There was a knock on the door. The countess answered it and found her stepdaughter in all her splendor as the new princess. A herald declared a royal proclamation that the countess and her two daughters shall live in the palace from now on.
But envy pierced the wicked woman's heart like a bitter thorn. She found this kind invitation as an insult and a trap. She thought that the princess will turn them into maids, just like what she did to her.
The countess invited the princess to come in for awhile. Then, she excused herself and went to her two daughters. They were in bed, moaning with death near them. Their feet were still bleeding from that unlucky day. Their pain was unbearable to see. Thus, their mother killed them with the same axe that cut their toes and ankles.
She then called the princess to come over to the kitchen. Surprisingly, the evil stepmother tore off the princess's shining gown and dressed her in rags. The princess was patient and polite. Besides, she was used to it. Then, the stepmother showed her the bloody axe and ordered her to clean it. The princess in rags obeyed.
The stepmother then went out panicking, "Murder! Murder! Murder!" Everyone heard her distress. An angry mob went inside her villa. There she pointed to the girl in rags, "Look at the bloody axe she holds. She used it to kill my daughters!" Right away, they dragged the girl to the gallows, unknown to them that she was the princess.
The townspeople had never seen such gruesome act before. They shouted their hate and anger at the poor girl in rags. With all the commotion, the prince became curious and went to the gallows. He was utterly shocked to see a noose around his princess's neck.
"My prince!" she shouted.
The crowd laughed at her pathetic plea. But the prince silenced them, "You imbeciles! Do you know who she is? She's the princess!" The mob answered back that she's not, "She murdered her mistress's daughters. We saw her clean the bloody axe." The prince looked at the alleged murderer's eyes. He saw her innocence.
He then showed them the slipper which could only fit the real princess. The stepmother hurried to the scaffold and pulled the lever right away. The platform opened. The girl in rags was hanged to her sudden death. The prince fell to his knees and shouted out all the pain in his heart.
But he soon stood up with a grim countenance. He still walked towards the scaffold. Under the beautiful dangling body, he fitted the slipper. It fitted her perfectly.