Cindy around the block hated wearing shoes on her feet.

She had scars on her toes from the dirt on the street.

When she went to market, her stepmom made her wear them,

But if you asked her, she’d say she couldn’t stand them.

 

One morning, the King announced a ball for his son.

He wanted the prince to marry, since he was the only one.

Charming Prince Charles was such a heart throb,

But to be King, he’d need a Queen to help him do his job.

 

Cindy wanted to go to the dance

Even though, with the prince, she didn’t think she stood a chance.

Her stepsisters were spoiled, but they looked like gems

In their fine jewelry and new ball gowns with silk and lace hems.

 

However, there was something her stepmom didn’t know:

Thanks to years of doing all the laundry, Cindy had learned to sew,

And she’d crafted a dress from leftover blue fabric

That she found in one of her birth mother’s trunks in the attic.

 

She still needed help to get prepared for the party,

So she emailed some friends, Fae, Gertrude, and Marty.

They brought her a carriage and horses, and they gave her glass shoes.

Cindy hated footwear, but for a fancy event, she couldn’t refuse.

 

Before she departed for a night of fun,

She wandered the garden and watched the setting sun.

For good luck, she tossed a coin into the fountain by the greenhouse

Where the fairy statues watched over every bird and field mouse.

 

Her stepsisters had hogged the bathroom, so she was the last to arrive

At the castle after doing her hair and makeup and making the long drive.

She slipped in unnoticed by the guards and most of the guest,

And her stepmom and sisters didn’t see her, which was probably for the best.

 

However, one who did see her was the royal cutie, the Prince.

She was the only girl who didn’t make him grimace and wince.

She didn’t throw herself at him, and her dignity was so appealing

That by the end of his first dance with her, his head was reeling.

 

The danced and chatted all through the night,

And she didn’t leave his side until around midnight

When she saw her stepmom and the girls head for the door.

The thought of being caught nearly sent her to the floor.

 

She bid the Prince farewell, and ran for the gate.

She lost a shoe on the steps, but if she’d stopped, she’d have be too late,

So she jumped into her carriage and home the horses ran,

But the Prince vowed not to rest until he found her again.

 

The morning after, Cindy hid the remaining shoe under her bed,

But she couldn’t escape the growing feeling of dread.

She could feel in the back of her mind that her stepmother new,

So there was really only one thing she could do.

 

She locked herself in her room, claiming to be unwell,

Even when the Prince and his father rang their front bell.

They offered Cindy’s stepsister a chance to try the shoe,

But neither could fit it, no matter what they tried to do.

 

As he departed the chateau, the Prince looked over his shoulder.

He saw someone through an upstairs window: it was Cindy, it was her.

He ran back to the house and bolted upstairs with the shoe.

Cindy’s foot fit, so she reluctantly put on the other one, too.

 

Cindy and Charles were wed a month later.

Her stepsisters were invited after they confessed they didn’t hate her.

Stepmom had made them be mean because she was jealous

Since Cindy was smart and pretty and generous.

 

So stepmom spent some time in jail,

And eventually, Cindy’s stepsisters posted the bail.

Cindy continued sewing for the rest of her life,

And she had a magical time as Prince Charles’ wife.

 

Cindy around the block started life as a peasant at the bottom.

She did all the chores for her shallow stepsisters and wicked stepmom,

But thanks to the dance where she lost her slipper, she is free of her blues,

And lives happily ever after, with a husband who shares her hatred of shoes.