Once upon a
time there lived an unhappy young girl. Her mother was dead and her father had
married a widow with two daughters. Her stepmother didn't like her one little
bit. She had to work hard all day. Only when evening came was she allowed to
sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That’s why everybody called her
Cinderella.
Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone
talking to the cat. The cat said, “Miaow“, which really meant, “Cheer up! You
have something neither of your stepsisters has and that is beauty.” It was
quite true. Cinderella, even dressed in old rags, was a lovely girl. While her
stepsisters always clumsy, lumpy and ugly and always would be.
One day, beautiful new dresses arrived at the
house. A ball was to be held at the palace and the stepsisters were getting
ready to go. Cinderella didn't even dare ask if she could go too. She knew very
well what the answer would be “NO”. Cinderella sighed, “Oh dear, I'm so
unhappy!” and the cat murmured “Miaow.”
Suddenly something amazing happened. As Cinderella
was sitting all alone, there was a burst of light and a fairy appeared. “Don't
be alarmed, Cinderella,” said the fairy. “I know you would love to go to the
ball. And so you shall!” “How can I, dressed in rags? The servants will turn me
away!”
The fairy smiled. With a flick of her magic wand
Cinderella found herself wearing the most beautiful dress and shoes she had
ever seen. The fairy says “get me a pumpkin and seven mice!” Cinderella soon
returned with the pumpkin and seven mice. With a flick of the magic wand the
pumpkin turned into a sparkling coach and the mice became six white horses.
“You shall go to the ball Cinderella. But
remember! You must leave at midnight. That is when my spell ends. Do you
understand?” Cinderella smiled and said, “Yes, I understand!”
Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball until
she heard the first stroke of midnight! She remembered what the fairy had said,
and without a word of goodbye she slipped from the Prince’s arms and ran down
the steps. As she ran she lost one of her slippers, if the last stroke of
midnight were to sound... oh... what a disaster that would be! Out she fled and
vanished into the night.
The Prince, who was now madly in love with her,
picked up the slipper and said to his ministers, “Go and search everywhere for
the girl whose foot this slipper fits. I will never be content until I find
her!” So the ministers tried the slipper on the foot of every girl in the land
until only Cinderella was left.
“That awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at
the ball,” snapped the stepmother. “Tell the Prince he ought to marry one of my
two daughters! Can't you see how ugly Cinderella is?”
But, to everyone’s amazement, the shoe fitted
perfectly.
Suddenly the fairy appeared and waved her magic
wand. In a flash, Cinderella appeared in a splendid dress, shining with youth
and beauty. Her stepmother and stepsisters gaped at her in amazement, and the
ministers said, “Come with us Cinderella! The Prince is waiting for you.“
So Cinderella married the Prince and lived happily
forever after. As for the cat, he just said “Miaow!”
MORAL VALUE: Don't worry about the tuff
stuff in life, just tough it out and in the end you'll get something good..
Monday, February 11, 2013
12:32 AM