Cinderella #260 by Marineau, M. & Pratt, M. (2007)
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Illustration by
Pratt, M. |
Once upon a time, in Canada, "Cynthia lived with her father in a little house in a big city." Life was great, until her dad found another wife. During the ceremony, the new wife's two daughters "cried and carried on." That's when Cynthia realized that "life with these two is not going to be fun." Boy, was she right. Her lazy stepsisters soon found that they could make poor Cynthia do all of the housework while they "slept, watched TV, and slept some more". At night, tired from working all day, she "curled up in front of the fireplace, with only the cinders to keep her company." That's how her sisters got the idea to call her Cinderella. It happened one day that an announcement came from the king. It said that "he would throw a ball, and the whole family was invited." But the stepmother and her girls just laughed and said, "God heavens! How silly!" and told her to get back to work. When she was finally alone, Cynthia just sat down and cried. Then she heard a familiar voice. It said, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself this instant! You must take charge and change your own life, young lady." Now Cinderella said that she had no clothes, or jewels, or means of transportation, the fairy said that she needed some raw ingredients. She told Cinderella to get her "a nice ripe tomato, some vanilla yogurt, raisins, and...and...a dog." When these had been brought, she tapped each, once. There now appeared a bright red coach, a creamy silk gown, and "an usual chauffeur". The fairy wished her well, told her to be back by midnight, else the magic wear off, and reminded her "Smile! Without a smile, all the other stuff doesn't count." It was true: once the prince saw her, he watched her cross the room. When he smiled at her, and she smiled back, he was charmed. They spent the evening dancing together. Suddenly, the clock struck twelve. "Cinderella ran so fast that she lost her shoe." When she got home, all she could think was, "Wow!". She thought the prince was the most charming man she had ever met. Then her stepmother and sisters got home. All they could say was, "Wow!". They thought that the prince was the most charming they had ever met. It turned out that another of his personality traits was perseverance, for he undertook a thorough search for the girl who ran from the ball. So he travelled, and made people try and fit their feet into the shoe. But no one could. At last, "one morning, a delicate little foot slid gently into the shoe." When the prince saw the rest of the girl on the other end of the foot, he knew that he had found the one he sought. He asked her to marry him, and she said yes! "How could she resist those brown eyes, that noble profile, that speckled shirt?" The wedding was followed by a huge party, and "Cinderella and the prince lived happily ever after, surrounded by tomatoes, dogs, and lots of children."
From: Cinderella retold by Marineau, M., illustrated by Pratt, M.
