THE BALL.
The king of the country in which Cinderella lived had a son. When this son was twenty-one years old the king said to the queen, “Let us give a grand ball for our son. We will invite all the beautiful young ladies of the land so that our son can choose a wife.”
The king and queen sent out invitations to the ball and Cinderella’s father and mother were invited to come and bring their daughters. The ball was to last three nights, and everyone expected to have a very fine time, indeed.
How glad Cinderella’s sisters were when the invitations came. They said, “We must get out our most beautiful dresses and our loveliest ornaments; and you, Cinderella, must help us.”
And so poor little Cinderella had to run to and fro helping her proud sisters to get ready for the ball.
At last the day of the ball came. Oh, how busy Cinderella was! She had to brush and comb her sisters’ hair. She had to sew bows on their slippers. She had to help them dress.
“O sisters,” she said at last, “I wish I could go to the ball, too. I would like to see the king and queen, and the handsome young prince.” But her sisters said, “Nonsense! Your dress is too ragged and your shoes are too clumsy. You cannot go.”
So Cinderella went to the mother and asked her if she might go to the ball. The mother took a peck of seeds and flung them out into the backyard where they fell among the ashes. “Now, Cinderella,” she said, “if you pick up all of those seeds in an hour, you may go to the ball.” Cinderella stood in the yard and began to call, in her soft, sweet voice: “Come, little pigeons and turtle doves. If you don’t help me, what shall I do?”
Down flew the pigeons and the turtle doves and all the birds who knew and loved Cinderella. Down they came and set to work to help her. Pick! pick! pick! with their sharp little bills, and soon all the seeds were out of the ashes and back in the peck measure again.
Then Cinderella ran to her mother. “See, mother,” she said, “here are the seeds. Now may I go to the ball?” But the mother said, “No, you cannot go;” and turning her back on the poor girl she and her daughters went to the ball.