Once upon a time there was a very kind and beautiful girl.
Sadly, her mother died when she was young and her father remarried later.
The girl's stepmother had two daughters, and they started living together.
The stepmother and her daughters, however, were very mean.
The stepmother did not like the girl who was more beautiful than her daughters.
"How annoying you are!"
The stepmother was always hard on her.
The stepmother and two stepsisters made the girl do all the hard housework.
What was worse, they gave her only a coarse straw mattress to sleep on,
and worn-out clothes with many patches to wear.
They did not let the girl take a bath,
so her head was always covered with ashes of the stove.
So the stepmother and stepsisters called the girl Cinderella,
which meant "covered with ashes".
Poor Cinderella!
Still they were not match for Cinderella's beauty.
One day, the prince of the castle gave a ball to choose his bride.
The two stepsisters were also invited.
"By any chance, I might be able to marry the prince!"
"Don't say 'by any chance', you will surely marry the prince!"
The two stepsisters and their mother were very excited.
Cinderella was helping them dress up for the ball,
and saw them off at the front door with a smile.
After that, she suddenly felt very sad and started sobbing bitterly.
"Oh, how I wish I could go to the ball! I wish I could see the prince."
However, the only clothes she had were all worn out,
so she would not be allowed to enter the castle, to say nothing of the ball.
Then, she heard a voice from somewhere.
"Don't cry, Cinderella."
".... Who is it?"
Suddenly, a Fairy Godmother appeared before Cinderella's eyes.
"Cinderella, you are a very good girl.
You are always working very hard.
As a reward for it, I shall let you go to the ball."
" Oh, really? Are you sure?"
"Yes,I'm sure. First, bring me a large pumpkin from the farm."
When Cinderella brought a large pumpkin from the farm, the Fairy Godmother rapped the pumpkin with her wand.
And Behold!
The pumpkin became bigger and bigger, and turned into a golden coach!
"Wow! What a wonderful coach!"
"More magic still continues on!"
"Well... we need horses to pull the coach. Where are the horses?
Oh, there are six mice in the trap."
The Fairy Godmother took the mice out of the trap
and touched them with her wand.
Then, the mice turned into beautiful white horses!
In the other trap, there was a rat.
"This rat will be..."
The Fairy Godmother touched it with her wand, turning it into a very smart coachman.
"Cinderella, now bring me six lizards."
"Oh, OK."
The wand turned six lizards Cinderella brought into servants.
"See? A coach, horses, a coachman and servants are here!
Now you are ready for the ball."
"Thank you so much. I'm so happy. .. but I have only this dress..."
"Oh my dear, I almost forgot!"
The Fairy Godmother waved her wand once,
and her worn-out dress turned into a brilliant white beautiful dress.
The Fairy Godmother also gave her a small pretty glass slippers.
"Now, go to the ball, dear Cinderella. Have a good time.
But remember, this magic only lasts till midnight. Leave the castle before midnight."
"Thank you very much.I will."
Cinderella hurried to the castle.
When Cinderella arrived at the great hall of the castle,
everybody was amazed at her beauty and became very quiet.
The prince noticed Cinderella.
He approached her and said,
"Would you like to dance with me?"
Cinderella was very good at dancing.
The prince kept dancing only with Cinderella all night.
Cinderella had a very happy time
and almost forgot what the Fairy Godmother had told her.
When she suddenly remembered the Fairy Godmather's words,
it was already quarter to midnight!
"Oh no! I must leave now! Good night, dear prince."
Cinderella bowed politely to the prince and rushed out of the great hall.
She was so hurried
that one of her glass slippers was caught in the stairs and came off.
It was five to midnight.
There was no time for Cinderella to return to get the glass slipper.
She just jumped into the coach and hurried home.
The prince ran after Cinderella, but she was gone.
The prince picked up the glass slipper and said to the king,
"The lady whose foot fits this slipper will be the one I marry!”
The next day,
his servants went to every house in the kingdom with the glass slipper to find the lady whose foot fits it.
The servants came to the Cinderella's house,too.
The stepmother got excited and said,
"There you go, daughters.
If your foot fits this slipper, you will be able to marry the prince!"
"Yes, I know, mother."
The two stepsisters tried on it.
No matter how hard they squeezed and pushed their foot into the glass slipper,
neither of their foot fit it.
"I'm sorry but the lady the prince danced last night with is not here."
When the servants were about to leave, Cinderella came in and said,
"Would you let me try it on?"
The two stepsisters burst out laughing.
"What a foolish thing you say! "
"That's right. Even our feet didn't fit it, so it's impossible for you....oh dear!"
She tried it on and it perfectly fit her!
They were too astonished to speak.
There appeared the Fairy Godmother.
""Well, well. It's my turn.""
The Fairy Godmother waved her wand once, and Cinderella turned into a brilliant beautiful princess.
""No way...is it that Cinderella?""
The stepmother and stepsisters sank weakly to the floor.
Later, Cinderella married the prince and lived happily ever after.