Once upon a time there lived an unhappy young girl.
Her mother was dead and her father had married a widow with two daughters. Her
stepmother didn't like her one little bit. All her kind thoughts and loving
touches were for her own daughters. Nothing was too good for them – dresses,
shoes, delicious food, soft beds, and every home comfort.
(Había una vez una joven chica infeliz. Su madre había muerto y su padre se había casado con una viuda que tenía dos hijas. Su madrastra la odiaba. Todas sus buenas palabras y sus gestos cariñosos iban dirigidos a sus hijas. Nada era bueno para ellas: ni los vestidos, ni los zapatos, ni la comida deliciosa, ni siquiera su confortable casa.)
But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters’ hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing but scraps. No rest and no comfort. She had to work hard all day. Only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That’s why everybody called her Cinderella.
But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters’ hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing but scraps. No rest and no comfort. She had to work hard all day. Only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That’s why everybody called her Cinderella.
(Pero para la pobre y triste chica no había nada. Ni vestidos, sólo los que sus hermanastras le cedían, ni platos bonitos, sólo los trozos. Y lo peor, ni descanso ni comodidad. Tenía que tyrabajar todo el día. Sólo por la noche le permitían sentarse al fuego diurante un rato, cerca de las cenizas. Y por eso todo el mundo la llamaba Cenicienta.)
Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the cat. The cat said, "Miaow", which really meant, "Cheer up! You have something neither of your stepsisters has and that is beauty." It was quite true. Cinderella, even dressed in old rags, was a lovely girl. While her stepsisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly and always would be.
Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the cat. The cat said, "Miaow", which really meant, "Cheer up! You have something neither of your stepsisters has and that is beauty." It was quite true. Cinderella, even dressed in old rags, was a lovely girl. While her stepsisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly and always would be.
