A FAIRY TALE - Long long ago story

Long, long ago, there lived a little girl, Cinderella by name. When quite young, she lost her mother, whom she loved very dearly. Her father married a widow who had two daughters by her first husband. These two girls were older than Cinderella and were not half as good or beautiful. Soon Cinderella’s troubles started. Her step - mother and step - sisters began to treat her most unkindly. Her sisters had all the good things in the world that girls of her age could wish for.Poor Cinderella, on the other hand, was made to do all the menial work of the house like a servant - girl. She had to wear only the cast - off clothes of her sisters and was never allowed to play, read, or write. She was forced to work from dawn to dusk every day, while all the time her step - sisters enjoyed themselves.

Years rolled on, and little Cinderella grew up to be a beautiful lass of seventeen. At the time the king of the country proclaimed that a dancing party would be given at the palace, to which all the young ladies of the kingdom were welcome. He had an only son, the crown prince, who was to succeed him as king. He wanted the prince to choose a bride for himself from among the ladies who gathered at the ball. All the young maids of the country were invited.

Cinderella’s sisters were among those who were invited. They dressed themselves finely for the occasion. Cinderella was only made to wait on her sisters while dressing. She, however, wished to accompany them to the ball. She begged her sisters to give her a fine dress for the occasion. They only laughed at her desire to go to a party given by the prince of all the land. Leaving her to look after the house, they proudly ‘stepped into their coach and were driven to the palace. Poor Cinderella was left at home to do the house work like a slave. She felt very sad and was in tears. She thought of her dead mother and wept.

Just then, some one in the room called “Cinderella! Cinderella!” Cinderella turned round and found her fairy god mother standing by with her magic wand in her right hand. The fairy kindly inquired of her what made her so sad. The girl told her tale of sorrow and  begged her god-mother to send her also to the ball. At once, with her magic wand, the fairy mother turned the girl’s rags into the finest dress in all the land. So grand and beautiful a dress was never seen or heard of. Cinderella had a diamond jewel on her head and a pair of shining glass slippers. In her new dress she looked like a fairy princess. A gilded coach drawn by six pretty horses with two footmen and a driver was now ready to take Cinderella to the prince’s ball. Cinderella was now all happiness and joy. She knelt in gratitude to her fairy god-mother.

The fairy, lifting her up, said to her, “My dear child, listen to me. The coach and horses, the dress and the jewels, the coachman and the footmen are all the work of magic. With the last stroke of twelve tonight, they will disappear. Enjoy yourself well at the ball, but take care you come home before twelve, for at the last stroke of twelve, you will be again in rags, and your coach and horses, your coachman and your footmen will all vanish. Remember this, my child, and all will be well.” The first ball ended happily for both - the prince and  Cinderella.

At the instance of the prince the king again proclaimed that there would be another ball, to which all the young maids of the land were welcome. Accordingly all the young ladies in the country set out for the dancing party. Cinderella’s sisters also went to the palace hall to attend the ball. In spite of Cinderella’s request, they refused to take her. “What would the fine lady that danced with the prince say, if she saw us with a dirty girl like you?” they said to her.

Cinderella was left alone to do house -work. But all her mind was on the ball that the prince was to give that night. So she thought of her fairy godmother, who appeared in an instant and helped to get her ready for the ball. With one wave of her magic wand everything was ready once more for Cinderella to go to the party. The fairy godmother did not fail to warn Cinderella not to stay in the palace hall even a minute after midnight. The prince waited anxiously on the terrace of his palace, straining his ears and eyes to hear and see the gilded carriage. He rushed downstairs as Cinderella arrived, and taking her by the hand, he  eagerly led her to the dancing hall. He danced and talked with her all the time. Cinderella felt so happy that she forgot all the sorrows that she had suffered since her mother’s death.

She had lost herself so much in the company of the prince that she clean forgot the fairy’s warning about the hour at which she was to leave the dancing hall. Not until the clock was heard striking twelve, did she remember the fairy’s words of warning. She would stay no longer to be seen in her rags. So, gently pushing her way through the crowd, she dashed out of the hall. When she reached the stairs, the clock struck twelve. On the stairs one of her slippers slipped off her foot, but she did not stop to pick it up. She was anxious to reach her house before her sisters, so she ran home in her rags very fast.

The prince was now at his wit’s end. He could not account for the lady’s sudden   disappearance. He began to inquire the reason. One of his trusted servants produced a glass slipper and told the prince that it had slipped off the lady’s foot as she was hurrying down the stairs. The prince attended the ball no more; it came to an abrupt close. With the glass slipper in hand, he retired to one of his rooms, full of sorrow and wonder. The matter soon came to the king’s knowledge. He hurried to the prince who had locked himself in his room, and tried to comfort him as best he could. The prince told his father that he had so completely lost his heart to the lady of the gilded coach that he could no more live without her.

One of the king’s ministers whose advice he sought suggested that the king might cause the glass slipper to be sent round the kingdom to discover the lady whose foot it fitted. Accordingly, the king’s men went about with the glass slipper to try each young lady in the land. They came to the house of Cinderella’s sisters. Each of them tried the slipper on in vain. Then they asked Cinderella to try it on. It fitted her foot so well that it was thought that the slipper had been made for her. The king’s servants wondered if ever the prince would agree to marry a girl in rags. Just then a wonderful event happened. Cinderella thought of her fairy mother. Soon the fairy appeared to her with her magic wand. At a single wave of the wand, the fine dress, the gilded coach, the driver, and the footmen were there. Cinderella once again appeared in her fine dress and began to get ready for the prince’s ball. Her sisters fell on their knees and begged her pardon. They requested Cinderella to forgive them the wrongs they had done to her.

The gilded coach arrived in front of the king’s palace. The prince who had been anxiously waiting for it rushed out to greet Cinderella. He helped her out of the coach and took her in. He married her the very day. He said to her smilingly, “You will not run away again as you did the other day. You are now my wife and the future queen of the kingdom.” To this, Cinderella’s reply was but a smile — the sweetest that she ever smiled. The king who had grown old and feeble made his son the king of the country and Cinderella became the queen.