“I hope all of you have refreshed up,” Layla said while smiling at the girls.

Long ago in Italy, there lived a man who had three daughters. The youngest daughter was named Cinderella because she sat in the chimney corner. Cinderella’s father was employed at the King’s palace. One day, he was requested to leave on a work trip and before he left he asked his three daughters what each one wanted.

“I want a beautiful dress!” the oldest daughter said.

“I want a hat and a scarf!” the middle daughter said.

“And what do you want Cinderella?” the father asked Cinderella as she sat quietly.

“I want a little Verdeliò bird,” she softly said.

The father looked at Cinderella puzzled and then shook his head while wondering what she would do with the bird. Later that night, the man received a phone call from the King inviting him to the three balls and to bring his three daughters. He immediately informed his daughters and they were all excited to go, all except Cinderella.

“Cinderella, there is room for you to come along with us!” the oldest sister said.

“No, I would rather not go,” Cinderella said.

“Let her stay then! She is not even dressed beautifully. We should get going!” the father said.

After everyone had left to go to the ball, Cinderella looked at the bird and asked, “Verdeliò make me look like the most beautiful woman!”

She magically appeared wearing the most beautiful green dress with diamonds and sequins. The Verdeliò bird also gave her two purses full of money  and also provided a carriage to the ball. When she entered the ballroom, everyone paused for a second to get a glimpse of Cinderella disguised as a mystery woman. She was the most glamorous woman in the ballroom. The King was dazzled by her beauty as they danced the whole evening. After dancing with the king, Cinderella sat with her sisters and accidentally dropped a bracelet.

“Signora, you have dropped this bracelet,” the older sister said.

“Keep it!” Cinderella said.

Cinderella quickly left the ballroom, and the King ordered the servants to find out where she was going and where she lived. As Cinderella sat in the carriage, she began to throw the money everywhere from the purses. The servants were so greedy that instead of keeping a lookout for Cinderella, they stopped to pick up the money. The next day, Cinderella’s sisters came running into the room saying, “Look at this bracelet! What would have happened if you came along with us?” Cinderella shook her head.

“Come with us this evening!” the sisters asked.

“No, I’m not interested in the ball or your bracelet!” Cinderella responded.

“You are a mischievous girl, Cinderella! Let her stay and we will go to the ball,” the father said.

Cinderella’s sisters looked prettier than the night before. When they all left to go to the ball, Cinderella asked the bird, “Verdeliò make me the most beautiful woman!” She appeared in a sequinned red dress with diamonds so bright that it could blind a person. The bird also gave Cinderella two bags of sand, so that when she left the ball she would be able to throw it at the servants to blind them. The King danced with Cinderella the whole evening.

“Signora, you dropped your necklace!” said the middle sister.

“Keep it!” Cinderella responded.

Cinderella quickly left the ballroom, and the servants ran after her. She began to throw the sand to blind them from seeing where she was headed to. She ran back home and asked, “Verdeliò make me homelier again! Make me look like I did earlier today!”

“Cinderella, you must come with us to the last ball! Last night I received a beautiful necklace,” the middle sister said.

“It matters nothing to me! I must stay here!” Cinderella said.

“Let her be! She doesn’t want to come!” the father responded.

When they left to go to the ball, Cinderella asked the bird, “Verdeliò, make me the most beautiful woman!” She appeared in a white gown covered in diamonds and a beautiful diamond necklace with diamond earrings and a diamond bracelet. The bird gave her a box and told her to hurry to the ball. When Cinderella walked into the ballroom, everyone paused to take a glimpse at the most beautiful woman anyone had ever seen. The King danced with her all night and fell completely in love with her. He made sure the servants would find out about her this very last time.

“Signora, you dropped this box!” said the father.

“Keep it!” Cinderella responded.

The father opened the box and saw that it was full of gold and money. Cinderella quickly left the ballroom, but had nothing to block the servants with. As she was running to the carriage, her glass slipper fell off. The servants followed her and wrote down the number of her house then brought the slipper and house number back to the King.

“Cinderella, look at this box of money!” the sisters and father said.

“I do not care!” Cinderella said.

The servants and King showed up at Cinderella’s house requesting that each daughter try on the glass slipper. The older sister’s foot was too big, and the middle sister’s foot was too small. The father called for Cinderella to come downstairs to try on the slipper. He said to the servants, “She will look ashy because she’s been sitting by the chimney!”

Cinderella asked the bird, “Verdeliò, make me the most beautiful woman!” She appeared in the same white diamond gown, with the diamond necklace and bracelet. The King was so dazzled by her beauty that he asked her to marry him. She accepted and she also brought her father and sisters to live in the palace with her.

 
The girls applauded Layla's story.

Author’s Note:  I used the same plot, characters, and storyline as the original story. I used more dialogue between the father, sisters, and Cinderella. I thought this would be a great way for the readers to understand the emotions involved in my story and the tension between Cinderella and her father. The Verdeliò bird is equivalent to the fairy god-mother many of you might be more familiar with. The bird also plays an important role in my version of the story and the original story. The original story was a lot longer, so I tried to condense my version of the story as much as possible without leaving the key details out. I really enjoyed this story because even though she is put to sit by the chimney corner, she still gave gifts to her family such as the diamond bracelet, necklace, and the box full of money. I didn’t add very much dialogue between the King and the servants. After every ball, Cinderella would ask the Verdeliò bird to turn her back into an ashy girl. I thought this story was different from the other Cinderella stories because she didn’t have a step-mother in this version. Overall, I kept the happy ending the same.

Thomas Frederick Crane, Italian Popular Tales (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1885), no. 9, pp. 42-47.
Image: Cinderella running away. Flickr.