الفصل الفصل 1 · Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper

. Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper

Once upon a time there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife,

the proudest and most haughty woman that ever was seen. She had two

daughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things.

The gentleman had also a young daughter, of rare goodness and sweetness

of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in

the world.

The wedding was scarcely over, when the stepmother's bad temper began to

show itself. She could not bear the goodness of this young girl, because

it made her own daughters appear the more odious. The stepmother gave

her the meanest work in the house to do; she had to scour the dishes,

tables, etc., and to scrub the floors and clean out the bedrooms. The

poor girl had to sleep in the garret, upon a wretched straw bed, while

her sisters lay in fine rooms with inlaid floors, upon beds of the very

newest fashion, and where they had looking-glasses so large that they

might see themselves at their full length. The poor girl bore all

patiently, and dared not complain to her father, who would have scolded

her if she had done so, for his wife governed him entirely.

When she had done her work, she used to go into the chimney corner, and

sit down among the cinders, hence she was called Cinderwench. The

younger sister of the two, who was not so rude and uncivil as the elder,

called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, in spite of her mean

apparel, was a hundred times more handsome than her sisters, though they

were always richly dressed.

It happened that the King's son gave a ball, and invited to it all

persons of fashion. Our young misses were also invited, for they cut a

very grand figure among the people of the country-side. They were highly

delighted with the invitation, and wonderfully busy in choosing the

gowns, petticoats, and head-dresses which might best become them. This

made Cinderella's lot still harder, for it was she who ironed her

sisters' linen and plaited their ruffles. They talked all day long of

nothing but how they should be dressed.

"For my part," said the elder, "I will wear my red velvet suit with

French trimmings."

"And I," said the younger, "shall wear my usual skirt; but then, to make

amends for that I will put on my gold-flowered mantle, and my diamond

stomacher, which is far from being the most ordinary one in the world."

They sent for the best hairdressers they could get to make up their hair

in fashionable style, and bought patches for their cheeks. Cinderella

was consulted in all these matters, for she had good taste. She advised

them always for the best, and even offered her services to dress their

hair, which they were very willing she should do.

As she was doing this, they said to her:--

"Cinderella, would you not be glad to go to the ball?"

"Young ladies," she said, "you only jeer at me; it is not for such as I

am to go there."

"You are right," they replied; "people would laugh to see a Cinderwench

at a ball."

Any one but Cinderella would have dressed their hair awry, but she was

good-natured, and arranged it perfectly well. They were almost two days

without eating, so much were they transported with joy. They broke above

a dozen laces in trying to lace themselves tight, that they might have a

fine, slender shape, and they were continually at their looking-glass.

At last the happy day came; they went to Court, and Cinderella followed

them with her eyes as long as she could, and when she had lost sight of

them, she fell a-crying.

Her godmother, who saw her all in tears, asked her what was the matter.

"I wish I could--I wish I could--" but she could not finish for sobbing.

Her godmother, who was a fairy, said to her, "You wish you could go to

the ball; is it not so?"

"Alas, yes," said Cinderella, sighing.

"Well," said her godmother, "be but a good girl, and I will see that you

go." Then she took her into her chamber, and said to her, "Run into the

garden, and bring me a pumpkin."

Cinderella went at once to gather the finest she could get, and brought

it to her godmother, not being able to imagine how this pumpkin could

help her to go to the ball. Her godmother scooped out all the inside of

it, leaving nothing but the rind. Then she struck it with her wand, and

the pumpkin was instantly turned into a fine gilded coach.

She then went to look into the mouse-trap, where she found six mice, all

alive. She ordered Cinderella to lift the trap-door, when, giving each

mouse, as it went out, a little tap with her wand, it was that moment

turned into a fine horse, and the six mice made a fine set of six horses

of a beautiful mouse-colored, dapple gray.

Being at a loss for a coachman, Cinderella said, "I will go and see if

there is not a rat in the rat-trap--we may make a coachman of him."

"You are right," replied her godmother; "go and look."

Cinderella brought the rat-trap to her, and in it there were three huge

rats. The fairy chose the one which had the largest beard, and, having

touched him with her wand, he was turned into a fat coachman with the

finest mustache and whiskers ever seen.

After that, she said to her:--

"Go into the garden, and you will find six lizards behind the

watering-pot; bring them to me."

She had no sooner done so than her godmother turned them into six

footmen, who skipped up immediately behind the coach, with their

liveries all trimmed with gold and silver, and they held on as if they

had done nothing else their whole lives.

The fairy then said to Cinderella, "Well, you see here a carriage fit to

go to the ball in; are you not pleased with it?"

"Oh, yes!" she cried; "but must I go as I am in these rags?"

Her godmother simply touched her with her wand, and, at the same moment,

her clothes were turned into cloth of gold and silver, all decked with

jewels. This done, she gave her a pair of the prettiest glass slippers

in the whole world. Being thus attired, she got into the carriage, her

godmother commanding her, above all things, not to stay till after

midnight, and telling her, at the same time, that if she stayed one

moment longer, the coach would be a pumpkin again, her horses mice, her

coachman a rat, her footmen lizards, and her clothes would become just

as they were before.

She promised her godmother she would not fail to leave the ball before

midnight. She drove away, scarce able to contain herself for joy. The

King's son, who was told that a great princess, whom nobody knew, was

come, ran out to receive her. He gave her his hand as she alighted from

the coach, and led her into the hall where the company were assembled.

There was at once a profound silence; every one left off dancing, and

the violins ceased to play, so attracted was every one by the singular

beauties of the unknown newcomer. Nothing was then heard but a confused

sound of voices saying:--

"Ha! how beautiful she is! Ha! how beautiful she is!"

The King himself, old as he was, could not keep his eyes off her, and he

told the Queen under his breath that it was a long time since he had

seen so beautiful and lovely a creature.

All the ladies were busy studying her clothes and head-dress, so that

they might have theirs made next day after the same pattern, provided

they could meet with such fine materials and able hands to make them.

The King's son conducted her to the seat of honor, and afterwards took

her out to dance with him. She danced so very gracefully that they all

admired her more and more. A fine collation was served, but the young

Prince ate not a morsel, so intently was he occupied with her.

She went and sat down beside her sisters, showing them a thousand

civilities, and giving them among other things part of the oranges and

citrons with which the Prince had regaled her. This very much surprised

them, for they had not been presented to her.

Cinderella heard the clock strike a quarter to twelve. She at once made

her adieus to the company and hastened away as fast as she could.

As soon as she got home, she ran to find her godmother, and, after

having thanked her, she said she much wished she might go to the ball

the next day, because the King's son had asked her to do so. As she was

eagerly telling her godmother all that happened at the ball, her two

sisters knocked at the door; Cinderella opened it. "How long you have

stayed!" said she, yawning, rubbing her eyes, and stretching herself as

if she had been just awakened. She had not, however, had any desire to

sleep since they went from home.

"If you had been at the ball," said one of her sisters, "you would not

have been tired with it. There came thither the finest princess, the

most beautiful ever was seen with mortal eyes. She showed us a thousand

civilities, and gave us oranges and citrons."

Cinderella did not show any pleasure at this. Indeed, she asked them the

name of the princess; but they told her they did not know it, and that

the King's son was very much concerned, and would give all the world to

know who she was. At this Cinderella, smiling, replied:--

"Was she then so very beautiful? How fortunate you have been! Could I

not see her? Ah! dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your yellow suit of

clothes which you wear every day."

"Ay, to be sure!" cried Miss Charlotte; "lend my clothes to such a dirty

Cinderwench as thou art! I should be out of my mind to do so."

Cinderella, indeed, expected such an answer and was very glad of the

refusal; for she would have been sadly troubled if her sister had lent

her what she jestingly asked for. The next day the two sisters went to

the ball, and so did Cinderella, but dressed more magnificently than

before. The King's son was always by her side, and his pretty speeches

to her never ceased. These by no means annoyed the young lady. Indeed,

she quite forgot her godmother's orders to her, so that she heard the

clock begin to strike twelve when she thought it could not be more than

eleven. She then rose up and fled, as nimble as a deer. The Prince

followed, but could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass

slippers, which the Prince took up most carefully. She got home, but

quite out of breath, without her carriage, and in her old clothes,

having nothing left her of all her finery but one of the little

slippers, fellow to the one she had dropped. The guards at the palace

gate were asked if they had not seen a princess go out, and they replied

they had seen nobody go out but a young girl, very meanly dressed, and

who had more the air of a poor country girl than of a young lady.

When the two sisters returned from the ball, Cinderella asked them if

they had had a pleasant time, and if the fine lady had been there. They

told her, yes; but that she hurried away the moment it struck twelve,

and with so much haste that she dropped one of her little glass

slippers, the prettiest in the world, which the King's son had taken up.

They said, further, that he had done nothing but look at her all the

time, and that most certainly he was very much in love with the

beautiful owner of the glass slipper.

What they said was true; for a few days after the King's son caused it

to be proclaimed, by sound of trumpet, that he would marry her whose

foot this slipper would fit exactly. They began to try it on the

princesses, then on the duchesses, and then on all the ladies of the

Court; but in vain. It was brought to the two sisters, who did all they

possibly could to thrust a foot into the slipper, but they could not

succeed. Cinderella, who saw this, and knew her slipper, said to them,

laughing:--

"Let me see if it will not fit me."

Her sisters burst out a-laughing, and began to banter her. The gentleman

who was sent to try the slipper looked earnestly at Cinderella, and,

finding her very handsome, said it was but just that she should try, and

that he had orders to let every lady try it on.

He obliged Cinderella to sit down, and, putting the slipper to her

little foot, he found it went on very easily, and fitted her as if it

had been made of wax. The astonishment of her two sisters was great, but

it was still greater when Cinderella pulled out of her pocket the other

slipper and put it on her foot. Thereupon, in came her godmother, who,

having touched Cinderella's clothes with her wand, made them more

magnificent than those she had worn before.

[Illustration: "IT WENT ON VERY EASILY." p. 10.]

And now her two sisters found her to be that beautiful lady they had

seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet to beg pardon for

all their ill treatment of her. Cinderella took them up, and, as she

embraced them, said that she forgave them with all her heart, and begged

them to love her always.

She was conducted to the young Prince, dressed as she was. He thought

her more charming than ever, and, a few days after, married her.

Cinderella, who was as good as she was beautiful, gave her two sisters a

home in the palace, and that very same day married them to two great

lords of the Court.