er was set to do
all the drudgery of the house, to attend the kitchen fire, and had
naught to sleep on but the heap of cinders raked out in the scullery;
and that is why they called her Cinder-Maid. And no one took pity on
her and she would go and weep at her mother's grave where she had
planted a hazel tree, under which she sat.

You can imagine how excited they all were when they heard the King's
proclamation called out by the herald. "What shall we wear, mother;
what shall we wear?" cried out the two daughters, and they all began
talking about which dress should suit the one and what dress should
suit the other, but when the father suggested that Cinder-Maid should
also have a dress they all cried out: "What, Cinder-Maid going to the
King's Ball; why, look at her, she would only disgrace us all." And
so her father held his peace.

Now when the night came for the Royal Ball Cinder-Maid had to help the
two sisters to dress in their fine dresses and saw them drive off in
the carriage with her father and their mother. But she went to her own
mother's grave and sat beneath the hazel tree and wept and cried out:

"Tree o'mine, O tree o'me,
With my tears I've watered thee;
Make me a lady fair to see,
Dress me as splendid as can be."

And with that the little bird on the tree called out to her,

"Cinder-Maid, Cinder-Maid, shake the tree,
Open the first nut that you see."

So Cinder-Maid shook the tree and the first nut that fell she took up
and opened, and what do you think she saw?--a beautiful silk dress
blue as the heavens, all embroidered with stars, and two little lovely
shoon made of shining copper. And when she had dressed herself the
hazel tree opened and from it came a coach all made of copper with
four milk-white horses, with coachman and footmen all complete. And as
she drove away the little bird called out to her:

"Be home, be home ere mid-o'night
Or else again you'll be a fright."

When Cinder-Maid entered the ball-room she was the loveliest of all
the ladies and the Prince, who had been dancing with her step-sisters,
would only dance with her. But as it came towards midnight Cinder-Maid
remembered what the little bird had told her and slipped away to her
carriage. And when the Prince missed her he went to the guards at the
Palace door and told them to follow the carriage. But Cinder-Maid when
she saw this, called out:

"Mist behind and light before,
Guide m