The NNFCC's Green Tales are fairy tales with a renewable twist.  In this story, Cinderella goes to the ball and is sustinable all the way.

Cinderella looked up from stoking the coal fire and smiled at the ugly old woman who stood before her.

“Good morning, Stepmother. Are you well today?”

“Oh, so-so. I’m cold, Cinderella. Can’t you put more coal on that fire, and turn on the oil heater will you, I want to have a hot bath.”

Cinderella sighed. When she had a bath, she heated the water outside using a wood burning stove. Cinderella wanted to live in the forest, surrounded by trees and plants. Her friends, the animals and birds, would always be there to keep her company. Inside the gloomy house, everything was made of plastic, concrete and metal, and no-one ever came to chat to her: they only came downstairs to tell her what to do.

It was early in the morning and Cinderella was doing all the cooking, cleaning and washing for the day. She had to wash and dry her ugly sisters’ clothes so they could dress up and go parading around the town in their open top sports car. Privately, Cinderella thought that getting dolled up and going out driving was a bit strange, but she didn’t say anything. When they were out was her only time to relax. She spent this time in the forest, where she was building her own little house, secretly, out of wood, straw and other plants. She dreamed of a day when she might escape from the concrete house for good, although she knew they wouldn’t let her go.

There was a sharp rap on the door, and Cinderella ran up to answer it. Outside on the doorstep was a single envelope, made from beautiful paper with flower petals in it. The swirly handwriting on it read, “An invitation to the royal ball, to the ladies of the house”. Cinderella picked it up and read it carefully, an expression of excitement and surprise on her face. A ball! And she was invited! Oh, this was something to look forward to! She looked to see if the person who had delivered it was still nearby, but there was no-one to be seen, so she went inside and shut the door. She walked back to the kitchen, looking so closely at the card that she nearly walked into her ugly stepsisters!

“Oh, hello Sisters. I didn’t see you there.”

“What’s that, Cinderella? Not something for you, surely,” said the older, uglier sister, snatching the note from her hands. “No, obviously this is for us… Get on with our breakfast, we’ll see you later.”

And the sisters flounced away, giggling excitedly at their invitation.

Later, all the talk was of the ball, which was the following evening at the royal palace. Cinderella gave up all hope of going herself and instead resigned herself to helping her sisters and stepmother get prepared. She washed the cars: three of them, all enormous. She cleaned all their clothes: polyester dresses with big plastic buttons. They only wore them a few times before they threw them away. She sped around the house, turning off the lights which her sisters left on as they ran around giggling. They decided at the last minute that they should drive into town to buy new shoes, which at least gave Cinders some time to get on with things.

The night of the ball came quickly indeed. Cinders distracted herself with work until she was worn out, but still she felt a sharp stab of regret at not going to the ball. But she consoled herself with the thought that her sisters and stepmother would be out of the way, and she could spend the evening putting straw bales into the walls of her new house. She helped her step-sisters dress: they coated themselves in makeup, throwing plastic bottles and pots in the bin as they slapped it on. Next they struggled into their nylon dresses and fastened them with plastic buttons and metal zips. They decorated themselves with enormous plastic baubles. They ended up looking like human Christmas trees!

Finally, they left, driving away in a cloud of smoke from their diesel and petrol engines. Cinderella turned to walk back into the house, and gasped in surprise!

There, standing before her, was a tiny, beautiful old woman. Her clothes were of rough hessian, but were perfectly made. Her hair was decorated with leaves and chestnut shells, and she held in her hand a twig, upon which sat a single drop of brightest water, sparkling like a diamond.

“Hello, dear Cinderella. Do you know who I am?” she asked.

“Why no, I don’t. Can I help you? Are you lost?” replied Cinders.

“Oh, no,” said the lady, “I know exactly where I am. I am your fairy Godmother, and you shall go to the ball!”

At this, Cinderella’s face broke into an enormous smile. She clapped her hands and danced about! “Oh, this is wonderful! But wait: I’ve nothing to wear, and how will I get there?”

“Come with me,” said her fairy Godmother, and led her into the woods. There, all Cinderella’s friends were waiting for her, with smiles on their faces. The birds sat in the trees, singing sweet, excited tunes. The mice and frogs sat in a circle, fidgeting restlessly. And the foxes, badgers and rabbits ran amok, playing and twirling around one another. The animals were excited to see what would happen next!

Collected in the clearing were 4 sheafs of hemp, 8 of wheat, a pile of corn and a pile of sugar beets. There was also a big pile of blue-flowered flax. But they didn’t stay there for long! The fairy Godmother waved her wand at each in turn: the flax spun itself into a beautiful, fine blue linen gown, exactly the colour of flax flowers. It had leaves woven into the bodice, and crystals of water sparkled on the sleeves. The hemp frayed into long fibres and mixed itself with the wheat: it became a strong plastic and turned into a little car! The sugar beet leapt up and became fuel, pouring into the tank. Some grains of corn became tyres for the car, and a few strands of flax and hemp weaved themselves into seats and cushions for the inside. Cinderella exclaimed gleefully! This was the magic of plants indeed!

“Here is your carriage, dear Cinderella,” said her fairy Godmother. “It is made from plants, as all cars could be. It is powered by fuels which we can grow again and again. You will not harm the environment tonight, but you’ll travel in style! But listen: you must be home by midnight, or the car will turn back into the plants from which is it made.”

Next, the fairy Godmother selected 4 mice, a badger, and 6 newts. She waved her wand and they became 4 footmen, a driver and 6 white horses. The badger gently helped Cinderella into the car, the footmen took their place perched on each corner of the car, and they drove away. The horses trotted alongside, making the car look like a very special vehicle: which of course it was.

When they approached the palace, Cinderella’s eyes widened excitedly. The Prince obviously cared about the environment. There were trees and fields of all sorts of different crops growing around the palace: hemp, sunflowers, borage, calendula, wheat, trees and grasses. The palace itself was beautiful and ornate. The walls were soft to the touch, made of plant fibres and straw, with a smooth white finish. A lovely smell of flowers filled the air. As Cinderella walked up the broad wooden steps, she looked around with a wide smile on her face. And then, she was inside!

The ballroom was enormous, lit by candlelight and the soft glow of several wood burning stoves. There was all manner of delicious food, and people were dancing to lovely music. Cinderella looked round for her sisters, and gasped in horror as she saw them. They stuck out like sore thumbs! Their garish polyester dresses gleamed in the firelight, looking like shiny mackintoshes. Their bright red lips, plastic jewellery and large, PVC shoes looked ridiculous. Cinderella turned quickly away from them, and bumped straight into the Prince! He looked at her, shocked, but quickly smiled and led her onto the dance floor. Her heart was in her mouth.

They danced all night, gazing at one another. She asked him all about the castle and surrounding fields. He told her about his farm, where he grew crops to fuel his biomass boiler, which heated the castle. He told her about his herb garden, where he grew plants to use as medicines or to make scented oils. He even showed her the special towels that were being used to wash up the glasses and plates: they were made from bamboo.

Cinderella was very happy, until she noticed a large wooden clock on the wall, with both hands pointing to… the twelve! She gasped in horror, realising that her non-food crops carriage would soon be gone! She turned and ran away down the steps. The Prince called for her to stop as he watched her go. Then he sprinted after her. But she was gone, leaping into her car and driving away as fast as she could. She made it back to the house just in time, and caught a glimpse of her fairy godmother laughing and applauding as she ran inside.“Phew,” she thought. “That was a close one!” And then she sighed, because she realised that she would never see the Prince again, and could never hope to be his friend because of her humble position.

The Prince, meanwhile, was standing at the top of the beautiful wooden steps at the entrance to his castle, looking in vain to spot Cinderella’s carriage in the distance. He couldn’t understand why she left, when they were having so much fun! He hadn’t even asked her name! And now he would never see her again… unless…

The fairy Godmother was hovering nearby, with a mischievous look on her face. She was staring at a tiny, dusty footprint on the wooden steps: Cinderella’s footprint. She waved her wand, and it became a glimmering sparkling footprint. The prince looked down and saw it. “Why, whatever’s this?” he said, bending to pick it gently up from the ground.

The fairy godmother hovered behind the prince and whispered, “It belongs to your true love. It is her carbon footprint, and by testing its size against all ladies in your kingdom, you shall find her again and be happy forever.”

The Prince almost jumped out of his skin. When he spun around, the fairy godmother had vanished in a puff of scented petals. He looked back at the glimmering, fragile footprint of his true love. It was almost invisible, but it held all of Cinderella’s love for nature, and for renewable forms of heat and power. It was her carbon footprint, as much a part of her as her eyes, her smile or her beautiful laugh. He treasured it.

The next day dawned bright and sunny. Cinderella was up early, thrilled by her experiences of the night before. She fetched everyone’s breakfast, and went out into the forest to thank all her friends for helping her go to the ball. She worked on her straw house for a while: it was nearly finished, it just needed a final coat of lime render. Then she went back to the house, where her ugly stepsisters were busily gossiping about the ball.

“That scruffy little pixie who grabbed the Prince for every dance, she was awful! Who can she be?” said one.

“I don’t know, but I could tell the Prince was bored with her. He made eyes at me ALL night!” said her sister.

Then there came a knock on the door. The sisters rushed out, with Cinderella just behind. On the step stood a royal messenger.

“Following the success of last night’s royal ball, the Prince Charming will be measuring the carbon footprints of all in this realm, to identify his beloved, who has the smallest carbon footprint of all!”

“Gosh!” said the sisters together. They looked around them, trying to work out what their carbon footprints would look like. They didn’t know what the messenger was talking about really, but they had an idea that their carbon footprints might not be very small.

“We must shrink them,” they hissed to one another under their breaths. “There must be a way to make ours the smallest.”

Unfortunately, the ugly sisters didn’t know how to shrink their carbon footprints. They rushed around, throwing all their plastic stuff away, but they put it on the fire, which belched grey smoke into the air. Then they threw away a lot of other things until they both decided that they wanted new outfits to look their best for the Prince. The sisters drove to a huge shopping centre, and came back with even more than they had thrown away!

Cinderella, meanwhile, was skipping for joy! She could hardly believe her ears! She danced around, doing her chores, and hoping that the Prince would soon arrive. Eventually she heard a fanfare, and he arrived.

The sisters screamed when they saw him, and hitched up their polyester skirts to display their real feet, hoping to distract him from their carbon footprints. This didn’t really help, as their real feet were almost as big as their carbon footprints: enormous, gnarled feet, with garishly painted toenails (fake acrylic ones, made out of oil). The Prince shuddered slightly, but continued to smile.

“How can you see our carbon footprints to measure them, your highness? They aren’t REAL are they, they’re just a silly made up thing!”

“Oh no,” said the Prince. “Your carbon footprint is as real as your actual footprint, it’s just harder to see. You can measure it by looking at the things you buy, how you travel, and what your house is made of. Oh, and how much electricity and heat you use.”

The stepsisters giggled nervously, and skipped around turning off all the lights, which were on 24 hours a day, along with the heating. Then the fairy godmother appeared.

“I will reveal your carbon footprints to the Prince, so that he can measure them against that of his one true love.” And she waved her wand, and there they were.

First one, then another footprint appeared on the floor. Unlike Cinderella’s carbon footprint, these were dark, grey things. Slightly lumpy, smoky, and oily, they lay on the floor like small puddles of grimy water. Then they began to grow. They grew and grew until they filled the hall, they grew, sliding over everyone’s feet, pushing under the door, out into the driveway. The Prince looked horrified, and the sisters nervously giggled, jingling their car keys in their handbags.

“You have the biggest carbon footprints in the land!” said the Prince. “Look at those cars in the driveway, look at the thermostat turned all the way up, look at all your plastic stuff!” and he turned to leave. But then, with a wave of her wand, the fairy godmother took away the ugly sister’s footprints, and the hall went back to normal. The prince turned back, and started to give the sisters some ideas for reducing their carbon emissions. Then a tiny, glimmering footprint on the floor caught his eye. He gasped, and bent to gently pick it up. Cinderella slipped out of the shadows to stand before him.

The prince looked up, and their eyes met. They both laughed happily. The prince had found his true love, and she had a tiny little carbon footprint because she didn’t use fossil fuels and instead used plants to keep warm, provide shelter, and travel around!

The happy couple returned to the castle and celebrated with another natural ball. The ugly sisters moved into Cinderella’s straw house with their mother and took up farming. Gradually, their carbon footprints became smaller and smaller. The countryside became rich and green and many different plants grew in the fields. The birds and animals all had enough to eat and made friends with Cinderella's family. In the end, they were as beautiful and happy on their little farm as Cinderella and the Prince.

And they all lived happily ever after.

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