Cinderella Junior Novelization (3 page)

B
ack at the chateau, Drizella and Anastasia were in the middle of their music lesson. They wore fancy dresses and had giant bows in their hair. Though they were neat and primped, they were awkward and obnoxious. Drizella sang while Anastasia played the flute. Both girls were completely off-key. Lady Tremaine happily accompanied her tone-deaf daughters on a large black grand piano.

All through the lesson, the girls tried to outdo each other. With every note, Drizella sang louder and more off-key as Anastasia blew harder into her flute.

Lucifer sat on a velvet bench in the same room. He was so pained by the horrific noise that he covered his ears with his paws. Still miserable, he tried hiding under a big, fluffy red pillow. Finally, he couldn't take the noise any longer. He jumped off the bench and ran out, slamming the door behind him. He shook his head and tried to recover. Then he walked toward the stairs and heard someone singing the same song the sisters were singing…but who could it be?

It was Cinderella—and her voice was beautiful. She was at the bottom of the staircase scrubbing the black-and-green marble floors in the grand entrance. She dipped her rag into a bubble-filled washbasin. A giant bubble rose and landed on her finger. She looked at her reflection in the bubble, fluffed her hair, and continued to sing sweetly as she scrubbed the entire floor.

Instead of enjoying the sound of Cinderella's lovely voice, Lucifer saw an opportunity to wreak havoc. He spotted a huge pile of dirt in a dustpan. He then glared at Cinderella.

After stepping in the pile of dirt, Lucifer paraded around on Cinderella's sparkling clean floor. Then he resumed his position on the stairs.

The cat smugly looked up at Cinderella.

Cinderella caught his eye. She saw him surrounded by dirty paw prints.

“Oh, Lucifer!” she cried. Then she turned around and saw the filthy floor—the floor she had just scrubbed on her hands and knees. It was covered with paw prints. “You mean old thing!” she yelled. She went after him with her broom. “I'm just going to have to teach you a lesson—”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

“Open in the name of the King!” shouted a man from outside.

Jaq and Gus curiously peeked out of a mouse hole as Cinderella opened the door.

“An urgent message from His Imperial Majesty,” said the messenger, handing Cinderella a letter. She thanked him, curtsied politely, and shut the door. The mice ran toward her for a closer look.

“Uh, what's it say?” asked Gus.

“I don't know,” replied Cinderella. She examined the letter, then looked upstairs as the music started again. “He says it's urgent.”

Cinderella and the mice winced as they heard Anastasia and Drizella hit an exceptionally bad note. “Maybe I should interrupt the…‘music lesson'?” she said, giggling. The mice giggled, too, and watched Cinderella head up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Drizella continued to get every note wrong. Anastasia played her flute and got her finger stuck in one of the holes. She tried to wiggle it out while still playing and ended up hitting Drizella under her chin. Drizella was furious. She grabbed the flute and hit Anastasia over the head with it. Anastasia hit her back, and a fight ensued.

“Girls, girls!” Lady Tremaine admonished. She stopped playing the piano and waved a finger at her daughters. “Remember, above all…self-control.”

Cinderella knocked on the door and entered the grand room. Lady Tremaine was furious. She stood up from her piano bench. Her dress was formal and she was wearing a big green brooch, but her evil eyes were her most noticeable accessory.

“Cinderella, I warned you never to interrupt our—” she began testily. “But this just arrived from the palace,” interjected Cinderella, holding up the letter.

“From the palace?” screamed the stepsisters. They ran to Cinderella, snatched the envelope from her hand, and ripped it open. But Lady Tremaine calmly took it from them. Her eyes lit up as she began to read the letter out loud. There was going to be a ball in honor of the Prince, and every eligible maiden in the kingdom was required to attend.

“A ball!” cheered the stepsisters. They squirmed with excitement and batted their eyelashes.

Cinderella was equally excited. “Why, that means I can go, too!” she exclaimed. Anastasia and Drizella laughed. There they stood in their fine gowns while Cinderella wore dirty and tattered clothes, holding a broom in her hand. They mocked Cinderella for her ridiculous idea, but Cinderella held her head high. She stood proudly and walked deeper into the room to confront the ladies.

“I'm still a member of the family,” she said, trying to assert herself.

Gus and Jaq had been watching through a mouse hole the whole time. They were proud of Cinderella for standing up for herself.

Lady Tremaine hadn't been expecting her stepdaughter's bold statement. The wheels in her scheming brain turned as she thought of a response. She had a plan.

“Well, I see no reason why you can't go…,” began Lady Tremaine. The stepsisters were shocked. “If you get all your work done.”

“Oh, I will…I promise!” said Cinderella joyously.

“And if you can find something suitable to wear,” finished Lady Tremaine.

“I'm sure I can!” replied Cinderella. “Oh, thank you, Stepmother!” She ran out of the room, closing the door behind her. Gus and Jaq followed.

Drizella and Anastasia rushed to their mother. They were angry and confused. Why on earth would she let Cinderella go to the ball?

“Mother, do you realize what you just said?” asked Drizella.

“Of course,” said Lady Tremaine with a sinister smile. “I said
if
.”

“Oh!” replied Drizella, nodding. “IF!”

Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella all cackled. They were about to make Cinderella's life more miserable than ever.

C
inderella could hardly contain herself. She rushed back to her room in search of something to wear to the ball. She opened a big old trunk. The trunk was dusty, but the items in it were dear to her. She pulled out a pink-and-white dress. It had puffy pink sleeves with white ruffled edges. The bottom of the dress was white, with more ruffled edges. Cinderella twirled around the room holding it up to her chest. Four girl mice sat on the top of the trunk watching her spin as two little birds flapped their wings with joy.

“Isn't it lovely?” Cinderella asked her friends. “It was my mother's.”

“It's old!” said Suzy the mouse.

With the help of the two birds, Cinderella lifted the dress onto a dressmaker's dummy she had in her room. “Well, maybe it is a little old-fashioned, but I'll fix that,” she replied. She fluffed the dress as Gus and Jaq entered the room. A sewing book was in her workbasket. Cinderella kneeled down and flipped through the pages. She was determined to find something in there for inspiration. The mice and birds surrounded her, brimming with anticipation.

“Uh-huh, this one!” she said, leaning the open book up against the trunk. The mice came in for a closer look and agreed that the dress she had chosen was lovely. Cinderella examined the dress in the book. She would have to shorten the sleeves of her mother's dress, add a sash and a ruffle, and get something for the collar. It would take time, but it was doable—and the final product would be a beautiful and elegant dress, perfect for a royal ball.

Cinderella's dressmaking plans were quickly cut short.

“Cinderella!” yelled one stepsister.

“Oh, now what do they want?” said Cinderella, frustrated.

“Cinderella!” called the other stepsister and Lady Tremaine.

Over and over, they called her name.

Poor Cinderella stood up and walked over to her dress on the dummy. “Oh, well, guess my dress will just have to wait,” she said sadly. All three voices called for Cinderella again and again. “All right, all right, I'm coming!” she replied. With a heavy heart, she left her room.

Jaq and Gus followed her to the door.

“Poor Cinderelly,” said Jaq. He hated that her stepmother and stepsisters kept her so busy. He looked up at her dress and knew she would never have time to fix it before the ball. All the mice realized this, and they shook their heads in disappointment.

Suzy looked at the dress and then the sewing book. She had an idea. “We can do it!” she said. The mice jumped for joy. They could fix the dress—it was a great idea! Birds flew into the room and offered their help as well. They all quickly got to work. They grabbed spools of thread, scissors, a needle, and a tape measure.

While the birds and the other mice started on the dress, Jaq and Gus set out to find some special trimmings. They ran through the walls of the chateau, sliding down wooden planks and swinging across spiderwebs. They popped their heads through a wall where they heard lots of activity. Anastasia and Drizella were throwing clothes at Cinderella. They ordered her to mend, iron, and sew everything in the pile. The pile was so big Cinderella could hardly hold it.

Lady Tremaine entered with her own demands. “When you're through and before you begin your regular chores,” she began, “I have a few little things.”

“Very well,” replied Cinderella obediently. She left the room with the huge pile of clothes.

Lady Tremaine's wicked plan had been set in motion. She knew there was no way Cinderella could fulfill all their demands and still have time to find something to wear.

Meanwhile, Anastasia and Drizella were still yelling and screaming. The spoiled girls complained that their clothes and accessories were just not good enough.

“This sash—well, I wouldn't be seen dead in it!” Anastasia yelled, throwing a gorgeous pink sash to the ground.

“These beads…I'm sick of looking at them. TRASH!” declared Drizella, throwing a lovely blue beaded necklace on the floor.

They huffed and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind them.

Jaq and Gus were thrilled! The sash and necklace would make Cinderella's dress perfect. The trimmings they were looking for were only a few steps away. But those steps would not be easy. Lucifer was asleep right in their path. They tiptoed under the footstool holding the snoozing cat. They grabbed the long pink sash and ran back under the footstool, but Lucifer woke up. Luckily, the mice were too quick, and they pulled the long sash down into the mouse hole, infuriating the cat. Gus and Jaq popped through another hole. This time they had their eyes on the necklace. But Lucifer ran over and sat on it.

Jaq whispered into Gus's ear and they cooked up one of their sneaky plans. Jaq jumped out of the mouse hole and tiptoed across the floor. He sneaked past Lucifer and walked right into a pile of the stepsisters' clothes. He hummed a tune and plucked buttons off a shirt, trying to get Lucifer's attention. His plan was to distract Lucifer so Gus could grab the beads.

Lucifer was about to pounce on Jaq. Then he realized that he was no longer sitting on the beads—and Gus was headed straight for them! The sly cat ran back to the beads and sat right on top of them again. This time he slid his body toward Jaq, dragging the necklace along with him. But Jaq continued to tease the cat. Finally, Lucifer couldn't resist the chase any longer, and he jumped into the pile of clothes after Jaq.

Gus grabbed the beads, but he was not very light on his feet. He ran into the wall. The necklace broke and the beads scattered. Lucifer stopped chasing Jaq and turned his attention to Gus. Luckily, Lucifer got stuck in the sleeve of one of the dresses. The tight squeeze slowed the cat down and enabled Jaq to help Gus gather all the beads one by one and escape through the mouse hole.

Once again, Lucifer was left empty-handed.

Back in Cinderella's room, the girl mice were sewing while the birds measured and laid pieces of fabric into place. Gus and Jaq returned with the sash and the beads. The sash was used to make a beautiful bow at the top of the dress. The rest of the sash wrapped around to the bottom of the dress. The beads were restrung to make the perfect necklace. The mice and birds were the ideal dressmaking team. The once old-fashioned dress looked new and elegant. Cinderella was going to love it!