Belinda is auditioning
for the Grand Metropolitan
Ballet’s production of
VINGEPE Lid.
With her perfect feet, which
bopecuo hb beeeee el
is a shoe-in for the lead. But a
LiNY-footed rival presents a big
problem. Miss Lola Mudge is the
ballet’s newest dancer, and she
always gets what she wants, even
if it means stealing the show
from Belinda! Can Belinda SdY6
the ballet from the jealous Lola?
Ages 3 up
Reinforced binding
Belinda > .
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PUBLIC LIBRARY $7"! MATEO, CALIFORNI
For Emily and Molly
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Published by Penguin Group
Penguin Young Readers Group, 34.5 Hudson Street, New York, New York roo14, U.S.A,
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England
First published in 2006 by Viking, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group
fe (Bye eG kOme tO abe
Copyright © Amy Young, 2006
All rights reserved
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Young, Amy.
Belinda and the glass slipper / by Amy Young; illustrations by Amy Young.
Eve,
Summary: Belinda competes with a very ambitious new dancer for the title role in the ballet “Cinderella.”
ISBN 0-670-06082-8 (hardcover)
[1. Ballet dancers—Fiction. 2. Foot—Fiction. 3. Size—Fiction. 4. Dancing—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.Y845Bdu 2006
[E]—de22
2005022812
Manufactured in China
Set in Mrs. Eaves Roman and Weehah
Belinda was nervous.
She was about to audition
for the Grand Metropolitan
Ballet’s production of
le
~~.
“Cinderella.”
The maestro beamed. “Ah, Belinda. I am so glad you are
here! Meet our newest dancer, Miss Lola Mudge. I will
choose one of you for the role of Cinderella.”
Lola smiled sweetly at Belinda and said, “I really want this
part, and [| always get what I want. Plus, I have perfect, tiny
feet—just right for Cinderella.”
Belinda had perfect feet, too, but they happened to be huge.
“Here we go!” announced the maestro. The music started.
but not as high as Belinda.
Lola spun fast,
but not as fast as Belinda.
Lola was graceful, but not as graceful as Belinda,
who was as delicate a a
wf ak e
ay
“Thank you, girls!” said the maestro. “You were both
excellent. Belinda, congratulations—you will be Cinderella.
Miss Mudge, you will be one of the ladies at the ball.”
“That’s not fair!”
Lola muttered.
They rehearsed for weeks. The other dancers didn't like
practicing with Lola. When the maestro wasn't looking,
she pushed them out of their pliés and reviled their releves.
Finally it was opening night. All of the dancers bustled about,
putting on costumes, tying toe shoes, and limbering up.
Lola said to Belinda, “Can you help me reach my, um, hair
ribbon? It’s in here, high on a shelf.” Belinda followed Lola
into a little closet. When she turned around to help Lola,
she heard the door slam and click shut.
Lola had locked her in!
“Let me out!” cried Belinda. She had
to dance! But everyone was hurrying to
get onstage, and no one heard her.
Lola stole Belinda’s glass slippers. They were not really
made of glass, but they were bright and shiny. Lola ran
off to find the maestro. “Belinda is sick, and she asked
me to dance her part,’ she lied.
“Oh dear, the poor child! But how can you take her place?
You will have to wear the glass slippers in the ball scene,
and theyll be much too big for you,” said the maestro.
“lliimake them fit,” said Lola.
She crammed lots of stuffing into the glass slippers and
stashed them with a fancy costume for the ball. She puta
rag over her tutu to make herself look like Cinderella.
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Then she hurried onstage just as the curtain opened.
Lola began to dance. She knew the steps, but the maestro
wished she could jeté a little higher, the way Belinda did.
He wished she glissaded more gracefully, like Belinda.
ce
Let me out !” shouted Belin da from the closet.
Just then, the Fairy Godmother dancer came by and heard
Belinda. She unlocked the door and said, “What are you doing
in there? The ball is about to begin.” She helped Belinda into
her tutu.
“Thank you!” Belinda said. “But where are my glass slippers?”
“T don’t know,” said the Fairy Godmother dancer. “Just
wear what you ve got on. Flurry —there s no time to lose!”
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Belinda stepped onto the stage just as the ball was getting
started. Every ballerina got to dance with the prince. When
it was Belinda’s turn, he swept her into his arms and they
did a gorgeous pas de deux. The audience oohed and ahhed.
“I’m Cinderella,” said Lola as she swooped in to claim her
dance with the prince, wearing Belinda’s glass slippers.
ithe prince frowned.
As Lola leapt and spun, something odd happened to the glass
slippers. They wavered and wobbled and began to unravel!
Pieces of stuffing fell out, and her feet seemed to shrink. The
clock struck twelve.
Lola ran off the stage on her teeny tiny
feet, leaving behind a big glass slipper.
Soon it was time for all of the ballerinas to try on the glass
slipper. When the prince found the foot that fit the slipper,
he would know that he had found his true love—Cinderella.
One by one the dancers tried it on, but no one’s foot fit.
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Just before it was Belinda’s turn, Lola pushed her out of the
way. She stuck her foot in the slipper, but of course it was
much too big for her, now that the stuffing was gone. ‘Just
pretend it fits!” Lola hissed at the prince
Belinda had had enough. She stepped up and curtsied
gracefully before the prince. He smiled happily at her
and knelt to try the slipper on her foot.
It fit perfectly.
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“Not this time,” said Belinda.
Lola tried to crush Belinda’s foot
with her heel, but Belinda
pirouetted out of reach.
Lola sprang after her, but Belinda
protected herself with a well-executed
battement,
and she escaped with
a stunningly brilliant
tour en lair.
Bel inda dazzled the aud lence, SOar ing over their heads |1ke
a Yraln bow. Lola sank intoa heap She knew she had lost
Belinda floated into the pripce s arms.
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The ballet was a great success. Everyone said it was one of the
best they'd seen. So different! So full of action and emotion!
The maestro took all the dancers out for cake and hot
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chocolate. Everyone had a good time except for Lola,
who decided she didn’t want to be a dancer after all.
She left the ballet to become a hockey player.
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She was nicknamed " Teensy Toes” because her feet
were so small. She got into a lot of fights, but she also
won a lot of games.
4 Joung trained as a fine artist
at Yale and received an MFA in painting
from Indiana University. She then went
on to earn a law degree from Harvard
and worked as a lawyer for several years.
Public Library She now devotes herself full-time to
writing and illustrating, and her work
has appeared in newspapers and maga-
zines across the country. Amy lives in
western Michigan with her husband,
Paul, and their dog, Sophie Rose. Visit
her at www.amyyoung.com.
PRAISE FOR belinda the Ballerina
“Encountering [Belinda the Ballerina] is like
beginning to dance after endless afternoons of
exercises.” —The New York Times Book Review
PRAISE For belinda in Paris
“An engaging story, graceful illustrations, and,
in Belinda, an instantly recognizable character
who is simply magnifique.” —Booklist
Jacket illustrations copyright © Amy Young, 2006
Property of
A Division of Penguin Young Readers Group
34.5 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
Wisit us at www.penguin.com/youngreaders
Manufactured in China
nin Mateo Public
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