I wish I could . . .” but she was prevented by her tears from saying anything else.

This godmother of hers, who was a fairy, said to her, “Is it your wish to go to the ball?”

“Yes!” cried Cinderella, with a great sigh.

“Well,” said her godmother, “be a good girl and I will arrange things so that you can go.” Then she took her into her room and said,

“Run into the garden and bring me a pumpkin.”

Cinderella went immediately to get the finest pumpkin she could find and brought it to her godmother, although she couldn’t imagine how this pumpkin could make her go to the ball. Her godmother scooped out the inside of the pumpkin, leaving nothing but the rind, then she struck it with her wand and the pumpkin was turned into a fine coach, covered all over with gold leaf.

The fairy then went to look in her mouse trap, where she found six live mice. She ordered Cinderella to lift up the little trapdoor, and when she gave each mouse a little tap with her wand as it went out, it was transformed into a beautiful horse – the six mice made a very fine set of horses of a beautiful mouse-coloured dapple grey.

Being in need of a coachman, Cinderella said, “I will go and see if there is a rat in the rat trap, so that we can make a coachman of him.”

“That’s a good idea,” replied her godmother, “go and look.”

Cinderella brought the trap to her – in it were three huge rats. The fairy chose the one with the largest whiskers, and, having been touched with her wand, he was turned into a fat, jolly coachman, with the smartest whiskers ever seen.

After that, the fairy said to Cinderella, “Go into the garden again. You will find six lizards behind the watering can; bring them to me.”

As soon as she had done so her godmother turned the lizards into six footmen, their liveries decorated with gold and silver, who jumped up behind the coach and clung to it as closely as if they had done nothing else their whole lives.

The fairy then said to Cinderella, “Well, here you see a coach and six footmen fit to go to the ball with. Are you not pleased with it?”

“Oh, yes,” cried Cinderella, “but must I go as I am, in these nasty rags?”

Her godmother just touched her with her wand and immediately her clothes were turned into cloth of gold and silver, all sewn with jewels. She then gave her a pair of glass slippers, the prettiest in the whole world.

Thus decked out, Cinderella got into her coach, but her godmother commanded her not to stay past midnight, telling her that if she stayed at the ball one moment longer, her coach would be a pumpkin again, her horses would turn into mice, her coachman a rat, her footmen into lizards, and her clothes would become ragged again.

She promised her godmother that she would leave the ball by midnight, without fail. Then away she drove, hardly able to contain herself for joy. The king’s son, who was told that a great princess, whom nobody knew, had arrived, ran out to receive her. He gave her his hand as she alighted from the coach, and he led her into the hall, among all those present. Immediately there was a hush – everyone stopped dancing, the violins ceased to play – so attentively was everyone contemplating the beauty of this unknown newcomer. Then nothing was heard but a confused noise of, “Oh, how beautiful she is! Oh, how beautiful she is!”

The king himself, old as he was, could not help ogling her and saying to the queen that it was a long time since he had seen so beautiful and lovely a creature.

All the ladies were assessing her dress and headdress so that they could have some made next day to the same pattern, provided they could get such fine materials and find people skilled enough to make them.

The king’s son conducted Cinderella to the most honoured seat, and later took her out to dance with him. She danced so gracefully that all the guests admired her more and more. A fine meal was served, of which the prince ate not one bite, so intently was he gazing at her. Cinderella went and sat down with her sisters, showing them a thousand civilities and giving them some of the fruit with which the prince had presented her. This surprised them very much, for they did not know her.

“ANYONE BUT CINDERELLA WOULD HAVE DRESSED THEIR HEADS AWRY”

While Cinderella was amusing her sisters she heard the clock strike 11 and three quarters, so she immediately made a curtsey to the company and hurried away as fast as she could.

When she got home she ran to find her godmother and, having thanked her, said that she heartily wished she could go to the ball the next day, “because the king’s son had desired her”. As she was eagerly telling her godmother what had happened at the ball, her two sisters knocked at the door, and Cinderella ran to open it.

“How long you have stayed,” she said, gaping and rubbing her eyes, as if she had just woken up. She had not, however, had any kind of desire to sleep since they had left for the ball.

“If you had been at the ball,” said one of her sisters, “you would not have tired of it. The finest princess, the most beautiful ever, came to it. She was very civil to us and gave us fruit.” Cinderella was filled with joy. She asked them the name of the princess, but they told her that they did not know it, and that the king’s son was very anxious to learn it, and would give all the world to know who she was. Smiling, Cinderella replied, “She must be very beautiful indeed. Lord! How happy you must have been. Could I not see her? Dear Miss Charlotte, do lend me your yellow dress that you wear every day!”

“Oh, of course!” cried Miss Charlotte, “Lend my clothes to a dirty Cinderpants like you! Who’s the fool then?”

Cinderella had expected some such answer and was very glad of the refusal, for she would have been put on the spot if her sister had lent her what she had asked for in jest.

The next day the two sisters were at the ball, and so was Cinderella, but dressed more magnificently than before. The king’s son never left her side, complimented her constantly and made loving speeches to her. This was so far from being annoying that she completely forgot what her godmother had commanded, and when she heard the clock striking 12, she thought it was no later than 11. She got up and fled as nimbly as a deer.

The prince followed but could not overtake her. She left behind one of her glass slippers, which the prince picked up very carefully.