name.But they all said they didn't know.The prince is upset about her too, and would have given the whole kingdom to know who she was.Hearing this, Cinderella smiled and said:
"Then she must be very pretty, and look how happy you are! Shall I see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, can you lend me your yellow dress which you wear every day?"

"Ha, honestly!" screamed Miss Charlotte, "lend your clothes to a dirty cinder girl, unless I'm an idiot.

Cinderella had actually already guessed the answer and was happy to hear her sister's refusal.Because if my sister really took the joke seriously, she would be very reluctant to wear that dress.

The next day the two sisters went to the ball again, and of course Cinderella.But this time she was even more gorgeously dressed.The prince followed her all the time, and praised her constantly.As a result, she was not tired at all, and she even forgot the advice of her godmother.Finally, when the clock struck twelve, she thought it was not yet eleven, so she got up like a swift deer and ran away.The prince followed behind, but did not have time to stop her, but carefully picked up a crystal slipper she had left behind.Panting, she hurried home in shabby clothes, stripped of all the ornate decorations except for another glass slipper.When the palace guards were asked if they had seen a princess running out, they all shook their heads and said that they only found a poor village girl in rags, not a princess.

When the two sisters come back from the ball, Cinderella asks if they had a good time and if the perfect princess has come again.

They replied: "Of course, but she left in a hurry when the clock struck twelve. She left in such a hurry that she left behind the most beautiful glass slipper in the world. The prince picked it up. At the ball, the prince didn't want anything." Not wanting to do it, just looking at her all the time, it's clear that the prince is deeply in love with the beautiful princess in the crystal slipper."

It was all true what they said.A few days later, the prince officially announced that he would marry the girl who could wear the glass slipper.The servants began to make the princess, the daughter of the duke, and all the girls in the court try on the glass slipper, but no one's feet fit.When the crystal slipper was brought to the two sisters, they tried their best to stuff their feet into the slipper, but it was all in vain.When Cinderella saw all this, she smiled and said to them, "Let me try and see if it's all right?" The sisters laughed and began to mock her.The servant who was ordered to try on the shoes looked at Cinderella seriously, and thought she was really beautiful, so he said, "Of course she can try, because the prince has ordered that everyone can try on shoes."

He sat Cinderella down and tried the shoes on her, and she put them on as easily as if they were made of wax.This was enough to surprise the two sisters, but what surprised them even more was that Cinderella took out another crystal slipper from her pocket and put it on her foot.So the godmother came in, and touched Cinderella's dresses with her magic wand, and made them into the most splendid dresses.Only then did the two sisters recognize that Cinderella was the very beautiful princess at the ball.They hurried forward and knelt down, begging their sister to forgive her for being too harsh on her before.Cinderella helped her sisters up, embraced them, and said that she truly forgave them and hoped that they would like her.

Cinderella is escorted to the young prince, who finds her even more charming, though in the same attire.A few days later the prince married her.The beautiful and kind Cinderella also brought her two sisters to the palace, and held a wedding ceremony for them and two outstanding dukes on the same day.

(End of this chapter)