Cinderella
Once upon a time a girl in rags,
Walked to the market carrying bags.
Cinderella worked by her evil stepmother,
And her greedy, priding stepsisters.
One time all the ladies were invited,
To the royal ball so they were excited.
Cinderella’s family was elated,
So they dressed in shimmering gowns blue and red.
They left for the ball on a nice horse ride,
Cinderella remained at home and cried,
“Oh Lord, why can’t I go to the ball?
Like the other ladies and all?”
Suddenly a flash of light came and when it disappeared,
A woman in a royal gown appeared.
With a wand in her hand she told,
“I am your fairy godmother who’s very old,
Now, you can go to the ball, my dear
But you must have something better to wear!”
With a swish of her wand and a note of her song,
Cinderella’s rags turned into a gown before long!
Finished with glass slippers and a tiara on her head,
Her fairy godmother now said,
“Now fetch me a pumpkin, my dear!
And watch closely here!”
Six mice turned into horses and the pumpkin into a carriage,
A rat into the driver, all set for the prince’s marriage!
Cinderella got into the carriage with a new light,
Her fairy godmother said, “You must return when the clock strikes midnight.”
At the ball, on Cinderella Prince Charming’s eyes fell,
Such beauty with words he couldn’t tell,
They danced all night long,
To the royal orchestra’s sweet song!
Suddenly, the clock struck midnight, the start of a new day,
Cinderella turned and ran away!
The gown turned back to the rags she wore,
All worn and torn just like before.
One of her glass slippers she left behind
For Prince Charming, which he did find.
And he exclaimed, “Soldiers, find the owner of this slipper!
And I shall of course marry her.”
The soldiers searched the whole town
For the lady whom they were going to crown.
And when they reached Cinderella’s home,
Where the glass slipper was seen.
It didn’t fit either stepsisters’ feet,
But for Cinderella’s feet it fitted very neat.
Escorted to the royal palace later,
Cinderella and the prince lived happily ever after!
By Tanvi Arunkumar, Grade 4, Tamilnadu, India. She adds:
“At home, I speak Tamil and English. My family and school are the things that are really important to me. And my all time favourite hobby is swimming (Outdoors) and writingpoems. My long-term vision is to become an astronaut and discover more interesting
solar systems.”
