第三章（319字）

Chapter 3: Animal Friends

1. In addition to her heavy work, Cinderella had some very special friends – the little animals in the house.

2. Cinderella treated every little creature with kindness,

3. so the mice, the birds, and even the family dog all adored her.

4. Each morning when Cinderella opened her window singing a song,

5. some little birds would flutter to her side, chirping to keep her company.

6. In the kitchen, Cinderella would secretly prepare a bit of breakfast for her mouse friends,

7. and speak to them gently.

8. She even gave her two best mouse friends names – Jaq and Gus –

9. and sewed cute little clothes for them out of scraps of cloth.

10. Once, Cinderella discovered a new little fat mouse caught in a trap;

11. she rescued him, and that little mouse was Gus.

12. From then on, Gus was very grateful to Cinderella,

13. and Jaq took Gus around to learn about the house

14. as they became Cinderella's loyal companions.

15. Of course, Cinderella never forgot her big dog Bruno.

16. Bruno was very loyal to Cinderella and always wanted to protect her.

17. Bruno got along well with the little mice,

18. but he did not like that arrogant black cat Lucifer at all.

19. The mischievous Lucifer was always trying to catch the mice,

20. chasing them around whenever Cinderella wasn’t watching.

21. Whenever Lucifer was in hot pursuit, Cinderella would appear just in time,

22. to pick up the cat or cleverly intervene,

23. allowing the little mice to escape safely.

24. Sometimes the little mice would help Cinderella with small tasks,

25. like picking up spools of thread or handing her buttons,

26. making her busy work a little easier and more fun.

27. In Cinderella's eyes, these little animals were like her family,

28. bringing her a lot of joy and comfort.