Then her kind friend the bird brought a dress still finer than the former ones, and slippers which were all of gold; so that when she came to the feast no one knew what to say for wonder at her beauty; and the king’s son danced with her alone; and when any one else asked her to dance he said, “This lady is my partner.”  Now when night came she wanted to go home; and the king’s son would go with her, and said to himself, “I will not lose her this time;” but, however, she managed to slip away from him, though in such a hurry that she dropped her left golden slipper upon the stairs.

[Illustration:  “She sprang away from him, all at once, into the garden behind her father’s house.”]

So the prince took the shoe, and went the next day to the king his father, and said, “I will take for my wife the lady that this golden shoe fits.”  Then both the sisters were overjoyed to hear this; for they had beautiful feet, and had no doubt that they could wear the golden slipper.  The eldest went first into the room where the slipper was, and wanted to try it on, and the mother stood by.  But her great toe could not go into it, and the shoe was altogether much too small for her.  Then the mother gave her a knife, and said, “Never mind, cut it off; when you are queen you will not care about toes, you will not want to go on foot.”  So the silly girl cut her great toe off, and squeezed the shoe on, and went to the king’s son.  Then he took her for his bride, and set her beside him on his horse and rode away with her.  But on their way home they had to pass by the hazel tree that Cinderella had planted and there sat a little dove on the branch singing—–­

      “Back again! back again! look to the shoe! 
      The shoe is too small, and not made for you! 
      Prince! prince! look again for thy bride,
      For she’s not the true one that sits by thy side.”

Then the prince got down and looked at her foot, and saw by the blood that streamed from it what a trick she had played him.  So he turned his horse round and brought the false bride back to her home, and said, “This is not the right bride; let the other sister try and put on the slipper.”  Then she went into the room and got her foot into the shoe, all but the heel, which was too large.  But her mother squeezed it in till the blood came, and took her to the king’s son; and he set her as his bride beside him on his horse, and rode away with her.  But when they came to the hazel tree the little dove sat there still, and sang—­

      “Back again! back again! look to the shoe! 
      The shoe is too small, and not made for you! 
      Prince! prince! look again for thy bride,
      For she’s not the true one that sits by thy side.”

[Illustration]