Cinderella: Magical Shoes | English Fairy Tales

Cinderella. Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived a girl named Cinderella, as beautiful as the stars. After Cinderella's kind-hearted mother passed away, her father married a woman named Lady Puffy. Lady Puffy had two daughters, just as proud, jealous, and quarrelsome as herself. They would argue for hours over something as simple as a hairbrush. One day, Cinderella's father had to leave for a very long journey. Taking advantage of this, Lady Puffy made Cinderella do all the cleaning in the house, carry firewood to the fireplace, and cook difficult meals every single night. Yet Lady Puffy and her daughters were still mean to her, always mocking and insulting her. Poor Cinderella sadly moved into a dusty old attic room. From the tiny window, she looked out into the garden by the gate, and sometimes spoke to a little white dove. The next morning, Cinderella quietly walked into the kitchen. She quietly grabbed a few pieces of cheese from the cupboard and headed for the attic, when Lady Puffy's daughters saw her. Mom! Cinderella is stealing our food! Steal? I would never ever steal anything! A thief and a liar! What kind of girl are you? Little mice ran down the stairs and scurried around to scare Cinderella's mean stepsisters. Just as Lady Puffy was about to catch the mice, someone knocked on the door. It was the royal messenger. Good day, madam and young ladies. Our prince is hosting a grand ball tomorrow night at the palace. All young ladies in the kingdom are invited, with respect. The moment Jezebel and Cassandra heard the word ball, they rushed to their rooms in excitement to pick dresses. Their mother wanted her daughters to look very beautiful. All night long, the sisters made Cinderella sew them fancy ball gowns. The next day finally arrived. If you can pick all the beans out of the ashes and fill this bowl in five minutes, you can come to the ball. Cinderella wanted to go to the ball so badly that she dove into the ashes in desperation. Her little friends and the doves saw her in trouble and quickly came to help. They gathered a whole bowl of beans in just five minutes. Cinderella ran to Lady Puffy, who was about to leave and showed her the beans. But Lady Puffy now used her dirty dress as an excuse to keep her from coming. So they left Cinderella behind and headed for the palace. Poor Cinderella was so very sad. She sat beneath the hazel tree her mother had planted in the garden and began to cry. Just at that sorrowful moment, the branches of the tree began to sway and a glow shimmered beneath it. And a beautiful fairy appeared before Cinderella. Sweet Cinderella, I am Liabelle. I'm here to help you. Don't be sad. You shall go to the ball. But how can I go to the ball looking like this? Leave that to me. Hmm. All I need is a pumpkin. The rest is already here. Cinderella returned holding a pumpkin in her hands. The good fairy waved her wand and the pumpkin turned into a lovely carriage, the mice into horses, and the dove into a well-dressed footman. Cinderella couldn't believe her eyes. How? How did you do this, Liabelle? When the fairy waved her wand once more, Cinderella's rags became a beautiful blue gown and on her feet appeared glass slippers. I look just like a princess. Thank you, Liabelle. Now it's time to go to the ball. Let's go. Just as Cinderella was about to leave, the good fairy warned her. But don't forget, you must be home by midnight because at 12 o'clock everything will return to how it was, Cinderella. Cinderella listened carefully to the fairy's words and set off toward the palace. Her pumpkin carriage stopped in front of the palace. Cinderella entered the ballroom with all her beauty. The guests froze where they stood when they saw this beautiful girl. Prince Leo walked past all the young ladies and came straight to Cinderella and fell in love with her at first sight. My beautiful lady, may I have this dance? Cinderella was so swept away by the magic of the dance that she didn't notice how quickly time passed. Just as the clock was about to strike midnight, Cinderella remembered the good fairy's warning. You must be home when the clock strikes 12. Cinderella left the prince and fled the ballroom in a panic. Where are you going? You haven't even told me your name. As Cinderella hurried down the palace stairs, one of her glass slippers slipped off her foot. With no time to go back, she ran as fast as she could to her carriage and vanished from the palace. Find the owner of this shoe at all costs. If necessary, let every young girl in the kingdom try it on. Cinderella went up to her attic room. She thought of that magical night with Prince Leo and realized she was in love with him. But she believed the prince could never recognize her in her ragged state. As time passed, Prince Leo had a grand mansion built near the palace for the precious glass slipper. One by one, all the young girls in the kingdom came to try on the slipper. When Lady Puffy and her daughters were heading to the mansion, they didn't even take Cinderella with them. But I'm a young girl living in this kingdom too. I have the right to try it on. Ignoring Cinderella's words, they locked her in and left with the girls. Of course, the glass slipper didn't fit Cassandra or Jezebel either. As if forcing it a little more would make it fit. But when night fell and the lights of the mansion sparkled, Cinderella managed to sneak out of the house and reach the grand mansion. Just as she approached the glass slipper to try it on, Prince Leo and his guards entered the room. Stop! Don't move! You'll damage the slipper! No, no, no. That's my slipper. It fits me perfectly. With great courage, Cinderella slipped the slipper on right in front of Prince Leo. Prince Leo saw that the slipper fits Cinderella's foot perfectly. It's you! You're the beautiful girl I danced with that night. Will you tell me your name? My name is Cinderella, my prince. Cinderella. Will you marry me, Cinderella? Cinderella joyfully accepted the proposal of the prince she loved. They married in the prince's magnificent palace and lived happily ever after.