“I will be telling the German version of Cinderella!” Lanna said.
The girls got really quiet and Lanna began the
story.
“I am sorry, my child. My time has come to an end. I cannot fight this battle of illness anymore. I will always be here for you, my sweet child. Always!” the mother softly said.
“I need you, Mother. Please don’t go,” the girl cried.
“On my grave, I want you to plant a little tree. whenever you need anything at all, all you have to do is shake the tree and you will receive your wish!” the mother responded while wiping her tears off her face.
After the little girl’s mother passed away, she planted the tree and never had to water it because her tears provided enough water to keep the tree alive. A year later the little girl’s father decided to remarry, and his new wife was a woman who already had two daughters from a previous marriage. The new step-mother changed from being the perfect mother figure to an evil step-mother. The evil woman’s two daughters were beautiful but it didn’t take long before the little girl realized how evil her new step-sisters were, especially the oldest one. Soon after they all moved in, the evil step-mother turned the little girl into the house maid. If she didn't complete her chores then she wouldn't receive any food to eat. Because she was so dirty with ashes and dust, the evil step-family named her Cinderella.
“We’re going to the King’s ball tonight that he is holding for his son. You are to stay at home and pick the good lentils from the bad ones. If there’s any bad lentils left with the good lentils, you will be facing serious consequences!” the oldest sister said.
After everyone left to go to the ball, Cinderella began to sort the lentils. Two pigeons flew in through the window and asked if she needed help sorting the lentils. She immediately nodded and replied, “Yes, please!” After the lentils were sorted, Cinderella climbed up the pigeon roost where she was able to see the entire ball.
When the step-family came back home, they bragged about how much fun the ball was and how charming the prince was and how he was going to choose one of them to be his wife. Cinderella accidentally said, “Yes! I saw how beautiful the ball was from the pigeon roost!” The oldest step-sister was so angry that she had the pigeon roost torn down.
“Tonight you should watch the ball from the window,” the youngest step-sister said.
“No! Cinderella will not be able to see the ball because I am going to give her a chore to do. Tonight you will need to sort the seeds. If you do not sort the good ones from the bad ones then you will not have food!” the oldest sister rudely said.
After everyone left, the two pigeons came back and asked Cinderella if she needed help. She immediately replied, "Yes." The pigeons encouraged Cinderella to go to the ball by shaking the little tree on her mother’s grave to prepare her in nice clothes. Cinderella magically transformed into an elegant woman wearing a silver dress with silver shoes and pearl jewelry. A nice carriage with black horses and two servants kindly took Cinderella to the King’s castle. She danced with the prince all night and instantly knew he wanted to marry her. She left the ball to go back home before the clock struck midnight. She shook the tree and asked to be transformed back into ash and dust.
“Ugh! I cannot believe the prince danced with that mysterious princess all night!” the step-sisters cried.
“I saw her drive by the house. She looked stunning!” Cinderella said while smiling.
“How dare you leave your work!” the oldest sister shouted, “Tonight you will need to sort the good peas from the bad ones. You will not leave your work or in any way to see the ball.”
After everyone left to go to the last ball, the two pigeons came in the window and asked, “Cinderella do you need help sorting the peas?”
“Yes, please!” Cinderella said. The two pigeons quickly sorted the peas and encouraged Cinderella to go to the ball and charm the prince away. Cinderella shook the little tree and she transformed into the most beautiful woman. She was wearing a beautiful red gown with silver slippers and diamond jewelry. When she stepped outside, there was a carriage with six white horses and two servants dressed in red and gold. She danced with the prince all night again, but this time he was determined to find out who she really was. She lost track of time but as soon as she realized that the time was close to midnight, she rushed out of the ballroom so quickly that she didn’t even notice her slipper fell off. The prince ran after her and picked up her slipper. When Cinderella got home, she shook the little tree and transformed into ash and dust.
The next day, the prince went to each house looking for the right fit for the slipper but there were no matches. Cinderella’s step-mother told her daughters that if the slipper was too small they should cut off part of their foot to make the slipper fit. The evil desperate step-sisters did exactly what their mother suggested. The trick didn’t work and finally the prince suggested that Cinderella try on the slipper. At last, there was a perfect fit for the slipper and they got married shortly after and lived happily ever after!
Author’s Note: I didn’t change very
much from the original
story. I followed the same story line but it was really hard to express
some of
the important parts in my version of the story as they were expressed
in the
original
story. Some of these important parts were how the step-sisters cut part
of
their foot off to fool the prince that the slipper really fit and how
they were
caught and brought back to the house. The two pigeons in the original
story were similar to the fairy godmother that we are commonly familiar
with. They helped her with her work
and they
encouraged her to go to the ball. Also, the magic came from the little
tree
that she planted on her mother’s grave. I was actually puzzled that
Cinderella’s
father didn’t do anything about how she was treated but altogether he
wasn’t
mentioned very much in the original story. I really enjoyed this story
because
I thought it was similar to the story I am most familiar with. I also
liked
that the two pigeons were Cinderella’s little helpers and that the
little tree
provided the magic in the story.
Coverpage
Introduction
Italy:
Cinderella and the Verdelio bird
Kashmir: The Brahmin, the goat,
and the children