An Up-Do for
Cinderella
by Megan Pockrus
Cinderella
Once upon a time there was a
very fancy salon.
It was where all of the finest, richest people went to get their hair
done. There was word that the new princess was planning on going
in to get her hair done there. The day started like any other day
in this fancy salon, and everything seemed normal until an angelic,
beautiful young woman entered. Instantly, one could feel the
presence of someone special, someone enchanting.
Kathy, the receptionist,
greeted her.
"I'm Cinderella and I have
an appointment with Sheridan," she said.
Sheridan approached her
and said, "Follow me."
Everyone in the
salon couldn't help but stare at how beautiful she was.
Cinderella sat down, and
Sheridan asked her what
she would like.
Cinderella said, "I'm not
sure."
Sheridan said, "What is
the occasion?"
Cinderella said, "Well,
I'm
the new princess. We're going to the king's ball."
"I've
got it! And while I'm working on your hair you have to tell me
about how
you became princess," Sheridan said with a smile.
Cinderella
blushed and nodded.
Everyone in the salon sat
in silence. All of
the stylists and clients were completely attentive to Cinderella's
sweet, gentle voice. Then she began her tale.
"When I was a young girl,
my mother
passed away and years later my father re-married. His new wife
had two daughters. My
stepmother and sisters treated me horribly," Cinderella said.
"Ahh..." came in unison
from
her listeners in the salon.
Then, Lora said, "So, what
did you do?"
Cinderella continued,
"Regardless of how
they treated me, I acted positively. Then one day we heard that
the king was going to host a ball in order to find a possible wife for
his son."
"You said you are the new
princess, and so obviously you went. Tell us what happened,"
Sheridan said.
All of the women in the
salon were listening attentively.
"Well, I got really
excited about the news, but then my stepsisters laughed at me,"
Cinderella said.
One of my sisters said,
"Cinderella, you've got to be joking if you think that a prince could
ever love a girl like you!"
"How hateful! What did you
do?" Lora burst in.
Cinderella said, "Well, I
thought they were right. At the time, my clothes were torn and my
face was dirty from cleaning."
"You clean up nice!" Kathy
chimed in.
Cinderella blushed.
"My stepsisters went on to
point out that I didn't have anything to wear, and the ball would just
be a waste of my time."
"How rude!" Lora commented.
"Yeah. They made me
so upset I started crying, and ran outside to our courtyard.
While outside, I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder," Cinderella said.
"Who was it?" Sheridan
asked.
"It was my
godmother. She asked me what the matter, and between my sobs I
explained to her about the ball and why I couldn't go," Cinderella said.
"Nonsense," my godmother
replied. "Fetch me some mice, a dog, and a pumpkin."
"What for?" Kathy asked.
"I didn't understand what
all of it was for, but I did as I was told. When I brought
everything back she waved her wand and tapped each thing. The
mice turned into horses, the dog into a coach, and the pumpkin into a
beautiful carriage. I started to become hopeful, but then I
looked down at my clothes. All of a sudden my godmother waved her
wand, and I was dressed in the most beautiful gown. I truly
looked like a princess. While I was thanking her, she told me to
hurry off or I would miss the ball," Cinderella said.
"However," my godmother
said, "you must be home by midnight."
"I nodded as I got into
the carriage and we rode away," Cinderella said.
"How was the ball?"
Lora asked.
"Was it beautiful?"
Sheridan asked.
"Oh, yes! However,
everyone was staring when I arrived and I didn't know why. Then,
the prince approached me, and asked for a dance." Cinderella responded.
"Ahhh, did you?" Kathy
asked.
"Was it love at first
sight?" Sheridan asked.
"Yes, I took his hand, and
we danced the night away. I could hear whispers from the crowd of
people watching us, but I didn't care. They didn't know who I
was, but they wanted to. I was falling in love by just being in
his arms. Then, I was brought back to reality with the ring of
the clock. It was a quarter until midnight," Cinderella said.
"Oh, no!" Lora gasped.
Cinderella continued,
" I thanked him for the dance and ran out the door. As I was
running down the front steps I must have lost a slipper, but I didn't
have time to stop."
"Did someone find it?"
Sheridan asked.
"Yes. The prince had
followed me, and he picked up the slipper that I left behind. He
told his guards that he wanted them to search every lady's foot until
they found the girl that could fit the slipper. When my
stepsisters got home it was late, and they went on about the beautiful
girl that the prince had danced with all night," Cinderella said.
Sheridan smiled, "They
didn't know it was you?"
Cinderella said "No, and I
didn't tell them. We just went to bed. The next morning
there was a knock at the door. There were two men who said they
were there to have all of the ladies of the home try on a glass
slipper. My stepsisters crammed their feet into the slipper, but
it did not fit. I asked if I could try. My stepsisters
laughed, but one of the men handed me the slipper."
"The prince told us we
were to have every lady try it on," he said.
"I placed my foot into the
slipper," Cinderella said.
"Perfect fit!" the man
said.
The listeners in the salon
ahh-ed and smiled.
"The prince and I were
soon married, and tonight his father is throwing another ball,"
Cinderella said.
Everyone in the salon came
back to reality. They were in awe of such a sweet, romantic tale.
Cinderella's Wedding Day
Author's
Note: I retold the story of "Cinderella, of the Little
Glass Slipper" from Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy book. I changed the
story by having it set in a modern-day salon. I thought that it
would be nice to have the setting be present day so that it would be
easier for readers to relate to. I chose to have the actual
setting be
in a salon because I thought that it would be the perfect place for
Cinderella to tell her story. My version of this Cinderella tale
also differed by having Cinderella be the one to tell her own
story. I think that made the story more personal. I had
Cinderella go into the salon to get her hair done for a second ball,
but in the original story, the prince had not discovered her by the
time of the second ball. In my story, he already knows who she
is! In the original story, Cinderella invited her sisters to come
and live with her in the palace, but I left that part out. I had
her getting ready for the second ball, therefore, I did not include it
like the original story did. I also did not have Cinderella
become friends with her stepsisters at the end of my story. I
changed bits and pieces of the story, but I hope that my readers will
enjoy this version of Cinderella's tale.
Bibliography:
Lang, Andrew. "Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper." The Blue Fairy Book,
1889.
Web Source: Cinderella, or the
Little Glass Slipper
Back to
Coverpage...
Introduction
A Make Over for Sleeping Beauty
Manicures for Snow-White
and Red Rose
A Trim for Beauty
Web Source: Cinderella and
others
Web Source: Cinderella
and Prince