Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
...They took her beautiful clothes away from her, dressed her in an old gray smock, and gave her wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess! How decked out she is!" they shouted and laughed as they led her into the kitchen.
There she had to do hard work from morning until evening, get up before daybreak, carry water, make the fires, cook, and wash. Besides this, the sisters did everything imaginable to hurt her. They made fun of her, scattered peas and lentils into the ashes for her, so that she had to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked herself weary, there was no bed for her. Instead she had to sleep by the hearth in the ashes.
And because she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella.
"Beautiful dresses," said the one.
"Pearls and jewels," said the other.
"And you, Cinderella," he said, "what do you want?"
"Father, break off for me the first twig that brushes against your hat on your way home."
So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls, and jewels for his two stepdaughters. On his way home, as he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the twig and took it with him. Arriving home, he gave his stepdaughters the things that they had asked for, and he gave Cinderella the twig from the hazel bush.
Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave, and planted the branch on it, and she wept so much that her tears fell upon it and watered it. It grew and became a beautiful tree.
Cinderella went to this tree three times every day, and beneath it she wept and prayed. A white bird came to the tree every time, and whenever she expressed a wish, the bird would throw down to her what she had wished for.
Now it happened that the king proclaimed a festival that was to last three days. All the beautiful young girls in the land were invited, so that his son could select a bride for himself. When the two stepsisters heard that they too had been invited, they were in high spirits.
They called Cinderella, saying, "Comb our hair for us. Brush our shoes and fasten our buckles. We are going to the festival at the king's castle."
Cinderella obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to go to the dance with them. She begged her stepmother to allow her to go.
"You, Cinderella?" she said. "You, all covered with dust and dirt, and you want to go to the festival?. You have neither clothes nor shoes, and yet you want to dance!"
However, because Cinderella kept asking, the stepmother finally said, "I have scattered a bowl of lentils into the ashes for you. If you can pick them out again in two hours, then you may go with us."
The girl went through the back door into the garden, and called out, "You tame pigeons, you turtledoves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to gather:
The good ones go into the pot,The bad ones go into your crop."
Two white pigeons came in through the kitchen window, and then the turtledoves, and finally all the birds beneath the sky came whirring and swarming in, and lit around the ashes. The pigeons nodded their heads and began to pick, pick, pick, pick. And the others also began to pick, pick, pick, pick. They gathered all the good grains into the bowl. Hardly one hour had passed before they were finished, and they all flew out again.
The girl took the bowl to her stepmother, and was happy, thinking that now she would be allowed to go to the festival with them.
But the stepmother said, "No, Cinderella, you have no clothes, and you don't know how to dance. Everyone would only laugh at you."
Cinderella went to her mother's grave beneath the hazel tree, and cried out:
Shake and quiver, little tree,Throw gold and silver down to me.
Then the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers embroidered with silk and silver. She quickly put on the dress and went to the festival.
...We all know how the rest of the story goes, so I will leave it at that.
This lady was pure joy to work on. It took me two weeks...she is truly a one of a kind creation. I put so much heart and soul into her, I have found it impossible for me to put a price on her. For this reason, I have decided to put her up auction style in our Hyena Cart shop. We will let you decide her price.
She comes with her full peasant ensemble consisting of chemise, brown lace up overdress, brown felt shoes, a white apron and knit head scarf...that also doubles as a shawl. She also has a tin bucket and a small hand knit cotton was rag to do her chores with.
She has two friends, white birds with glass beads for eyes. They are made from wool felt and stuffed with pure wool.
Her gorgeous ball gown is made from satin fabric with pure silk freestyle stitched around the bodice. It is embellished with silk flowers and glass beads. The ensemble also has hand crocheted shoes as well as a super luxurious hand knit cape that ties at the neck both are embellished with glass beads. She also has a head band made from braided wool and embellished with silk flowers and yes, glass beads.
Her auction will go live on Friday at 12:00 noon (central US time) and carry thru to Monday at 12:00 noon (central US time) I will post a direct link to it all on Friday.
