"Say that I love animals."
The Dressmakers
Once there was a girl named Cinderella whose mother died. Then her father married again, a woman who did not care for Cinderella. She only cared for her own daughters and her husband's fortune. Cinderella’s father made sure they were always fair to Cinderella but two years later, her father died. Cinderella was left alone with her stepmother and stepsisters.
Cinderella was treated like a house maid but got no money for her work. She had to make the meals, iron the clothes and more. But on some things, like cleaning the windows and floor, Cinderella had to clean them five times per day or according to her stepmother, they will not shine as much as they should.
Cinderella would often cry by a tree by her parents' graves. In that tree lived a little bird who Cinderella would talk with. She would talk to the bird about her stepmother’s many chores and little love for her, about her stepsisters not being nice to her, and her ideas. The bird would comfort Cinderella when she cried and Cinderella would help the bird with rhyming. The bird was getting better but still was having trouble with rhyming in their songs.
One day the King announced that there would be a ball for three nights in a row. Her stepmother and stepsisters were delighted. Cinderella asked to go to the ball but they
just laughed. They bought lots of new clothing and made Cinderella iron all of it. Then the day of the first ball came and Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters left without her.
“I really want to go to the ball,” Cinderella said sadly to her bird friend. “Maybe I could go if I could just get a fancy dress. I could walk there but I don’t have anything to wear,” she said, sighing.
“Could you borrow a dress from your stepsisters?” asked the bird.
“No, because then they will know it is me and publicly humiliate me.”
“I have an idea!” chirped the little bird, flying away. “Wait here.”
Meanwhile, a dressmaker named Cindery worked for days and days for three gorgeous, fashionable dresses to wear on each day of the ball. Four minutes before the first day of the ball was to begin, Cindery was putting on her dress when a little bird flew in through the window. The bird hopped over to the teal dress Cindery was going to wear on the second day of the ball and took it in her beak and flew out the window. Cindery tried to stop the little bird but couldn’t because the fashionable shoes she was wearing were not tied yet and she tripped. She got up, tied her shoelaces, still surprised that the tiny bird could fly with the heavy dress, and ran off after the bird.
Although Cindery was the fastest person on her track team, the little bird had the advantage of a foggy morning, lots of trees, and Cindery wearing a large ball gown that was not made for running in. Soon, Cindery lost track of the bird and her dress. Seeing that the ball was starting, Cindery had no choice but to find her dress the next day.
At the ball, Cindery saw a woman come in wearing a teal dress, the very dress she had made. Angry Cindery started to make her way through the crowd towards the lady but right before she got near her, the prince came forward and asked the lady in the teal dress to dance with him. She said yes. The entire night Cindery tried to talk to the lady but was not able to until she hurried out around midnight. As the lady hurried out of the castle, the little bird who stole Cindery’s dress perched on her shoulder and sang.
Uh oh, that might be the owner of the dress
I was just trying to do my best
She's probably mad
I’d run faster or we might be in distress
Because I can guess
That she is in stress
Because she might not think we will give it back
“Wait, I was kind of wondering where you got the dress. You took it from someone?” Cinderella said, suddenly stopping.
“Ok, ok, I confess. Yes, I borrowed it,” the bird chirped.
“Hey, that's my dress!” Cindery yelled as she caught up. “Why did you have your little bird steal my dress! You thief! Do you have any idea how long it took me to make it!”
“I’m so sorry! I did not know this was your dress. I’ll give it back.” Cinderella said. “I just needed a dress to wear, I had no time, my stepsisters and stepmothers are constantly making me do chores and other work, and I don’t know how to sew. I did not know that the way I would get a dress would be from stealing it from someone else. I am so sorry!”
Cindery paused, her angry face slowly melting away to a bit more of an empathetic, understanding face, before she said “Oh, I did not know that was what was going on. You said you don’t know how to sew?”
“I don’t know how to sew. I don’t even have time to think about learning to sew because my mean stepsisters and stepmother make me do so much work.” Cinderella said sadly.
“Well, you could come to my shop and I could teach you how to sew a dress.” Cindery said.
“Really?” Cinderella asked.
“Yeah, so then you could just make your own dresses.” Cindery responded. “Come to my shop tomorrow and will teach you how to sew.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow,” Cinderella said happily.
The next day:
Cinderella’s stepsisters were going to a spa all day to get ready for the ball thatnight so that meant Cinderella could go to the dress shop all day. Cinderella did her chores as fast as she could (only doing each chore once instead of the five times her stepmother insisted they must be done) and then walked to the dress shop.
At the dress shop, Cindery taught Cinderella sewing when there were no customers. Most people had already bought clothes for the ball so the store was practically empty. Cinderella was a fast learner and soon she was learning more than just a basic stitch. Cinderella and Cindery talked a lot while they worked. Cindery learned about Cinderella’s mean stepmother and stepsisters who made her do all the house work. Cinderella learned about how Cindery had owned the dress shop for many years and loved the work.
Cinderella and Cindery were having so much fun that they forgot about the ball. They didn’t care. Soon Cinderella had to go home but they made plans for her to come back tomorrow.
Cinderella got home just in time. Two minutes later her stepmother and stepsisters came home talking about how the prince had a piece of fabric from the girl with the really fancy, cool, teal dress, and he wanted to find who made it so he could hire them.
For many days, Cinderella went over to the shop as often as she could. She learned many things at the dress shop and became really good friends with Cindery. Cinderella
stopped caring so much about doing her stepmother and stepsister’s chores. Her stepmother and stepsisters did not even see the difference if she did all her tasks in the
house once or five times.
One day when her stepmother and stepsisters were away, she decided she had had enough and did not do their long list of chores at all. When her stepmother and stepsisters came home that night to find the chores not done they were furious. They told Cinderella that she would not be able to leave the house again.
On this same night, the prince was on his way to visit his friend from another kingdom and was running early. So, he decided to ask the locals if they could help him find the maker of the beautiful teal dress that someone wore on the first day of the last royal ball. The prince went to a few houses before he got to Cinderella’s house.
Cinderella’s stepmother answered the door and invited him inside.
“Do you know where the beautiful teal dress that was worn by someone on the first day of the last royal ball was made?” The prince asked.
“Well,...” Cinderella’s stepmother started to say, but Cinderella interrupted,
“I know where it was made, I know where the dress shop is, Your Highness!”
“Cinderella, do not interrupt and go get our guest some tea,” scolded Cinderella’s
stepmother.
“Wait, you know where it is? Can you show me where?” asked the prince.
“Yes, I can!”
“No, she can not. Now Cinderella, go get the tea and get some cookies too,” Cinderella’s stepmother said.
“Come on, let's go!” the prince said, getting up.
“Wait, but Cinderella is not allowed to leave the house,” Cinderella’s stepsisters
yelled.
“Well, then consider it royal orders that she must be allowed to leave the house!”
Cinderella got to ride in the royal carriage and point which way to go. Soon they arrived at Cindery’s dress shop, just as Cindery was closing. Cinderella and the prince walked into Cindery's shop. Cindery looked surprised when she saw the prince and Cinderella.
“What brings you to my shop?” Cindery asked, curtsying.
“Hello, do you have the teal dress that was worn on the first day of the last royal ball?” asked the prince.
“I do.” Cindery said.
Cindery went to the back of the shop and grabbed the dress. Then the prince pulled out the piece of fabric from his pocket and it was the same as the dress. “This is the dress. I recognize it. I would like to hire you to make dresses for me and the royal court.” the prince said.
“Really?! Oh thank you, thank you!” Cindery said, clearly very shocked, “Can Cinderel—”
But the prince cut her off. “Really. Also, I love that dress over there and want five copies of it,” the prince said, pointing to a dress Cinderella had made that was on display.
“Oh, that dress was made by Cinderella.” Cindery said.
The prince looked at them for a second then said, “Well looks like I have no choice but to hire both of you then.”
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