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| Cinderella had a cat... |
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| And her new stepsisters had a dog... |
Once upon a time, in one place or another, lived a widower. He had one little girl, and their life together was "sweet, until the the widower decided to remarry. Not knowing the ways of the world, he married a vain and horrid woman, whose two daughters were as vain and horrid as she." Did I mention that they had a spoiled little dog too? This was bad news for the widower's cats...Those stepsisters soon had the merchant's girl working like a servant. She did most of the work, "
washing, ironing, scrubbing, dusting, and cooking heaps of food." They even pushed her out of her room, and made her sleep on the floor near the fireplace. This made her smudgy with soot, so they called her Cinderella. They felt it was a very clever nick name. The years passed, and one day, the king decided that it was time for his son, the prince, to find a wife. So the heralds were sent to announce a ball. Oh my, did those step sisters work Cinderella with the preparations they were making to attend. And all the while, they teased and taunted her, asking if she didn't want to go to, and then hooting with laughter when she said she did. And then, "thinking themselves beautiful beyond words, [they] left for the ball. 'Don't be a lazybones while we're away.' " they ordered, and left Cinderella alone, at last. She did the only thing she could think of: she sat down and cried. And cried. And cried a bit more. And then she heard a voice, saying, " You look so miserable, child. ... I am your fairy godmother. Please tell me why you are crying. " So she told her, and that's when the magic happened. " That should not be too difficult to arrange" said the fairy, upon hearing what the girl wanted. " But you must do as I say. First. fetch me a nice big pumpkin from the garden. ...Now, I will require six white mice and a fine, fat rat. " These were brought, but now the godmother wanted something else: two lizards, which she thought might be hiding behind the watering can. With a tap of her wand, the pumpkin suddenly turned into
" a magnificent golden coach, the mice into six white horses, the rat into a jolly coachman and the lizards into two sleek footmen." Her work done, or so she thought, the fairy godmother beamed. " Am I to go in rags?" asked Cinderella, and the fairy clucked at her own oversight. Then "she transformed Cinderella's filthy rags into an elegant gown and on her feet placed a pair of sparkling glass slippers. " Calling a warning to be home before midnight, the fairy waved as the dainty coach rolled away. "At the palace, the prince learned that an enchanting maiden had arrived, and he greeted her himself. The other guests were puzzled.
Who was this beautiful stranger?" Oh what a time the prince had dancing with her! And oh, how surprised he was when the girl ducked out of his arms as the clock began to strike twelve. Before he could speak, she was gone. He ran after her, snatching up the shoe that had fallen from her foot. " Wait! Wait!" cried the prince. "I don't know your name!" But it was no use. The coach zoomed down the road...and
with a boom, Cinderella found her self in her rags, on top of a smashed pumpkin. The rat, the mice and the lizards scampered
away. Little did she know that the prince was going to come looking for her. The very next day she heard that he was going around to all the houses, trying that shoe on every girl's foot. When he got to her place, her sisters shoved her out of the way. "
Me first!" the oldest yelled, but her skinny old foot would not fit in. Then her younger sister tried. Her bulging toes could not be squeezed in no matter how she twisted and turned. And then a kind voice asked, "May I try it on?" and Cinderella came out from her corner.
It fit perfectly, of course, and she drew the other from her pocket and put it on too. She and the prince were married soon after, and the sisters fell in love with some of the prince's friends. They all moved to the palace, including the fairy godmother. "Just to make sure everyone lived happily ever after!"
Notes: James Marshall,
James Marshall's Cinderella... and More Beloved Fairy Tales (Scholastic Video Collection)
has such a great sense of humor! I don't even have kids at home and I am adding this video to my Netflix cue, he is so funny!
Montessori Connection: 6-9 Vowel Consonant Blends, i-n-g. 1. Remember that
i-n-g go together to make one phoneme, or one sound. 2. Look for the following root words: wash, iron, scrub, dust, cook, enchant. Add
i-n-g to them. What words do you have now? 3. Look for other words with
i-n-g. ( king, kingdom, sparkling, stepping, warning).
9-12 Verbs, present vs. past tense 1. Look for ten verbs in this Cinderella story. Try to find five that you know, and five that are new ( to fetch, to be run ragged, to be overjoyed, to shriek, to go about chores. ) 3. Conjugate them in the present tense, as follows: I------, you---------, he, she or it------------, we------------ they----------------. Example:
to have ( a bed). I have a bed, you have a bed, he, she or it has a bed, we have a bed, they have a bed. 4. Now try them in the past tense. I had a bed, you had a bed, he, she or it had a bed, we had a bed, they had a bed.
