Cinderella

Once upon a time there was a nobleman who, when his wife died, married again; but his new wife was the proudest, haughtiest woman in the world. She had two daughters who were exactly like her. The nobleman also had a young daughter by his first wife, and she was unequalled in goodness and sweetness. She had these fine qualities from her mother, who had been the best woman in the world.

No sooner was the wedding over than the stepmother began to show her bad temper. She could not bear her stepdaughter's good qualities, because they made her own daughters seem even more unpleasant. She gave her the hardest work in the house: she washed the dishes, scrubbed the stairs, and cleaned the rooms of the mistress and her daughters. She herself slept at the very top of the house in an attic, on a straw mattress, while her stepsisters lived in rooms with parquet floors, furnished in the latest fashion, with mirrors in which they could see themselves from head to foot.

The poor girl bore it all patiently; she did not even dare complain to her father, for he did whatever his wife told him. When she had finished her work, she would go and sit in the corner by the fireplace among the cinders. That is why at home they called her Cinderella. But even in her old, torn clothes, Cinderella was a hundred times more beautiful than her stepsisters in all their finery.

One day the king's son gave a ball and invited all the nobles of the land. The two sisters were invited too, for they were well known in the country. They were delighted and busied themselves choosing the gowns and headdresses that would suit them best. This made new work for Cinderella, for she was the one who ironed her sisters' linen and starched their ruffles. "I shall wear my red velvet dress," said the elder. "And I," said the younger, "shall wear my cloak with golden flowers and my diamond sash." They called Cinderella to ask her opinion, for they knew she had good taste. Cinderella gave them the best advice and even offered to do their hair.

While she was doing their hair, they asked her: "Cinderella, wouldn't you like to go to the ball?" "Oh, you're making fun of me. A ball is no place for me." "You're right. People would laugh to see a Cinderella at the ball." Anyone else would have done their hair badly, but Cinderella was kind and did it perfectly. For two days the sisters were so excited that they hardly ate a thing; they broke a dozen laces trying to lace themselves tight enough to get slender waists, and they were always in front of the mirror.

At last the happy day came. The sisters set off. Cinderella followed them with her eyes as long as she could. When they were out of sight, she began to cry. Her godmother, seeing her in tears, asked what was the matter. "I wish I could... I wish I could..." Cinderella was crying so hard that she could not finish. Her godmother, who was a fairy, said: "You wish you could go to the ball, don't you?" "Oh yes," said Cinderella with a sigh. "Well, will you be a good girl? Then I'll send you there."

The fairy took her into her room and said: "Go into the garden and bring me a pumpkin." Cinderella went at once and brought the finest pumpkin she could find, though she could not imagine how a pumpkin could take her to the ball. Her godmother scooped out the inside, leaving only the rind. Then she touched it with her magic wand, and at once the pumpkin turned into a beautiful coach, gilded all over.

Then she went to look in the mousetrap, where she found six live mice. She told Cinderella to lift the trapdoor a little. As each mouse came out, she touched it with her wand, and at once it turned into a fine horse. So she had a fine team of six horses of a lovely dappled mouse-grey. But a coachman was needed. "I'll go and see if there's a rat in the rat trap," said Cinderella. "We can make him a coachman." Cinderella brought the trap; there were three big rats in it. The fairy chose the one with the longest whiskers, touched him, and the rat turned into a fat, jolly coachman with the finest whiskers ever seen.

Then the fairy said: "Go into the garden, and behind the watering can you'll find six lizards. Bring them to me." As soon as Cinderella brought them, the fairy turned them into six footmen, who at once climbed up behind the coach in their embroidered liveries, as if they had done it all their lives.

The fairy said to Cinderella: "Now you can go to the ball. Aren't you pleased?" "Yes, but am I to go in these ugly clothes?" Her godmother simply touched her with her wand, and at once her clothes were turned into a gown of gold and silver cloth, sparkling with jewels. Then she gave her a pair of glass slippers, the prettiest in the world. Dressed in all her finery, Cinderella climbed into the coach. But her godmother warned her strictly not to stay a moment past midnight. If she stayed at the ball one minute longer, her coach would turn back into a pumpkin, her horses into mice, her footmen into lizards, and her old clothes would be on her again. Cinderella promised to leave the ball before midnight and set off, beside herself with joy.

When the king's son was told that a great princess whom nobody knew had arrived, he ran to meet her. He gave her his hand as she stepped down from the coach and led her into the hall where the guests were. At once there was a great silence; the dancing stopped and the violins fell quiet. Everyone was gazing at the beauty of the stranger. All that could be heard was a murmur of astonishment: "Oh, how beautiful she is!" Even the old king could not stop looking at her and whispered to the queen that it was a long time since he had seen anyone so lovely and so charming. All the ladies studied her hair and her gown closely, so that they could have the same made the next day, if they could find such fine materials and such skilful dressmakers.

The king's son seated her in the place of honour and then led her out to dance. She danced so gracefully that everyone admired her even more. A fine supper was served, but the young prince ate nothing, for he could not take his eyes off her. Cinderella went and sat beside her sisters and was very gracious to them; she shared with them the oranges and lemons the prince had given her. This astonished them very much, for they did not recognise her at all.

As they were talking, Cinderella heard the clock strike a quarter to twelve. At once she made a deep curtsey to all the guests and left as quickly as she could. When she got home, she found her godmother, thanked her, and said she would very much like to go to the ball again the next day, because the king's son had invited her. As she was telling her godmother everything that had happened at the ball, the two sisters knocked at the door. Cinderella went to open it. "How late you are!" she said, yawning, rubbing her eyes and stretching as if she had just woken up, though she had not felt like sleeping at all since they left.

"If you'd been at the ball," said one of the sisters, "you wouldn't have been bored. The most beautiful princess came, the most beautiful you could ever see. She was very kind to us and gave us oranges and lemons." Cinderella did not show her delight. She asked the princess's name; but nobody knew her, and the king's son would give anything in the world to know who she was. Cinderella smiled: "Was she really so beautiful? Oh, how lucky you are! If only I could see her! Oh, sister Javotte, would you lend me the yellow dress you wear every day?" "Lend it to you? To a Cinderella? I'd have to be mad!" Cinderella had expected this answer and was glad of it, for she would have been in great difficulty if her sister had lent her the dress.

The next day the two sisters went to the ball again, and so did Cinderella, even more splendidly dressed than the first time. The king's son never left her side and kept saying sweet things to her. The young girl was enjoying herself so much that she forgot her godmother's warning. When she heard the first stroke of midnight, she thought it was only eleven. She got up at once and fled as lightly as a deer. The prince ran after her but could not catch her. As she ran, one of her glass slippers fell off, and the prince picked it up very carefully.

Cinderella reached home out of breath, without a coach, without footmen and in her old clothes; nothing was left of all her splendour except the other glass slipper. The guards at the palace gate were asked if they had seen a princess go out. They said they had seen no one but a poorly dressed young girl who looked more like a peasant than a lady.

When the two sisters came home from the ball, Cinderella asked them whether they had enjoyed themselves again and whether the beautiful lady had been there. They said yes, but that when the clock struck midnight she had run away so fast that she had dropped one of her glass slippers, the prettiest in the world. The king's son had picked it up and had done nothing but look at it for the rest of the ball. He must be very much in love with the beautiful girl the slipper belonged to.

They were telling the truth. A few days later the king's son had it proclaimed, to the sound of trumpets, that he would marry the girl whose foot fitted the slipper. First the princesses tried it, then the duchesses, then all the ladies of the court, but in vain. The slipper was brought to the two sisters' house. They did everything they could to squeeze their feet into it, but they could not. Cinderella, who was watching, recognised her slipper and said with a laugh: "Let me see if it will fit me." Her sisters began to laugh and make fun of her. But the nobleman who had come to try the slipper looked closely at Cinderella and thought her very beautiful. He said it was only fair, since he had orders to try it on everyone. He sat Cinderella down, held the slipper to her little foot, and saw that it slipped on as easily as if it were made of wax.

The two sisters were greatly astonished, and even more so when Cinderella took the other slipper from her pocket and put it on. At that moment her godmother arrived, touched Cinderella's clothes with her wand and made them even more magnificent than before. Then the two sisters realised that she was the beautiful lady they had seen at the ball. They threw themselves at her feet and begged her pardon for all the unkind things they had done to her. Cinderella raised them up, kissed them, and said she forgave them with all her heart and wanted them always to love her.

She was taken, dressed in her finery, to the young prince. He thought her more beautiful than ever, and a few days later he 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.

At the end of this tale Perrault added a moral: beauty is a rare treasure in a girl; but there is something even more valuable, and that is a kind heart. Cinderella's godmother gave her that, and it made her a queen. For to win a heart, more goodness is needed than pretty hair.