Loginova Olga: Consulting Psychologist specializing in Positive Psychology. Art Therapist, Trainer of NLP

E-mail:  psycholog50@mail.ru      call at: +7(916)555-98-10  Russia, Moscow

Fairytale Therapy

Cinderella

(by Charles Perrault)

Once there lives one man. His wife died and he remained together with his daughter. Soon he married the second time. His new wife was the angriest and the proudest woman in the world. This woman was a widow and she had two daughters from her first husband. These daughters resembled their mother very much: they also were quarrelsome and foolish.

Since the first days stepmother began to hurt the girl. She dressed her up and fed badly and made her do the hardest work. The girl swept the floors, washed up, washed the cloths. She slept in the attic, under the very roof on the floor, on the litter, and her sisters lived in warm, light rooms and slept in clean, soft beds under silk covers.

After finishing work the poor girl sat near the fireplace at the box with ash. That`s why stepmother and sisters named her Cinderella.

Cinderella stood all hurts patiently and never complained to her father. In any case he would not listen to her, as he was afraid of his quarrelsome wife.

Once a young prince arranged the ball and invited all rich people. Cinderella`s sisters were also invited. They were very happy and began to prepare for the ball. It added even more work for Cinderella: she had to clean and iron sisters` dresses.

All these days there were talks just about dresses. Sisters spent all their time in front of the mirrors choosing and trying on dresses.

- I, - said the elder sister, - will go to the ball in a red velvet dress with a lace.

- And  I, - said the younger one, - will put on a black silk dress with golden flowers and diamond necklace.

Sisters called Cinderella and started to advise with her how to dress up better. Cinderella gave them clever advice. And she even offered sisters to do their hair. They gladly agreed to that.

When Cinderella did the sisters` hair, they told her:

- So, Cinderella, would you like to go to the ball?

- Ah, sisters, you always laugh at me! How could I!

- Ha-ha-ha! –sisters laughed. That would be really enjoying if Cinderella came to the ball in her dirty dress!

If it were not Cinderella but the other girl she would spoil all the hair-dos for such words, but Cinderella didn`t get angry and did their hair.

At last sisters got in the coach and left.

Cinderella watched them go for a long time and then she started crying. At that time her old aunt came. And one should say this aunt was the fairy godmother.

The fairy godmother questioned Cinderella why she was crying.

- I would like… I would like … - said Cinderella, but here she started crying so heavily that she could not say no more.

- Would you like to go to the ball? –the fairy godmother asked.

- Oh, I would like to very much! – Cinderella answered.

- Good! –said  the fairy godmother. If you are a good girl, I would gladly realize your wish. Go to the garden and bring a pumpkin.

Cinderella went to the garden at once, picked the biggest pumpkin she could find and brought it to the fairy godmother.

The fairy godmother hollowed out the pumpkin and stroke it with her magic wand. The pumpkin turned into a wonderful gilded coach at once.

Then the fairy godmother peeped in the mousetrap. There were six alive mice there.

The fairy godmother told Cinderella to open the door of the mousetrap and stroke each mouse that jumped out from it with her magic wand and the mouse turned into a perfect horse. In a minute there were six wonderful mouse-grey horses.

There was just lack of a coachman.

- Waite,- said Cinderella,- I will go and see whether there is a rat in a rat trap. You will make a coachman out of it!

- Good, - answered the fairy godmother, bring the rat trap here.

Cinderella brought the rat trap. Three huge rats were sitting in it.

The fairy godmother chose the rat who had the longest whiskers, and having stricken it with  her magic wand she turned it in a fat coachman with long moustache.

Then she told Cinderella:

- Go to the garden, catch six lizards and bring them here.

As soon as Cinderella brought lizards, the fairy godmother turned them into six servants. The servants got on the footboards of the coach at once and they stood there so as if they had been doing that the whole life.

Having done all that, the fairy godmother told Cinderella:

- Well, here is the coach to drive to the ball.

Are you glad now?

- I am very, very glad, - answered Cinderella. But how I will go there in this torn, dirty dress.

The fairy godmother stroke Cinderella with her magic wand, and that very minute her dirty dress turned into a wonderful dress made of gold and silver. Then fairy godmother gave Cinderella a pair of glass slippers.

Having put on the slippers, Cinderella got into the coach. At parting the fairy godmother ordered her very strictly not to stay at the ball later than midnight.

- If you stay there at least one extra minute,- she said, - your coach will become a pumpkin , horses  become mice, servants – lizards, the coachman – a large rat and your dress will become torn and dirty as before.

Cinderella promised to come back from the ball till midnight and went transported with joy.

When Cinderella came to the palace, the prince was told that some young princess unknown to anyone came to the ball. He ran to meet her, helped her out of the coach and led her in the hall.

When Cinderella appeared there was silence in the hall: the guests stopped dancing, musicians stopped playing – everyone wase staring at the unknown beauty. It was just heard all around:

- Ah, how beautiful she is! Ah, how slender she is!

All ladies were scrutinizing her hairdo and the dress and decided to make the same dress as at this princess right tomorrow if they were able to get the same cloth and such skilful masters.

The prince seated Cinderella next to him. When dances began, he invited her to dance. Cinderella danced so well that quests were astonished and admired her even more.

After dances magnificent treat was served but the prince did not touch it; he was staring just at the unknown beauty and thought just about her. Cinderella sat next to her sisters and talked to them very tenderly; she even treated them with oranges and apples which the prince gave her.

Suddenly Cinderella heard a quarter to twelve stroke. She bowed to all guests and ran away as quickly as she could.

Having returned home, Cinderella thanked the fairy godmother and told that she would like to go to the ball tomorrow again.

While she was telling the fairy godmother about everything she saw in the palace, sisters came back from the ball. Cinderella ran to open the door for them.

- How long you have been away! –she said rubbing her eyes and stretching herself as if she had just woken up. And she even did not want t sleep!

- If you just were at that wonderful ball, - said the younger sister, - you would not become bored: there was such a beauty princess at the ball that hardly anyone could see such a beauty! She was very kind and she treated us with splendid oranges and apples!

Cinderella was happy with sisters` praises. She asked them what the name of the princess was, but they answered that no one knows.

- Young prince, -added sisters, -said that he would give everything to find out who that princess was.

Cinderella smiled and said:
- Ah, you are lucky, sisters! May I look at that beauty princess? Dear sister, could you give me your yellow dress that you wear on weekdays! I will put it on for the ball!

- Bah! – said the elder sister angrily. – How I can give my dress to such a dirty creature! Have I lost my mind or what?

Cinderella was not disappointed with refuse at all. She knew that she would get such a dress from the fairy godmother that the sister could not even dream of.

He next day sisters went to the ball again. Cinderella went too. At this time she was dressed even smarter.

The prince did not leave her for a minute and talked to her all the time.

Cinderella enjoyed herself, danced and quite forgot about the fairy godmother`s command. It seemed to her that it was not even eleven o`clock when it stroke twelve. Having heard the striking of a clock, she jumped up and ran away hastily.
Running away Cinderella lost a glass slipper from her foot. The prince picked it up and ran after the princess.

When he came to the gate he asked the sentries whether they saw the princess. The sentries said that they saw just some poorly dressed girl which looked like a beggar than a princess.

Prince did not find out anything and turned sadly to the palace thinking over how to find the disappeared princess.

 Cinderella came home breathless, without a couch, without servants, in her dirty old dress. Just glass slipper remained with her.

When sisters came back home, Cinderella asked them whether they enjoyed the ball and whether the unknown beauty came again.

Sisters answered that the beauty came but at midnight she ran away hastily having lost the glass slipper from her foot. The slipper was the most wonderful in the world.
- Young prince picked up the slipper, -sisters said, -he was looking at it all the time. He is evidently in love with that beauty.

Sisters were not mistaken. Prince was really in love with the unknown beauty. Several days later he ordered to announce under trumpet sounds that he would marry the girl whom this slipper would fit.

Courtier started to run around the city and try on the slippers to all young girls.

They came to Cinderella`s sisters. Each of them was trying to squeeze the foot in the slipper, but both the one and the other had too large feet.

Cinderella was in the same room.

- Let me just try on this slipper, -she said suddenly, - maybe it will fit my foot.

Sisters started to laugh at her.

But the courtier seated Cinderella on the chair and brought the slipper to her foot. The foot fit the slipper in a breeze.

Sisters were very astonished. But they were surprised even more, when Cinderella took out the second slipper from her pocket and put it on her another foot.

At that time the fairy godmother appeared. She touched Cinderella`s  dress with her magic wand and turned it into a magnificent dress.

Then sisters recognized in Cinderella that very beauty who came to the ball. They rushed to her feet and started to beg her to forgive them for all hurts she suffered from them.

Cinderella raised them up and told them embracing that she is not angry with them at all.

After that she was brought to the palace.

The very next day the prince married Cinderella and celebrated a merry and a magnificent wedding.

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