"I shall present you at Court. You will soon see that the Prince, in whose
honour the ball is being held, will be enchanted by your loveliness. But
remember! You must leave the ball at midnight and come home. For that is when
the spell ends. Your coach will turn back into a pumpkin, the horses will
become mice again and the coachman will turn back into a mouse... and you will
be dressed again in rags and wearing clogs instead of these dainty little
slippers! Do you understand?" Cinderella smiled and said,
"Yes, I understand!"
When Cinderella entered the ballroom at the palace, a hush fell. Everyone
stopped in mid-sentence to admire her elegance, her beauty and grace.
"Who can that be?" people asked each other. The two stepsisters also
wondered who the newcomer was, for never in a month of Sundays, would they ever
have guessed that the beautiful girl was really poor Cinderella who talked to
the cat!
When the prince set eyes on Cinderella, he was struck by her beauty. Walking
over to her, he bowed deeply and asked her to dance. And to the great
disappointment of all the young ladies, he danced with Cinderella all evening.
"Who are you, fair maiden?" the Prince kept asking her. But Cinderella only
replied:
"What does it matter who I am! You will never see me again anyway."
"Oh, but I shall, I'm quite certain!" he replied.
Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball... But, all of a sudden, she
heard the sound of a clock: the first stroke of midnight! She remembered what
the fairy had said, and without a word of goobye she slipped from the Prince's
arms and ran down the steps. As she ran she lost one of her slippers, but not
for a moment did she dream of stopping to pick it up! 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 her 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 all the girls... and on Cinderella's foot as well... Surprise! The
slipper fitted perfectly.
"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! Can't you see?"
Suddenly she broke off, for the fairy had appeared.
"That's enough!" she exclaimed, raising 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, fair maiden! The Prince awaits to present you with his
engagement ring!" So Cinderella joyfully went with them, and lived happily
ever after with her Prince. And as for the cat, he just said "Miaow"!
.
