* * *
There once was 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
pious and good, and God will take care of you; I will look
down upon you from heaven, and will be with you.” And
then she closed her eyes and died. When the early spring
came and melted the snow, the man took another wife.
The new wife brought two daughters with her, and they
were beautiful and fair in appearance, but at heart were
black and ugly. And then began very evil times for the
poor stepdaughter.

–Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

* * *

* * *
The Grimm brothers did not invent this version of Cinderella, as they did not write
any of the other tales in the great collection of fairy tales that are compiled under
their names. They merely collected them from family, friends and anyone else who
knew their countries folklore. They edited the stories, and fixed them in awkward
places, and invented a few details here and there, but did not invent new versions,
and tried to keep them true to the way the had been told for years.
In this version of Cinderella, called “Aschenputtel,” which is the German name for
Cinderella, the girl’s mother is still alive in the beginning, but not for long. And
after her death, the young daughter would go to her mothers grave and weep
everyday. When her father remarried in the spring, the stepsisters didn’t wait
long before they started being wretched to their new sister.

“Why should the stupid goose be allowed to sit in the parlor with
us?” they said. “Whoever wants to eat bread must earn it. Out with
this kitchen maid!”
They took her good clothes and dressed her in a gray smock, and made her wear
wooden shoes. She had to work from before dawn till night, carrying the water to
the house, making the fire in the hearth, cooking, and doing the wash. They also
took her bed away, and made her sleep in the ashes beside the hearth, so that she
always looked dirty. This is why they called her Cinderella.

* * *

* * *
One day the father announces he is going to the fair, and as in Basile’s tale, asks
his stepdaughters what they want. They asked for beautiful dresses, pearls and
jewels. Then he asks his own daughter what she would like.

“Father,” she said, “just break off the first twig that brushes
against your hat on your way home and bring it to me.”

Her father does as she asks, and Cinderella plants the twig on her mother's grave.
She weeps so hard that her tears water the twig. She goes to her mother’s grave
three times a day to weep, and before long the twig is a beautiful tree.
Every time Cinderella would go to the tree and weep, a little white bird would come
and sit in it. When Cinderella would wish for something, the little bird would throw
down whatever it was she requested.

* * *

* * *
One day the king decides to throw a three day festival and invites all the beautiful
maidens in the land so that his son can choose a bride. When the stepsisters found
out that they were invited, they made Cinderella do their hair, brush their shoes
and fasten their buckles, bragging the whole time. Cinderella wept as she did what
she was told, wishing she could go to.
When she asked her stepmother, the stepmother laughed in her face and told her
that she had no clothes or shoes to dance in, so she couldn’t go. But Cinderella kept
pleading, so the stepmother finally said:

“I’ve emptied a bowl full of lentils into the ashes. If you can pick
out all the lentils in two hours, you may have my permission to go.”

Cinderella went to the back door and cried out: “Oh, you tame pigeons, you
turtledoves, and all you birds under heaven, come and help me pick

the good ones for the little pot,
the bad ones for your little crop.”
The birds came, and within an hour the deed was done. When Cinderella showed
this to her stepmother, the stepmother only put two more bowls of lentils into the
ashes and said they must be out in one hour if she wanted to attend the ball.
Again Cinderella called in the birds and the job was completed in half an hour.

* * *

* * *
Happy, because she believes she is going to go to the ball, Cinderella takes the two
bowls of lentils to her stepmother, but the stepmother still tells her no, and then
leaves with her two daughters. Once they are all gone, Cinderella runs to the tree
and calls out:

“Shake and wobble, little tree!
Let gold and silver fall all over me!”
The bird in the tree throws down a dress of gold and silver and silk slippers
embroidered in silver. At the ball her stepmother and stepsisters do not recognize
her. The prince, enchanted with her, dances with Cinderella the entire time she is
there, and refuses to let anyone else be her partner. When Cinderella wants to
leave, she has to escape the prince, who wants to escort her and know whose
daughter she is. She hides in her father's dovecote, and the prince waits there for
her father to come. The prince tells the father that a beautiful maiden is hiding
inside, and the father wonders if it is his Cinderella. The father chops down the
dovecote, but no one is inside. Cinderella had escaped out the back and returned
the dress to the bird in the tree.
The next day is the same, except the dress thrown down is even more splendid
than before. The prince dances with her again, and chases her home, where she
hides up in a pear tree. The prince tells the father and the father chops down the
pear tree, but no one is found hiding in it. Cinderella had jumped down the other
side and returned the dress to the bird in her tree again.
The third day of the feast Cinderella’s dress is even more magnificent, and the
slippers are of pure gold. But this time at the ball, when Cinderella decides it’s time
to leave, the prince is ready, and has the stairs coated in pitch. When Cinderella
runs down the steps only her left shoe gets stuck, and she gets away. The next day
the prince takes the slipper to Cinderella’s father and says:

“No one else shall be my wife but the maiden whose foot fits this
golden shoe.”
* * *

* * *
The first stepsister takes the shoe to her room to try it on, but her big toe will
not go in. Her mother hands her a knife and says, “Cut your toe off. Once you
become queen, you won’t have to walk anymore.”
The daughter does as she is told and the shoe fits. The prince takes her with him
on his horse, but as they ride by the grave of Cinderella’s mother, two pigeons
betray the stepsister, and the prince takes her back and hands the slipper to the
next daughter. Her heel is too big, so her mother tells this daughter the same as
the other, and the heel is chopped off, but once again, when passing the grave, the
two pigeons betray the stepsister, and the prince takes her back.
The prince asks if there are any other daughters, and the father replies that
there is only Cinderella, who is deformed. The prince tells the father to send the
girl in, but the stepmother protests, saying that she is too dirty. The prince
demands for her to be brought to him anyways, and Cinderella quickly washes her
face and hands, then goes to the prince. The shoe fits her perfectly, and when the
prince looks into her face, he recognizes the beautiful maiden he had danced with
and is overjoyed.
The prince takes Cinderella on his horse, and as they ride by her mother’s grave,
the birds cry out:

“Looky, look, look
at the shoe that she took.
Her foot’s just right, and there’s no blood at all.
She’s truly the bride you met at the ball.”
They then land on Cinderella’s shoulder and stay there. On the day of the wedding
the step sisters go along side Cinderella, hoping to share her good fortune, but on
the way to the church the two birds peck out one of each sisters eyes, and on the
way back they peck out the other eye of each sister.

Thus they were punished with blindness for the rest of their
lives due to their wickedness and malice.
* * *

* * *

Now that you have read what the story is about
...continue on...
and be enlightened to what hidden meanings lay within.

* * *

* * *
In the beginning of this tale Cinderella loses her mother. This original mother, like
in other Cinderella stories, represents “the good mother,” with her death and the
entering of the “bad mother,” the end of a phase in a child’s life, when they view
things, such as being made to make their bed, or help take care of a younger sibling
as horrible chores.
Aschenputtel focuses more on sibling rivalry than “Cat Cinderella,” although there
is plenty of envy in this story, but it is the cause of the sibling rivalry in this tale.
There is still the conflict of the “good mother” and “bad mother,” but the problem
with the siblings is more prominent.
As soon as Cinderella has stepsisters, her life changes for the worst, and children
often feel this way about their brothers and sisters, that everyone else gets the
best of everything except themselves. And all children fear that their siblings are
favored over them.
Children who are read this Cinderella identify with her, and think “That’s just like
me!” even if they know that Cinderella’s case is a little worse than theirs, they feel
they know her and what she is going through.
The stepsisters having better clothes, and not having to do all sorts of chores and
being treated more favorably by the parents is just illustrates how dismal a child
may feel about their position in the family, whether it is true or not.

* * *

* * *
Let me remind you that the “good mother” theme is still hidden within this story,
and the good mother in this version returns when Cinderella’s father brings back
the twig which she grows into a tree with her tears. The tree and the little white
bird which lives inside represents the spirit of the “good mother” returned,
showing Cinderella and the reader that there is still someone who cares and is
looking after her, like her dead mother promised before her death.

The idea that people who die can be an ongoing source of comfort
and nurturance is a difficult concept for young children to abosorb
Fairy tales like Cinderella use concrete images to advance the
notion that a psychological continuity exists with those we cherish
even after they are no longer around.
The Grimm’s Cinderella gives many “concrete images” for children to help shed light
and hope on their lives, since they have trouble with things such as what was
mentioned above, and the concept that things will not forever be as grim as they
seem at the moment.

* * *

* * *

Remember back to Basile’s story? There are many creatures that will
represent the good mother! Tree’s are popular, but in this version the
fairy is replaced with a bird, and at times, a great number of birds
help poor Cinderella when they are needed.

* * *

* * *
The first two nights, where Cinderella escapes the prince, and hides in her father’s
dovecote and pear tree, the prince waits for the father and tells him about the
maiden. The father suspects that it might be his daughter, and agrees to help the
prince check. This little bit is important because the prince wants to know who the
father is, hinting that he would like to ask the father’s permission to marry the
daughter, something that is common in various cultures, and that the father gives
consent to the marriage, which is symbolized by the father willingly chopping down
the places Cinderella hides in. Cinderella’s not wishing to be caught is yet another
example of her not wanting to be rejected when the prince finds out who she is.
The mutilation of the stepsisters feet shows just how much a “bad mother” the
stepmother is, and that the sisters don’t object to this shows how false and
conniving and eager to keep from Cinderella what is rightfully her's.
But in the end everything turns out all right, which serves greatly for the child's
peace of mind. Cinderella is found by the prince and he recognizes her as the
maiden he loves, then the stepsisters are punished more than once for their horrid
behavior. First they mutilate their own feet and fail to fool the prince, then they
are blinded by Cinderella’s bird. The story is well told, and neatly wrapped up,
with no loose ends or lingering questions left unanswered.

* * *

	Click to go indepth into Basile's "Cat Cinderella."
	Click to go back to "Cinderwho?"
	Click to go indepth into Perrault's "Cinderella."