"Quando o relógio bater" (1980) por Tanith Lee

Foi publicado pela primeira vez em Contos estranhos #1.

The Duke had come to power by ridding himself of the members of a rival house. Yet one member of that house remained—a woman who attempted to use her sorcery to get her revenge. When the woman dies, her daughter, who calls herself Ashella, continues her fight against the Duke, and his son the Prince.

"A mãe de Cinderela foi morta pelo rei porque ela era uma bruxa."

"Listen to me, my daughter," she cried, "and listen carefully, for the minutes are short. If you do as I tell you, you can escape their wrath and only I need die. And if you live I am satisfied, for you can carry on my labour after me. My vengeance I shall leave you, and my witchcraft to exact it by. Indeed, I promise you stronger powers than mine. I will beg my lord Satanas for it, and he will not deny me, for he is just, in his fashion, and I have served him will. Now will you attend?"

"I will," said the girl.

So the woman advised her, and swore her to the fellowship of Hell. And the woman forced the knife into her own heart and dropped dead on the floor of the tower.

_{"When the Clock Strikes"}

"Tanto Cinderela quanto sua mãe tinham cabelos ruivos, isso era um sinal de que eram bruxas."

The woman caught the girl by her red hair and shook her.

_{"When the Clock Strikes"}

"Cinderela usou cinzas no cabelo para esconder o fato de que era vermelho".

Do you suppose she smiled secretly as she said this? One might suppose it. Presently she donned a robe of sackcloth and poured ashes over her red-copper hair. "It is my penance," she said. "I am glad to atone for my sins."

_{"When the Clock Strikes"}

"A meia-noite é significativa, pois é a hora das bruxas."

And now it is almost midnight, the moment when the page of the night turns over into day. Almost midnight, the hour when the figure of Death strikes the golden bell of the clock. And what will happen when the clock strikes? Your face announces that you know. Be patient; let us see if you do.

_{"When the Clock Strikes"}

Encontrado com a consulta conto cinderela withch cabelo ruivo cinzas.