to him, "The
unknown lady has slipped away, and I think she must have sprung into the
pear-tree." The father ordered an axe to be brought, and they cut down
the tree, but found no one upon it. And when they came back into the
kitchen, there lay Cinderella in the ashes as usual; for she had slipped
down on the other side of the tree, and carried her beautiful clothes
back to the bird at the hazel-tree, and then put on her little old
frock.

The third day, when her father and mother and sisters were gone, she
went again into the garden, and said--

"Shake, shake, hazel-tree, gold and silver over me!"

Then her kind friend the bird brought a dress still finer than the
former one, and slippers which were all of gold; and the king's son
danced with her alone, and when any one else asked her to dance, he
said, "This lady is my partner." Now when night came she wanted to go
home; and the king's son would go with her, but she managed to slip away
from him, though in such a hurry that she dropped her left golden
slipper upon the stairs.

So the prince took the shoe, and went the next day to the king, his
father, and said, "I will take for my wife the lady that this golden
shoe fits."

Then both the sisters were overjoyed to hear this; for they had
beautiful feet, and had no doubt that they could wear the golden
slipper. The eldest went first into the room where the slipper was, and
wanted to try it on, and the mother stood by. But her big toe could not
go into it, and the shoe was altogether much too small for her. Then the
mother said, "Never mind, cut it off. When you are queen you will not
care about toes; you will not want to go on foot." So the silly girl cut
her big toe off, and squeezed the shoe on, and went to the king's son.
Then he took her for his bride, and rode away with her.

But on their way home they had to pass by the hazel-tree that Cinderella
had planted, and there sat a little dove on the branch, singing--

"Back again! back again! look to the shoe!
The shoe is too small, and not made for you!
Prince! prince! look again for thy bride,
For she's not the true one that sits by thy side."

Then the prince looked at her foot, and saw by the blood that streamed
from it what a trick she had played him. So he brought the false bride
back to her home, and said, "This is not the right bride; let the other
sister try and put on the slipper." Then she went into the room and got
her foot into the sho