第5章：舞会前的准备 Chapter 5: Preparing for the Ball 1. 舞会当晚即将来临，
The night of the ball was approaching, 2. 继母和继姐们忙着打扮自己，
and the stepmother and stepsisters were busy dolling themselves up, 3. 而灰姑娘则被派去做更多的杂活。
while Cinderella was sent to do even more chores. 4. 继母和继姐不想让灰姑娘有空去准备礼服，
Not wanting Cinderella to have any time to prepare a dress, 5. 便故意给她加派了许多任务。
her stepmother and stepsisters deliberately assigned her many extra tasks. 6. 大姐要她不停地为自己修改礼服的尺寸，
The older sister kept her busy altering the fit of her gown, 7. 二姐则要她去找丢失的丝带和手套。
and the younger sister kept sending her to search for misplaced ribbons and gloves. 8. 继母还装模作样地发现屋里“到处都是灰尘”，
The stepmother even pretended to notice that 'there was dust everywhere' in the house, 9. 命令灰姑娘把每个房间都重新打扫一遍。
and ordered Cinderella to clean every room all over again. 10. 灰姑娘累得满头大汗，却还是咬牙坚持，
Cinderella was exhausted and sweating, but she still clenched her teeth, 11. 把所有活儿一件件做好。
and kept going, finishing each chore one by one. 12. 整个下午，灰姑娘忙得连喘口气的工夫都没有，
The entire afternoon, Cinderella was so busy that she didn’t even have a moment to catch her breath, 13. 更别说腾出时间去修改自己的舞会礼服。
let alone any time to alter her own ball gown. 14. 这期间，继姐们在房间里挑选首饰和装饰，
During this time, the stepsisters were in their room picking out jewelry and decorations, 15. 挑三拣四。
being extremely picky about everything. 16. 大姐剪下自己礼服上的一条旧绸带嫌它过时，
The older sister snipped off an old silk sash from her dress, 17. 随手扔在地上；
complaining it was outdated, and tossed it on the floor; 18. 二姐扯下一串不要的旧珠子，也丢在一旁。
the younger sister pulled off a string of unwanted old beads and threw them aside as well. 19. 小老鼠们见状，赶紧悄悄把那条飘带和珠子拖走，
The little mice saw this and quickly sneaked away with the ribbon and beads, 20. 心里已经有了一个计划。
already forming a plan in their hearts. 21. 傍晚时分，继母检查灰姑娘的工作，
By evening, the stepmother inspected Cinderella's work, 22. 看到所有家务都完成了，
and, seeing that all the chores were done, 23. 便带着女儿们去忙自己的事了。
went off with her daughters to mind their own preparations. 24. 当灰姑娘终于忙完时，夜色已渐渐降临，
By the time Cinderella finally finished everything, night was falling, 25. 距离舞会开始所剩的时间不多了。
and there was little time left before the ball began. 26. 她疲惫地走回自己房间，
She walked back to her room in exhaustion, 27. 看着床上那件尚未改好的旧礼服，
and looked at the old dress on her bed, still not altered, 28. 心里充满了失落。
and her heart filled with sadness. 29. 看着时间一点点流逝，
As the time ticked away, 30. 她觉得自己的舞会梦想正从指尖悄悄溜走。
she felt her dream of going to the ball quietly slipping through her fingers. 31. 灰姑娘轻轻叹了口气，
Cinderella sighed softly, 32. 以为自己根本来不及准备好参加舞会了。
thinking that there was simply no way she could get ready in time for the ball. | 
