Many Cinderellas

Once upon a time, there was a kindhearted girl. Her evil stepmother would not let her go to the prince’s ball. But a fairy godmother came to the rescue. Can you guess what story this is? Here’s a hint: there is a glass shoe. That’s right! The story is “ Cinderella. ” " Cinderella” is a very old fairy tale.

In fact, it’s over a thousand years old. But the glass shoe and the fairy godmother only appeared around three hundred years ago. This version of “ Cinderella” was published in France in 1697. It introduced most of the details that are familiar today. A pumpkin becomes a carriage. Mice are turned into horses. And the fairy godmother’s magic wears off at midnight.

But this version is very different from earlier “ Cinderella” stories. One of the earliest known “ Cinderella” stories appeared in China around 860. In this story Cinderella wants to go to a festival and not a ball. And instead of a fairy godmother, there is a magic fish. Cinderella wears a gown made of sea green silk.

Her cloak is made of feathers. And her lost shoe is made of gold. Much later a story called “ Kongjwi and Patjwi” was written. This one comes from Korea. Kongjwi has an evil stepmother and a stepsister named Patjwi. The stepmother gives Kongjwi lots of chores so she cannot go to a feast. A bull, a toad, sparrows, and a fairy all help Kongjwi finish the chores.

On Kongjwi’s way to the feast, she loses her silk shoe in a stream. The local governor finds the lost shoe. He searches for its owner and finds Kongjwi at the feast. In 1634 the first European version of the story was published in Italy. A fairy lives in a date tree over the grave of Cinderella’s mother.

The fairy helps Cinderella attend a ball. When she loses her shoe, the king finds it. To find the shoe’s owner, he invites the women of the kingdom to a feast. At the feast the shoe jumps out of the king’s hands. It flies onto Cinderella’s foot! Today even more versions of “ Cinderella” exist. Each story has different details.