Cinderella, and Other Things

Lately I've been struck anew with interest in fairy tales. (Call me a dork if you wish, but I just can't get enough!!) Ergo, I've decided to (mostly) dedicate this next month (April) to fairy tales of all sorts (Yes, I know I'm starting a little early).

To start off with, I am presenting this version of Cinderella I found! I will probably spread it over several posts, since it is a bit long. I find it interesting, though, because it widely differentiates from the Disney version many have grown accustomed to. Some of the phraseology and punctuation may seem a little odd, for it's a translation from German.

Cinderella

There was once a rich man whose wife lay sick, and when she felt her end drawing near she called to her only daughter to come near her bed, and said, "Dear child, be good and pious, and God will take care of you, and I will look down upon you from heaven and will be with you."

And then she closed her eyes, and died. The maiden went every day to her mother's grave and wept, and was always pious and good. When the winter came the snow covered the grave with a white covering, and when the sun came in the early spring and melted it away. the man took to himself another wife.

The new wife brought two daughter's home with her, and they were beautiful and fair in appearance, but at heart were ugly. And then began very evil times for the poor step-daughter.

"Is the stupid creature to sit in the same room with us?" said they. "Those who eat food must earn it. She is nothing but a kitchen maid."

They took away her pretty dresses and put on her an old gray kirtle and gave her wooden shoes to wear.

"Just look now at the proud princess, how she is decked out!" cried they, laughing, and then they sent her into the kitchen. There she was obliged to do heavy work from morning to night, get up early in the morning, draw water, make the fires, cook, and wash. Besides that, the sisters did their utmost to torment her- mocking her, and strewing peas and lentils among the ashes, and setting her to pick them up. In the evenings, she was quite tired out with her hard days work, she had no bed to lie on, but was obliged to rest on the hearth among the cinders. And because she always looked dusty and dirty, as if she had slept in the cinders, they called her Cinderella.

it happened one day that the father went to the fair, and he asked his two step-daughters what he should bring back for them. "Fine clothes!" said one. "Pearls and jewels!" said the other.

But what will you have, Cinderella?" said he.

The first twig, father,that strikes against your hat on the way home; that is what I should like you to bring me."

So he brought for his two step-daughters fine clothes, pearls, and jewels, and on his way back, as he rode through a green lane, a hazel twig struck against his hat. He broke it off and carried it home with him. And when he reached home he gave to the step-daughters what they had wished for, and to Cinderella he gave the hazel twig. She thanked him and went to her mother's grave and planted this twig there, weeping so bitterly that the tears fell upon it and watered it, and it flourished and became a fine tree. Cinderella went to see it three times a day, and wept and prayed, and each time a white bird arose from the tree, and if she uttered any wish the bird brought her whatever she wished for.

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And that ends part one of Cinderella for today, for, ironically, I must go help clean the house! I shall post more later! Cheerio!

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3-31-09

Now it came to pass that the King ordained a festival that should last for three days, and to which all the beautiful young women of that country were bidden, so that the King's son might choose a bride from among them. When the two step-daughters heard that they too were bidden to appear, they felt very pleased, and they called Cinderella and said, "Comb our hair, brush our shoes, and make our buckles fast, we are going to the wedding feast at the King's castle!"

When she heard this, Cinderella could not help crying, for she too would have liked to go to the dance, and she begged her step-mother to allow her. "What! You Cinderella!" said she, "In all your dust and dirt, you want to go to the festival? You have no dress and no shoes, you want to dance?'

But as she persisted in asking, at last the step=mother said, "I have stewed a dishful of lentils in the ashes, and if you can pick them all up again in two hours you may go with us."
Then the maiden went to the back door that led into the garden and called out,

"O gentle doves, O turtle doves,
And all the birds that be,
The lentils that in ashes lie,
Come pick them up for me!
The good must be put in a dish,
The bad you may eat if you wish."

Then there came into the kitchen window two white doves, and after them some turtle doves, and at last a crowd of all the birds under heaven, chirping and fluttering, and they alighted among the ashes. The doves nodded with their heads and began to pick, peck, pick, peck, and then all the others began to pick, peck, pick, peck, and put all the good grains into the dish. Before and hour was over all was done, and they flew away.
T

hen the maiden brought the dish to her step-mother, feeling joyful, and thinking that now she should go to the feast, but the step-mother said, "No, Cinderella, you have no proper clothes, and you do not know how to dance, and you would be laughed at!" And when Cinderella cried for disappointment, she added, "If you can pick two dishes full of lentils out of the ashes, you shall go with us," thinking to herself, "for that is not possible."

When she had strewed two dishes full of lentils among the ashes the maiden went through the back door into the garden, and cried,

"O gentle doves, O turtle doves,
And all the birds that be,
The lentils that in ashes lie,
Come and pick up for me!
The good must be put in a dish,
The bad you may eat if you wish."

So there came to the kitchen window two white doves, and after them some turtle doves, and at last a crowd of all other birds, chirping and fluttering, and they alighted among the ashes, and the doves nodded with their heads and began to pick, peck, pick, peck, and then the others began to pick, peck, pick, peck, and put all the good grains into the dish. And before half-an-hour was over it was all done, and they flew away. Then the maiden took the dishes to the step-mother, feeling joyful, and thinking that now she should go with them to the feast, but she said, "all this is no good; you cannot come with us for you have no proper clothes and cannot dance; you would put us to shame!" Then she turned her back on poor Cinderella and made haste to set out with her two proud daughters.

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Poor Cinderella!! In Roger & Hammerstein's "Cinderella," there is a song that would take place right about now in the story called, "In my Own Little Corner." This is my favorite from that musical, and it so happens that I am performing it in an upcoming voice recital! You can view the song video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hmCnOPYxVQ&feature=related
Side-note on the recital part, after I sing "In My Own Little Corner," the girl after me is singing "Impossible" (The fairy- godmother's song to Cinderella)! Isn't that fun? You can view "Impossible" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHtoxJ8as1s
Enjoy!!

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4-3-09

And as there was no one left in the house, Cinderella went to her mother's grave, under the hazel bush, and cried,

"Little tree, little tree, shake over me,

That silver and gold may come down and cover me!"

Then the bird threw down a dress of gold and silver, and a pair of slippers embroidered with silk and silver. And in all haste she put on the dress and went to the festival. But her step-mother and step-sisters did not know her, and thought she must be foreign princess, she looked so beautiful in her golden dress. Of Cinderella they never thought at all, and supposed that she as sitting at home, and picking the lentils out of the ashes. The King's son came to meet her, and took her by the hand and danced with her, and he refused to dance with anyone else, so that he might not be obliged to let go her hand, and when anyone came to claim it he answered, "She is my partner."

And when the evening came she wanted to go home, but the Prince said he would go with her to take care of her, for he wanted to see where this beautiful maiden lived. But she escaped him, and jumped into the pigeon house. Then the Prince waited until the father came, and told him the strange maiden had jumped into the pigeon house. The father thought to himself, "It surely cannot be Cinderella," and called for axes and hatchets, and had the pigeon house cut down, but there was no one in it. And when they entered the house there sat Cinderella in her dirty clothes among the cinders, and a little oil lamp burnt dimly in the chimney. Cinderella had been very quick, and had jumped out of the pigeon house again, and had run to the hazel bush, and there she had taken off her beautiful dress and laid it on the grave, and the bird carried it away again, and then she put on her little gray kirtle again, and had sat down in the kitchen among the cinders.

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Just a quick question on my part; why did they have to chop down the pigeon house? Why didn't they just step inside and see if she was there? Interesting.