Ella: Based on Perrault's Cendrillon

Ella by: Gabriella Kedavra

                   Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there lived a little girl by the name of Ella.  She had long, blonde hair and light, blue eyes.  She was a pretty little girl with kind and petite features.  She lived with her father, for, her mother died when the girl was young.  Her father loved her dearly and taught her many things, one thing in particular, how to play the piano.  She spent many days sitting at the piano with her father learning and memorizing each and every note.  Her name was Ella.

When Ella was eight, her father remarried.  Although Ella’s stepmother was stern, she seemed to not mind Ella.  Her stepmother was a widow with two daughters about Ella’s age.  The eldest was Elodie, a dark haired, dark eyed girl who was rather plump with a small, button nose.  The youngest of the three was a coppery red haired girl with forest green eyes.  Her name was Charlotte and she was the nicer of the stepsisters as well as the smallest.  She was kinder to Ella than Elodie, who was rude and sometimes cruel when Ella’s father and Lady Harriette were not around.  Together, the five of them seemed to be a happy family. 

Ella’s father was fairly wealthy and their home was very nice.  Ella’s favorite room was the ballroom, which was beautiful in every way.  It had high, vaulted ceilings and beautiful marble floors that shined brightly in the morning sun.  The walls were a perfect white that reflected the light from the chandelier and made the reflections appear to be dancing.  The grand piano sat at the front of the ballroom and the notes seemed to float around the room gracefully.  Ella’s father tried many times to teach Elodie and Charlotte the royal notes of the piano, with little success.  Elodie did not have the patience to learn to play and poor Charlotte lacked the discipline needed to be successful.

When Ella was twelve, her father became ill.  The piano was Ella’s only escape from the pains of seeing her father so ill.  A few weeks after Ella’s thirteenth birthday, her father died.  Ella’s life changed forever.  Lady Harriette had the piano sent to the attic; she hated the noise it made throughout the house.  Much of Ella’s father’s things went with the piano, followed by Ella.  Lady Harriette’s true disgrace for Ella became real and Ella was treated like a maid of the house.  She was forced to claim the attic as her bedroom and few nice things as hers.  She made the best of the situation because her father always taught her that sometimes you have to bear pain in order to have good fortune in the end. 

Ella became a maid of the house, doing things that she had never done while her father was alive.  She was made to clean the house, almost daily, while waiting on her stepfamily.  She had to wash and press all the clothes which her stepsisters and stepmother always had the best of while Ella wore only rags.  Her eldest stepsister and stepmother called her Cinderella because she was often covered in ashes from the fireplace when she cleaned the hearths.  Only Charlotte took pity on her and called her Ella.  Charlotte even gave Ella some of her clothes when she outgrew them or pieces of her furniture when she grew tired of them.  Because of Charlotte, Ella was able to get some of her nice things from her room and some of her father’s things as well.

Ella’s only way of escape became the afternoon visits to her godmother’s home next door while her stepfamily spent the afternoon in town.  She learned much about gardening and became a natural.  She was even allowed to play the piano at her godmother’s home, although the piano did not sound as good as her father’s; it was old and had not been played in some time.  Some days, while her stepfamily was out, Ella would dust off her father’s old piano and play for awhile, just to bring back the memories.

Although the attic was nothing compared to her former bedroom, she made it cozy and home.  An old bed that had been in the attic for years was freshened with a good scrubbing, a fresh coat of paint, and fresh linens.  The linens on the bed were given to Ella by Charlotte while the quilt was painstakingly made by Ella.  She also made use of an end table for a nightstand and an old trunk to keep her books and few pictures of her and her father.  The piano sat at the far end of the attic while a quaint armoire sat on one wall, housing Ella’s ragged clothes.  An oil lamp was the only source of light for Ella, except for the window overlooking the pond during the day.  Ella would sit up late some nights by the window, reading her books by the light of a candle and the moon.  In the early mornings, before her stepfamily awoke with the day’s chores, Ella would look out her window out over the pond and listen to the birds singing and welcoming the day.  The early mornings would be times when she would sketch the birds or the scenery of the pond before having to work that day.  When her stepfamily awoke it was “Cinderella!  Cinderella!  Do this or do that!”  Ella would never complain but know that one day she would be free from all of this, she just didn’t know when.

One clear autumn morning, Ella awoke to the feeling that a change was to take place that day.  She stepped out of bed, careful to not make a sound to wake the sleeping Lady Harriette below.  She carefully made her bed, changed into her work clothes and took her seat by the window.  Outside the sky was a clear blue, not a cloud in site.  The birds happily chirped from neighboring trees and far away a dove softly cooed.  At the pond, a crane waded in the glistening, blue-green water that reflected the sky and overhead a flock of ducks quietly flew by.  The breeze blew gently and coolly, whispering in the leaves that were just beginning to fall.  A squirrel scurried to the window as Ella sat an acorn on the windowsill.  The squirrel quickly scurried off with the acorn in his mouth to a neighboring tree.  Ella watched as he disappeared in a small hole within the tree.  She watched a few more minutes as the early morning animals began their day and the late night animals ended theirs.

Ella quietly headed downstairs and began making breakfast for her stepfamily.  The unmistakable smells of ham and eggs filled the large home and within a few minutes, Elodie, Charlotte, and Lady Harriette all arrived in their nightgowns for breakfast.  As Ella served them, she noted all the chores that each one assigned for the day.  From Lady Harriette: wash the floors, clean the curtains, dust the furniture, water the garden, wash the clothes, and clean the hearth.  From Elodie: clean her room, press her clothes, feed her cat, fix her hair, shine her shoes, and make her bed.  From Charlotte: press her clothes, fix her hair, and bathe her puppy.  While the sisters and Lady Harriette were eating, Ella began her list of chores.  She started with gathering the laundry and making the beds.  She then watered the garden; fed Elodie’s cat, Ginger; bathed Charlotte’s puppy, Amelia; washed the clothes; cleaned the hearth; and finished her list by mid afternoon.  A half hour before the sisters and Lady Harriette left for town, a bell rang throughout the house.  Ella answered the door.  Standing there was a messenger from the King with a letter in his hand.  He handed the letter to Ella, instructing her to give it to the lady of the house.  Ella took the letter to Lady Harriette and began clearing the kitchen from the day’s dishes.

Lady Harriette read the letter aloud and Elodie and Charlotte shrieked for joy as the letter called for all young ladies of the land to come to a ball held at the castle by the Prince.  Elodie and Charlotte immediately began listing off all of the things they would need for the ball.  Lady Harriette called Ella into the room and mockingly asked, “Cinderella, we have been invited by the King to attend a ball held by the Prince.  Would you like to go?”

“No, Lady Harriette, for I have nothing nice to wear to a ball,” replied Ella sadly.  With that, Elodie, Charlotte, and Lady Harriette left to go shopping for the upcoming ball, leaving Ella behind to finish the cleaning and to dream about what it would be like to go to the ball.

.....

That night, the sisters and Lady Harriette came back with several exquisite items they had gotten from the many stores they visited today.  Elodie bought a beautiful turquoise dress that had been made in Paris that was long, flowing, and complete with a pair of turquoise slippers with a diamond jewel on top.  She also bought a beautiful diamond and turquoise necklace and earrings to go with the dress.  Charlotte bought an elegant olive-colored dress that had also been made in Paris that was long and draping.  A pair of olive slippers topped with a diamond jewel completed the dress.  A diamond necklace and diamond earrings finished the look.  Lady Harriette had a plum-colored dress that was simple yet expensive for she had to keep up appearances at the ball. 

The day of the ball, Cinderella spent the whole day dressing Elodie and Charlotte, fixing their hair, making sure their make-up was perfect, and making sure everything was perfect.  They trusted Ella’s advice because she had very good taste for fashion.  Finally, the time came for the sisters to leave for the ball.  The coach carried Ella’s stepfamily away, leaving her behind, watching from the doorstep of the house.  It was all too much for poor Ella and she ran to the fountain, tears streaming down her face.  She did not even hear when her godmother came beside her and sat down.

“Whatever is the matter, my dear?  Elodie and Charlotte left for the ball, I see, and you were left behind,” Ella’s godmother tried to console Ella.  As the tears slowly disappeared, Ella’s godmother said the strangest thing, “Why don’t you go to the ball, dear, all the young ladies of the land were invited?”  Ella stared in wonder at her godmother before whimpering, “But I have nothing to wear but these rags, Godmother.”  With that, Godmother goes to her garden and picks out the biggest, most beautiful pumpkin.  With a touch of her hand, the pumpkin turns into a beautiful, white coach even her stepfamily would be in awe over.  Godmother then sees a group of mice scurrying from a bush and immediately turns them into six gorgeous horses that would make the king’s horses look trifling.  Godmother then turns a lizard into a coachman and six chickens into footmen.  Turning to Ella, she had a glimmer in her eye, making Ella wonder what would happen next.  Within a blink of an eye, Ella’s rags had been turned into the most gorgeous gown that had ever been seen, complete with a pair of glass slippers and a diamond tiara.  A diamond necklace and diamond chandelier earrings shimmered in the moonlight.  One of the footmen helped her into the coach and Godmother came to the window.  Ella thanked her godmother many times then waited for the carriage to take off.  Godmother warned Ella to be sure and be home by midnight because at midnight, everything would go back to the way it was, the horses would become mice again, the coachman would be a lizard, the footmen would be chickens, the carriage would be a pumpkin, and Ella’s magnificent dress would turn back into rags.  Ella promised she would be back by the stroke of twelve and with that, the carriage began making its way towards that castle and the royal ball.

…..

The castle was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.  It sat atop a hill and a winding road marked the path.  At the entrance of the castle, footmen stood ready to open carriage doors and welcome the guests into the castle.  Guards stood still as stone on either side of the enormous castle doors.  Ella was led into a grand foyer where already crowds of guests were standing and talking with one another.  To the right was a huge staircase that spiraled up to the upper floors.  To the left of her and around the staircase stood crowds of people laughing and enjoying the ball watching the people dancing in the open ballroom.  Ella had never been so happy and excited in her life.  She enjoyed the evening, dancing with people, conversing with others but careful not to reveal her true identity, meeting new people, and, above all, feeling important.  No one knew who she was and her stepfamily did not even recognize her she was dressed so beautifully.

Soon, she caught the eye of the most important person at the ball, the Prince.  She danced with the Prince and let time slip away before she knew it.  She had just finished another dance with the Prince when the elegant grandfather clock began chiming twelve.  She rushed away from the castle as fast as she could, leaving behind a glass slipper that the Prince picked up as he watched her ride away.  As the last bell chimed twelve, Ella managed to make it to her home without being seen.  Then, in a flash of light, everything went back to the way it was, all but the one glass slipper that still remained on her foot.

She told Godmother all about her night at the ball and how much she enjoyed every minute of it.  She also told Godmother how much she wished the night had never ended.  As Ella walked back to her home from her godmother’s home, her stepfamily rode up in their carriage.  Ella greeted them and asked them how it went at the ball.  Elodie and Charlotte go on and on about the girl that no one seemed to know and how the Prince had fallen in love with her.  They also tell of how the Prince vowed to find and marry the girl in which the glass slipper belonged to.  Ella managed to hide her emotions but in her heart she was bursting with joy.  She helped Elodie and Charlotte out of their gowns and finished all of the remaining chores before she went upstairs.  She sat at the window and looked out over the pond and the moon’s reflection.  By the light of the candle, Ella’s eyes were like sparkling jewels as she remembered the ball. 

When she awoke the next morning, she heard voices coming from downstairs.  When she looked out the window, she saw what all the commotion was about.  The Prince had sent the Duke, an elderly but stately gentleman, door to door to search for the owner of the glass slipper.  Ella rushed to put her clothes on but as she tried to open the door, it would not budge; she was locked inside!  She heard loud voices coming from downstairs as her stepsisters tried unsuccessfully to fit into the glass slipper.  Elodie could barely get her toes inside the slipper while Charlotte’s foot was too long to go inside the slipper.  Ella felt heartbroken as she realized that unless she was able to get downstairs, she would not be able to prove to everyone that she was the owner of the slipper.  All of a sudden, the door to her room opened wide and her godmother stood in the doorway.

“Well, my dear, you better hurry before the Duke has gone!” her godmother said.  Ella quickly hugged and thanked her godmother and hurried down the stairs as fast as she could.  She made it to the bottom of the staircase just before Lady Harriette closed the door.

“Let me try on the slipper, please, sir!” cried Ella.  Elodie and Charlotte laughed at this but the Duke, seeing she was beautiful even in her ragged clothes, came back inside to let her try on the slipper.  As he was making his way towards Ella, Lady Harriette tripped the Duke with the end of her cane.  The glass slipper fell and shattered into pieces.  The Duke let out a horrible cry as he tried to pick the pieces up off the floor.  But Ella had the other slipper and pulled it gently out of her apron pocket.  Of course, the slipper was a perfect fit.  Elodie and Charlotte stared at her in sheer amazement; Elodie even fainted.  Lady Harriette’s face showed her anger but nothing could deny that Ella was the owner of the glass slipper.  The Duke immediately took her to the castle to see the Prince.

Within the next few weeks, Ella and the Prince are happily married.  Ella’s stepfamily came to the castle after the wedding and begged Ella to forgive them.  Ella accepts their apologies, being of kind nature, and gave them a place to stay in the castle. 

Ella had her father’s things, in particular the piano, moved to the castle.  The piano was placed in the ballroom and Ella played beautifully on it every day.  Ella’s home was given to an orphanage and her stepfamily tried to make up for their cruelness by volunteering at the orphanage and donating much of their favorite items for the orphanage. 

Ella and the Prince lived a long and happy life together in the castle but Ella never forgot what her father told her; she went through the pain and made it to the good fortune at the end.

And everyone lived happily, ever after.

The End



© Gabriella Kedavra 2012