Tracing The Unknown Princess
The prince who by then, was head over heels in love with Cinderella decided to marry none except her. When all his trials to trace the unknown beauty failed, he went to his father, the King with the golden shoe and said, “Father! I am sure you have seen the beautiful lady with whom I have danced in the ball.”
When the King nodded in agreement, remembering how beautiful Cinderella looked, the prince showed him the golden shoe and again said, “Father! I know not who she is and where she had come from Suddenly, she vanished on the night of the ball leaving her golden shoe behind. I wish to marry no other lady but her. No one shall be my wife except for the one whose foot would fit in this shoe.”
The king then called for his men and gave them a message to be read out to the public. As per the King’s orders, the royal guard blew the trumpet and announced, “Be it known to all of you that the prince wishes to marry the noble lady who had left the palace, leaving her Golden shoe behind. The lady who can fit the shoe upon her foot shall become the prince’s bride and the future queen of the Kingdom.’”
It was also announced that a representative of the kins would soon visit all the houses of the ladies who visited the ball to personally check if the shoe could fit any of them.
A courtier of the king was specially selected for the task and was handed over the golden shoe that was carefully wrapped in a velvet cushion.
With that shoe, the courtier first visited palaces of the princesses who attended the ball and requested them to try it on, to check if the shoe fitted them. He went here and there, almost everywhere to check first, the ladies of royal origin.
Unable to find the lady who could fit her foot in to the shoe, the courtier then returned to the kingdom and visited the houses of all the young ladies who went to the ball and continued his mission.
A couple of days passed away without any news. On the third day, finally the courtier reached Cinderella’s house. When Cinderella’s stepmother opened the door, he asked, “Madam! I was told that some one from your family had attended the ball. May I know how many daughters you have?”
The wicked stepmother answered that there were only two girls in the house and welcomed the courtier in. The mother was happy because her daughters had pretty feet and she was confident that the shoe would definitely fit one of them.
When the shoe was handed over to her, she gave it to her elder daughter to try it on. The daughter went it in to her room with the shoe. Her mother followed tier and instructed her to fit it at any cost. Standing by, she watched her daughter struggling to fit her foot in to the shoe. “Mother, My toe is too big to get in to the shoe,” her daughter complained.
Overpowered by the greed to make her daughter, the queen, she handed over a knife to her and said, “Then dear! Cut off your toe so that your foot fits in to the shoe. After you become the queen, there would be no need to walk barefoot. Then what is the use of a bis toe like this?”
The foolish girl followed her mother’s instructions and cut her toe off with the knife. Swallowing the pain, she forced her foot in to the shoe and limped out of the room. As she stood at the door, smiling with great difficulty, her mother rushed out and announced that the shoe had fit her daughter perfectly. The weary courtier was too happy to hear the news and quickly sent a message to the prince that his ladylove was found.
The prince at once reached their house to see his lady and lake her away with him to the palace. But when he saw the girl with the golden shoe, he said, “But this is not the lady I danced with.”
Her mother quickly intervened and said, “But your highness! You promised to marry the lady who could wear the Golden shoe.” Unable to back off from his promise, the prince offered to take her to the king on his horse.
As they were riding towards the palace, blood started dripping from her wounded foot but still, the girl remained calm without disclosing her pain. Soon, a little bird from the hazel tree saw them riding on the horse and followed them at a distance.
After a while, the bird approached the prince and said,
“Oh Prince, Check the loot of the maid
Blood is dripping from it.
A bit is cut from her toe
Just to fit her foot in to the shoe.”
The bird immediately flew away from there again singing, “she is not the one… she is not the one.” On hearing the bird’s words, the prince got down his horse and checked the girl’s foot to see if what the bird said was true. When he saw the blood streaming down her foot, he knew that she was not his true bride and immediately rode her back to her house.
When he told what had happened to her mother, she feigned innocence and told him that there was yet another girl who had attended the ball. Hopeful that the girl could be his bride, the prince gave back the shoe to the mother and asked her to see if it fitted her other daughter.
Another sister too went in to her room with the shoe along with her mother. Though her toes fitted perfectly in to the shoe her heel was too large.
“Mother, My heel is too large for this shoe. I cannot fit it in.,” she said. Again the greedy mother said, “Oh-Dear! Should I tell you too? Cut off the heel.
When you become the queen, there would be no need for you to go on foot.” Saying so, she handed over a knife to her daughter, who took it foolishly and cut her heel off. Both the mother and the daughter refused to learn from the experience of the eldest daughter and repeated the same mistake.
The second daughter too swallowed her pain and came out smiling to the prince. She showed him how that shoe was a perfect fit to her. Though the prince knew that she was not the one with whom he had danced, lie offered to take her to the king as the shoe lltted her foot perfectly.
They went to the prince’s horse, mounted it and started riding towards the palace, bidding goodbye to the happy mother. As soon as they traveled for some distance, two pigeons came flying from the hazel tree and cried out,
“Oh Prince, Check this out
The heel is cut
The shoe is tight and
The bride is not right.”
Astonished again, when the prince got down his horse and saw the foot of the girl, he found blood whooshing out of her heel.
Her stockings and the shoe were stained red with blood. He again turned the horse back and rode her home. He handed over her to her mother and told her that she was not the one he was looking for.
As the two girls were the last ones to , be checked in the kingdom, the prince almost lost hope of finding his lady. With some hope flickering in his heart still, he asked their mother, “Madam! Don’t you have another daughter’?” As she was about to say ‘no’, Cinderella’s father intervened and said, “Your highness! We certainly have another daughter. But she was not at the ball.’’
When the prince insisted that he wanted her also to try the shoe, her father said again, “I have a daughter by my first wife who is extremely deformed. As I have seen the beautiful lady at the ball, I can certainly say that my daughter cannot be her.” ‘
But when the prince again insisted to send for her, the jealous mother intervened and said, “Sir! She is extremely dirty and is no better than a kitchen maid. I am sure you wouldn’t want to see anyone as dirty as her.”
However, with a last hope that he might find his girl, the prince decided not to leave any stone unturned.
He turned to Cinderella’s parents and said, “Dear Sir and Madam! While I beg your pardon for not heeding your words, I would very much like to sec the girl even if she is dirty and deformed. Could you please call her in?”
Unable to convince him further and fearing that he was the prince of the kingdom, the parents were left with no other alternative but to send for Cinderella. But both of them were sure that his bride could never be her.
When Cinderella was informed that the prince had summoned her, her heart beat faster and her eyelids flickered with fear. She took a few minutes to settle down and sent a message that she would be down soon.