| abstract | - Cackle's Academy is staging a pantomime for the Christmas season, directed by Miss Crotchet. The pantomime is 'Cinderella', and is being staged in the Great Hall with the Grand Wizard in attendance. Backstage, everything's falling apart. Miss Hardbroom (in a white dress) has been cast by Miss Crotchet as the fairy godmother. "I'm just not that kind of witch!" Crotchet explains that the point is to cast people against character. Mildred is playing Cinderella, but is suffering from stage fright just before the performance is due to start. Ethel wants to take over, stating that she knows all Mildred's lines, but Miss Crotchet won't allow it. Miss Crotchet tells Mildred that the fact she doesn't want to be Cinderella is exactly what makes her perfect for the part. Ruby's rigged up some sort of lighting device with a potion. Miss Drill and Charlie Blossom are the stage managers, but Charlie accidentally destroys Miss Hardbroom's pumpkin just before curtain-up. Curtain-up is very soon, and Maud shows up to tell Drill that the ugly stepsisters are on strike. Meanwhile, Hellibore's reading the program and he's quite befuddled. He thinks that Pantomime is mime. And he doesn't understand why Drusilla's playing the prince, and his boys are playing... In the dressing room, Grailquest and Dragonsbane, made up as the ugly stepsisters, are on strike and refusing to go on stage. "You're the ugly stepsisters! What did you expect to look like?!" Eventually, Mildred goes on stage and the play (written by the girls with a little help from Miss Crotchet) begins. Enid and Ethel are playing the cow and Miss Hardbroom, reluctantly, is the Fairy Godmother. Maud is playing Cinderella's wicked stepmother, and her character is dressed as Miss Hardbroom. Jadu shows up, playing a messanger from the palace, and gives an invitation to the ugly sisters, but Maud snatches Mildred's up before she gets it. Enid and Ethel come on as the cow, which Mildred milks, spraying milk all over the ugly sisters. Ethel kicks Mildred, making her fall off her stool, and Jadu hits Ethel with a broom. They all exit and Hellibore comments that it got a little rough toward the end of that scene. Jadu and Ted Blossom (Mr. Blossom's brother, playing the prince's nurse) come on stage and have a food fight of sorts. Backstage, Mildred's very upset and Maud tells her to just sit down and think positive thoughts until she's on again. Drusilla offers to get Mildred a drink, and gives her some liquid from the magic generator to drink instead of water, causing her to become electrified. Charlie goes to get another pumpkin (it's impossible to magic one for very technical reasons). "If you can't find one, get creative." Meanwhile, there's segements going on with Ted and Drusilla, and then Fenny and Gris dancing around Drusilla and singing a song about how the prince is groovy like a movie. Mildred's got electricity shooting out her fingers, so she can't go on. She accidentally zaps anyone who comes near her to see what's wrong. There's a pause, and then Ruby goes out and does a dancing act (which Miss Crotchet forbid her from doing earlier). Miss Drill orders Ethel to take over as Cinderella and take Mildred's place (which pleases Drusilla because Mildred always kicks her in the shins, and stands on her feet when they're dancing). Hellibore is angry as can be. He wants the old Cinderella back, but the show goes on. Charlie comes back and Miss Drill gives Miss Hardbroom the okay sign. She comes on stage and recites a neat little poem about turning pumpkins or any round rout into a carriage. She starts to yell at first, and then speaks in the highest, sweetest voice she can muster. "Go get a pumpkin." "From where?" "Over there." Ethel gets the "pumpkin" which turns out to be carrots. HB turns them into a carrot-like coach, with Clarice as the driver. She gives Ethel a carrot like dress, and Ethel's off to the ball. Backstage, Charlie explains what Ethel and Drusilla did to Mildred, and Ruby reverses the effect before transforming Mildred into the Princess. When Drusilla refuses to co-operate, Enid magically swaps Charlie and Drusilla's clothes so Charlie can take over as the Prince. Everyone's a little surprised to see Charlie walk on (including Ethel, who thinks she's got the part all to herself now). Then, he pulls Mildred on stage and they start dancing. Hellibore's really happy. "That's our Cinderella." Ethel casts a spell on Mildred so that she floats away and lands on the piano. "That's an imposter, I'm the real Cinderella!" Mildred turns Ethel into a turkey. She takes off her boots and dances with Charlie until the "clock" sounds and she runs away before she turns into a carrot. Drusilla turns Ethel back just in time for Charlie to say the bit about marrying whoever's foot fits the boots. "That'll be me!" Ethel walks back on stage. "No it won't!" Mildred magics the boots onto her feet. They all go backstage again, and Ethel says the usual, "You won't get away with this," things. HB says "Yes she will" and it appears that she's figured out what Ethel's been up to. During the final ballroom scene, Charlie chooses Mildred over Ethel and the show is a success.
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