Meanwhile, Cinderella, Pixie, and Dixie were hard at work, doing the chores Cinderella was assigned to. As they were busy watering the houseplants, the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who that could be," Cinderella said, as she walked to the door. When she opened it, she found Yahooey on the doorstep with a scroll in his hand.
"Hear ye, hear ye!" he shouted. "An urgent message from his royal majesty, the King!"
"Cinderella!" the Stepmother shouted, as she, Fatima, and Leena came down the stairs. "Who's at the door?"
"A messenger from the King, Stepmother," Cinderella said.
"The King!" both Fatima and Leena cried. They raced down the stairs, and shoved Cinderella out of their way to hear the message.
"Tonight, his majesty the King is holding a royal ball, in the honor of his royal son, Prince Charming," Yahooey read. "And every unmarried girl in the kingdom is to attend, so that his highness, Prince Charming, may choose a bride."
Upon hearing that, Leena and Fatima squealed in delight.
"That is all," Yahooey said, handing the scroll to the Stepmother, and then he promptly left.
"What a wonderful opportunity!" the Stepmother shouted. "If one of you two marries the prince, that would make me a queen-in-law! Come on, girls! We've got a lot to do before the ball!"
"Stepmother," Cinderella said, somewhat timidly. "Do you think that maybe . . . . ."
"What is it, Cinderella?" the Stepmother asked, sounding annoyed.
"Well, I was wondering," Cinderella continued. "Can I go to the royal ball?"
"Whaaaaaaat?!" the Stepmother shrieked. "You?! Go to the royal ball?! You?! You'll do nothing of the kind!"
"Yeah," Fatima said. "You've to help us get ready for the royal ball!"
"Besides," Leena said, "the prince would never marry a scullery maid!"
And with that, the two stepsisters went up the stairs, laughing at Cinderella. The Stepmother followed them, but before she left, she turned to Cinderella.
"Now you get back to your chores!" she shouted. Then she walked into a room, and slammed the door.
"Hmph," Pixie grumbled. "How do you like that? You're just as eligible as they are!"
"And you're a lot prettier, too!" Dixie shouted.
"Thanks, guys," Cinderella said, and she and the mice went back to the chores.
Later that evening, Cinderella was helping her stepsisters get ready for the ball. And it wasn't easy, since Cinderella had the job of tightening Fatima's corset.
"Can't you go any faster, Cinderella?" Fatima asked. "We'll be late for the ball!"
"I'm . . . . . going . . . . as fast as . . . . . I can!" Cinderella shouted, straining as she pulled the corset as tight as she possibly could. Finally, she managed to tie the corset. Once she did, she fell to the floor, breathless.
"Well, don't just sit there!" Fatima demanded. "Get my dress!"
Cinderella managed to pull herself up, and she got Fatima's dress. After Fatima and Leena were all dressed up, they, along with the Stepmother, left for the ball. Cinderella, Pixie, and Dixie sat at the window, and watched them leave.
"That's gratitude for you," Pixie said.
"Yeah," Dixie replied. "I hope Fatima's girdle has a blow out!"
"That's not gonna help Cinderella get to the ball, Dixie," Pixie pointed out.
"I know, Pixie," Dixie said, shrugging. "But a mouse can dream, can't he?"
"I wish I could go to the ball and meet the prince," Cinderella sighed. "But I don't see any way I can do that."
"Me neither," Pixie said.
"Me neither," Dixie said.
Suddenly, Cinderella and the two mice heard something outside. It sounded like something was falling out of the sky. They ran out to the front porch to investigate.
"Look! In the sky!" Cinderella shouted.
"It's a bird!" Pixie shouted.
"It's a plane!" Dixie shouted.
"No, it's . . . . ." the mice said in unison.
Before they could answer, whatever it was in the sky came crashing down to the ground. It looked like it was a witch riding a broomstick. As a matter of fact, she looked a great deal like Winsome Witch.
"Hi, everybody!" she shouted. "I hope I'm in time!"
"In time for what?" Cinderella asked, confused.
"In time to get you ready for the royal ball!" the witch shouted, jumping to her feet. "I'm your Fairy Godmother!"
"Fairy Godmother?" Cinderella asked. "You look more like a witch to me."
"I know, but there's a Fairy Godmother shortage, so the agency sent me. Now then, shall we get started? First, I'm going to need a large pumpkin, a horse, a dog, and a couple of mice."
"We're mice," Dixie said, tugging on the Fairy Godmother's skirt.
"Oh, you two will do quite nicely," the Fairy Godmother said.
"But what do you need a pumpkin, a horse, and a dog for?" Cinderella asked.
"You'll see," the Fairy Godmother said.
Cinderella and the mice shrugged, and went off to fetch the items the Fairy Godmother had asked for. Shortly, Cinderella returned with the family dog and horse, while Pixie and Dixie brought in the pumpkin.
"Here's everything," Cinderella said.
"Good, good," the Fairy Godmother replied. "Now for the magic words. Ippity-pippity-pow!"
With a wave of the Fairy Godmother's magic wand (and a "Jet Screamer" music cue), the pumpkin was transformed into a coach, the horse was transformed into a coachman, the dog was transformed into a footman, and Pixie and Dixie were transformed into horses.
"There, that will do quite nicely," she said. Then she turned to Cinderella. "Now, only one thing left to do. Ippity-pippity-pow!"
One "Jet Screamer" music cue later, Cinderella's rags had turned into a dark magenta ball gown, which included glass slippers.
"Oh, Fairy Godmother!" Cinderella shouted. "It's so beautiful!"
"You'd better be going now," the Fairy Godmother said. "Just remember to be back here before the stroke of twelve, or else everything goes back to the way it was."
"All right," Cinderella said. "Thank you, Fairy Godmother!"
And with that, Cinderella climbed into the coach, and departed for the royal ball.
At the palace, the guests were arriving by the dozens, it seemed. The King was pleased with the turn out.
"This was a great idea," he said. "Just look at all these girls arriving! My son is sure to find at least one of them attractive! Where is he, anyway?"
The King looked all around the ballroom, until he spotted Prince Charming at the other end of the room. He was sitting on his throne, sleeping. The King wasn't amused.
"Duke!" he shouted, "Get over here!"
"Yes, your majesty?" the Grand Duke asked, coming over.
"My son is asleep," the King said. "Go wake him up!"
"Right away, sire," the Duke said. He walked around the room, until he came to Yippee.
"Hey, Yippee," he said. "The prince is asleep. King says to wake him up, pronto."
"Yes, sir, your Duke-ship, sir!" Yippee shouted, saluting. Then he ran over to Yappee.
"Yappee, the prince is asleep," he said. "The King's orders are to wake him up."
"Got it," Yappee said. He took off running, and stopped when he reached Yahooey.
"Hey, Yahooey!" he shouted. "The Prince is asleep. Go wake him up! King's orders!"
"Right," Yahooey said, saluting. Then he turned to delegate the order to someone else.
"Hey you . . . . ." he started, before he realized there wasn't anyone left to delegate the order to! "Oh yeah. That is right. I am the last one!"
Realizing this, Yahooey walked over to where Prince Charming was sleeping.
"Excuse me, your highness," he said. "But I have an urgent message from your father, his majesty, the King."
"Oh yeah?" Prince Charming asked, yawning. "What's that?"
"WAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUUPPPPP!" Yahooey screamed, as loud as he possibly could, right in the prince's ear. That definitely woke him up, all right!
"Thanks, man," he said, sarcastically, while he cleaned out his ear. "I didn't need that!"
"What are you doing sleeping like that, anyway?!" the King shouted, as he stormed over. "How do you expect to meet any girls if you're fast asleep?!"
"I can't help it, Pop," Prince Charming said. "I hate these royal balls! They're so boring! Especially when you're trying to play matchmaker!"
Prince Charming stood up, and started to leave the ballroom. He'd had enough of this already.
"Now where are you going?!" the King demanded. "The party hasn't even got started yet!"
"I need some air," Prince Charming said, and he headed for the balcony as fast as he could. The King sighed, and started back towards the guests.
"He must get this from his mother's side of the family," he grumbled.
Outside Prince Charming was outside on the balcony, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was glad to be out of that ballroom, that was for sure. He leaned against the balcony's railing, when a friend of his (literally), dropped in. It was the Ugly Duckling (Yakky Doodle).
"Hiya, Prince," the Ugly Duckling said.
"Hey, Ug," Prince Charming said. "Nice of you to drop in."
"What's going on inside?" the Ugly Duckling asked, looking at the doors. "It looks like a big party going on."
"Yeah, it's a royal ball my dad set up for me."
"Sounds like fun. But how come you're out here, and not inside?"
"Are you kidding? Pop only threw this royal shindig because he's trying to get me married and moved out of the castle! If you ask me, this is just a waste of time!"
"Maybe not. You might meet somebody."
"Yeah right. What does my dad expect to happen? That the girl of my dreams will just suddenly show up at the door?"
Right after Prince Charming said that, a coach pulled up to the castle doors. The footman opened the door to the coach, and out stepped Cinderella. Prince Charming took one look at her, and was dumbstruck.
"See ya later, Ug!" he shouted, dashing for the balcony doors. "I gotta get back to the party! The girl of my dreams just showed up at the door!"
Prince Charming raced back into the ballroom, and looked around the room.
"About time to got back in!" the King shouted. "The first dance is about to start, and I want you to . . . ."
"Later, Pop!" Prince Charming shouted, taking off across the room.
"Huh," the Duke said. "What's the matter with him?"
"Beats me," the King said. "I just don't understand that boy. Why can't he . . . . ."
"Wait a minute, sire," the Duke said. "Look!"
The King looked to where the Duke was pointing. There he saw Prince Charming and a girl by the doorway. Prince Charming bowed, the girl curtsied, and the two of them went directly to the dance floor, and began dancing the minute the music started.
"He's . . . . . he's dancing," the King said, like he didn't believe it. "He's actually out there dancing. With a girl, yet."
"Yeah," the Duke said. "Sure looks like it."
"WHOOOOPEEEEEE!" the King cheered at the top of his voice. "I knew this would work! What a brilliant idea I had!"
The Duke merely rolled his eyes. Of course, this whole royal ball was his idea, but he knew he couldn't say so, or else the King would probably have his head lopped off.
Though not everyone was happy about the circumstances. All the other girls at the ball were green with envy, especially Cinderella's stepsisters, but they didn't even recognize her (which may have been a good thing). Cinderella's stepmother was fuming.
"One of you get out there and cut in!" she shouted. "Go sweep the prince right off his feet!"
"I don't know, Mama," Fatima said.
"Just get out there and do it!" the Stepmother yelled. "Remember, if one of you marries the prince, we'll be rich!"
Once the music stopped, everyone left the dance floor for a break. That was when Fatima made her move. She cornered the prince at the punch bowl.
"May I have the next dance, your highness?" she asked, batting her eyes.
"Eeehhhh . . . . ." Prince Charming said, backing away. "Sorry, your fatness. But I promised the next dance to someone else."
And with that, the prince cut out, leaving Fatima there, a little bewildered. Then it was Leena's turn. Just as the music started, she grabbed Prince Charming by the arm.
"Come on, Princey!" she shouted. "Let's dance!"
Before Prince Charming had a chance to object, he found himself dancing with Leena, though that was definitely not a walk in the park. Leena may have been skinnier than a beanpole, but her feet were enormous, and she was a terrible dancer. Every other step, she wound up stomping on the prince's feet.
"Ouch!" Prince Charming shouted, just as Leena took a step. "Listen, I think maybe we oughta forget this. My feet can't take it!"
That being said, Prince Charming limped over to the throne, sat down, took off his shoe, and massaged his foot. Once his foot stopped throbbing, he went to find Cinderella, and the two of them began tripping the light fantastic once again.
"Rats," Leena said, and she trudged off the dance floor.
"You two make me sick!" the Stepmother shouted.
"Forget it, Mama," Leena said.
"Yeah," Fatima replied. "He's hooked on that other girl, anyway."
"Well, I'm not through yet!" the Stepmother shouted. "I'm getting my hands on the king's money if it's the last thing I do!"
Throughout the rest of the night, Cinderella had every dance with Prince Charming. It was like a dream come true. Cinderella was having the time of her life dancing the night away, until the clock in the tower began to chime. Quickly, Cinderella glanced at it, and saw that it was midnight.
"Oh dear!" she cried.
"What's wrong?" Prince Charming asked.
"It's midnight! I have to go!"
"You have to go? Why?"
"If I don't leave by the stroke of midnight, my coach will turn into a pumpkin?"
"Your coach will turn into a what?!"
"Eennngghh . . . . goodbye!"
And with that, Cinderella took off running. Prince Charming dashed right after her.
"Wait!" he called. "Come back! Don't leave yet! I don't even know your name!"
But Cinderella couldn't stop. She didn't want to have the prince see her ball gown transform back into rags. And she knew she had to hurry. As she ran, she passed Yahooey, who just watched her go.
"Bye, lady!" he called, waving.
"Yahooey!" Prince Charming shouted, as he reached the guard's post. "Don't just stand there, go after her!"
"Oh, right," Yahooey said, and he started running after Cinderella. "Hey lady! Oh lady! Oh lady!"
Cinderella knew she couldn't stop for anything. She was so intent on getting out of there, she didn't even notice she ran right out of one of her glass slippers. Yahooey saw this, picked up the slipper, and began running after her again.
"Hey lady! Oh lady!" he shouted. "You dropped your shoe!"
"Give me that!" Prince Charming shouted, grabbing the glass slipper out of Yahooey's hand.
"What's goin' on out here?" the Duke asked as he, Yippee, and Yappee ran outside. They wanted to see what the commotion was about.
"It's my dream girl," the prince said. "She's getting away!"
"Yippee, Yappee, hurry up and close the gates!" the Duke shouted.
"Right away, your Duke-ness, sir!" Yippee shouted.
Yippee and Yappee ran up to the mechanism that opened and closed the gates, and began turning the wheels so the gates would close. Cinderella had just gotten into her coach, and it had taken off like a shot. The horses ran for the gates as fast as they could, as they were closing. They made it out of the palace right before the gates closed.
"Oh no," the Duke groaned. "Open the gates, you idiots! Open the gates!"
"I wish he'd make up his mind," Yappee said, as he and Yippee started turning the wheel the other way.
"Get after her, you guys!" Prince Charming shouted. "Hurry, before she gets away!"
The fivesome raced out of the gates as fast as they could, but there was absolutely no way in the world they could catch up with that coach.
"It's too late, your highness," Yappee said. "She's gone."
"Maybe," Prince Charming said. "But at least we have a clue how to find her. Come on!"
And with that, Prince Charming, the Duke, and the Goofy Guards raced back into the ballroom, and told the King what had happened.
"You lost her?!" the King shouted, then he smacked his son upside the head. "What's the matter with you?!"
"Hey, Pop, take it easy!" Prince Charming shouted. "I may have lost her, but I know how to find her."
"How?"
"She left one of her shoes behind. All I have to do is find the girl who fits this glass slipper. And that's the girl I'm gonna marry."
"Good theory, your highness," the Duke said. "But it's not practical. I mean, do you realize how many girls would be able to wear that shoe?"
"Oh, keep quiet!" the King shouted, smacking the Duke in the arm. "You say you're gonna marry the girl that fits that shoe? Well, I'm gonna hold you to it! The first girl you find that fits that slipper, you're going to marry, you got that?"
"Yeah, I got it, I got it," the prince said. "See you later, Pop!"
"Now where are you going?" the King asked.
"To start the search!" Prince Charming said. "No time like the present!"
"If I may make a suggestion, your princely-ness," Yippee said. "Maybe you ought to wait until daybreak."
"He's got a point there, kiddo," the Duke said. "Not a lot of people will appreciate someone knockin' on their door at one o'clock in the mornin'."
"All right, all right, I'll wait," Prince Charming said. "Sheesh."
With that, Prince Charming left the throne room, and walked outside. He stood on the palace steps and looked at the glass slipper.
"This is gonna be a cinch," he said. "This is gonna wind up fitting the girl I danced with tonight. After all, this is a fairy tale. And all fairy tales like these are the same. There's only one person who'll fit the glass slipper. It's in the bag."
"It certainly is, Princey!" a voice shouted.
Before Prince Charming had a chance to react, a burlap bag was thrown over him. The perpetrator was none other than Cinderella's stepmother. She tied the sack closed, and slung it over her shoulder.
"I knew that body building and weight lifting course would come in handy some day," she said. "Come on, girls! Let's get going!"
The Stepmother, Fatima, and Leena laughed as they raced to their carriage, and took off in it. However, their actions did not go unnoticed. The Duke and the Goofy Guards had come out of the palace just in time to see the Stepmother throw the sack over the prince.
"Hey, the king's son is being prince-napped!" Yahooey shouted.
"Well, don't just stand there, gapin' you guys!" the Duke shouted. "Go after him!"
"Right!" Yippee shouted. "Yippee!"
"Yappee!" Yappee shouted.
"Yahoo-ee-ee-ey!" Yahooey shouted, and the guards took off. And, as always, they would up crashing into the wall.
WHAM!
"I'm tradin' you guys in," the Duke sighed.
Luckily, the Ugly Duckling had seen the whole thing, and decided to take action.
"I'd better go after that mean old lady myself!" he shouted. He began flying after the carriage, but then stopped when he realized something.
"Wait a minute!" he shouted. "I can't stop them by myself. I'm just a little bitty duck. I'd better get some help. I know! I'll go find my friends, Pixie and Dixie! They'll help me for sure!"
And with that, the Ugly Duckling flapped his little wings, and flew to find his mice friends as fast as he could.