Of all short bedtime stories for kids, fairy tales have always been a favourite to all the kids. Fairy tales like Snow-white and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel are among the all-time classics. Reading these bedtime stories opens up avenues of imagination for kids. They are introduced to new ideas and morals through these short stories. The below-given Cinderella story for kids with pictures will definitely be a good read for the little ones.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, kind-hearted girl called Cinderella, who lived in a far far away land. She lived with her stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and two step-sisters, Anastasia and Drizella. As her stepmother was not very fond of her, she had asked Cinderella to live in the attic. Two cute little mice named Gus and Jaq and the chirping birds became her best friends in her new room.
Her stepmother and stepsisters made her do all their household chores. Cinderella woke up early in the morning when it was still all dark to start the fire for their household. She cooked all meals, worked in the kitchen, and kept the fire going to warm their house. Poor Cinderella used to get ashes and cinders all over her clothes and body from the fire. People say her real name was Ella, but her stepsisters and stepmother called her Cinderella as she always had cinders on her clothes.
Anastasia and Drizella were arrogant and quarrelsome. They never happened to like Cinderella much and made her life miserable. They made her run on errands for them. Cooking, sewing, and cleaning were all done by Cinderella.
Lady Tremaine enjoyed seeing Cinderella work so hard. She cunningly gave extra work to Cinderella, like asking her to bathe her cat, Lucifer. She did everything that she could to make Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella happy.
One fine morning, the king’s messengers came riding on their horses and announced that the King and the Queen had invited all the maiden ladies of the kingdom to a royal ball. The King and the Queen were to find the Prince a lovely bride. The young ladies were overjoyed with this news. They started to decide on their best ball gowns and jewellery.
Soon, the king’s messenger arrived at Cinderella’s home and handed over the invitation to the ball. Lady Tremaine now ordered Cinderella to stitch two beautiful new gowns for Anastasia and Drizella for the royal ball. She kept Cinderella busy with more chores so that she wouldn’t be going to the ball. Cinderella wished to go to the ball as well. So, she found her mother’s old dress from her trunk. She thought to herself that she could make the dress into a beautiful new one fit for the royal ball.
Soon, the day of the royal ball arrived, and Anastasia and Drizella were dressed up in the beautiful gowns stitched by Cinderella. Meanwhile, in the attic, Gus and Jaq, the two little mice, and the birds had turned Cinderella’s mother’s old dress into a beautiful one. They had used the ribbons and beads thrown away by Cinderella’s stepsisters to make Cinderella’s dress.
Cinderella was very happy to see her new dress done by the mice and the birds. She thanked her little friends and thought to herself that she could go to the ball now.
But her stepsisters flew into a terrible rage when they saw her in that beautiful dress. They pulled out the ribbons and beads to destroy her dress. They ripped off the beautiful dress that Cinderella wore.
Lady Tremaine did not stop her daughters, instead, she watched them destroy Cinderella’s dress. She left for the ball with her two daughters in a fine carriage and Cinderella was left all alone in the house. She felt bad and went to the garden. She started to weep when she looked at her mother’s dress ripped. She softly said to herself, “ I wish I could also go to the ball!”
Suddenly, a Fairy Godmother appeared in front of Cinderella. She told her that she showed up to make Cinderella’s wish come true. The Fairy Godmother touched Cinderella’s head with her wand and Cinderella was all clean and pretty right away. Her messy hair was tucked up nicely in a golden band. With another tap of the wand, Cinderella’s dress was turned into a gorgeous gown.
Cinderella couldn’t believe her own eyes. She looked so pretty in that beautiful gown and the amazing glass slippers that the Fairy Godmother created for her. But she didn’t have a carriage to go to the ball. So, the Fairy Godmother waved her magic wand on a pumpkin and turned it into a fine carriage for Cinderella. She tapped her wand on the little mice and turned them into Cinderella’s carriage-men.
The Fairy Godmother told Cinderella to go to the ball and have fun. She added, “Remember my child, all this magic spell will vanish at the stroke of midnight. Come back before that.”
Cinderella promised to be back before midnight and left happily for the ball in the carriage drawn by Gus and Jaq. When Cinderella arrived at the palace, she was surprised to see a place so majestic and a ball so grand. There were so many young ladies escorted by their mothers. Everyone wanted to impress the Prince. But the Prince was at a loss. He didn’t know where to look or who to dance with.
When Cinderella entered the royal ball, all heads turned to see her. She looked like a dream. No one happened to recognize her, even her stepmother and stepsisters were awestruck to see a girl so beautiful. Cinderella walked into the ballroom with her head held high. She looked so royal that everyone thought her to be some princess.
The Prince couldn’t take his eyes off Cinderella. He walked to her and introduced himself. Cinderella bowed down and greeted the Prince. He asked her out for a dance. They talked, laughed, and kept dancing to every song. The other young ladies at the ball became jealous of Cinderella.
As the evening went on, Cinderella and the Prince became more engrossed in each other’s company. The Prince was smitten by her charm and beauty. Cinderella had never been happier. Suddenly, she heard ‘Dong’, ‘Dong!’ It was the clock that was about to strike 12. She looked up at the big royal clock at the palace and found that it was almost midnight. She screamed, “Oh! It is almost midnight!” She told the Prince that she couldn’t stay longer. She said, “I must go now.” The Prince couldn’t hear Cinderella as the clock was loud enough. Cinderella bid him goodbye and ran down the stairs in a hurry.
As she was hurrying down the stairs, one of her glass slippers came off her feet but she didn’t stop to pick it up and left the palace. The magic spell had started to wear off. The Prince followed her to the stairs. “I don’t even know your name,” he called out to her. But she didn’t turn back and seemed to have vanished into thin air, in her carriage.
The Prince found her glass slipper on the stairs. He realised that it was a special glass slipper that could only fit Cinderella’s foot. So the next day, he started to look for the other slipper. He went from one house to another and tried to find the right fit for the glass slipper. All the young ladies were trying to wear the glass slipper, but it didn’t fit any of them.
Finally, the Prince arrived at Cinderella’s house. Lady Tremaine’s daughters were all ready to try the glass slipper, but it didn’t fit their feet. The Prince asked if there was any other young lady in the house. Though they refused to tell the Prince about Cinderella, he found her working in the house. He got down on his knee and insisted she tried the glass slipper. It was a perfect fit for Cinderella’s foot.
The Prince was overjoyed to have found his love. He didn’t care about the cinders on her hair but looked into her eyes. “I found you!” he said and took Cinderella off with him. Lady Tremaine and her two daughters grew red with anger, and Cinderella’s friends Gus and Jaq rejoiced. The Prince married Cinderella and they lived happily ever after, in the palace.
“Good people are always rewarded at the right time.”
In this Princess Cinderella story, Cinderella has always been good despite the difficulties she faced. The Prince found her though she had cinders all over her dress and hair. He fell in love with her innocence and goodness. Cinderella’s miserable days came to an end. She got married to the Prince and they lived happily ever after.
The Golden Touch, the Monkey and the Crocodile, the Hansel and the Gretel, etc., are a few other popular short bedtime stories for kids. The best part of these stories is that they convey important messages in a fun way. Kids can also download the Cinderella story for kids PDF to read the story offline.
1. Who were Cinderella’s best friends?
Two little mice and the birds were Cinderella’s best friends. She talked to them about all her dreams and wishes in the attic. They loved her a lot and felt bad when her stepmother and stepsisters treated her badly. The mice and the birds had put together ribbons and beads with her mother’s old dress so that she could go to the royal ball.
2. Why are bedtime stories important for kids?
Reading bedtime stories with your child is a good practice and it has several benefits. It helps to induce sleep among kids. When kids start concentrating on a bedtime story, they tend to calm down and fall asleep easily. You can teach your kids some positive assertions when you explain the moral of a bedtime story to them. Also, kids learn many new words through these stories which help to develop their vocabulary.