She swept the floors with the corn broom, washed the walls with the sponge, pruned the gardens with the cutters, and prepared breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea. “Cinderella!” screeched the eldest stepsister.Įlla was again Cinderella – a slave to her stepfamily. The next morning, she awoke to loud shouts and screams. Sleeping soundly that night, she had wonderful dreams of the prince and the ball. Zuzu and the rest of her tiny friends followed her.Įlla shut her door before her stepmother could finish. My eldest is ravishing! And we must all celebrate their soon-to-be marriage at the ball,” the stepmother exclaimed.Įlla bid a sad farewell to her father, scooped up the three blind mice hiding under her new dress, and ran up the stairs to her room. The Prince’s decision will be the right one, I suspect. She could, again, feel the glare from her stepmother. She opened it to find a pastel pink dress inside. On his last night at home, Ella’s father brought her a large box with a white ribbon on it. They replanted a small lily garden behind manor. Ella took freedom’s opportunity to spend time with her father. “Why that’s just two weeks away!” exclaimed the stepmother.įor the next two weeks, the women scampered around the house in frenzy they could not contain their excitement. She read the handwritten words aloud: “On behalf of the King, Their Graces the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, you are invited to attend the Prince’s Masquerade Ball to be held in a fortnight.” “What does it say?” the stepmother asked.Įlla’s father reached into his tailcoat, pulled out an engraved letter, and handed it to Ella. He grabbed a piece of bread from her plate and ran out of the large dining hall. “Cinder – I mean Ella… darling? Would you please get your monkey off the table?” the stepmother asked through clenched teeth.Įlla patted her lap and Zuzu hopped down. “Mother! I thought you said nooo animals in the house! Why is that THING in here?” whined the youngest. “What does the King want with her?” screeched the eldest stepsister. “A letter? Who from?” she whispered back, avoiding the hot glare from her stepmother. One evening at dinner, her father sat beside his beloved Ella and whispered to her: “I received a letter today.” She could not bear to have her poor father’s heart broken again. She was ignored by her stepsisters but treated with false-kindness by her stepmother.Įlla never dared to tell her father about the wickedness of his new wife. But when her father came home for short periods of time, Ella was Ella. She cleaned, and cooked, and did everything for them. While travelling, Ella was Cinderella, a name given to her by her terrible stepfamily. He turned solely to trade and was away for months at sea. Walls were painted pink, grass was replaced with stone, and the lily gardens were removed and changed for rose ones.Īs months passed, her father’s business began to decline. “I have bruises ALL over! And my haaair” whined the youngest.Įlla watched wide-eyed as the newcomers spent the next weeks changing everything about the estate. “And the rocks! My poor dress! Ruined at the seams!” screeched the eldest stepsister. “Goodness me” began the stepmother, “it’s like he purposefully drove over all those potholes.” Ella smiled and greeted her new stepfamily but, disregarding her kindness, they huffed and hollered at the coachman. The three ladies stepped out head-to-toe in silk, lace, gems, and fur. The woman arrived in an extravagant horse-drawn carriage with her two daughters. By the time he arrived home on the day of Ella’s 16th birthday, he was married once more. She died shortly after, leaving a heartbroken husband.Īfter her death, he left on business more regularly and left Ella alone to grow into a woman of parallel kindness to her mother.ĭuring one of his travels, Ella’s father met a woman. Months after they arrived, however, Ella’s mother fell sick. In these gardens she met an odd, yet charming array of friends: three blind mice, an uncountable number of birds, and a spider monkey named Zuzu, who had escaped from her wealthy neighbor’s menagerie. Such success allowed them to move into a large, four thousand-acre estate.Įlla loved the lily gardens around the estate and spent much of her time there. They were a gracious family, who saw wonderful success. Her mother was kind, loving, and patient, and her father was happy. She was born in a small house with her mother, Lily, and her father, a hardworking merchant. Once upon a time in a land much like yours and mine, lived a young girl named Ella.
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