Cinderella Story Retellings Around the World

June 2:

 Rhodopis  The story was first recorded by the Greek historian Strabo in the late first century BC or early first century AD . 

   

Yeh Shen believed to date back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) 

June 9: Cendrillon  Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper by Charles Perrault Originally written in French 1697  

June 16: Aschenputtel  originally written in German by the Grimm Brothers Jacob and Wilhem 1857 

June 23: Sodewa Bai (Southern India Tale)

June 30: Book list

 Book recommendation:

Cinder by Merissa Meyer which is part of The Lunar Chronicles

Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey

Movie Recommendation :

Ever After starring Drew Barrymore

Watch the CBS Storybreak version of Yeh Shen via YouTube

TV Show Recommendation

Once Upon a Time

Brief History of Cinderella as Discovered by this Blogger

Supposedly the earliest version of Cinderella was documented in a Greek Geographer’s Geography book. It is a rather brief passage recorded by Strabo

Strabo
By Brian Boru (Public Domain)

when he went to document some Ancient Egyptian geographical masterpieces. It is debated by several researchers that this is the earliest physical recording but most know that Cinderella tales were told orally long before ever being written down. Note that there is no mention of evil stepsisters but there is a focus point on the golden sandals. It is quite possible that the glass slippers we have come to recognize as a major part of Cinderella stories has its origins starting here.

The first version of Cinderella that researchers believe to be one of the oldest tales is called Rhodopis (First century B.C. Ancient Egyptian version of Cinderella recorded by Strabo, a Greek Geographer who noted the story in his multi volume book published in 7 B.C. called Giographica).  Below is the orginal passage and you can read and find more about his books below.

This passage has been translated from the final volume, Volume 17:

At the distance of 40 stadia from Memphis is a brow of a hill, on which are many pyramids, the tombs of the kings.64 Three of them are considerable. Two of these are reckoned among the seven wonders [of the world]. They are a stadium in height, and of a quadrangular shape. Their height somewhat exceeds the length of each of the sides.65 One pyramid is a little larger than the other. At a moderate height in one of the sides66 is a stone, which may be taken out; when that is removed, there is an oblique passage [leading] to the tomb. They are near each other, and upon the same level. Farther on, at a greater height of the mountain, is the third pyramid, which is much less than the two others, but constructed at much greater expense; for from the foundation nearly as far as the middle, it is built of black stone. Mortars are made of this stone, which is brought from a great distance; for it comes from the mountains of Ethiopia, and being hard and difficult to be worked, the labour is attended with great expense. It is said to be the tomb of a courtesan, built by her lovers, and whose name, according to Sappho the poetess, was Doriche. She was the mistress of her brother Charaxus, who traded to the port of Naucratis with wine of Lesbos. Others call her Rhodopis.67 A story is told of her, that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from the hands of her female attendant and carried it to Memphis; the eagle soaring over the head of the king, who was administering justice at the time, let the sandal fall into his lap. The king, struck with the shape of the sandal, and the singularity of the accident, sent over the country to discover the woman to whom it belonged. She was found in the city of Naucratis, and brought to the king, who made her his wife. At her death she was honoured with the above-mentioned tomb. [34]

This is supposedly the first tale, but there is no mention in this version of evil stepsisters, just the “sandal” that may have had a hand in how the other tales where influenced.

Rhodopis was given more artistic flare by Olive Miller Beaupré from her book Through Fairy Halls of My Bookstore published in Chicago by The Bookhouse for Children Publisher in 1920 now part of the public domain. Below you can read the full story. 

Rhodopis and Her Little Gilded Sandals

(An Egyptian Tale)

HEAR, O youth! It happened once that Rhodopis, the rosy checked, came down through the palm groves to bathe in the river Nile. Beautiful as the dawn was Rhodopis; her mouth was pure of evil speaking; her two hands were pure of evil doing, and her forehead shone with the light of the Double Truth. Amid the papyrus reeds on the bank of the river she left her pure white garments and a pair of tiny gilded sandals. Then she flung herself lightly on the bosom of old Father Nile. But as she disported herself in those sacred waters, lo! there came flying toward her a mighty eagle. Above the papyrus reeds he hovered and spied among them the gleam of gold. Down to the earth he swooped, seized one of the beautiful gilded sandals, and soared again up to the heavens. Rhodopis cried out and stretched forth her arms, but already the eagle was lost to sight in the bright beams of Ra, the Sun.

Now it chanced that at that very hour there sat before the Temple of Ptah in the great square of the royal city of Memphis, the King himself, administering justice, on his head the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. Before him came one dragging a poor peasant bound in chains.

“This fellow will not pay his tax of one tenth of his harvest to thy royal granary!” said the tax-collector.

The peasant fell on his face before the King.

“Hail unto thee, great Lord of Truth and Justice!” he cried. “Worms destroyed the half of my wheat, swarms of rats laid waste my fields, the little birds pilfered, and the hippopotomi ate the rest. At such a time came thy tax-collector to demand the royal tax. When I made answer that I had no corn for myself and hence none to give thee, there came the keepers of the doors of thy granary with cudgels. They threw me full length upon the ground, bound me hand and foot and dragged me here to thee. My wife they cast into chains—my children likewise. Justice, O King! Justice!”

The King rose up with flashing eyes and out-stretched hand.
“Thou hast committed iniquity,” he cried to his tax-collector. “Thou hast oppressed the poor. The tax is for those to pay who have wherewithal to pay it. Thou shalt serve me no more. Begone! This man shall go free.”

Then he bade those who held the peasant to loose him, to give him food and drink and a gift for his wife and children.
“I would cause no child of tender age to mourn.” he said. “I would despoil no woman. Go safely home, my man. Thou hast no corn or wheat, ‘tis true, but thou hast a greater treasure—even those who love and cherish thee.” And he sank wearily down on his seat of justice, for he had no wife nor child of his own. No woman had he yet found worthy to share his throne and help him rule his people.

As he spoke and while still he mused on that which he had not, there came suddenly soaring above the square a mighty eagle, and lo! from the eagle’s beak there fell into the great King’s lap a maiden’s tiny gilded sandal. In great astonishment, the King picked up the trinket and held it forth at arm’s length in the palm of his powerful hand.

“What maid beneath the sun,” he cried, “could wear such dainty footgear?” And as he gazed upon it, there rose in his mind a vision of what she must be like whose foot would fit that tiny sandal. Into the robes on his bosom, he thrust the little thing.

“I will hear no more complaints today,” he said and bade those who bore his litter to carry him back to his palace. Once alone in his own inner chamber, he drew forth the sandal again and studied it long and earnestly. Every moment it seemed more beautiful; and more and more lovely grew his vision of her who must have worn it. At length he called to him the Chief of his Scribes.

“Write out for me a royal proclamation,” he ordered.

The Scribe spread out a scroll of papyrus and began to draw upon it strange figures and hieroglyphics.

“Let all the maidens in my land try on this sandal,” said the King. “She whose foot it fits, and she alone, shall be my queen.”

When the Scribe had finished his work, he went forth into the city and a servant bore on a splendid cushion before him the precious gilded sandal. In all the public places the Scribe read the King’s proclamation, and straightway the ladies came flocking to try on the little slipper. There were maidens of high degree and maidens of low degree, there were daughters of nobles and daughters of blacksmiths, daughters of goldsmiths and daughters of glass-blowers, daughters of armorers and daughters of potters, there were women from Upper Egypt and women from Lower Egypt, but not a single one among them could squeeze her foot into the tiny sandal.

Days passed and the King was in despair. The more difficult it seemed to find the mysterious maiden, the more certain he became that she, and she alone, was fitted to be his Queen. At length there came one morning to the Chief Scribe the peasant whom the King had released from his tax, and whispered privately into his ear:

“Go to the Sphinx by the great pyramids in the desert. There comes every day at daybreak to greet the rising sun, a maiden beautiful as the dawn.”

The Scribe bore the news at once to the King, and the very next morning, just as the first faint rays of the sun came gleaming through the palm trees, and crept across the green Nile valley to the sandy edge of the desert, the King, wrapped well from public sight in a cloak, made his way with the Scribe to the spot where rose the three great pyramids. There, too, stood the giant Sphinx with the body of a lion and the head of a man, carved from the solid rock and rising solemn and grand from the sand.

Just as the round red ball of Ra burst full above the horizon’s rim, lo! a maiden, rosy as the dawn, sprang up on the mighty paw of the Sphinx, and raised her hands toward the rising sun—resplendent symbol of the Creator, of Light and Truth and all-sustaining Power.

“Thy appearing is beautiful in the horizon of heaven,” she sang;

Thou fillest every land with thy beauty.
The birds fly in their haunts—
Their wings adoring thee.
The small bird in the egg, sounding within the shell—
Thou givest it breath within the egg.
How many are the things which thou hast made!
Thou createst the land by thy will, thou alone,
With peoples, herds, and flocks—
Thou guest to every man his place, thou framest his life.”

No sooner had the King beheld the maiden’s rosy face, reflecting all the light of the sun, than he said. “This is indeed the one!” As she finished her song and seated herself on the paw of the Sphinx, he himself took the precious sandal and humbly made his way toward her.

“O maiden that shinest like the sun!” he cried, “does this belong to thee?”

The maiden smiled as she saw what he held in his hand, then she put forth one slender bare foot and slipped it easily into the sandal. In another moment she drew from beneath her the other foot, and lo! there was the mate to the wonderful slipper.

So the King asked Rhodopis—for Rhodopis it was—to be his Queen. Rhodopis gave him both her hands and made answer: “O great Lord, who feedest on Truth and Justice, I ask nothing more than to share such a life as thine.” Then the King led her back to the palace. There was placed on her head the crown of the Queens of Egypt, with the royal asp rising from her brow, Thenceforward, by the side of the just and merciful King, as his beloved companion, she reigned over Egypt—Rhodopis, the rosy cheeked, who wore the little gilded sandals.

After Rhodopis, it is said that Ye Xian or Yeh Shen came into play around 

Then comes the tale of Ye Xian, the Chinese version dating back to the Tang Dynasty. 

Ye Xian

Long, long time ago, there was a cave chief named Wu in south coast of China. He married two wives. Unfortunately, One of them died after giving birth to a baby girl. After growing into a young lady, the girl was extremely beautiful and had a remarkable gift for embroidery and spinning. Chief Wu liked her very much and named her Ye Xian. Before long, Chief Wu died too leaving Ye Xian to be reared by her stepmother. The mean woman did not like Ye Xian for she was prettier and smarter than her own daughter so she treated her poorly. Apart from giving her the worst jobs like collecting firewood and drawing water, she and her daughter would often mock her, while Ye Xian always silently did her work without any complaint. One day, while drawing water, Ye Xian found a lovely little fish with big golden eyes and red fins. She loved it so much that she took it home and put it into a big bowl. Though the young lady had little food for herself, she was willing to share with the fish. Under her care, the small fish grew up every day, soon being too big for a bowl. Ye Xian had to move it to a pond nearby. Each time she approached to the pond, the fish would come out of the water onto the bank to greet her. It became her only friend accompanying her in her hard time. Her stepmother heard about the fish. Angry that Ye Xian had found happiness, she planned to kill the fish. She followed Ye Xian to the pond and saw the fish from the distance. But as long as she came onto the bank, the fish immediately sank into the deep water. So the next day, the malicious woman made Ye Xian go carry water from a new place far away from their house, and then she put on her step daughter's clothes and imitate her voice to call the fish. Unaware of this deadly trap, the innocent creature floated up to greet its friend as usual. When it clearly saw the dagger in the bad woman's hand, it was too late. Ye Xian's step mother cruelly killed the fish on the bank, cooked its flesh and deeply buried its bones with rubbish. Ye Xian was distraught when she learned of the fish’s death. But she could do nothing but cry on the bank. As she was mourning for her friend, an old man wearing the coarsest of clothes and with hair hanging down over his shoulders flew down from the sky and landed by her side. "Don't cry", he said, "I know where the fish bones were buried. You go there, dig them out, keep them secretly. When you are in bad need, you should pray to the bones which would give you what you want. But remember, don't be greedy, otherwise, you will be punished by the God." Then, the old man leaded Ye Xian to an abandoned cellar, disappearing. Ye Xian retrieved her friend's remains there and hid them in a safe place. Remembering the warning of the old man, Ye Xian rarely used the magic bones until Cave Festival which was an important local festival when the young people gathered in the village to meet one another and to find husbands and wives. Every young girl was keen on going to the festival in beautiful dress. Ye Xian was not an exception, but she knew that her stepmother would not allow it because she feared that someone would pick Ye Xian rather than her own daughter, which meant she would lose her half property to pay her step daughter's dowery. Moreover, Ye Xian did not have any decent clothes. After the stepmother and her daughter left for the festival, desperate Ye Xian asked the bones for clothes to wear to the festival. Suddenly she was wearing a sumptuous gown of kingfisher feathers. On her feet were a pair of shining golden shoes which were magically lighter than a feather and did not make any noise while touching stone floor. Ye Xian arrived at the festival and soon all were looking her way. Attracted by her charm, young men circled her dancing and singing; shocked by her beauty, young ladies looked at her from the distance with envy complaining the stranger stole their thunder. Ye Xian's step sister was one of them. After a while staring, she screamed to her mother: "Look! mom, she just looks like my sister!" They both started moving towards Ye Xian to have a clearer look. At the same time, Ye Xian too recognized them in the crowd. Seeing that she would be found out, Ye Xian dashed out of the festival leaving behind one of the golden shoes. On reaching home she quickly change back into her rags and pretended to be sleeping under a tree in the yard. When her step mother and sister came back, they found nothing unusual. Ye Xian's lost shoe was found by a merchant and a few months later sold to the king of Tuo Han (陀汗), a strong kingdom of tens of islands, covering thousands of miles. Fascinated by the delicate ladies shoe, the young king could not resisted yearning for its owner. He ordered his ministers to travel round the kingdom with the shoe and bring back any lady who could fit in it. But no one was found, because the shoe could magically change its size. No matter how tiny a girl's foot was, the shoe was always a inch shorter than it. The eager king called in the merchant again for inquiring of the spot where the shoe was found, only to know it was somewhere near a mountain in mainland. The king himself sailed off to the mountain right away. To his disappointed, it was a remote and poor area. He could not believed that the owner of the golden shoe could live there. But he still had his men search every house of the neighbor villages for the other shoe. Finally, they found it and the gown that Ye Xian had worn to the festival in her bed-drawer. Ye Xian was taken to the king. Pretty as she was, the king yet doubted that the village girl in rags would be the one he had been longing for day and night. So he asked her to try on the shoes and clothes. After a while, from the shabby cottage was walking out a lady beautiful like a fairy. A charming smile was shining on her angelic face, the splendid gown was wrapping her appealing body, and the golden shoes were the perfect fitting for her feet. At the moment, the king realized that she was the one for him. The step mother and sister begged for forgiveness, and Ye Xian forgave them for their cruelties. The king took Ye Xian back to his kingdom where they married and lived happily ever after.

Modern Version: Once upon a time, a scholar named Wu, who was a village head, had two wives and each gave birth to baby girls. Ye Xian was the daughter of the prettier wife, and she was beautiful, intelligent and gifted in many skills such as pottery and weaving. In contrast her half-sister, Jun-li, was spoiled, lazy, and self-interested. When Ye Xian was a little girl, her mother and then her father died from a local plague. she had to live with her wicked stepmother, named Jin and her daughter. Soon they forced Ye Xian to become a lowly servant and worked for them. Despite living a life burdened with hard housework and chores, and suffering endless mock and abuse at her stepmother's hands, Ye Xian found solace when she ended up making friends with a beautiful, 10-foot-long fish in the lake near her house. Each day the fish came out of the water onto the bank to be fed by her. But she did know the fish, with golden scales and eyes, was the reincarnation of her mother, who now watched out for her. Her stepmother heard about the fish. Angry that Ye Xian had found happiness, She disguised herself as Ye Xian and enticed the fish from the water. She stabbed it with a dagger, and cooked the fish for dinner. Ye Xian was devastated until her mother's spirit appeared and told her to bury the bones of the fish in pots at each corner of her bed. She also was told that if she needed anything, just prayed to the bones, and her mother's spirit would appear to help her. Time passed and the local spring festival was nearing. This was a time when many young women would have the opportunity to meet potential suitors. Not wishing to spoil her own daughter's chances, Jin forced her step daughter to remain home and clean their house. After they has left, Ye Xian who also longed to go to the festival prayed to bones. Her mother's spirit occurred and told her to dig up the pots containing the fish bones. Ye Xian found fine clothes, including a cloak of kingfisher feathers, jewelry and a pair of golden shoes which were woven of golden threads in a pattern of a scaled fish and whose soles were made of solid gold. When she walked in them she felt lighter than air. Ye Xian dressed up and went to the festival. Soon She got all attentions. She enjoyed herself until she realized her step sister may have recognized her. She dashed back home, accidentally leaving behind a golden shoe. When she arrived home, she was dressed in her rags and hid the clothes in the pots beneath her bed again. When her step family returned, they discussed Jun-li's marriage prospects and also mentioned a mysterious lady in the festival. But they were unaware that it was Ye Xian that they were speaking of. The golden shoe was found and traded by various people until it reached the hands of the King of a island kingdom of Tou Han. Fascinated by the shoe's small size, he issued a search to find the maiden whose foot would fit in the shoe and declared he would marry that lady. The shoe eventually reaches the house of Ye Xian, Jun-li and her mother tried to put on the shoe and failed. The shoe ended up fitting Ye Xian's foot perfectly. However, the step family, in order to prevent the King from marrying her step daughter, declared that it was impossible for Ye Xian to be owner of the golden shoe, because she saw the lady who owned it wearing a pair of the golden shoes and fine clothes at the festival, while Ye Xian had not been there at all. Ye Xian proved her wrong by bringing out and putting on the other golden shoe and the clothes she wore at the festival. In the beautiful clothes that her mother's spirit gave her, Ye Xian looked like a fairy. Awed by Ye Xian's beauty, the King affirmed that he would marry her. The wicked step mother made a final attempt to dissuade the King from marrying Ye Xian by accusing her of stealing the lady's golden shoe, however, the clever king easily sew through her evil plan. To punish the step family for their dishonesty and cruelty, the king force them continue to live in their village and never allowed them to visit Ye Xian. The king took Ye Xian back to his palace where he made her the queen of his kingdom, and lived happily with her ever after.

Resources and additional reading

Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. "Aschenputtel." Household Stories From TheBrothers Grimm. Macimillian and Co., 1882, 118-125. Internet Archive.

Aesop, Grimm, and Andersen: "Folk-lore and Fable." Grolier Enterprises Corp., 1980. 

Carruthers, Amelia. "Cinderella- and Other Girls Who Got Lost Their Slippers." Read Books Ltd, 2015. Hoopla edition. 

Cox, Marian Emily Roalfe. “Cinderella; three hundred and forty-five variants of Cinderella, Catskin, and Cap o'Rushes”.The Folk-lore Society,  1893. Internet Archive.

Dasent, George Webbe. "Popular Tales from the Norse". D. Appleton and Co., 1859. Google Books.

Kim, Jae Ho. “Cinderella: The Study of Cross-Cultural Encounters in Pre ...” James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons, 2015.

Narayan, Kirin, et al. "Old Deccan Days, Or, Hindoo Fairy Legends" (ABC-CLIO Classic Folk and Fairy Tales). ABC-CLIO Interactive, 2002. Google Books. 

Opie, Iona, and Opie Peter. "Cinderella." Children's Literature Review, edited by Dana Ferguson, vol. 149,  Gale, 2010. Gale Literature Criticism. Accessed 12 May 2020. Originally published in The Classic Fairy Tales, Oxford University Press, 1974, pp. 117-121.