[PAGE]
Cinderella and the Little Glass Slipper
A long time ago, there was a gentleman
living in a foreign country, who had a
very charming lady for his wife, and
she took the greatest pains in bringing up
their only daughter to be a good girl.
This little child was most obedient to
her parents, and was very fond of them,
particularly of her kind Mamma; but,
while she was still very young, her Mamma
died, to the great grief of the poor
girl and of her Papa. At first he was
almost heart-broken, but after some time
had passed, and when his daughter was
about fourteen years old, he married
again; but his second wife was quite different in
[PAGE]
looks and behaviour to his first choice,
and she had two grown-up daughters
very like herself.
They were all three very unkind to the
little girl, and made her act as their servant.
She had to wash, and to scrub, and to do all
sorts of dirty work, and the only
place where she was allowed to sit was
the chimney-corner, and from this her
cruel, proud sisters, always called her
CINDERELLA. Her Papa never took notice
of her now, and she had to give up her own
nice little bed-room, and sleep in a garret.
The two proud sisters were in high
glee at being invited to a grand Court Ball,
and there was now quite a stir in
the house about their ball-dresses.
The most choice and expensive things were
sent in for their selection: rich satins,
velvets, laces, waving plumes,
gloves, and fans, besides cost-
[PAGE]
ly jewels. But, with all this finery,
they were glad to get Cinderella to help
them in dressing themselves, as her
taste was better than theirs. Poor girl!
she was very sad when they started off
on the night of the Ball, for they
cruelly taunted her with not being invited.
But while she sat sobbing in her
old chimney-corner, a Fairy appeared
before her.
Now, the Fairy was her god-mother, and
had known her kind, good Mamma. She was
very beautiful, and had wings, and carried
a golden wand in her hand. She knew
well enough what was the matter with
Cinderella, and that nothing could comfort
her so much as to go to the Ball. So the
kind Fairy cheered her up by promising
she should go; and then, touching her
dingy old dress, it was changed in a
moment into a beautiful ball-dress,
ornamented with diamonds;
[PAGE]
then the Fairy gave her a pair of the
smallest and prettiest slippers that had
ever been seen,--they were made of glass,
but were as soft as silk, and fitted
her exactly.
The Fairy then took up a pumpkin, scooped
it out, and on touching it with her
wand, it became a gilded coach; she also
caught a great rat, half a dozen mice,
and three lizards, and all these she changed
in a moment into a fat coachman,
six dashing horses, and three gay footmen.
She now made the happy girl get into
the coach and drive off to the Ball;
but she told her at starting that she must
not fail to leave the Palace before it
struck twelve, as, if she overstayed that
time, her fine dress would be turned again
into rags, and she would find no
coach or servants to bring her home.
Cinderella promised to obey, and went in
high spirits to the Ball.
[PAGE]
When she arrived, every one at the
Palace was struck with her beauty.
The King's son came forward, led her into
the ball-room, and begged her to dance
with him during the evening. The Queen,
his mother, and all the Court, were full
of admiration at her beauty, and at
the modesty of her manners, and the
elegance of her dancing. As for the Prince,
Cinderella won his heart from the first moment
he beheld her. Even her proud
sisters could not but admire her, little
thinking who she was, and they were
much pleased at the notice she took of them.
But she was not at all proud of
being generally admired, not even at the
attentions of the Prince, who kept
constantly at her side.
The gallant Prince conducted Cinderella
to the supper table, and waited upon her
himself; and it was no wonder
[PAGE]
that the poor girl should take little heed
of the time which passed so
pleasantly. But the moment she heard
the clock beginning to strike twelve, she
suddenly jumped up in a fright, and almost
flew out of the ball-room, the Prince
following her quickly after. But he
could not overtake her; after making
strict search, he could find nothing
but one of her little glass slippers,
which she dropped in the conservatory
in her haste to get away. The poor girl
left the Palace in her old dress again,
and had to reach home on foot.
Cinderella was, of course, very wretched
now at having disobeyed the Fairy's
command. When her sisters returned,
they tried to tease her with the glowing
accounts they gave of the Ball, asking
is she did not envy them for being
[PAGE]
present. They then told her of the
beautiful Princess, and how she had dropped
a tiny glass slipper, which the Prince had
picked up, declaring before all the
Court, that if he could find the owner
he would marry her.
The next day a royal messenger went round
with the slipper everywhere; and after
Cinderella's two sisters had tried
to put it on in vain, her turn came,
and she then modestly held out her little
foot for the trial.
The moment the royal messenger
saw Cinderella's little foot, he knew
the shoe would fit her, and so it
did, like wax. But what was the surprise
of all, when she archly pulled the
fellow slipper from her pocket, and
put that on as well! Her sisters then found
that she was no other than the beautiful
Princess, the admiration of the whole
ball-room the
[PAGE]
night before, and begged her to forgive
them for all their cruel conduct to her.
The kind-hearted girl at once agreed
to their request, and kissed them
affectionately.
The good Fairy now appeared, and with a touch
of her wand changed Cinderella's old clothes
into a rich Court dress, and the happy girl
was then conducted to the Palace,
where the Prince and all the Court were
overjoyed to see her. In a very short
time she was married to her lover, the
handsome young Prince; and, under her
favor, her two envious, but now humbled
sisters, were married to grandees of the
Court. In course of time the Prince
and Cinderella became King and Queen, and
lived long and happily together,
beloved by all their subjects.
[PAGE]
[PAGE]
![[PAGE]](c9-4.gif){kind=link}
![[PAGE]](c9-5.gif){kind=link}
![[PAGE]](c9-6.gif){kind=link}
![[PAGE]](c9-7.gif){kind=link}