Once upon a time in a land far far away there lived a little peasant boy by the name of Cinderella. He got his name from his job cleaning the chimneys of all the little cob homes in the village where he lived. The cinder came from the fact he’d come out all covered in coal and the ella came from his cruel foster brothers who thrice had left him woods to die. They thought very little of making his nickname that of a girl. They were the meanest sort without a single good deed to put to their names. Even so Cinderella was the sort of lad who always had a smile on his face no matter the circumstance. He’d whistle and sing and pretend all was well because this was the only life he had ever known.

He was a foundling you see, rescued from a basket floating down the river when he was just a wee babe. From there he was taken in by the Orphanage for Working Boys who supplied the surrounding community with all the children it needed to do the most miserable of jobs that the adults didn’t want. They would gather up every ragamuffin, every street urchin, and every sweet little orphan sleeping rough, and employ them, to the best of their abilities, with the finest jobs that a child could possibly want. There were wee chimney sweeps, tiny textile mill workers, pipsqueak coal miners, and even an army of pooper scoopers whose job it was to keep the streets clean of any horse manure and sell it back to the farms for fertilizer. Life wasn’t easy for any of the boys and tired and hungry the older ones would often turn on poor Cinderella, jealous of his never-ending smile.

Cinderella had learned early on that being cheerful was the way to endear himself to others. So, while his foster brothers hated him for it, he was beloved by whomever hired him for the day. Because of this he’d often get their food scraps or occasionally a shiny bauble or toy to play with. One Christmas he ever got a handful of peppermint suckers! Granted these luxuries generally made his foster brothers even more cruel and he was never able to keep any of them. Such was life in the Orphanage for Working Boys.

Six-day work weeks were the norm but on Sundays Cinderella got to run free and wild as children should. He’d run to the forest and play with sticks and stones, explore caves, and stalk deer. Sometimes he’d wander quite far indeed but should he ever get lost he always had an unusual friend by his side to lead him home. His companion had started as an egg he found a few years prior. Oh, how it sparkled with such fine colors! He hid it in his coat and kept it warm for weeks until one day it began to rock back and forth and in a matter of hours it finally cracked and out came a baby dragon.

The tiny fire breathing beast would lay on his shoulders as he went about his day, blowing smoke filled raspberries at anyone else who would come close. But unfortunately its stomach was a bottomless pit and poor little Cinderella could not feed it as much as it needed so he released his new friend back into the woods where it found it’s own nourishment and began to grow and grow. Every Sunday he’d come back to his now enormous friend to spend the day playing as boys will often do. The dragon in return played back but was a miserable opponent when it came to hide and seek.

As the years passed and the dragon became a giant so too did little Cinderella go from a boy to a gangly and awkward young man. By now, even though he was old enough to put childish things aside, he still spent time with his dragon and told it all his secrets. The biggest of which was his youthful crush that he had for the most beguiling Princess Charming. He had met her when he was only ten doing the usual dirty jobs around the manor and had loved her ever since. But alas he was just a peasant and the kindness she showed him could never turn into anything more. He sighed, a sullen look upon his face. The only time he wasn’t smiling was when he was here pining.

And its here where his evil foster brothers found him and watching from the bushes they learned of his little love. Far from being supportive of his happy little heart they used this information to tease and taunt him. They mocked him for being stupid, they jeered at him and told him he’d never be a prince and Princess Charming would never see him as anything more than a chimney sweet. They called him naive. They spoke to him like he was a baby and told all the other boys who joined in on the fun. Their onslaught of insults was relentless and Cinderella began to frown.

Strangely enough it was Princess Charming who noticed this first when he showed up to sweep her chimney once again.

“Oh my poor sweet little chimney sweep, why do you frown so?”

“Because I am but a pauper and will never be good enough for a woman as kind and beautiful as you.”

Princess Charming looked at the coal-covered boy before her and said, “But it breaks my heart not to see your smile.”

“Then for you I will smile.” He bowed, as was custom, before she was once again called away to do whatever important duties that princesses are called to do. And so, his love for Princess Charming grew and grew but she never knew. She didn’t even know his name.

Then one day Cinderella heard her talking about a great ball for all the eligible royalty in the area. It was supposed to be a grand soiree where the well to do could find their perfect match. Cinderella’s heart sank in his chest. Soon his love would be off and wed to someone else. He’d never see her again.

How sad was he when he returned to his dragon and told it of his woes. The dragon seemed to understand and from its giant claws it produced a pair of glass slippers which it laid on the ground for Cinderella to try on.

“Shoes? Where did you get those and why are you giving them to me?”

The dragon nodded and pushed them closer. Cinderella paused for a moment but put them on and when he did a magical transformation started to happen. The coal was washed off his face and hands, his hair became untangled and tamed, his clothing went from a sad collection of rags to a resplendent suit. He gasped.

The dragon then took the pumpkin Cinderella had offered it earlier for lunch, blew on it with smoke, and the whole thing turned into an elaborate ornately carved carriage.

Cinderella had no idea the dragon was magic so he leapt with joy. “For me?!”

But the dragon took a moment to look serious and waggled its claws as if to say, “Wait.” It then blew smoke in the shape of the moon and pointed at the shoes. It took a series of guesses but eventually Cinderella understood that the dragon’s gifts would lose their power when the moon was at its highest point in the sky. Once this was settled the dragon transformed itself into a horse and hooked itself to the carriage.

Already the sun was going down so Cinderella had little time as he hopped in and rode off, a smile wide on his face. When he arrived he introduced himself as a prince and strode right in like he owned the place even though he didn’t have the slightest idea what he was doing.

Eventually he found himself in the company of his dearest.

“Why, I’ve never seen the likes of you before.” She smiled. “And who may you be?”

“I am a prince from a distant land, come here to see you.”

“Me?”

“Of course, you.”

“But why me?”

“Because I have loved you from afar for many years and never had the heart to tell you.”

“Oh goodness!” She laughed and blushed just a little, the tiniest bit of rouge creeping up on her cheeks. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you, but you do remind me of someone.”

“I do?”

“Yes, it’s your smile you see. It’s very bright. And very wide. And it looks just like one I have seen before…”

“Oh?”

“But it can’t be for that smile belongs to a poor pauper boy.”

“A poor pauper boy you could never love?”

“No, I do love him in my own way. His whistling brightens up my afternoons. They’re so simple and sweet and he is always so happy.”

“But you’re destined to marry a prince.”

“Indeed… it is a cruel irony, isn’t it?”

Just as she said that Cinderella began to feel weird. The moon was hitting its highest point in the sky and he realized his new fancy identity was beginning to fade. With that he apologized, turned, and ran quickly out the door leaving one shoe behind in his haste. He jumped into the carriage a if his life depended on it and sped away into the dark only seconds before it turned back into a pumpkin, shattering all over him as it did so. The horse once again became a dragon and he was back to being a peasant.

“Oh dragon. How sad I am. She loves me as much as I love her but there’s nothing I can do.” The dragon listened quietly before placing Cinderella upon its back and flying him back home.

Cinderella seemed tired in the days after the ball. He did all the jobs he was asked, he withstood all the punishment from his foster brothers, but he didn’t eat, or whistle, or smile just for the joy of it. It was starting to concern everyone around him.

And then one day he was wandering the street when he came across Princess Charming who was talking to a friend. He couldn’t help but hear their conversation.

“I do not know who this prince was but he said he’d loved me for ages.”

“How strange! Could you have met him on holiday when you were out and about in the country?”

“I suppose it’s possible but I don’t remember anyone meeting me out there. And if he’s a prince you’d think he’d be formally introduced.”

“Have you asked anyone else if they recognized him?”

“No one does but he did leave this shoe as he was running out. Its the strangest thing. I have never seen a shoe made of glass!”

“That is most extraordinary. Maybe if you find the foot that fits the shoe you’ll find your prince.”

Cinderella dashed back home and put his one glass shoe in his coat to hide. It would be the only proof he had that he was the same person. And the next time he was working around the princess he whistled so cheerfully that she could not help but to notice.

“Oh chimney sweep, what is it you sing about today?”

“I sing of love dear princess!”

“Love? Oh? Have you found yourself a beautiful girl?”

“I think so.”

“You think so? How do you only think so? Doesn’t she know?”

“She will. Given time. But first I have something for you.”

“For me? But what could a chimney sweep offer me?”

From his coat pocket Cinderella drew his glass shoe and handed it to her with a bow. “I believe you may have been searching for this miss.”

“But how?! Where did you find it??”

“It’s my shoe miss.”

“Yours?! You’re the prince?!”

“I was for an evening. And it was a beautiful evening.”

“So, you’re the one who has always loved me from afar?”

“Always, since the moment I met you.”

“Oh, you poor thing! I don’t know what to say…” Her eyes seemed intent on taking in his every detail, but they were sad.

“I’m sorry.” Cinderella muttered.

“For what?”

“For making you sad.” He bowed and excused himself.

He knew he would never be able to really be with Princess Charming unless he got rid of his peasant past. So, he wandered to the dark side of the village market where an old woman sat by herself. The locals liked to whisper among themselves that she was a witch. And although that scared Cinderella he knew this was his best bet. He fumbled up to the table and began to mutter his whole story. The old woman smiled, drew a potion from her pocket and said, “Drink this and you will become the perfect husband for whomever loves you the most. But be careful. Once swallowed you can never return to your old life.”

And so Cinderella brought the little bottle back home where he kept it close to his heart. Could he really leave everything he knew behind? This would mean leaving the orphanage, leaving his work, leaving his evil foster brothers. Come to think of it there wasn’t much to stay for. And so with one gulp he swallowed the potion. It swooshed and swirled in his gut and made him dizzy. He didn’t feel so well as he fell to the floor and stood on all fours trying to regain his bearings. And that’s when he began to change but this time it wasn’t his clothes that morphed. It was his skin which started to grow scales, his nose which became long and beak-like, a tail sprouted from behind him, and wings burst from back. He howled in pain and ran out of the door of the orphanage. And in the moonlight he grew, and grew, and grew, until he towered over the little building. People screamed. Passersby began to throw things at him. What had he become?!

And then he realized – the one who loved him most in the world was not Princess Charming, it was the dragon.  And so, he flew into the sky in search of his happily ever after.