The wife of a rich man knew she was going to die, so she called her only daughter to the bedside and said, "Dear child, be a good girl. God will always protect you." Then she closed her eyes and departed.
The rich man got married with another women three years later. The rich man's new wife had two daughters who were fair of face but black of heart. The women and her daughters were all jealous of the beauty of the rich man's daughter. They treated her as a maid and took away all her pretty clothes and put an old grey bedgown and wooden shoes on her. They made her do all the housework from morning till night. Sometimes, her sister even mocked her by emptying her peas and lentils into the ashes, so she was forced to sit and pick them out again. She could only sleep by the fireside in the ashes after work, so she always looked dusty and dirty. People called her "Cinderella."
One day, before going on a trip, the father asked his daughters what he should bring back for them.  His two step-daughters wanted beautiful dresses and jewelry. However, Cinderella just wanted the first branch which knocked against his hat on his way home. So the father brought back the things that his daughters wanted  after the trip. After Cinderella got the branch, she went to her mother's grave and planted the branch on it. She watered the branch with her tears because she cried so much. The branch grew into a very big tree immediately. Therefore, Cinderella came and sat beneath the tree and cried and prayed every day.  A little bird always came and threw down what Cinderella wished to have.
One day, the King decided to throw a party for his son. He invited all the girls in the country and hoped his son could choose himself a bride. Cinderella's two sisters were so happy with the party. They bought very beautiful dresses and much jewelry. They made Cinderella comb their hair and iron their dresses. After Cinderella finished helping her sisters, she begged her step-mother to let her go with them. Her step- mother said, "You are dusty and dirty. Also, you don't have clothes and shoes. No one will want to dance with you. You will bring shame on us. You just stay here and wash all the dishes." Then they left the house.
Cinderella was very sad and she went to sit under the tree and cried again. She prayed to have a beautiful dress and shoes. The bird threw a golden dress and a  glass  high-heeled shoes down to her. After she cleaned off the dust and dirt, Cinderella put on the golden dress and the glass shoes  went to the party. Her step-mother and step-sisters did not recognize her because she was very pretty. Cinderella caught the prince's attention after she arrived. The prince asked Cinderella to be his partner and danced with her the whole night without dancing with any other girls. When midnight came, Cinderella  wanted to leave because she needed to go back home before her step-mother and step-sisters went home. She told the prince that she needed to leave and then she ran away. She left one of her glass shoes on the long stair outside the party room. The prince wanted to know her name so he ran after her. However, he only saw the glass heel that she left on the stare when he came out from the party room.
The prince liked Cinderella very much and decided to take her as his wife so he took the high heel to find her the day after the party. The prince came to the house of Cinderella. Two of her sisters tried on the high-heeled shoe. However, both of  their feet did not fit the shoe. The prince asked Cinderella's step-mother if she had another daughter. The step-mother said, "I do have another daughter, but she is very dirty.She must not be the one that you are looking for." The prince insisted on it. The step-mother asked Cinderella to come out and try on the shoes. Cinderella put her feet into the shoes, which fitted her perfectly. The prince looked at her face and recognized her and cried, "This is the true bride." The step-mother and  the step-sisters were terrified. The prince asked Cinderella to leave with him. They lived happily together in the palace.
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I chose to include this story in my story book because it is one of my favorite stories when I was a kid. I wanted to make my own version of "Cinderella," so I can put all the details that I liked from different versions into a new story.
I kept my story similar to the original and omitted and changed some of the details. I omitted the part of  the step-mother making Cinderella pick up the lentils from the ashes three different times. Also, I want my story to be a kids' story and I think there are two parts from the original stories that are too violent for children. So I omitted the part of the two step-sisters cutting out the part of their feet to fit into the shoes. I also omitted how the eyes of both step-sisters were poked out by the pigeons as the punishment of their wickedness and falsehood. I changed the party from three times to one time and used the glass high-heeled shoe as the thing for the prince to find Cinderella out because I think it is my favorite part.

Title:  Cinderella
Authors: Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm
Book and Year: Household Tales(1884)
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