My brothers call me Cinderlad because I like to tend the fire. Well, they may call me what they will, but they were too scared to spend St. John’s night in the barn, and watch to see how the grass disappeared. I did, and I survived some terrible earthquakes—not one, but three! Then, lo and behold, what did I see cutting the grass but the finest horse I ever set eyes on, with armor for a knight on his back!

Cinderlad in The Princess on the Glass Hill, Blue Fairy Book. Illustration by H.J. Ford.