The days blurred² one into another, with Ella the constant victim of her stepmother's increasing demands. The only things that kept her going were her father's letters and the thought of her father's eventual³ return. And then, one afternoon, she heard the familiar clop of hoofbeats outside and a loud knock at the door.

 

"At last!" Ella cried, racing⁴ down the stairs.

 

As she flung open the door, the smile on her face faltered⁵, replaced with a confused expression. A farmer stood in the doorway⁶. He held his hat in one hand. In his other hand, he held the reins⁷ of Galahad's bridle⁸. The big horse's head was hung low, the cart behind him empty. Her father was nowhere to be seen.

 

The farmer looked at the ground and then slowly back up, his eyes sad. "It's your father, miss. He took ill on the road. He's passed on, miss. He's gone."

 

This was too much to bear. Ella's vision began to blur¹ and the blood drained from her face, leaving her pale and shaking. She reached out a hand and clutched the doorframe for support. Behind her, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drisella appeared.

 

The farmer looked crestfallen⁹. "To the end, he spoke¹⁰ of no one but you, miss," he said, trying to help. "And your mother."

 

Lady Tremaine's mouth narrowed.

 

Unaware¹¹ of the impact of his words, the farmer went on: "I was to give you this." Reaching into a bag at his side, he pulled out a dried branch.

 

Tears welled in her eyes as Ella gingerly took the branch and held it to her heart. Behind her, Anastasia and Drisella began to whine¹². "But what about my lace?" Anastasia asked. "And my parasol?" Drisella added.

 

"Can't you see?" Lady Tremaine snapped. "None of that matters."

 

Ella met her stepmother's gaze. A flicker¹³ of compassion¹⁴ stirred deep inside. Can it be? she thought. Did her stepmother share her sorrow? But then Lady Tremaine spoke again.

 

"We're ruined," she said. "How will we live?" She ushered¹⁵ her daughters away. Behind her, Ella thanked the farmer and slowly shut the door. When no one was looking, she collapsed¹⁶ against it, her heart broken. She was well and truly alone. And she couldn't help wondering, what would happen to her now?

 

Ella didn't have to wait long to find out her fate. Within days of receiving news of Ella's father's death, Lady Tremaine let the household staff go. With them gone, and her stepmother apparently¹⁷ too weak with grief to do anything, the duties of the house now fell fully¹⁸ on Ella's shoulders. It was left to her to pack up her father's clothes and sell them for whatever meager¹⁹ price they would fetch. When her sisters required their daily baths, it was Ella who made her way to the well and fetched buckets of water, then carried them slowly back to the house.

 

Anyone else might have buckled²⁰ under the added burdens, but no matter what task Lady Tremaine or her stepsisters threw at her, Ella focused on staying positive. She hummed while she picked vegetables from the greenhouse. She sang as she washed and ironed. She even smiled as she helped Lady Tremaine into her dresses that cost more than the fired staff.

 

She saw how her stepmother looked at her— as just another mouth to feed, an interloper in the house that now belonged to her. But Ella had made promises—the one years earlier to her mother and the more recent one to her father. And she would not break those promises. Even if, as the days passed, she became less a sister and daughter and more a servant.

 

At night, after the last of her chores was done and her stepmother and sisters were tucked into their beds, Ella was finally able to rest. Only then would her humming end, and she would let some sadness creep into her heart.

 

One night, after a particularly long day, she found herself too exhausted²¹ to eat. Putting the small chunk²² of bread and meager serving of cheese on the floor, she called out to her only friends—the mice Jacqueline and Gus. They appeared quickly, followed by their two small children, whom Ella had named Esau and Jacob. She watched as they ate their dinner. Ella was happy to see someone enjoying it.

 

And then, too tired to walk up the stairs to the attic²³, she curled up on the hearth²⁴ of the fireplace and fell asleep, the dying embers providing at least a little heat for her chilled and aching bones…

 

Ella woke with a start. The embers in the fireplace had long since grown cold, and she could hear her stepsisters and stepmother rustling²⁵ about upstairs. Panicked, she leapt to her feet and scrambled²⁶ around the kitchen, putting breakfast together. As the water began to boil, she rang the bell indicating breakfast was ready. The Tremaines had been taking their meals downstairs as of late, and they expected breakfast at the same time every morning.

 

A few minutes later, Ella entered the drawing room to stoke the fire. Her stepfamily had already arrived, and she was greeted with a cold stare from Lady Tremaine.

 

"I thought breakfast was ready," she said, her mouth turning down at the corners.

 

"It is, madam," Ella answered. "I am only mending the fire."

 

This reply did not seem to ease Lady Tremaine's anger. "In the future," she snapped, "can we not be called until the work is done?"

 

Ella nodded. "As you wish." She went to retrieve²⁷ the eggs and tea and then quickly returned. As she began to serve, Lady Tremaine raised an eyebrow²⁸.

 

"What is that on your face?" she asked.

 

Ella lifted a hand and gently wiped it across her cheek. Her fingers, when she looked at them, were covered in a fine layer of black soot²⁹.

 

"It's ash from the fireplace!" Anastasia exclaimed, laughing out loud. Drisella quickly joined in.

 

"Clean yourself up," Lady Tremaine said. "You'll get cinders³⁰ in our tea." While her tone was disapproving³¹, Ella couldn't help noticing that her stepmother seemed pleased to see her in such a state. And her stepsisters were clearly thrilled.

 

Drisella bounced in her seat, clapping her hands in glee. "I've got a new name for her!" she cried. "Cinderwench!"

 

Anastasia looked Ella up and down. "I couldn't bear to look so dirty." Then, smiling cruelly, she added, "Dirty Ella."

 

"Cinderella!" Drisella exclaimed. "That's what we'll call you."

 

As her stepsisters continued to tease her, Ella tried to ignore them and serve breakfast. When her stepfamily had their food, she moved to her seat at the table. Until then, this had been the only meal she was still able to share with her "family." But Lady Tremaine's voice stopped her.

 

"Who's this for?" she asked, pointing at Ella's plate. "Is there someone we've forgot?"

 

"It is my place," Ella said.

 

Lady Tremaine shook her head. "It just seems too much to expect you to prepare breakfast, serve it, and still sit with us. Wouldn't you prefer to eat when all the work is done, Ella? Or, should I say, Cinderella?"

 

For a moment, Ella said nothing. Her stepsisters looked on as if waiting for her to oppose their mother. But instead, Ella simply nodded and said, "If you please, madam." Then, picking up her plate, she left the room.

 

It was only when she was safely in the kitchen that tears filled Ella's eyes. Then her hands began to shake violently, causing her to drop her plate. It fell to the floor and shattered, causing Ella's tears to fall faster.

 

Kneeling, she began to pick up the pieces. Ella caught sight of her reflection in the copper³² pot hanging from the hearth and gasped³³. Her face was indeed covered in ashes, and her blond hair was tangled³⁴ and unruly. She was Cinderella.

 

Suddenly, something inside Ella broke. For so long she had been trying to be the girl her mother and father would be proud of. She had kept her promises and tried to be gentle and kind. She had been courageous³⁵ in the face of many unknownsand stayed strong when left alone. But now it seemed all for naught³⁶. Her new "family" had turned her into a creature of ash and toil³⁷. She was nothing but their plaything, someone to mock and order about. It was all too much.

 

Jumping to her feet, Ella threw off her apron³⁸, and she raced for the stable. A moment later, Ella had Galahad in the aisle³⁹ and was pulling herself up onto his strong back. Before anyone could stop her, she urged the horse forward and they took off.

 

The trees whipped by in a blur and the wind prickled Ella's eyes, but she didn't care. Beneath her, Galahad's strong stride was calming and reassuring⁴⁰, a reminder⁴¹ of days gone by when she would ride for hours around the meadow, her father teaching her how to post, pick up the proper lead, and, eventually, take small jumps. Now, immersed in the fresh air, Ella felt like she could breathe for the first time in a long while. As they continued to race along, a smile spread across her face.

 

And then, right in front of them, a stag leapt out of the woods.

 

Galahad reared back, spooked, almost throwing Ella to the ground. Her legs gripped the horse's sides and she stayed astride. When she was sure Galahad wouldn't rear again, she began to rub his neck, calming him. It was only then that she noticed the sounds of an approaching hunt: the baying of hounds, along with the shouts of men and the pounding of horses' hooves. Ella knew that if the hunt caught up with this beautiful creature, he would be killed. She couldn't let that happen. "Run!" she called to the stag. "Go! Quickly!"

 

As if he understood, the stag bolted into the trees, disappearing into the thick brush. Moments later, the forest exploded with the sounds of the hunters, who seemed to be very nearby now. Spooked once more, Galahad started to gallop⁴² as fast as he could. Ella tried to slow him, pulling the reins and calling to him.

 

Suddenly, another rider appeared beside them, pulling at Galahad's reins and slowing him to a trot⁴³. Ella patted Galahad's mane, eager to make sure Galahad was okay.

 

Then she found herself peering up at the other horse. A tall, athletic⁴⁴ horse. And on the tall horse's back, peering at her with an amused expression on his face, was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

 

瑞拉继续忍受着继母越来越过分的要求，日子一天比一天暗淡。让她能够坚持下来的，只有父亲的来信与父亲回家的希望。一天下午，瑞拉听到外面响起熟悉的马蹄声还有重重的敲门声。

 

“终于回来了！”瑞拉叫着冲下了楼梯。

 

当她急匆匆打开门的时候，她脸上的笑容变成了愕然的表情。门口站着一个农夫。他一只手拿着帽子，另一只手牵着加拉哈德的缰绳。这匹高头大马的头低垂着，身后的马车上没有人。看不到瑞拉的父亲。

 

农夫看着地面然后慢慢地抬起头来，眼里充满了悲伤。“是你的父亲，小姐。他在路上得了病。他去世了，小姐。他不在了。”

 

瑞拉承受不了这个噩耗。泪水模糊了她的双眼，脸也失去血色，她虚弱地颤抖着。她伸出一只手抓住了门框以免自己倒下。这时特曼妮夫人、安泰西亚和崔西里亚站到了她身后。

 

农夫看起来非常悲痛。“直到最后，他都一直在说你，小姐。”说着他想要搀扶瑞拉，“还有你母亲。”

 

特曼妮夫人抿着嘴。

 

农夫没有意识到自己的话带来的后果，他继续说着：“我来是要把这个交给你。”他伸手从一旁的袋子里拿出了一根干枯的树枝。

 

瑞拉小心翼翼地接过树枝放在自己胸前，双眼噙满泪水。安泰西亚和崔西里亚在旁边开始抱怨。“我的蕾丝呢？”安泰西亚问道。“还有我的阳伞？”崔西里亚也说道。

 

“你们还不懂吗？”特曼妮夫人喝道，“那些都不重要。”

 

瑞拉看了一下继母的眼睛，怜悯之情油然而生。会这样吗？她想到。继母会和自己一样难过吗？然而特曼妮夫人又开始说话了。

 

“我们完蛋了，”她说，“我们靠什么生活？”她领着女儿们走开了。在她身后，瑞拉向农夫道谢后慢慢关上了房门。没人在跟前，瑞拉靠着门瘫了下来，肝肠寸断。现在她再也没有可以依靠的人了。她禁不住想，自己以后会怎么样呢？

 

没过多久，瑞拉就明白了自己的命运。接到父亲死讯后的几天里，特曼妮夫人把家里的仆人打发走了。仆人们走了以后，继母显然因为过于悲伤而虚弱得什么都不能做，所有的家务都落到了瑞拉的肩上。是她把父亲的衣物打包，以低廉的价格卖给别人。每天姐姐们要洗澡时，是她到井边打水，然后一桶一桶慢慢拎回家。

 

任何人在这种沉重的负担之下都会崩溃，但是不管特曼妮夫人和姐姐们怎么对待她，瑞拉都积极地面对：在温室里摘菜时她会哼着曲子；在洗衣熨烫时她会唱歌；帮特曼妮夫人穿华丽的衣服时她甚至还会微笑，尽管这衣服的花费比雇仆人昂贵得多。

 

她知道继母怎么看待自己——一张等着吃饭的嘴，一个闯入继母家的无赖。但是瑞拉许下过诺言——几年前对母亲的承诺，还有后来对父亲的诺言。她要信守诺言。尽管，随着时间的流逝，自己不像是个妹妹或女儿，倒更像是个仆人。

 

晚上，当她做完所有的家务，照顾继母和姐姐们睡下之后，瑞拉才可以休息。只有这个时候，她才会停止哼唱，才允许一丝悲伤爬上自己的心头。

 

一天晚上，在忙碌了漫长的一天之后，瑞拉太累了，连饭都吃不下。她把小块的面包和一点点奶酪放在地板上，叫出自己仅有的朋友——小老鼠杰奎琳和葛斯。它们很快就出现了，后面还跟着它们的两个孩子，瑞拉给它们取名叫以扫和雅各布。瑞拉看着小老鼠一家享用晚餐。它们吃得津津有味，瑞拉也感到非常幸福。

 

后来，瑞拉疲惫得爬不动去阁楼的楼梯，她蜷缩在壁炉前睡着了。炭火快要熄灭了，但至少可以给她寒冷而疼痛的身体带来一点点温暖。

 

瑞拉被惊醒了。壁炉里的余烬早就凉透了，她听到姐姐们和继母在楼上窸窸窣窣地穿衣。瑞拉慌忙跳起来，开始在厨房里忙碌起来，准备早餐。水开了，瑞拉拉了一下铃铛，告诉楼上的人早餐已经准备好了。最近特曼妮母女都是下楼吃早餐，她们希望每天都在同一个时间进餐。

 

几分钟后，瑞拉走进起居室给炉子添煤。继母她们已经下来了，特曼妮夫人冷冷地瞪了瑞拉一眼。

 

“我还以为早饭已经准备好了呢，”她撅着嘴说。

 

“准备好了，夫人，”瑞拉回答，“我只是让炉火更旺一点儿。”

 

这个回答好像没有平息特曼妮夫人的怒火。她厉声说道：“以后能不能事情做好了再叫我们？”

 

瑞拉点点头：“如您所愿。”她去拿鸡蛋和茶，然后很快回来了。当她摆早饭的时候，特曼妮夫人扬了扬眉毛。

 

“你脸上是什么？”她问道。

 

瑞拉抬起一只手抹了抹脸，只见手指上有一层细细的煤灰。

 

“是壁炉里的煤灰！”安泰西亚大笑着叫道。崔西里亚也跟着笑起来。

 

“快去洗干净，”特曼妮夫人说，“你会把煤灰弄到我们的茶里的。”尽管她的语气很不满，但是瑞拉注意到继母看到她狼狈的样子很开心。两个姐姐更是异常兴奋。

 

崔西里亚从椅子上跳起来，高兴得拍着手。“我给她想到一个新名字！”她叫着，“灰丫头！”

 

安泰西亚上下打量着瑞拉。“这么脏兮兮的我可受不了。”然后，她坏笑着说：“脏瑞拉。”

 

“灰姑娘！”崔西里亚叫道，“以后我们就这么叫你。”

 

姐姐们还在取笑瑞拉，但她不理会她们，摆上了早餐。当继母她们开始吃饭了，她才走到自己的座位前。现在，这是她和“家人”可以共进的仅有的一餐了。但特曼妮夫人叫住了她。

 

“这是给谁的？”她指着瑞拉的碟子问，“是我们忘掉谁了吗？”

 

“这是我的位子。”瑞拉说。

 

特曼妮夫人摇摇头。“要让你准备好早餐，端上桌，再陪我们一起吃饭好像太难为你了。或许你喜欢干完活再吃饭，瑞拉？或者，我该叫你灰姑娘？”

 

有那么一会儿，瑞拉什么也没说。姐姐们盯着她仿佛等着看她反驳她们的母亲。但是瑞拉只是点点头，说：“如您所愿，夫人。”然后，她端起自己的碟子，走出了房间。

 

当她自己一个人在厨房的时候，泪水才涌入瑞拉的眼睛。她的手抖得厉害，碟子掉在了地上摔得粉碎，瑞拉的泪水像断了线的珠子一样落下来。

 

瑞拉跪在地上，捡拾着碎片。瑞拉从壁炉上挂着的一把铜壶上看到自己的倒影，不禁吸了一口气。她的脸颊上满是煤灰，金黄色的头发也蓬乱不堪。她真成灰姑娘了。

 

突然，瑞拉内心迸发出一个念头。很长时间以来她都在努力成为让父母骄傲的女孩。她信守了自己的诺言，尽力做到温柔善良。她勇敢面对许多未知的困难，即使一个人也非常坚强。但现在看来所有的努力都是白费。她的新“家人”把她变成了一个供她们使唤的满身灰尘的生物。她只是她们的玩物，一个让她们冷嘲热讽、呼来喝去的人。这太过分了。

 

瑞拉一下站起身，扔掉围裙，朝马厩跑去。一会儿后，瑞拉把加拉哈德牵到过道里，翻身爬上了宽阔的马背。谁都没来得及阻拦，她催马飞奔了出去。

 

飞驰中，看不清的树枝像鞭子一样抽过，风刺痛了她的眼睛，但瑞拉什么都顾不得了。在她身下，加拉哈德有力地奔跑着，瑞拉心里逐渐平静下来。她想着自己以前骑着马在草地上奔跑好几个小时，想着父亲教她怎么在马背上起坐，怎么选择正确的领行方向，一直到怎么越过小的障碍。现在置身清新的空气中，瑞拉觉得很久以来自己第一次可以自由呼吸了。加拉哈德继续向前奔跑时，瑞拉的脸上露出了笑容。

 

就在这时，一只牡鹿突然从林中跃出，跳到他们面前。

 

受惊的加拉哈德急忙后退，差点把瑞拉掀翻在地。她两腿紧紧夹住马背才没有摔下来。确信加拉哈德不会再后退时，她开始摩挲它的脖子，让它平静下来。直到这时瑞拉才听到附近有人在打猎：猎犬的吠声，男人的呼喊声，还有马蹄声。瑞拉知道如果他们发现这只美丽的动物，它就会被杀死。她不会让他们那么干的。“快跑！”她对牡鹿喊道，“快跑！快！”

 

牡鹿好像听懂了似的，跳进了树丛就无影无踪了。过了一会儿，树林里响起了猎人们震耳欲聋的声音，他们已经很近了。加拉哈德再次受到惊吓，拼命飞奔起来。瑞拉拉着缰绳，呼喊着，试着让它慢下来。

 

突然，另一个骑马的人出现在他们旁边，抓住加拉哈德的缰绳，让它跑得慢了下来。瑞拉轻轻拍了拍加拉哈德的鬃毛，想确认他是否一切都好。

 

瑞拉抬头看着另外一匹马。这是匹高大、健硕的马。马背上的人用被逗乐的表情看着瑞拉，他是瑞拉见过的最英俊的男子。

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