Genre: Fairytales Retold Short Story.

Word Count: 8040

When Aschenputtel's mother dies, her father marries a woman with two daughters of her own. They treat her like a servant and she's left to sleep on the hearth amongst the ashes, her only friend a little bird that nests in the hazel tree, which grew at her mother's grave. When the king throws a feast to find his son a bride, Aschenputtel begs to attend. Her family answers her with taunts and impossible tasks. She's determined to complete them so she can attend the feast.

This story was written by an Australian author using Australian spelling.