Cinderella

Long ago there lived a rich man whose wife grew very ill. When she felt that her end was near, she called her only daughter to her side and said: 'Dear child, be always good and gentle, and I will look down on you from heaven and watch over you.' Then she closed her eyes and died. The girl wept by her mother's grave every day, and when winter came, the snow covered the grave-mound like a white blanket. When spring took the snow away, her father married again.

The new wife brought two daughters with her. They were fair of face but black and wicked in heart. Soon hard times began for the little girl. 'Is the silly creature to sit in the parlour with us?' they said. They took away her fine clothes, gave her a grey work-smock and wooden shoes, and drove her out into the kitchen. There she had to work from morning until night: carry water, light the fire, cook the meals and wash. In the evening, when she was tired, she had to lie down by the hearth in the ashes. And for that reason they called her Cinderella.

One day the father set off for the market. He asked his three daughters what he should bring home for them. 'Beautiful dresses,' said the first. 'Pearls and jewels,' said the second. 'Father,' said Cinderella, 'bring me the first branch that knocks against your hat on your way home.' On the homeward road he rode through a green wood, and a hazel twig brushed his hat so that it fell off. He broke the twig and carried it home. The daughters had their dresses and pearls. Cinderella took the twig, went to her mother's grave, planted it there and watered it with her tears.

The twig grew and became a beautiful tree. Three times a day Cinderella went there, wept and prayed. And every time a little white dove came and perched in the branches. Whenever Cinderella wished for something, the dove threw down what she wished for. Then it came to pass that the king proclaimed a great festival that was to last three days. All the beautiful young maidens in the land were invited, so that the prince might choose himself a bride. When the two stepsisters heard this, they were delighted. 'Cinderella,' they called, 'come and comb our hair, polish our shoes and fasten our buckles. We are going to the prince's castle!'