E-STORY 2

CINDERELLA

Presenter: This is a famous European fairy tale about Cinderella and her wicked step
sisters.

Cinderella was a lovely girl who had a very sad life. Her mother had died when she was very
young and Cinderella’s father had married again. Her new mother, her stepmother, was a very
bad-tempered woman who had two nasty and very bad-tempered daughters. They treated
Cinderella like a servant in her own home. She had to do everything for her stepmother and her
step sisters: make the tea, do their hair, wash their clothes and even clean the cinders up from
the fire in the house. Her step sisters were very jealous of Cinderella’s lovely nature and her
beauty. They were not very pretty at all. Cinderella had to work in the kitchen as a maid from
dawn until she went to bed late at night, exhausted and tired.

In the kingdom where Cinderella’s family lived, the King had a son, the Prince. The King decided
that the Prince should marry a girl from the kingdom.

The Palace announced that the King would hold a great ball where every girl of marriageable age
in the kingdom would attend. The Prince would choose his bride that night from amongst the
young women who came. Town friars were sent out to every street in the kingdom and
proclaimed the King’s order.

At Cinderella’s house, her ugly sisters were overcome with excitement about the ball. Cinderella’s
stepmother was certain that one of her daughters would be chosen, marry the Prince and
become powerful in the kingdom. All three of them spent all their days looking at fine clothes to
wear and deciding how to wear their hair. Cinderella had even more work do to – running and
fetching things for them to try on and fixing their hair.

As a young woman in the kingdom, she was invited to the ball. But when she asked politely if she
can go to the ball, her stepmother immediately said, “Don’t be ridiculous! You are really just a little
better than a servant and besides you have nothing to wear! Look at you in those rags! The
Prince would never look at you. You will disgrace us and the Prince would laugh at you!”

Cinderella cried and missed her mother even more than usual. All the other servants in the
kitchen – the cook, and the scullery maid, and the butler loved Cinderella and tried to comfort her
and make her laugh again.

2007 English by Radio

When the day of the ball came, the whole house was in uproar. Until, at 8pm sharp, the carriage
came and took Cinderella’s stepmother, her father and her two sisters to the ball in all their finery.
Cinderella sat outside the door of the kitchen to peel a pumpkin for tomorrow’s dinner. And while
she did that, she cried again for her lost mother.

And then, she heard delicate music coming from behind her and saw tiny sparkling stars falling all
around her. She turned; and looked in amazement to what she saw. There was a beautiful lady –
a fairy lady – complete with wings with a wand in her hand. From the wand were coming all sorts
of sparkling stars. The lady had a lovely kind face and said, “Tell me Cinderella, what is bothering
you? I am your fairy godmother and I’m here to help you.”

Cinderella told the fairy godmother about not being able to go to the ball and her problems with
her stepmother and sisters. “Oh fiddlesticks! That is easily solved!” And with three sweeps of her
magic wand, the fairy said, “Fiddle me, fiddle me, fiddle me ray!” and turned the pumpkin into a
coach! “Fiddle me, fiddle me, fiddle me ray!” and two mice that were close by were turned into
white horses to pull the coach! And on the third “Fiddle me, fiddle me ray!”, a rabbit was turned
into a coachman!

“Oh, that’s beautiful!” said Cinderella. “But I can’t go like this!” She was pointing to her rags.
“Fiddlesticks!” said the fairy godmother again who tapped her wand on Cinderella’s shoulder and
with another, “Fiddle me, fiddle me, fiddle me ray!” Cinderella found herself in a beautiful dress
and tiara. When she looked down at her feet, she saw lovely glass slippers. She looked like a fine
lady, beautiful enough for any ball.

“Now, run along and enjoy yourself, my dear, because this magic will only last until the stroke of
midnight! Beware and be careful. As soon as the clock strikes twelve, everything will be back as it
was! Remember that, the exact stroke of midnight and all this finery will disappear!” So Cinderella
went to the ball.

And of course, as soon as the Prince saw her, he fell in love with her. They danced and talked the
night away. Until suddenly, Cinderella heard the clock strike….” One…! Two…! Three..!”

“Aaah!” Cinderella gasped and ran to the stairway. She lost her balance and lost one of her
shoes, but ran on! The Prince couldn’t stop her! “Four…! Five…! Six…!” Cinderella ran and ran
outside the palace to her carriage! “Seven…! Eight…! Nine…!

2007 English by Radio

“Oooh,” Cinderella jumped into the carriage and away the magic horses took her to the forest
road. “Ten..! Eleven…! Twelve…!”

As soon as the clock struck twelve, Cinderella found herself in the middle of the forest road with
two white mice, a rabbit and a pumpkin! She walked home the rest of the way, marveling at
everything that had happened that night.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, the Prince was still holding the glass slipper Cinderella had left at
the top of the stairs and feeling dismayed. “I will marry no one but the owner of that slipper,” he
declared. “I must find her, or my heart will be broken.”

The next day, all the King’s guards went to the market with the glass slipper…. and all the
maidens of the kingdom came to try it on. No matter how hard they tried and squeezed and
pushed, the glass slipper fitted no one.

After a week, the guards began to take the glass slipper around from house to house. All to try
and find the girl whose foot would match the glass slipper.

Eventually, one day, the guards came to Cinderella’s house. Cinderella’s two wicked step sisters
couldn’t wait to try on the slipper. But of course, their feet were far too big, however much they
tried. Her stepmother was angry and told the guard to leave immediately in a temper. But then,
the butler said, “but there is another young maiden in the house. You must not go without trying
the slipper on her.”

“Oh no, you mustn’t bother with Cinderella! She works among the cinders! She’s only a servant
here!”

“Well, orders is orders, ma’am! We must try the slipper on every young woman in the kingdom,
rich or poor, before the royal family will be satisfied!”

So Cinderella was called. She tried on the slipper and – lo and behold – it fitted perfectly. You
should have seen the expression on the faces of her stepmother and her sisters!

As soon as Cinderella was ready, she was taken to the palace to meet the Prince and his father,
the King.

2007 English by Radio

By the end of the month, the whole kingdom danced and sang and celebrated the marriage of
Cinderella, now Princess Ella, to the Prince. And of course, they lived happily ever after.

2007 English by Radio