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Cinderella
The legend of Cinderella is one known worldwide - and has a different
retelling in every culture. The Chinese know the story as "Yen
Shen", the English as "Tattercoats", the Slavs as
"Marouckla" and the Mik'maq tribe as "The Burnt Face
Girl". One of the earliest famous interpretations of the story
put into print was by the French author Charles Perrault in 1697
(translated into English in 1729), as a part of his book Contes
de la Mère l'Oie, known to English speakers as "Tales
of Mother Goose". The version he wrote was cleaned up significantly
for a more "refined" French audience, cutting out such
details as the death sentence for the step-mother and sisters and
the step-sisters cutting their feet in order to fit into the glass
slipper. The glass slipper itself was originally made of fur, but
became glass in the numerous retellings of the story due to the
similarity between the French words for glass ("verre")
and fur ("vair").
The most famous retelling of the fable, as is the case with so many
fairy stories, was by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. In their version,
the spirit of Cinderella's mother, who dies at the beginning of
the story and is buried by Cinderella, plays the role of the Fairy
Godmother. The animals that assist Cinderella in her daily chores,
which appear in the Disney version, also appear in this version,
in the form of two white pigeons
The ball lasts for three days in this version, as
opposed to just one. The major departure in the Disney version is
the midnight deadline - in the Grimm's version, Cinderella CHOOSES
to leave at midnight so the Prince is forced to find her at home
and accept her for what she is - a servant girl. In addition, the
glass slipper is not left behind accidentally - the Prince deliberately
covers the stairs with pitch, so that the slipper becomes lodged
and left behind, so he has a way of finding Cinderella. Upon the
Prince's arrival at Cinderella's home, the Brothers Grimm re-inserted
the somewhat gruesome scenes where the stepsisters cut their feet
to fit into the slipper. The ploy initially fools the Prince, who
rides off with one sister, then the other, until the two pigeons
warn him of what they did and he returns for Cinderella.
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