Long ago, in a far away land,

The lonely princess had a plan.

To hide her beauty and wit,

And live in the dust and dirt and grit.  

 

So away she ran, to a woman with two daughters

Who had never seen, never heard a father.

She became their slave, working dawn til dusk.

Ragged clothes and a bed made from husk

 

Though she was poor, the princess Ella

had never, not in the months that were better

Had ever felt so free

Singing with the birds and bees.

 

Then one night, there was a ball,

The king had invited all,

To find his disgrace of a child

And make of her a towering fire.

 

The princess dared to go,

To mock what had been her home.

In a dress of midnight blue

Her confidence strengthened and grew

 

Ella hid behind a mask of satin

With grace murmuring insults in Latin

Then the prince, from a neighboring land,

Recognized her as one of the Emerald clan

 

She fled the dance

With not so much as a backward glance

The prince found her slipper, made of spun glass

And vowed to find the beautiful lass

 

From town to town, pier to pier,

To where the water ran clear

A search was made through seven forsaken days

Though her path was naught but a maze.

 

Then the widowed mother

Betrayed her innocent maid

Tied the glass slipper to her with lace

And for money, gave away her grace.  

 

Ella fought with the might of saints

But against the king she had no chance

But the prince! Learning of the ruler’s dark plan,

Stole Ella away, and became a highwayman

 

In the prince’s home, there they wed

Unbreakable vows they both read.

And the hidden princess became a queen

And to help the poor, used what she had seen.

 

And the king, Ella’s father

Married the widow, and took in her daughters

The kingdom revolted, and moved on

Leaving the royals soon to be gone

 

Ella never forgot her life of work and wind

The ashes coating her skin

So the Queen Cinderella wrote her tale on a scroll

And into it, poured her soul.

 

The End