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nce upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella and she

had two ugly stepsisters who were very unkind and made her do all the hard work. She had to sweep the floors, do all the dishes, while they dressed up in fine clothes and went to lots of parties. One day, a special invitation arrived at Cinderellas house. It was from the royal palace. The kings only son was a truly handsome prince was going to have a grand ball and three girls were invited to come. Cinderella knew she wouldnt be allowed to go to the ball but the ugly sisters, they were excited. They couldnt stop talking about the grand ball. When the day of the ball came, poor Cinderella had to rush about upstairs and downstairs. She lots of work! From fixed their hair in fancy waves and curls to helping them put on their expensive new dresses. As soon as they had gone, Cinderella sat down by the fire and she said. Oh I wish I could go to the ball! The next moment, standing beside her was a lovely old lady with a silver wand in here hand. I am your fairy godmother and you shall go to the ball. But first you must go into the garden and pick a golden pumpkin, then bring me six mice from the mousetraps, a whiskered rat from the rat trap, and six lizards. So Cinderella fetched all the things the fairy godmother told her to. The fairy godmother touched them with her wand and the pumpkin became a golden coach, the mice became six grey horses, the rat became a coachman with the most enormous moustache, and the lizards became men, then the fairy godmother touched Cinderella with the wand and her old dress became a golden dress sparkling with jewels while on her feet was the prettiest pair of glass slippers ever seen. Remember, said the fairy godmother you must leave the ball before the clock strikes twelve because at midnight the magic ends. Thank you fairy godmother said Cinderella and she climbed into the coach. When Cinderella arrived at the ball she looked so gorgeous that everyone wondered who she was! The Prince of course asked here to dance with him and they danced all evening. The prince pulled Cinderella close to himself, looked deep into her eyes and said, "I..." Cinderellas eyes went wide with horror as prince's final words were drowned by the clock tower bell, first of the twelve. She pulled herself away from the prince and ran away. She ran, heart pounding so loudly that she could neither hear the pleas of the prince as he ran after her nor the queen ordering guards to restrain the prince. By third bell she could feel herself turning back to the way she was, in her torn and tattered dress. She had to be out of castle before the twelfth one,

else... no... ramifications were too horrific to even think about. As fifth bell rang she threw away her tiara that turned to grass. She just wanted to get away from the prince before he knew who she really was, yet at same time wishing the prince would follow her and find out who she was and still love her. By the time final bell rang she was well out of palace. Then there was Cinderella in her old dress. The golden pumpkin lay in her feet. And scampering down off down the road were six grey mice, a whiskered rat and six green lizards.. So Cinderella had to walk home and by the time the ugly sisters returned home was sitting quietly by the fire. She fell on her knees, buried her face in her hands and cried herself to sleep under the open moonlit sky. How she wished for the prince to follow her. Wasn't it true love she saw in his eyes? Then why? The prince ran after Cinderella, guards running in from all directions to hold him back. But the prince was too strong for them to hold. He brushed them all aside and ran towards the palace gates. But the moment he stepped into the moonlight, he fell on all fours. His entire body seemed to be locked in a fatal struggle with itself. He found it hard to breathe. His body shivered as his hands shrivelled up. Something tore at the flesh at the back of his hands. Thick black hair broke through all over his body like needles. Unable to bear the pain, he let out a cry. A bloodcurdling howl echoed across the kingdom. That was the last anyone ever saw or heard of the handsome young prince. Soon word spread that the prince was sick. Some mentioned love sick while others mentioned a curse. Every day a new rumour, a new theory. But no one knew the complete truth, except for the Queen. Long time ago when the Queen was a young princess locked away in the tallest tower guarded by a dragon, it was the King, a knight in shining amour, who had rescued her. As the then young knight slay the dragon it let out a cry of anguish that shook the young knight to the core. By slaying the dragon, when just rescuing the princess would have done, the knight had brought upon himself a curse. The king couldn't have a heir to his throne. Years passed and one day a leprechaun came to their palace, offering to reverse the curse in lieu of anything he asked for. The king agreed. And the day queen gave birth to the young prince the leprechaun returned. And in lieu of his services he asked for the prince himself. The king and queen were shocked. In a fit of mad rage, one of king's loyal soldiers cut the leprechaun's head off. The severed head laughed as it came to rest near queen's feet, rose up to her ear and said something that made the queen scream in horror and faint. He had cursed the prince and only queen knew what it was. The leprechaun had cursed the prince to turn into a werewolf on the night he turned eighteen, this denying the king heir to his throne and kingdom. The king fell sick and soon passed away. It was after his funeral that queen found a glimmer of hope in her sister's words. She too was queen of a kingdom not so far away. She told her story of how the same leprechaun had stolen her son too and it was a chance discovery

of his name, Rumpeltstiltskin, which saved her child. She also told her about the fairy godmother who could help her find a happily ever after for the infant prince.

And it was the fairy godmother who told the queen of only way to break the curse. If somehow the Prince could find his true love and kiss her on his 18th birthday, the curse would be broken. That was the reason queen had held a dance ball and invited all the maidens across all the lands. And that was the reason the fairy godmother had played her part in making sure Cinderella too went to the ball. But clock struck twelve before the prince could profess his love and kiss Cinderella. "Don't lose heart, for there is where love resides. And as long as there is love, there is hope." The late king's words echoed in the queen's head as she cast eyes on her sleeping son, stroking his hair. He was supposed to turn fully into a werewolf, but he hadn't. She could still feel the warmth of his heart when she rested her hand on his chest. With every beat his heart spread out an ephemeral wave of hope, and love. "Yes, hope is not lost, not yet..." and with those words the queen held the prince close to her and rocked him as she sang a lullaby. Queen offered great wealth and riches to anyone willing to marry the prince. But only few dared come forward as everyone came to know of prince's curse. And the ones who did try to blind their fear with greed in their eyes, screamed and bolted at the very sight of "The Beast", as the prince had come to be known. Cinderellas step-sisters felt it was a perfect opportunity. They told Cinderella about the prince, aware of her affections for him. They knew she would never think twice about marrying the prince, even if a beast. This way they could kill two birds with one stone. By getting Cinderella married to an abomination and to get all the riches that the queen promised. But there was something they hadn't foreseen. When Cinderella saw the prince she didn't scream or run away but started to cry. The prince too didn't gnarl or roar, but let out a sigh. He wobbled across the room towards Cinderella. He stretched out his paw and wiped the tears off her face. Then something magical happened. The hair and the claws receded, palm opened up. Cinderella placed her hand on his shoulder and kissed him. The back straightened and so did the knees, shoulders squared up again and that was it. The curse refused to give in more than that. But it didn't matter to them. That night Cinderella married her "Beast" prince who grew more charming as their love grew. Their love inspired many ballads and tales, "Beauty and the Beast" being the most popular, though inaccurate, of all. Since then, Cinderella took great care of her prince charming.

Finally, the curse was fully broken on prince's 21st birthday and they both lived happily ever after