Cinderella
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella. She lived with her wicked stepmother and two stepsisters. They treated Cinderella very badly. One day, they were invited for a grand ball in the king’s palace. But Cinderella’s stepmother would not let her go. Cinderella was made to sew new party gowns for her stepmother and stepsisters, and curl their hair. They then went to the ball, leaving Cinderella alone at home.
Cinderella felt very sad and began to cry. Suddenly, a fairy godmother appeared and said, “Don’t cry, Cinderella! I will send you to the ball!” But Cinderella was sad. She said, “I don’t have a gown to wear for the ball!” The fairy godmother waved her magic wand and changed Cinderella’s old clothes into a beautiful new gown! The fairy godmother then touched Cinderella’s feet with the magic wand. And lo! She had beautiful glass slippers! “How will I go to the grand ball?” asked Cinderella. The fairy godmother found six mice playing near a pumpkin, in the kitchen. She touched them with her magic wand and the mice became four shiny black horses and two coachmen and the pumpkin turned into a golden coach. Cinderella was overjoyed and set off for the ball in the coach drawn by the six black horses. Before leaving. the fairy godmother said, “Cinderella, this magic will only last until midnight! You must reach home by then!”
When Cinderella entered the palace, everybody was struck by her beauty. Nobody, not even Cinderella’s stepmother or stepsisters, knew who she really was in her pretty clothes and shoes. The handsome prince also saw her and fell in love with Cinderella. He went to her and asked, “Do you want to dance?” And Cinderella said, “Yes!” The prince danced with her all night and nobody recognized the beautiful dancer. Cinderella was so happy dancing with the prince that she almost forgot what the fairy godmother had said. At the last moment, Cinderella remembered her fairy godmother’s words and she rushed to go home. “Oh! I must go!” she cried and ran out of the palace. One of her glass slippers came off but Cinderella did not turn back for it. She reached home just as the clock struck twelve. Her coach turned back into a pumpkin, the horses into mice and her fine ball gown into rags. Her stepmother and stepsisters reached home shortly after that. They were talking about the beautiful lady who had been dancing with the prince.
The prince had fallen in love with Cinderella and wanted to find out who the beautiful girl was, but he did not even know her name. He found the glass slipper that had come off Cinderella’s foot as she ran home. The prince said, “I will find her. The lady whose foot fits this slipper will be the one I marry!” The next day, the prince and his servants took the glass slipper and went to all the houses in the kingdom. They wanted to find the lady whose feet would fit in the slipper. All the women in the kingdom tried the slipper but it would not fit any of them. Cinderella’s stepsisters also tried on the little glass slipper. They tried to squeeze their feet and push hard into the slipper, but the servant was afraid the slipper would break. Cinderella’s stepmother would not let her try the slipper on, but the prince saw her and said, “Let her also try on the slipper!” The slipper fit her perfectly. The prince recognized her from the ball. He married Cinderella and together they lived happily ever after.
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The Sleeping Beauty
Once there lived a king and queen who had no children. They were very sad. Then one day, to the queen’s delight, she found she was going to have a baby. She and the king looked forward with great excitement to the day of the baby’s birth. When the time came, a lovely daughter was born and they arranged a large party for her Christening. As well as lots of other guests, they invited twelve fairies, knowing they would make wishes for their little daughter, the princess. At the Christening party, the guests and the fairies all agreed that the princess was a beautiful baby.
One fairy wished on her the gift of Happiness, another Beauty, others Health, Contentment, Wisdom, Goodness . . . Eleven fairies had made their wishes when suddenly the doors of the castle flew open and in swept a thirteenth fairy. She was furious that she had not been invited to the Christening party, and as she looked around a shiver ran down everyone’s spine. They could feel she was evil. She waved her wand over the baby’s cradle and cast a spell, not a wish.
“On her sixteenth birthday,” she hissed, “the princess will prick herself with a spindle. And she will die.” With that a terrible hush fell over the crowd.
The twelfth fairy had still to make her wish and she hesitated. She had been going to wish the gift of joy on the baby but now she wanted to stop the princess dying on her sixteenth birthday. Her magic was not strong enough to Sleeping Beauty break the wicked spell but she tried to weaken the evil. She wished that the princess would fall asleep for a hundred years instead of dying.
Over the years the princess grew into the happiest, kindest and most beautiful child anyone had ever seen. It seemed as though all the wishes of the first eleven fairies had come true. The king and queen decided they could prevent the wicked fairy’s spell from working by making sure that the princess never saw a spindle.
So they banned all spinning from the land. All the flax and wool in their country had to be sent elsewhere to be spun. On their daughter’s sixteenth birthday they held a party for the princess in their castle. They felt sure this would protect her from the danger of finding a spindle on her sixteenth birthday.
People came from far and wide to the grand birthday ball for the princess and a magnificent feast was laid out. After all the guests had eaten and drunk as much as they wanted and danced in the great hall, the princess asked if they could all play hide-and-seek, which was a favorite game from her childhood. It was agreed the princess should be the first to hide, and she quickly sped away.
The princess ran to a far corner of the castle and found herself climbing a spiral staircase in a turret she did not remember ever visiting before. “They will never find me here,” she thought as she crept into a little room at the top. There to her surprise she found an old woman dressed in black, sitting on a chair spinning.
“What are you doing?” questioned the princess as she saw the spindle twirling, for she had never seen anything like it in her whole life.
“Come and see, pretty girl,” replied the old lady. The princess watched fascinated as she pulled the strands of wool from the sheep’s fleece on the floor, and twirling it deftly with her fingers fed it on to the spindle.
“Would you like to try?” she asked cunningly.
With all thoughts of hide-and-seek gone, the princess sat down and took the spindle. In a flash she pricked her thumb and even as she cried out, she fell down as though dead. The wicked fairy’s spell had worked.
So did the twelfth good fairy’s wish. The princess did not die, but fell into a deep sleep. The spell worked upon everyone else in the castle too. The king and queen slept in their chairs in the great hall. The guests dropped off to sleep as they went through the castle looking for the princess.
In the kitchen the cook fell asleep as she was about to box the pot boy’s ears and the scullery maid nodded off as she was plucking a chicken. All over the castle a great silence descended.
As the years went by a thorn hedge grew up around the castle. Passers-by asked what was behind the hedge, but few people remembered the castle where the king and queen had lived with their lovely daughter. Sometimes curious travelers tried to force their way through, but the hedge grew so thickly that they soon gave up.
Many years later, a prince came by. He asked, like other travelers, what was behind the thorn hedge, which was very tall and thick by now. An old man told him a story he had heard about a castle behind the thorns, and the prince became curious. He decided to cut his way through the thorns. This time the hedge seemed to open out before his sword and in a short while the prince was inside the grounds. He ran across the gardens and through an open door into the lovely old castle.
Everywhere he looked — in the great hall, in the kitchens, in the corridors and on the staircases — he saw people asleep. He passed through many rooms until he found himself climbing a winding staircase in an old turret. There in a small room at the top he found himself staring in wonder at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was so lovely that without thinking he leaned forward and gently kissed her.
As his lips touched her, the princess began to stir and she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a handsome young man. She thought she must be dreaming, but she looked again and saw he was really there. As she gazed at him she fell in love.
They came down the turret stairs together and found the whole castle coming back to life. In the great hall the king and queen were stretching and yawning, puzzled over how they could have dropped off to sleep during their daughter’s party. Their guests too were shaking their heads, rubbing their eyes, and wondering why they felt so sleepy. In the kitchen, the cook boxed the ears of the pot boy, and the scullery maid continued to pluck the chicken. Outside horses stamped and neighed in their stables, dogs barked in the yards, while in the trees birds that had stayed silent for so long burst into song. The hundred-year spell had been broken.
The princess told her parents how much she loved the handsome young man who had kissed her, and they were delighted to find he was a prince from a neighboring country. The king gave them his blessing and a grand wedding was arranged.
At the wedding party the princess looked more beautiful than ever, and the prince loved her more every moment. The twelve good fairies that had come to her Christening were invited once again and were delighted to see the happiness of the prince and princess. Towards evening the newly married pair rode off together to their new home in the prince’s country, where they lived happily ever after.
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The Little Match Girl
Once upon a time there was a little poor girl. She lived in a small house in the poorest of the poor part of a big bustling city. This little girl was so poor that even during the harshest of winter she had no shoes to wear and walked barefooted on the snow-covered streets. She was known all around as the little match girl since she went about selling match-boxes on the streets daily.
It was New Year’s Eve and dreadfully cold. The snow fell quickly in the darkening light as evening came on. In the cold and the darkness, she walked bareheaded and with no shoes on. When she left home she had slippers on, it is true, but they were much too large for her feet. Her mother had used those slippers till then, but the poor little girl lost them running across the street when two carriages were passing quickly by. When she looked for them, one was not to be found, and a boy grabbed the other and ran away with it.
So on the little girl went with her bare feet, that were red and blue with cold. In an old apron that she wore she had bundles of matches and she also carried a bundle in her hand. No one had bought so much as a bunch all long day and no one had given her even a penny.
Poor little girl! Shivering with cold and hunger she crept along, feeling miserable.
The snowflakes fell on her long hair, which hung in pretty curls about her neck, but she did not think of her beauty or of the cold. Lights shone from every window, and she could smell the beautiful smell of roast goose being cooked for New Year’s Eve in all the houses. She could not stop thinking about it.
In a corner between two houses, she sat down. She tucked her little feet in underneath herself, but still she grew colder and colder. She did not dare to go home, as she had not sold any matches and could not bring any money. Her father would certainly would not be pleased. Besides, it was cold enough at home, as they had only a roof above them that was full of holes.
Now her little hands were nearly frozen with cold. She thought that maybe a match might warm her fingers if she lit it. So at last she drew one out. She struck it and how it blazed and burned! It gave out a warm, bright flame like a little candle, as she held her hands over it. A wonderful little light it was. It really seemed to the little girl as if she sat in front of a great iron stove with a lovely fire inside it. So nicely it burned that the little girl stretched out her feet to warm them. How comfortable she was! But then the flame went out, the stove vanished, and nothing remained but the little burned match in her hand.
She rubbed another match against the wall. It burned brightly, and where the light fell on the wall she could suddenly see right through it into the room. A snow-white cloth was spread upon the table, on which were laid beautiful china plates, while a stuffed roast goose cooked away and made a most delicious smell. And what was more delightful still, and wonderful, the goose jumped from the dish, with knife and fork still in its breast, and waddled along the floor straight towards the little girl.
But the match went out then, and nothing was left to her but the thick, damp wall.
She lit another match. And now she was under a most beautiful Christmas tree, larger and far more prettily decorated than the one she had seen through the glass doors at the rich merchant’s. Hundreds of candles were burning on the green branches, and little painted figures, like she had seen in shop windows, looked down on her. The child stretched out her hands to them, but then the match went out.
Still the lights of the Christmas tree burned higher and higher into sky until she saw one fall,, forming a long trail of fire.
“Now someone is dying,” murmured the child softly, for her grandmother, the person who had loved her the most, and who was now dead, had told her that whenever a star falls a soul goes up to heaven.
She struck yet another match against the wall. It lit and in its brightness her dear old grandmother appeared before her, beaming love and kindness.
“Oh, grandmother,” cried the child, “take me with you. I know you will go away when the match burns out. You, too, will vanish, like the warm stove, the splendid New Year’s feast, the beautiful Christmas tree.” And to make sure her grandmother would not disappear, she lit a whole bundle of the matches against the wall.
And they burned with such a brilliant light that it became brighter than the midday sun. Her grandmother had never looked so grand and beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms and both flew joyfully together, climbing higher and higher, far above the earth, away from cold and hunger, to heaven.
They found her the next morning, leaning against the wall, with red cheeks and smiling mouth—frozen to death on the last evening of the old year. “She wanted to warm herself, the poor little thing,” people said. “I wonder why she looks so happy?” some people asked. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, or how happily she had gone with her grandmother into the New Year.
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THE SOUP PRINCESS
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Source:http://www.bedtime.com/html/the_soup_princess.htm
Long, long ago, in a kingdom far away, lived the beautiful Princess Effy who lived with her widowed father the king in a palace on top of a hill.Effy was just as a princess should be, beautiful, clever, polite, a little smaller than most girls her age and maybe just a little stubborn (if she felt she wasn’t getting what she wanted), and there was one thing she wanted more than anything in the world… more than her 5 white horses… more than her 20 silk dresses … even more than her 50 pairs of hand-made shoes….
SOUP
The beautiful Princess Effy liked soup… no… she LOVED soup… vegetable soup meat soup , thin soup, thick soup, hot soup, cold soup, spicy soup , bland soup, cream sou.. (Well you get the idea).
Now no-one really knows why Effy liked soup so much – but many say it was because of what happened to her when she was a little girl.
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She would have drowned too, if she hadn’t been saved by two little boys, who dragged her to safety.
The three would have become great friends, but the boys began arguing (totally ignoring the shivering princess) and before the princess could thank them she was rushed back to the palace and given a pot of soup to keep warm.
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The years passed by and as it approached the Princesses 21st Birthday the Kings thoughts – as Kings thoughts often do – turned to the marriage of his only daughter and finding a suitable prince for Effy.
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When she wasn’t eating soup she was riding the horses around the estate... she loved everything in her life, but she found the suitors her father presented to her, boring and uninteresting.
She loved her father very much, but could not marry for his sake....she wanted someone special....and she could wait!.
Effy was very clever and she had an idea…as she loved her father and knew how important this was to him, she agreed to marry on one condition;
The man she would marry would have to be able to cook the best soup in the world.
The King pondered over this for some time…scratching his long beard deep in thought….it was more difficult than the King had first thought, after all Effy was rather an expert on the subject.
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“Do you Know…” he said in his soft but deep voice..
“I think that is a very good idea !”
The King set about telling the Kingdom… delivering posters across the land – offering his daughters hand in marriage if a man could cook the world’s perfect soup.
Of course there was great interest, the sales of cookery books shot up, food shelves were bare, as would-be chefs tried hard to perfect the “best soup in the world”.
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Barry was not an unattractive man – but he cared not to impress people through the way he looked, he wanted to be appreciated for the way he cooked.. !
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Barry spent this time perfecting his soup, years of practice and a good reputation made him the favourite in the race to make Effy his wife.
Truth be told, Barry had no interest in Effy, his dream was to be recognized as the best chef in the land and this was his big chance.
Three weeks had past and the King was getting frustrated with the delay, he watched over Effy as every hopeful, bowed gracefully, passed over a bowl of soup, and waited.
They were often too excited to watch, as Effy always scoffed the lot! (After all, she liked good soup and bad soup).
The King of course would know straight away the outcome, Effy did not have to speak, she pushed the bowl away and wiped her mouth, she would screw up her nose like a mouse and say “thankyou that was nice… but I have tasted better”
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Those that didn’t know him would have thought he was the strangest of characters, a scruffy looking fellow …red faced … huffing and puffing as he climbed…as it did after all, take him longer than most….he soon began to regret the years of sampling his own cooking !
He may have been scruffy, he may have been out of breath, but Barry was confident……..the palace staff were confident ……..the King was confident, even little Effy was expecting something good!
Effy produced her special spoon and took a little of the soup and smelt it, she smiled, the King smiled, Barry nodded (feeling smug).
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“Hmmmm lovely” she said.
The King clapped… the servants in the palace cheered…
but as the King went to shake Barrys hand, Effy interrupted them.
“But…” she said, paused then quietly “…there’s something missing….”
Barry could not believe his ears, he became very red and very cross, very quickly (as chefs do !)
“Something missing ?!?” he shouted.
He pushed away the platter and bowl and stomped out of the palace, barging all of the servants out of his way.
The servants went back to their work, the King forced a smile, turned his back, and went up to bed.
Only Effy remained at the table trying to save the soup which had been tipped on the table, after all, it was good soup!
From outside the royal windows a shadowy figure stared at the princess, and then disappeared following the Chef into the town.
Barry was fuming, he didn’t notice the servants he pushed out of the way, or the crowds waiting for him in the town, or the “King Barry” posters that had been put up outside his restaurant.
He also didn’t notice the shadowy figure follow him down the dark alley behind the large kitchen of his restaurant.
As he entered the Kitchen through the back door he sat down collapsing against his pots and pans, his head in his hands.
He must have fallen asleep as he was suddenly startled by a noise in the yard – he jumped up with a start and crept towards the door with a wooden spoon and glass mixing bowl - ready to confront what he thought was a stray dog that was scrounging for titbits thrown by the kitchen staff.
He opened the back door and went into the yard.
Nothing.
As he re-entered the kitchen and closed the door behind him he came face to face with the mysterious stranger….he dropped the bowl…
SMASHHHHHH!!!!!!
Only it was no stranger to Barry Gorge, this was Frank.
Frank was Barrys brother.
There there eyes met – Frank younger, slightly taller, and considerably slimmer than Barry was dressed in some smart, bright, foreign looking clothes. Although he would never admit it, he was a handsome man and stood confidently in front of his elder brother.
Barry and Frank were not the best of brothers; they had fought all their lives, each one believing that they were better than the other.
They had the same interests, played the same sports but never agreed on anything.
Frank had left the town as soon as he was old enough to travel on his own.
Frank like Barry was also a chef and had spent the last 5 years travelling the world, collecting spices and flavours from every country he visited, storing them in leather pouches hanging from his thick leather belt.
Frank tried to explain how he had seen the posters and thought that he would like to make a soup for the princess, he also explained how he had watched from the window and saw the princess reject the soup.
Barry could not listen to any more, he didn’t want his brother teasing him about his soup.
Frank went on to say ,how his heart leapt when he saw the princess, how beautiful Effy was, and how in love he had fallen, but Barry had disappeared upstairs before he could finish talking.
Frank spent the night using the kitchen and spare food to create his masterpiece – he wanted more than anything to impress Princess Effy, he took off his belt and used the spices in large quantities to give the soup a special zing!
Unfortunately, he was not a great chef, in fact, he was quite terrible, but believing love will find a way he marched up to the Palace gates and knocked firmly on the Palace door.
As it was so early, only the princess was awake and wandering the palace.
When Effy opened the door she instantly fell in love with Frank, she had never felt the same about anything before (apart from soup of course).
She invited him in and called to her father without taking her eyes off of Frank.
Now the King was unsure of Frank, he could see that her daughter was impressed by this man but rules were rules.
If he could not create the best soup in the world, he would not be allowed to marry Effy.
As the table was prepared and the soup brought forward, he watched Effy like a hawk – if this wasn’t a fantastic soup he would tell.
The soup was heated and brought to Effy.
The princess smiled at Frank and Frank smiled back, passing the bowl to her.
She took out her spoon and dipped it in the soup, she hoped more than anything that it would be the best soup.
Then just as she brought the spoon to her mouth…..the Palace door flung open..
“WAIT!!!”
It was Barry… he had been listening to Frank the night before, he had used a touch of Franks spices to his own recipe and once tested he had rushed to the palace just in time.
“FRANK” he said “You have the wrong soup… this is yours”
Effy looked at the two brothers and suddenly they both looked very familiar..these were the two boys that helped her out of the frozen lake all those years ago.
Frank was confused, but his brother was so insistent the soup swap was made the King, Effy and all of the servants believed him and the exchange was made.
Barry winked at Frank as he placed his soup on the table
The Princess took the bowl and tried the soup. Her eyes opened wide and she beamed as she said “That’s it!!! … The worlds best soup”.
The King looked closely and could tell his daughter was telling the truth – he couldn’t believe it.
“Congratulations my Son” he said and put his arm around Frank.
Frank took Effy in his arms and asked her to marry him. It didn’t take long for an answer…
“Oh Yes !!!” and before the month was out, they were married.
Frank never understood why Barry had come to his rescue, perhaps he wanted to see his brother happy, perhaps he wanted to prove that he could make the best soup in the world… with the right ingredients!
Whatever the reason one thing is for sure, they all lived, (as often they do in these stories), happily ever after.
