Alternate Cinderella text draft

It was a typical day. I was cleaning the house while my step sisters enjoyed making more messes for me to clean up.  As I cleaned I was daydreaming about a fairy godmother or a prince coming to rescue me. That’s when I saw it.

Something shiny was under the bookshelf. I quickly picked it up and put it in my pocket because I didn’t want anyone to see what I had found.  I went back to cleaning. Then when no one was watching me, I peaked inside my pocket.

The shiny object was a key, a small golden key that I had never seen before. How mysterious and exciting! I started imagining that it was a key to a secret underground passage that would lead me out of the house.

I decided to try every keyhole in the house to see if the key fit into any of the doors. I waited until my stepmother and step sisters left to go shopping for their dresses to the ball. When I heard the front door close, I jumped up and started running from door to door trying to find which one the key would open.

Then I got an idea. Maybe the secret door was near the bookshelf where I found the key.  I took out all of the books from the shelves and then pushed the bookshelf to the side. There was a skinny door there and the key fit into the key hole! As I turned the key my heart was beating fast, maybe my daydreams would finally come true.

When I opened the door I saw a small dark tunnel, just like the one I had imagined!  I slowly slid with my back against the wall through the tunnel.  I could see some rays of light at the other end of the tunnel.

As I got closer to the other end I saw that the light was coming through an old wooden door that had lots of cracks in it.  I tried the special key in the door and it fit! As I turned the key my heart was beating even faster than before. This was it! My chance to be finally free!  I pushed the door open and froze.

I was not in a secret garden or a magical land. I was not even outside.  I was in my room, my tiny, smelly, gray room.  The tunnel that I thought would help me escape only led me back to my room.  I crawled into my room, sat on the floor and cried. That key had not helped me it just made me feel worse than before.

I sat there for a long time looking out the old dirty window.  Then a thought came into my mind, it was something I had never thought of before. I don’t need a magic key or a fairy godmother to rescue me.  If I want to escape, I have everything I need right in my room.  

I have a big broom to break the window, rags, and a needle and thread to sew the rags together to make a rope and climb out the window.  Why had I never thought of this before?

I quickly began sewing the rags together to make a long rope. Then I tied the last rag to the leg of my bed.  I hit the window as hard as I could with the broom handle. Finally the window cracked and broke.

Before I jumped through the window, I grabbed the small golden key and put it in my pocket.Even though it wasn’t a magical or secret passage key, it was a special key because it helped me find the courage inside to set myself free.

The End