The prince heard that some girl had snuck in at night to try and steal the glass slipper, but Lady Meg and her daughter messed things up and she didn’t get to stay.
So, he held another ball and said he wanted the girl who lost the glass slipper to come back so he could give it back to her.
The little bird, always in the know, relayed this message to Cinderella.
Cinderella initially didn’t want to go, but when she heard she could retrieve her slipper, she decided to attend.
This time, her gown was even more stunning. Everyone was so captivated that they couldn’t help but want to approach her and ask where she had it custom-made. Unfortunately, the prince was with her the whole time.
The prince was genuinely happy. He hadn’t expected her to come, so he greeted her right away.
Cinderella said, “I accidentally lost my glass slipper last time, and it turns out you found it. I would be grateful if you could return it to me.”
But the prince had no intention of giving the slipper back right away, finding an excuse to delay.
But the stepmother and her two daughters were so jealous that they nearly broke their fans from fanning too hard.
“Everyone is talking about how beautiful her dress is and how stunning she is! It’s infuriating!”
“Why does she look more and more like Cinderella…”
The stepmother, holding back her anger, said, “Whether or not it’s Cinderella, we’ll soon find out. Let her have her moment of glory. Soon, she’ll be crying. I’ve learned from the most powerful witch in town that last time Lily’s magic gown turned back into Cinderella’s rags because the magic disappears at midnight. If she is Cinderella, she’ll surely try to leave before midnight. We’ll do whatever we can to stop her. If her gown turns into rags, we’ll know for sure it’s her, and we can humiliate her and get our revenge!”
As midnight approached, Cinderella noticed that the prince still refused to return the glass slipper, so she decided to leave.
If the clock struck twelve, the magic would disappear, and her beautiful gown would turn into rags. Not only would this embarrass her, but more importantly, her stepmother would discover her true identity.
She hurried towards the door, but just as she reached it, she was blocked by her stepmother and stepsisters.
“Why are you leaving so soon? The best part of the ball is at midnight!” they said, pretending to be kind as they dragged her back to the party.
The bird-turned-servant was extremely anxious. He thought, “When the clock is about to strike midnight, I’ll blow out all the candles. In the dark, no one will see Cinderella’s gown turn into rags.”
However, as soon as he extinguished one candle, the guards stopped him.
The clock finally struck twelve times.
The stepmother and her daughters waited smugly for the spectacle to unfold, but nothing happened.
Cinderella’s gown remained as dazzling and beautiful as before—it didn’t turn into rags.
The smug expressions of the stepmother and her daughters quickly turned to disappointment, while the little bird and Cinderella both breathed a sigh of relief.
When they returned home, they discussed with the big tree why the midnight magic had failed, and the gown hadn’t reverted to rags.
Yawning, the Flower Fairy emerged and said, “Can’t you all sleep at night? I already told you, there’s always an exception to everything. Just like the glass slipper, there are plenty of things in this world that can’t be explained!”
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