sat down on Anastasiaâs bed.
âThe Duke is?â asked Anastasia groggily, sleepily lifting her cap to reveal her eyes.
âNo, no, no, the PRINCE!â shrieked Lady Tremaine.
Cinderella gasped and her eyes opened even wider.
âThe Prince?â she whispered to herself. Cinderella finally realized that the man she had fallen madly in love with at the ball was the Prince himself. She dropped the tray and everything went crashing to the floor.
Lady Tremaine jumped and quickly turned toward Cinderella. She was disgusted with her. âYou clumsy little fool!â she yelled. âClean that up and then help my daughters dress.â
Cinderellaâs stepsisters saw no reason to get up and dressed if the Prince was already in love with a girl. Drizella let out another big yawn and Anastasia rested her chin in her hand. Neither of them made any attempt to obey their mother. They both pulled Anastasiaâs quilt over their heads and chose to go back to sleep.
Lady Tremaine became even angrier. She ripped the covers off the girls and demanded their attention from the foot of the bed. âNow, you two listen to me,â she insisted. âThere is still a chance that one of you can get him.â
Anastasia and Drizella peeked out of the quilt in unison. âOne of us?â they asked.
Lady Tremaine changed her tone and became quiet and calculating. She leaned over the footboard. âJust listen,â she said, waving her finger at her daughters. âNo one, not even the Prince, knows who that girl is.â
Gus and Jaq were still on stakeout in the candelabra. Gus popped his head out with excitement when he heard what Lady Tremaine had said.
âWe know, we know!â he yelled. âCinderelly, Cinderelly!â Jaq quickly quieted Gus. He pushed him back down under the candle in the candelabra. He didnât want to blow their cover.
âThe glass slipper is their only clue,â continued Lady Tremaine. âThe Duke has been ordered to try it on every girl in the kingdom.â Cinderella was on the floor picking up the pieces from the dropped tray. She locked her eyes on her stepmother and listened intently to every word she said.
âAnd if one can be found whom the slipper fits,â continued Lady Tremaine, âthen by the Kingâs command, that girl shall be the Princeâs bride!â
âBride?â Cinderella whispered. Her body froze. She couldnât believe what she had just heard.
Drizella and Anastasia couldnât believe it, either. They jumped off the bed and scrambled around the room to get ready. They wildly grabbed clothes and threw them at Cinderella. They commanded her to iron, mend, and sew.
Cinderella stood up holding the tray with a dreamy look on her face. She smiled from ear to ear and slowly batted her eyes. She paid no attention to the clothes being thrown at her. She was standing there, but her mind was somewhere else. She was in love and the Prince was in love with herâthat was all she could think about.
After loading Cinderella down with even more clothes and making more requests, the stepsisters finally stopped. They noticed that she was not responding to them.
âWhatâs the matter with her?â asked Anastasia, pointing to Cinderella.
âWake up, stupid!â yelled Drizella.
âWeâve got to get dressed!â growled Anastasia.
Cinderella snapped out of her daydream and finally reacted to her stepsistersâ demands, though she was still in a daze.
âDressed?â said Cinderella, looking down at her own clothes. âOh, yes, well, we must get dressed.â She handed the pile of clothes back to Anastasia and turned away from her. She mumbled to herself about getting dressed as she walked out of the room.
A nastasia and Drizella were shocked by Cinderellaâs actions. There were also furious and demanded that their mother do something. But Lady Tremaine once again shushed
Sophia Johnson
Kimberly Claire
Payge Galvin, Meg Chance
Greg Gutfeld
Richard Newsome
T. Michael Martin
Stephanie Laurens, Victoria Alexander, Rachel Gibson
Patricia Wentworth
Terry Deary
John Julius Norwich