Lesson 4: Cinderella

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella. Her father died when she was young. Her stepmother took care of her. Her stepmother was a bad woman who did not love Cinderella. She made Cinderella work hard everyday and was mean to her.

The King of the land wanted to find a woman for his son to marry. He threw a party and asked all the women of the kingdom to come. The evil stepmother decided to go, but she would not let Cinderella go. Cinderella cried and was sad. She wanted to go to the party too. Then, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother appeared. She changed Cinderella’s dirty clothes into a beautiful dress with delicate glass shoes. The Fairy Godmother told Cinderella that she had to come home from the party before midnight. At midnight, the magical clothes would disappear.

At the party, the Prince fell in love with Cinderella. They danced together all night. But, when it turned midnight, Cinderella had to run away. She lost one of her glass shoes. The prince could not forget about Cinderella. He took her glass shoe to every home in the kingdom and had all the women try it on. The shoe fit nobody. He searched and searched, but he could not find Cinderella.

At the last house in the kingdom, he found Cinderella. The Prince put the glass shoe on her foot, and it fit. After all his searching, he finally found the woman he loved. The Prince married Cinderella and they all lived happily ever after.

Vocabulary:

Care: To protect someone. 預かる.

Example sentence: Take good care of that girl.

Kingdom: A land or country ruled by a king or queen. 王国.

Example sentence: Her kingdom stretched for thousands of miles.

Decide: To choose something. 決める.

Example sentence: They have to decide by next Friday.

Appear: To start to be seen. 見える. 現れる.

Example sentence: He suddenly appeared in the doorway.

Midnight: Twelve o’clock in the middle of the night. 夜中. 

Example sentence: It was after midnight when we got home.

Magical: Produced by or using magic. 幻想的、マジカル.

Example sentence: Diamonds were once thought to have magical powers.

Disappear: To go somewhere where they cannot be seen or found. 消える.

Example sentence: The sun disappeared behind a cloud.

Grammar:

Make {noun} {verb}
She made Cinderella work hard everyday and was mean to her.
I made my brother do my homework.
My teacher made me cry.

Ask {noun} to {verb}
The King asked all the women of the kingdom to come.
She asked him to leave.
I asked him to do it.

Have to {verb}
Cinderella had to come home from the party before midnight.
I have to go now.
She has to cook dinner.