Cinderella

When he came home, he gave the stepdaughters what they had wished for, and to Cinderella he gave the branch from the hazel bush. Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave and planted the branch on it. She cried so much that the tears fell on it and watered it. A beautiful tree grew from it. Cinderella went there three times every day, weeping and praying. And each time a white bird came to the tree. Whatever she had wished for, the little bird fulfilled it.

But it happened that the king organized a feast that was to last three days. All the beautiful maidens in the country were invited so that his son could choose a bride. When the two stepsisters heard that they were also to attend, they were in good spirits. They called Cinderella and said: "Comb our hair, brush our shoes and fasten our buckles. We are going to the wedding at the king's castle." Cinderella obeyed, but she cried because she would have liked to go to the dance. Therefore, the stepmother asked her to allow him to go. "You Cinderella," she said, "are full of dust and dirt and want to go to the wedding? You have no clothes and shoes and you want to dance!". But when she did not stop asking, she finally said, "I have poured a bowl of lentils for you in the ashes. If you have collected the lentils in two hours, you shall go with me." The girl went out through the back door into the garden and called: "You tame doves, you turtle doves, all you little birds under the sky, come and help me to collect them:

the good ones into the potty,
the bad ones into the potty."

Then two white doves came in to the kitchen window. Then came the lovebirds. And finally all the little birds under the sky swarmed in and settled around the ashes. And the little doves nodded their heads and started playing spades, spades, spades. And then the rest also began to spade, spade, spade, spade. And they gave all the good grains in the bowl. Barely an hour had passed when they had finished and all flew out again. The girl brought the bowl to her stepmother, was happy and thought she could go to the wedding with her. But she said, "No, Cinderella, you have no clothes and you cannot dance. You will only be laughed at." When she cried, she said: "If you can collect two bowls of lentils from the ashes in one hour, you shall go with me," and thought: "She will never be able to do that. When she had poured the two bowls of lentils into the ashes, the girl went out through the back door into the garden and called out, "You tame doves, you turtle doves, all you little birds under the sky, come and help me collect them:

the good ones into the potty,
the bad ones into the potty."

Then two white doves came in to the kitchen window, and then the lovebirds. And finally all the little birds under the sky swarmed in and settled around the ashes. And the doves nodded their heads and began to spade, spade, spade. And then the rest also began to spade, spade, spade, spade. And they collected all the good grains in the bowls. And before half an hour had passed, they had already finished and all flew out again. Then the girl carried the bowls to her stepmother, was happy and thought that now she could go to the wedding with her. But she said: "All this is of no use to you. You will not go with us, because you have no clothes and you cannot dance. We should be ashamed of you." So she turned her back on him and hurried away with her two proud daughters.

When no one was at home anymore, Cinderella went to her mother's grave under the hazel tree and called out:

"Little tree, shake and shake,
throw gold and silver over me."

Then the bird threw down a gold and silver dress and slippers embroidered with silk and silver. He hurriedly put on the dress and went to the wedding. But his sisters and stepmother did not know him and thought he must be a foreign king's daughter - he looked so beautiful in the golden dress. They did not think of Cinderella at all and thought that she was sitting at home in the dirt and was still looking for the lentils from the ashes. The king's son came to meet her, took her by the hand and danced with her. He did not want to dance with anyone else. That is why he did not let go of her hand. And when another came to ask it, he said, "this is my dancer."

It danced until it was evening. Then she wanted to go home. But the king's son said, "I'll go with you," because he wanted to see what family the beautiful girl came from. She escaped from him near her house and jumped into the dovecote. Now the king's son waited until his father came and told him that the strange girl had jumped into the dovecote. The old man thought, "should it be Cinderella?". And he had an axe and hoes brought so that he could break the dovecote in two. But there was no one in it. And when they came into the house, Cinderella was lying in his dirty clothes in the ashes. And a dim little oil lamp was burning in the chimney. For Cinderella had quickly jumped down from the dovecote at the back and run to the little hazel tree. There she had taken off her beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave. And the bird had taken them away again. Finally it had sat down in its gray smock in the kitchen to the ashes.

The next day, when the feast began anew and the parents and stepsisters were gone again, Cinderella went to the hazel tree and said:

"Little tree, shake and shake,
throw gold and silver over me."

Then the bird threw down a much more splendid dress than on the previous day. And when it appeared at the wedding in this dress, everyone was amazed at its beauty. The king's son, however, waited until it came, took it by the hand and danced with it alone. When the others came and asked him to dance, he said: "This is my dancer. When evening came, it wanted to leave, and the king's son went after it to see which house it was going to. But it jumped away from him and into the garden behind the house. There was a beautiful big tree with the most wonderful pears hanging on it. It climbed as nimbly as a squirrel through the branches and the king's son did not know where it had gone. But he waited until his father came and said to him, "the strange girl has escaped from me and I think she has jumped onto the pear tree." The father thought, "should it be Cinderella?", sent for the axe and cut down the tree. But there was no one on it. And when they came into the kitchen, Cinderella was lying there in the ashes, as usual. For she had jumped down from the tree on the other side, had brought back the beautiful clothes to the bird on the hazel tree, and had put on her little gray smock.

On the third day, when the parents and sisters were gone, Cinderella went again to his mother's grave and spoke to the little tree:

"Little tree, shake and shake,
throw gold and silver over me."

Now the bird threw him a dress, which was so splendid and shining as it had never had. And the slippers were all golden. When it came to the wedding in the dress, they all did not know what to say in amazement. The king's son danced with it all by himself, and when someone asked him to, he said, "this is my dancer."

When evening came, Cinderella wanted to leave, and the king's son wanted to accompany her. But she escaped so quickly that he could not follow. The king's son had used a trick and had the whole staircase painted with pitch. When it jumped down, the girl's left slipper got caught. The king's son picked it up. It was small and delicate and completely golden. The next morning he went to the man with it and said to him: "None other shall be my wife than the one on whose foot this golden slipper fits." Then the two sisters rejoiced, for they had beautiful feet. The eldest went into the chamber with the shoe and wanted to try it on. And the mother stood by. But she couldn't get in with her big toe. And the shoe was too small for her. Then the mother handed her a knife and said, "Cut off the toe. When you are queen, you will no longer need to walk." The girl cut off the toe, forced the foot into the shoe, bit the pain and went out to the king's son. Then he took her on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. But they had to pass the grave, where the two little doves sat on the hazel tree and called:

"rucke di guck, rucke di guck,
Blood is in the shoe:
The shoe is too small,
the right bride is still sitting at home."

Then he looked at her foot and saw the blood oozing out. He turned his horse around, brought the false bride back home and said that this was not the right one, the other sister should put on the shoe. The other sister went into the chamber and happily got her toes into the shoe. But the heel was too big. Then the mother handed her a knife and said: "Cut off a piece of the heel. When you are queen, you will not need to walk." The girl cut off a piece of the heel, squeezed the foot into the shoe, bit the pain and went out to the king's son. Then he took her on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. When they passed the hazel tree, the two little doves sat on it and called out:

"rucke di guck, rucke di guck,
Blood is in the shoe:
the shoe is too small,
the right bride is still sitting at home."

He looked down at her foot and saw how the blood was oozing out of the shoe and had risen all red on the white stockings. Then he turned his horse around and brought the false bride back home. "This is not the right one either," he said, "don't you have another daughter?". "No," said the man, "only from my late wife there is still a little plump Cinderella. That cannot possibly be the bride." The king's son said to send it up. But the mother replied, "oh no, that is much too dirty, it must not be seen." But he wanted it anyway, and Cinderella had to be called. First she washed her hands and face, then she went and bowed to the king's son, who handed her the golden shoe. Then she sat down on a stool, pulled her foot out of the heavy wooden shoe and put it into the slipper. It fit like a glove. And when it straightened up and the king looked into its face, he recognized the beautiful girl who had danced with him. And he cried out, "this is the right bride!" The stepmother and the two sisters were frightened and turned pale with anger. But he took Cinderella on his horse and rode away with her. When they passed the hazel tree, the two white doves called out:

"rucke di guck, rucke di guck,
no blood is in the shoe:
the shoe is not too small,
the right bride he leads home."

And when they had shouted this, they both came flying down and sat on Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and remained sitting there.
When the wedding with the king's son was to be held, the false sisters came. They wanted to ingratiate themselves and share in his happiness. When the bride and groom went to the church, the oldest was on the right and the youngest on the left. The doves pecked out one eye of each of them. When they later went out again, the oldest was to the left and the youngest to the right. Then the doves pecked out the other eye of each. And so they were punished for their wickedness and falsehood with blindness for the rest of their lives.