I’ve always liked cleaning.  I love the physical exercise of bending down to scrub floors, waving sheets in the air as I take them off the clothesline, wringing clothes out of the washer, stirring soup in iron pots on the stove, washing dishes in foaming soap and drying them with soft cloths, sweeping floors with rhythmic movements and song, and making beds perfectly tucked while humming and whistling softly.

But sometimes, it’s damn exhausting.  Do these two bitches appreciate me and my efforts? Hell, no.  They are constantly demanding.

“Cindy, get me my tea.”

“Cindy, stratch my back.”

“Cindy, help me unhook my bra.”

“Cindy, let out the cat.”

I’m so tired of their gigantic feet tromping throughout the house like heavy military tanks.

I need a break. So, I’m going to the nearby woods to dream and to rest.

As I’m napping, I realize that a chipmunk, a squirrel, and a rabbit have curled into my apron (which I forgot to toss back at the house).  They look so cherubic in sleep that I don’t dare move.  So I just sigh out loud.

All of a sudden, I see faint movement in the leaves and trees off to my left.  The air is still so I’m in cautionary mode.

I move quietly and sit up and thank goodness I have my sturdy white garden Crocs on in case I need to exit quickly.  And they are waterproof, to boot, so my feet are always dry and I must admit quite pretty.

As the critters scurry off, he appears – the Prince of Cranberry Hill.  My sisters and I have heard of him. He’s very handsome – tall, lean, and young.

I smooth out my wrinkled blue dress and pat down a few stray blonde locks.

He approaches me in a friendly manner and he says,

“Hi my name is Louie.  And whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

“I’m Cinderella but everyone calls me Cindy” and I rise and give him the high five slap.

“Wow, I love your white Crocs.  Are they waterproof?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah” I say. “I got them cheap at a local vendor market sale where I was actually looking for some good tomatoes to make a sauce.”

“Ah, you are a good cook” he asks.

“I think so,” I say- “my two sisters gobble up every meal I make.”

“What’s your specialty dish”?  he asks. I’m from Abruzzi, west of Rome, and we make the best sauce” I say.

“Do you think I could come to your house for dinner sometime”? he asks.

“Sure, how about next Tuesday night around 6ish?” I say.

“Perfect” he says.

I gave him quick directions to my home.  He had a photographic memory.  He wrote nothing down.

The weekend passed and I told my sisters that the Prince of Cranberry was coming for dinner.

“Ha, ha, ha, heh, heh, heh, you’re joking,” they said.

“No, really. You’d better look your best” I said.

It was rumored, they informed me, that the prince’s family owned a very successful shoe empire.

“Interesting” I said.  “He asked me if my Crocs were waterproof.”

Tuesday came and the Prince promptly arrived for dinner.  He brought a skillfully wrapped gold box with him.

As the meal progressed, my sisters and I and the Prince imbibed in lots of red wine.  We then ate the finest mozzarella caprisi and raviolis from my secret Abruzzi recipe.

I was shocked at how cordial my sisters behaved.  I did notice that the Prince made surreptitious glances at my sisters’ gigantic feet under the table.

“Time for coffee and home made canolis” I said.

“Splendid,” replied the Prince.

As we chatted at the table, the Prince presented me with the gold box.

“Open it, please.  It’s for you, Cindy,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said.  I was secretly panicking now.

I opened the box carefully.  Inside the gold wrapping was a pair of the most beautiful silver shoes I’d ever seen.  They were a perfect size six with crystal beads adorning them.  I gasped.

“My friend Giovanni made them special for you.  I knew your size from eyeballing those Crocs you wore during your forest nap.  I’m asking you to be my wife,” he said. “You don’t have to clean anymore but you can still cook for me if you wish. ‘

“Louie, I love to clean,” I said “and I would love cooking for you.”

My two sisters sat there in a seething jealous rage.

“I accept your proposal, Louie,” I expertly responded.

“Oh, and by the way, Cindy, these shoes are waterproof, too.  You can dance in the rain with me in them tonight at midnight.”

I happily tucked my feet into my old Crocs under the table.

I knew that fairy tales do end happily ever after  … as a chipmunk, a squirrel, and a rabbit suddenly scampered in under the table and cozily curled up for a nap under my feet….