Cinderella #313 Cendrouliė
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| Dogs of the 16th century. |
Once upon a time, "there was a widower who remarried, and the stepmother did not like the husband's daughter by his first wife." She began calling her "Cendrouliė, (Cinderella) because she was always to be found in the ashes in the hearth." Her stepsister found Cendrouliė so ugly that she gave her the hideous nick-name of "Ram's Balls". One of Cendrouliė's daily tasks was to milk the cow. She had to walk far to the meadow, and was given only dry bread each day to eat. Yet she still thrived. This was because "the Holy Virgin, who was this girl's godmother" had given her "a hazel wand" and told her how to use it. So every day, she "tapped the cow's behind with it, and out fell bread and cheese". Of course the stepmother became jealous, and sent her own child to spy upon Ram's Balls. That is how the stepsister came to snatch the wand away, beat the cow with it, and hold out her hands...only to get a palmful of cowpat. Guess what the stepmother did when she heard about that? She told Ram's Balls that she was going to kill her cow, and she did just that. But "this time, the Holy Virgin had an apple tree brought to Cinderella so that she could eat apples off it." So the girl kept her fresh complexion by eating the fresh fruit. Now her stepmother was angry, and she locked Ram's Balls in the house, saying, "You will not leave the house." Then she gave her "a mixture of millet and ash to sort out, but poor Cinderella had nothing to pull them out with." So her godmother came again, and "brought her a hazel wand to sort out the ashes and, quick as a flash, the millet seeds were separated from the ash." The years went on, and "another time it happened that there was a ball in that part of the country." Of course Ram's Balls just had to sneak over! Her godmother, the Holy Virgin, helped her, by providing "a carriage drawn by two shining horses and a coachman to take her to the ball."The Prince saw her there, and was love-struck. But when the music, she ran away. When he held another ball, the girl came again. This time, when she ran away, she lost a shoe, and "the Prince was quick to pick it up." He announced that he would marry the girl who could wear it. When the Prince came to the home of Cendrouliė, her stepmother made her own daughter "trim her foot" but the shoe still would not fit. When Cendrouliė held her foot out it fit! That's when her stepmother dragged her to the attic and locked the door! But "there was a little dog yapping, because Cinderella was shut up in this attic." And the Prince followed the little dog, and found her. Then he let her out, and "the hag and her daughter were turned into stones. There was one on each side of the stairway in that house. And so Cinderella married the Prince."
From: Massignon, G. (1968) Folktales of France
