童话故事：真实的一个灰姑娘人生(10)

“You’re the prince, aren’t you?” Cinderella asked.
“I am,” he said with a smile. “And who are you?”
“I’m… I’m…” Cinderella said and glanced up at the clock. “I’m so sorry, but I have to go!”
It was almost midnight! Cinderella had completely lost track of time while she was dancing with the prince. She only had a few moments before the spell was broken. Cinderella ran out of the ballroom as fast as she could in her glass slippers.
“No, wait!” the prince called after her. “Please come back!”
Cinderella didn’t want to leave the prince, but she couldn’t let him see her transform back into a servant. She ran down the front steps of the palace, and the prince chased after her. A glass slipper slid off her foot as she went, but she didn’t have time to retrieve it.
The footman helped Cinderella into the golden carriage, and they raced home. They arrived on the front lawn of the house right at midnight’s final toll. Cinderella’s gown turned back into her raggedy clothes, the carriage turned back into a pumpkin, and the footman, the coachman, and the horses transformed back into the garden mice.