The {Fairy Godmother} Files: Cinderella’s Empty Folder

She couldn’t believe they would accuse her of such a thing. It was outrageous. Completely uncalled for. She was a GOOD FAIRY GODMOTHER. She’d been a fairy godmother for years. She was a little spacey these days, but still very good.

Earlier that day she’d received a summons from the National Fairy Godmothers Union. The board found that there was a person on her roster whom she’d neglected. Neglected! The nerve of them. The audacity. She would never have completely neglected one of her charges. But the board insisted that she had never presented any reports on magic performed for or wishes granted for a— oh what was the child’s name… Cinderella.

She didn’t even recall being assigned a Cinderella.

Maybe. But there’s no way she could have just forgotten the poor child. She kept meticulous records. The board secretary listed all of her charges and the most recent wishes granted. Cinderella’s record was blank. The board president had specifically pointed out that her quality of work and reporting had slipped recently and maybe it was time to “slow down.” Granting the wishes of her charges was her whole life and she was not too OLD. If she had neglected this child, she would fix it.

So now she had pulled out her own files on all her charges. There was no file for a Cinderella. Where had the board gotten that name? She began to pull the files out one by one. And then she saw it. The file had slipped to the bottom of the drawer, the rest of the files had been on top and she hadn’t seen it. Her heart stopped when she saw how thin the file was. Cinderella was a teen. Her file should have been huge. She reached for it and opened it. The last report was for a horse. The wish hadn’t even been granted by her but by Santa. Even that was over 10 years old. Oh dear.

As she flipped through the file, it came back to her. Cinderella was a kind and gentle child. Blessed to be born to parents who adored her. But then Cinderella’s mother died. The father got married again and that was all that was in the file.

Well, this was a right pickle.

How embarrassing! How her pride was hurt to find the board—and the President—was right. She had neglected Cinderellla. She checked on Cinderella to see how the child had fared with a neglectful Fairy Godmother.

The situation was dire. Cinderella’s father had also died. A poor child was an orphan now. Her step-mother and step-sisters were abusive. She feared the worst. She was only allowed to grant wishes to those with good hearts and good intentions. She had seen so many children’s hearts hardened by abuse. It was a tragedy the way poison could spread. She hid in the barn with the horse just as Cinderella came out of the house.

The first thing she noticed was the singing.

Cinderella sang to herself, to her chickens, to her horse, even to the mice that lived in her home. Cinderella had a lovely voice and sometimes the bids would sing along. It was clear to her now that Cinderella still had a good heart. She was allowed to grant her wishes.

There was still a problem. Cinderella had not made any wishes.

The step-sisters made wishes near constantly. New dresses and jewels. They wished ill on each other, but mostly they wished ill on Cinderella. But Cinderella went about her days and chores with content. That infuriated Cinderella’s relatives most of all.

Whatever was a Fairy Godmother to do.