long long ago, in a land far away, there lived a beautiful young girl.
she was very sad. because her mother had died and her father had married again. his new wife had two ugly daughters, esmerelda and griselda
soon after, her father also died and life immediately（立即） changed for the girl．
"you will be our servant（仆人）, "said her stepmother（继母）. "you will do everything we say."
"you must sleep in the kitchens." said the stepsisters．
there she had to do hard work from morning until evening, get up before daybreak（黎明）, carry water, make the fires, cook, and wash. besides（除了） this, the sisters did everything imaginable（可以想象） to hurt her. they made fun of her. in the evening when she had worked herself weary（厌倦）, there was no bed for her. instead she had to sleep by the hearth in the ashes（灰）. and because she always looked dusty（尘土飞扬） and dirty, they called her cinderella.
"there are cinders（煤渣） all over your clothes!" exclaimed（喊叫） the stepmother. " cinderella. that's your new name. clear these things away, cinderella."
"cinderella! cinderella!" esmerelda and griselda said. "oh, how clever you are, mama!"
one day, an invitation（邀请） arrived from the palace.
"girls, listen to this," said the stepmother. cinderella was serving（准备） the breakfast. she listened as her stepmother read the invitation.
"the king is having a ball," she said excitedly（兴奋）. "he is looking for a wife for the prince! oh, my dears, this is wonderful. he will probably choose one of you, but it will be such a hard choice to make.
"am i invited too, stepmother?" asked cinderella.
"you! certainly（当然） not!" exclaimed（惊呼） her stepmother. "the thought of such a thing. a scruffy servant（破旧的仆人） going to a ball, when only beautiful ladies are invited!"
"hah! hah!" laughed the stepsisters. "beautiful! that doesn't include you, cinderella!"
"you may help my two lovely girls to get ready," said her stepmother.
"oh," said cinderella
"we shall all have new dresses, girls, and we shall go shopping today. clear away these things, cinderella."
'oh, i wish i could go to the ball,' thought（认为） cinderella.
the day of the ball arrived and the whole day was spent preparing esmerelda and griselda. cinderella did her best to make the sisters look pretty, but it was an impossible task.
finally, the coach arrived to collect the girls and their mother.
cinderella was very tired and she wandered back to the kitchens.
"oh, i did so want to go," she sighed（叹气） as she sat down by the fire.
"what's to stop you?" asked a voice（声音）.
"who's that?" asked cinderella, looking around.
"i'm here by the door." a strange woman walked up to cinderella. "i heard you the other day, wishing you could go to the ball. well, the ball is this evening, and you're going."
"but how?" asked cinderella. "what can you do?"
"anything i want to," said the woman. "i'm your fairy（仙女） godmother, and i'm here to send you to the ball.
she sat down.
"come now," she said. "dry those tears（擦干眼泪）. we have work to do. i need a large pumpkin（南瓜）, two mice（老鼠） and a frog. can you find these?"
"yes," said cinderella, mystified（迷惑） by the request（请求）.
"off you go, then."
when cinderella found all the things, her fairy godmother took them all outside.
"now for the magic," she said. she waved（挥舞） her hands and the air began to twinkle（闪烁） and sparkle（闪光）. the pumpkin began to grow and change, until standing there was a coach.
