The next morning, she awoke to loud shouts and screams.
“Cinderella!” screeched the eldest stepsister.
“Cinderellaaa!” whined the youngest.
Ella was again Cinderella – a slave to her stepfamily.
She swept the floors with the corn broom, washed the walls with the sponge, pruned the gardens with the cutters, and prepared breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea. The ladies sat out in the rose garden on white chairs, hidden under an excessively frilly umbrella.
Cinderella was called over.
“Bring down that gorgeous dress my dear husband bought,” her stepmother commanded shrewdly.
“The pink gown?” Cinderella asked.
“Correct. Bring it down at once,” she commanded again.
“Wrap it up in that pretty box!” the eldest quipped with a sly grin at her sister.
“With the WHITE ribbon on top!” the two stepsisters shouted in unison. They fell into a fit of laughter as their wicked mother sipped her tea indifferently.
She swept the floors with the corn broom, washed the walls with the sponge, pruned the gardens with the cutters, and prepared breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea. The ladies sat out in the rose garden on white chairs, hidden under an excessively frilly umbrella.