Cinderella #356 Moon Brow

Cinderella #356 Moon Brow

You think this looks bad? How's about
a donkey's penis on your forehead?
Illustration by Martinez. 

Once upon a time, in Afghanistan, there lived a merchant who "enrolled his daughter in the madraseh". The teacher, a woman, learned that the merchant was quite well off and so began to scheme. One day, she "asked the girl what they had in the house, and the girl replied,'Vinegar." Now the teacher went to work planting seeds of malice in the girl's heart. Soon, she had won over the child's loyalty, and was easily able to convince the girl to ask for some vinegar from the huge barrel. When her mother got it for her, she was to "push her in and cover the storage jar", then tell her father that her mother had slipped. So the merchant found his dead wife in the jug and a new "yellow cow in his stable". Before the month was out, the merchant married the teacher. So now he had a wife AND a cow. He put the girl in charge of pasturing the cow. Now her stepmother became pregnant, and came to resent the other little girl. So each day when she sent her out with the cow she gave her only "one piece of rotten bread to eat", and orders to clean and spin a tow of raw cotton while the cow grazed. But the girl did not know how to spin, and so, once alone in the field, despaired. That is when she heard a voice. It was the cow, telling her to give her both the rotten bread and the raw cotton to eat. Then the cow ate the bread and cotton and "shat cotton thread until evening". This continued for three days in a row, with morning and evening breaks for going back to the merchant's home. On the third day, a brisk wind blows away the ball of cotton thread, and it tumbles straight "down a well". Before she could climb down after it, the cow gave her special instructions. She would see "an old woman bārzangī" whom she was to greet by saying, "Salām". When the old woman asked her to "delouse my hair", she was to answer "Your hair is perfectly all right, it's cleaner than mine", and then delouse her. So the girl went down the well and sure enough, there she met the old woman, and all proceeded as the yellow cow told her it would. Then the old one tells her "to take her cotton from a certain room" where she will also see precious gems. The girl enters the room, sees the jewels, as well as her cotton, and takes her thread back. She bids the old woman goodbye and begins to climb the ladder out of the well. Halfway up it gives a terrible shaek: it is the old woman frisking her for the possibility of stolen jewels. Since no jewels have been taken, "the old woman prays for her to have a moon in the center of her brow". At the top, the woman gives her another blessing, saying, "May you have a star on your chin." She warns the girl to keep her veil on tightly so that her stepmother can't see these on her face.  Then the girl goes home. That night, the veil slips off of her face, and the moo and star are seen by her family. By now, the stepmother has become suspicious of the speed at which this girl spins cotton. So the next day, she send her own girl out with the cow. She doesn't give her rotten bread to eat but instead sweet bread. For three days the cow eats sweet bread and shits cotton thread. But not as much as when she was on the rotten-bread diet. On the third day a gust of wind blows the thread down the well. Again the yellow cow counsels the girl about the woman down the well, and what she must say and do when she goes below. But this girl is greedy and rude, and when the old woman in the well asks for help with her hair, the girl says, "Your hair is filthy, my mother's is clean.' When the old one tells her where to find her thread, the girl grabs some jewels as well, which fall when the old woman shakes the ladder. So she curses the girl, saying, "May a donkey's penis grow from your forehead!" And then she adds, "And a snake from your chin!". When the girl gets home, her mother is horrified. She cuts the penis and the snake off of her daughter's face, and makes a poultice with salt, but "both objects reappear over night". By now the good daughter has figured out the true identity of the yellow cow: she is her mother. So she begins feeding her on "candied chickpeas and bread". Of course, soon the stepmother declares that she is ill, and that the only cure for her is the meat of the yellow cow. When the cow's daughter comes to feed her that night, the cow cries out, "They'll kill me today!" Then she warns her child of the hardships to come, and tells her what to do. She is not to eat any of the meat, but to save the bones and hide them in a bag, which she is to bury. The cow is then butchered, and the girl follows her mother's directions. The next day, the stepmother feels well enough to take her own daughter to attend "a wedding in another city". So she "cuts off the penis and snake and applies salt to the wounds". Then she mixes a large measure of millet with some tiny togũ seeds, and commands her stepdaughter to sort them out before she returns, and "to fill the pool with tears." When she is left alone, the girl begins to cry. The tears are no problem, but how can she ever sort those seeds? Suddenly, she sees "a hen with a lot of chickens come into the garden. The hen speaks, telling the girl to put salt and water into the pool, take the horse and good clothes she will find in the stable, and go to the wedding." Her little chicks will sort out the seeds. She must hurry home from the wedding, and on the way, "one of your shoes will fall into the water; don't stop to get it" for fear of discovery.  That is how the girl comes to be at the wedding, dressed in finery, when her stepsister recognized her, and says to her mother, "That is our Māhpishāanī. [Moon-Brow]". So Moon-Brow runs home, but on the way, one shoe falls off in the water. She doesn't go back for it, and is dressed in rags sorting the last of the seeds when her stepmother gets home. "Two days later, a prince is riding by the waterside, and his horse refuses to drink." That's when the prince sees a shoe in the water, and bends to pick it up. He takes it home and tells his father that he desires to marry the one who lost the dainty shoe. So "the king and his viziers try the shoe on everyone and all wish that it would fit, but it does not." When the king and his party near the home of Moon-Brow, her stepmother pushes her into the bread oven and bars the door, so that there is only one young woman in the house who may try on the shoe. Just then, "a cock flies up on top of the oven, and begins to crow,'A moon in the oven! A head is in thee, kūku!"That is how the girl is discovered. Of course, the king makes her try on the shoe, and it fits, so "she marries the prince".

From: Dundes, A. (1982) Cinderella: A Casebook. (p.185) New York: Wildman Press

Notes: This so reminds me of the English folk tale of Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar! Also quite interesting similarities to the Spanish Cinderella, Little Gold Star, and the Italian, Ugly Cinderella (La Brutta Cinderella # 83 ) Note the presence of the Baba Yaga-like character, and the similarity with The Talking Eggs, (Cinderella #19 )an African American tale in which the girls are similarly tested. Dundes' notes include the facts that this story, in traditional Afghan culture, is the exclusive province of women. So much so that "an accomplished storyteller with a huge repertoire of of both folktales and romances, professed not to know the story and refused to perform it." The story is traditionally told within the context of rituals associated with "Soup for the Lady of Wishing", an ancient passion play not unlike the Catholic Stations of the Cross. 

Cinderella #297: Barbarella

Cinderella #297: Barbarella

Illustration by
W.H.Robinson

Once upon a time, there was "a widower, with a daughter named Barbarella." Then this man "marries a widower named Tatiana, with a daughter named Juliana." In short time,, Tatiana began to dislike Barbarella for her fairness of face, and industrious ways. Her own Juliana seemed to pale by comparison. Before long, she has begun to starve the girl, grudging her anything at all to eat. One day, Barbarella is sent to the well for water. There she sees "a fairy in a robe of silk and shoes of silver"". This fairy asks her for a sip of water, which Barbarella graciously grants. Now the fairy gifts her, saying that "may she be so fair that a king's son will fall in love with her." She also gives her "a calf with golden horns, which she must take of all its life, and always obey." When Barbarella goes home, and her stepmother sees the calf, the woman is enraged. She orders Juliana to go to the well and find the fairy. So Juliana goes, and she does find the fairy, And when the fairy asks her for a sip of water, Juliana is distasteful of sharing her flask. So the fairy curses her "so that she becomes obnoxious to all. She shrivels up and looks like an old woman." The years pass, and Barbarella cares for her calf tenderly. But one day, when her father is away on business, her stepmother orders the calf to be slaughtered. Before this is done, Barbarells creeps out to visit her beloved companion.  All of a sudden, "the calf speaks, bids her collect all its bones wrap them in a napkin, and put them in a certain grotto. The calf tells her that if she does all of this, then every Sunday it will give her a new silk dress. She is to wait until her stepmother and sister have gone each Sunday, then furtively change, and follow them to church. So this just what Barbarella does. Every Sunday she dons a new frock and sits in church. Soon, none other than the son of the king himself has taken note of her. He becomes enamored of her as the weeks pass. One Sunday, as the maiden flees before the benediction, as the calf made her promise to do, she loses a shoe in her haste. But the king's son "finds it, and proclaims that he will wed whomsoever it fits." Every girl in the land tries that shoe on, but none can wear it. At last, Barbarella, "shy and full of doubt" steps forward. Her foot slides right into the shoe, and "the King's son, rejoiced at recognizing her, marries her." As for Juliana the ugly, she "remains unsavoury and ashamed."

From: Cox, M. R. (1893/2011) Three Hundred Forty Five Variants of Cinderlla, Catksin, and Cap O'Rushes (p.137)

Notes: This seems, somehow, an almost realistic tale. No big plot about the shoes, she just loses one. No exotic means of transport to church, she just walks. How interesting it must be to have "an unsavoury sister."

Cinderella #266 Cinderella Ate Her Mother! or La Cuzza Tzenere (The Ash Girl of the Dog Kennel)

Cinderella #266 Cinderella Ate Her Mother! 

 La Cuzza Tzenere (The Ash Girl of the Dog Kennel)

Cinderella ATE her MOTHER!

Note: Contains violence. Once upon a time, there was a woman with three daughters. Though all three were employed, they could not earn enough between them for their own keep. One day, as they sat together spinning, they "determined that the one who drops her spindle three times shall be killed and eaten by the others."But when the eldest sister commands the youngest to do the bloody deed, thrusting an axe into her hands, the girl refuses. When another of her sisters runs "to fetch the hatchet", the girl snatches a moment with her mother, telling her that, no matter what, she won't eat her. The mother then gives her child a wand of ash wood, and tells her to "collect her bones when [her] sisters have killed and eaten her." Mama explains that the bones can grant her wishes if she is in sore need. So, when the mother is slain, and the elder sisters begin to munch upon her, the youngest child sits, hungry but not eating, under the table. As her sisters tossed the bones down to the floor, she gathered them together. Within a week, Mama had been eaten all up, and the girl had a compete skeleton. She now buried this under the hearth.  Soon "it is carnival time" and the older sisters are getting ready for the ball. They each give their little sisters "3 measures of millet" to be ground by the time they get back  "or they will beat her". After they leave, the girl remembers the bones and wand. She taps the hearth three times and "hears a voice asking what it is she wants". She explains about the millet and there appears "a crowd of birds, which undertake to perform [the] task". Then she washes and dresses, and wishes for "a dress and shoes to match". They are given to her. When she gets downstairs, there is an elegant coach awaiting her. She goes to the ball, and, when the prince see her, will dance with no other. Just as the music ends, the girl hurries home. Changing clothes quickly, she is asleep among the cinders when her sisters get home. The next day, each sister orders her to grind "four measures of corn" before they return from the party. This time, their little sister is aided by a flock of chickens, courtesy of their dead mother's bones. Again she goes to the ball, and again, the king's son is smitten by her. Yet she runs away once more, just as the music ends. When the royal servants try  to follow the coach,she turns and throws "a handful of gold to detain pursuers". On the morning of the final carnival ball, each of the older sisters gives "thirty pounds of wool" to the youngest, ordering her to card it by midnight. Again she is helped, this time by a band of mighty little mice summoned by the voice of the bones. This time, she goes to the ball "in a dress covered with stars".The king's son has planned for this night, asking that the floor near the exit be smeared with tar after the strange girl enters. When she runs away on that fateful third night, a shoe is left behind in the black goo. The very next day, a proclamation is read around town: every household will be visited by the prince, as he seeks the girl who can wear the shoe he caught in tar. " When the shoe and prince arrive at this house, and the older sisters try it on, it does not fit. "The shoe is too narrow for one, too short for the other." Then the king's son demands to know if there are other girls in the house. When one sister says there are and the other says there aren't, he becomes suspicious. He orders the girls to bring their sister. Now they try and fix the raggy thing up a bit, offering her some of their own garments. ("No, really! I'll let you wear this top. I mean, no offense but, um, you king of look like....you know, a cinder girl...") She replies something along the lines of , "Thanks, but no thanks." Then she waves the wand over their mother's bones, causing the dress of stars to appear. Quickly slipping this on, she wishes again for the other shoe. Then she goes out to the prince, in her glittering dress, with one bare foot. He "recognizes her the instant he sees her, fits the other shoe on her, and takes her to be his bride."

From: Cox, M. R. (1893/2011) p. 416 "Narrated and written down in Italian by Signorina Alodia Riboldi," (1889)

Notes: OMG! Peggy Orenstein, read this and weep. Sorry about Cinderella eating your daughter and all (did she spit  her out yet?) but here is a truly unique twist to the tail!

Cinderella #242: Kraake Lange

Baba Yaga, by Haviland, V.
If Kraake Lange and Baba Yaga
had a smack-down,
 who would win?

Once upon a time, in Finland, there lived "a widower and his daughter,who sink through a little hill to the sorceress, Kraake Lange". To the girl's dismay, her father marries the sorceress, who has a daughter of her own. Soon, Kraake Lange begins ordering the girl about, forcing her to do all of the hardest work. She makes her tend the cows in the field all day long, but does not send any food for the child to eat. That is why the sorceress is so surprised that "the less food she gives her, the better she seems nourished." So she decides to "gives her daughter a couple of magic eyes to put into her neck, and sends her to spy" on her step-sister. That is how the sorceress discovers that her step-daughter is eating food from "the ear of an ox". So she lays plans to kill that ox, and has a "pitfall made in the road". But the ox has heard the sorceress and so understands what it to come. He "drives the cows into the trap and they are killed. Then he says to the heroine, "One of us must die; better I than you. When I am dead, take and bury my bones, walk over my grave, wish for three things, and you shall get them." So the girl watched while the sorceress killed the ox. Then she followed the directions the ox had given her, very carefully. She wished for "a horse, a saddle, and three dresses — a poor one, a middling one, and a very lovely one." She receives these. Months pass and summer comes. Now the girl is ordered to "spin hard" while the rest go to church. She puts on the "poorest dress", goes to church, and meets the prince. When the service ends, she rushes out to her horse and mounts. Now "a young man accosts her and asks her to follow him home". She "lets her whip drop;he springs from his horse to pick it up, and she too, dismounts." As soon as she steps foot on the ground, however, she makes a wish: that she is home again, behind the oven". POOF! There she is, at home, comfy and warm behind the oven. It turns out that her poor old dress has the power of granting wishes! The following Sunday, the girl goes to church wearing her middling dress. And when the young man tries to speak with her, "she lets her golden shoe drop,and the young man gets it, and keeps it."He searches all over for the maiden who can wear that golden shoe, and "at last, comes to a little hill whence issues [the] agreeable smell of cooking".  Now the young man "sinks down and comes to Kraake Lange. Neither she nor her daughter can get the shoe on", but it slips onto the young girl's foot quite easily. And that is how the young man discovers that the maiden is none other than his long lost sister! Since he is currently serving as one of the King's Men, he tells the King of his sister's great beauty, and "the King wants to see her".  When the maiden and her brother present themselves at the castle, the King accepts her as his bride." They are married and the girl lives happily as the new Queen,  with her beloved brother nearby. 

From Cox, M. R. (1893/2011) p. 397

Notes: It just goes to show the importance of paying attention,and then following the directions. What if the maiden muddled the directions from the ox, and walked once around the grave, or only twice? Couldn't have had the horse and the saddle and the three dresses, now, could she? For more Finnish fun, read Finn Family Moomintroll

Cinderella #231 Sa Bitella de Sos Corros D'Oro (The Calf With Golden Horns)

A white cow. 

Once upon a time, in Italy, there lived a sad orphan girl. Her father had died, leaving her to live with his second wife. The wife did not love her stepchild, though she lavished love on her own daughter. The stepchild was made to do the ugliest, dirtiest work. She emptied the chamber pots in the morning, then swept and mopped and scrubbed the floors. Then she cleaned the fireplace and built  up the flames and cooked the meals, and then, when her work was done, she slept among the cinders. One day the stepmother ordered the girl to fetch water from the well. When the child there, she found an old woman waiting for her. When she had given Granny a drink, the old one pulled her close, so close that the girl could see her eyes sparkling. Granny whispered that she was a fairy, and would give the girl three gifts, to suit her kind heart. The first was that the girl would be beautiful. The second, that she would one day receive "a prince's love", and the third gift was a little calf. It was a very special calf, for it had golden horns. The fairy told her that she must care for the calf, and to obey its counsel. But when the girl had thanked the fairy, and gone home with her lovely face and her golden horned calf, her stepmother was jealous. She demanded to know where the animal came from, and how the girl had changed her face. When she heard the story of the fairy at the well, she insisted that her own daughter go, thereby to get some gifts. Yet this child, though she had never wanted for anything in her life and had no grounds for complaint, sulked and scuffed her feet. When she got to the well and saw the ragged old woman, she dashed a pitcher of water right in her face, and started to run away. But the fairy called her back, saying that she had a gift for her. One that matched her temperament. And when that hateful girl came back to the well, the fairy cursed her. At once, the young girl became bent like an old woman, her skin wrinkled, and her hair turned thin and gray. In horror she ran home. When her mother saw her she screamed,and declared that her stepdaughter would pay a price for this occurrence. She orders her to bring her calf, telling her that it will be slaughtered. Tearfully her stepdaughter goes to the barn to fetch the animal. And that is when the calf speaks to her, telling her that she must collect its bones when the flesh has been eaten, and bury them "under the grotto". So this the girl does, collecting them after her stepmother has gone to bed. She buries them, and thanks the calf for being her friend, if only for a short while. Then the voice of the calf calls to her, saying that whenever she has a wish, she need only whisper it to the bones and it will be granted. It happened that soon after that, an invitation arrives at the stepmother's home. It is from the King, announcing that a feast will be held, in honor of his son. Now the stepmother and her daughter command the stepdaughter to help them make ready for the feast. She sews their dresses, and puts combs into their hair. When they have gone, at last, she rushes to the grotto, and tells all to the bones. At once a gown appears, sewn all over with beads and pearls. There are a pair of slippers to match, of a blue like the sky. So the girl puts on these lovely things, and goes to see whether she can earn the prince's love at the feast. Gaining admittance to the feast, she is seated next to the prince. He cannot take his eyes off of this lovely girl. Suddenly, Step Mama and sister appear! They have recognized the girl, who runs away, losing a blue slipper. Now the prince is bereft, and refuses to eat or speak for the duration of his feast of honor. The next day, he sends his herald out with an announcement: all maidens must try on the small blue slipper found by the prince. The girl who can wear it will be his bride. When they come to the house of the cruel stepmother, she quickly sends the girl to the well for more water. Then she brings out her own daughter, declaring that she will surely fit the shoe. In fact, the shoe cannot be squeezed onto her foot, no matter how hard she tries. The prince demands to know if there are any other maidens in the house. Just as the stepmother insists there are not, her stepdaughter walks in with a full jug of water. The prince at once orders her to try on the shoe. She does, and it is a perfect fit. So the prince marries her the next day. As for the stepmother and her ugly daughter, if the two of them haven't killed each other from spite, they are living together still, in the little cottage near the well. 

From: Cox, M.R. p. 151

Cinderella #153 Yeh-Hsien (Number Three), a Chinese Cinderella (2010)

Holland,R.

Once upon a time, "in Southern China, so the old scrolls say, there lived a girl named Yeh-Hsien. Even as a child, she was clever and kind. As she grew up, she knew great sorrow, for her mother died, and then her father too. Yeh-Hsien.was left in the care of her stepmother." Now, this woman had a girl of her own, and two mouths ate more than one. If only, she thought to herself, little Yeh-Hsien.had an accident. So she made her do the hardest chores, and sent her "to collect firewood from the most dangerous forests and draw water from the deepest pools." But in spite of this, Yeh-Hsien.managed to remain cheerful, for she had a secret friend.  He was a tiny red fish, "with golden eyes".  Once she had discovered him, she began saving grains of her rice, and feeding them to the pretty creature. Now it bobbed to the surface when it saw her, splashing over as close to the bank as it could come. It grew to a wonderful size. Of course, the stepmother and her daughter wanted to know how that wretched girl could stay happy, no matter how they treated her. So when they began to suspect that Yeh-Hsien.had a secret, the stepmother said to her daughter,"Why don't you  follow her, and find out?' This the girl did, and so learned the secret.  So the stepmother made a nasty plot: she tricked Yeh-Hsien.into taking off her ragged dress by giving her a new one. Then, when the girl had been sent out to play, as a treat for her hard work. the stepmother "pulled on the ragged dress, and hurried to the pond. Hidden up her sleeve, she carried a knife. The fish saw Yeh-Hsien's dress and in a moment, raised his head out of the water. In the next, the stepmother plunged in her dagger. The huge body flapped onto the bank. Dead."Then she went home, built up the fire, and roasted the fish. She declared that it was delicious, and "between them, the stepmother and her daughter ate up every last bit of Yeh-Hsien's friend." When Yeh-Hsien.came home from her wandering, she went straight to the pond to show her friend her new gown, and tell him of her delightul day.  He was gone.  When she realized what must have happend, Yeh-Hsien.sobbed uncontrollably.  "She did not notice the old man floating down from the sky....His hair was loose and his clothes were coarse but his eyes were full of compassion. 'Don't cry.'he said gently. 'Your stepmother killed your fish and hid the bones in the dung heap. Go fetch the bones. They contain powerful magic. Whatever you wish for, they will grant it." So Yeh-Hsien.followed his directions, and in this way, she began to have enough food to eat, and shoes to wear, and clothing to keep her warm. When she held the bones, "they felf smooth and cool and heavy in her hands." They reminded her of her friend. Soon the season of the Plum Blossoms came, and the Spring Festival.  It was the time to honor one's ancestors, and for young people to make new friends. Oh, how Yeh-Hsien.wished she could go! But her stepmother forbade it, saying, "You must stay here to guard the fruit trees." Well, they could not stop her wishing! As soon as they were gone, she took out her friend's bones, and wished. In an instant "she was clothed in a robe of silk, and her cloak was crafted from kingfisher feathers....On her feet were shoes of gold." Now Yeh-Hsien. ran to the festival. There she "could smell tender meats sizzling and warm, spiced wine. She could hear music, singing, laughter. " Such a joyful time! Many, many people wondered who this lovely new-comer could be. But her stepmother grew suspicious.  Yeh-Hsien.could feel the malevolence of her eyes,and began to run. But she was in such a state of nervousness that, without knowing it, she lost one of her golden slippers. Once home, she changed back into her rags, flopped down on the grass, and embraced a tree as though it were a friend. That is how her stepmother found her. "And what happened to the golden shoe? It lay hidden in the long grass, washed by rain and beaded by dew." It caught the eye of someone walking one day, and this person sent it to the king, as a gift. He said, "This slipper is exquisite. If I can find the woman who fits such a shoe, I will have found a wife."  And he gave orders that every single woman in his kingdom, beginning with those in his own household, must try on the shoe. Many tried, but none could wear it. Finally, the king had an idea. He laid the shoe along a country path, and set spies to watch for anyone who picked it up. When a raggedy girl did, and took it into her hut, the king's men followed her, and banged on the door. They made her open up and searched the house. They found the shoe, and made the girl try it on. "The stepmother and stepsister watched with mouths agape as Yeh-Hsien.went to her hiding place . She returned wearing her cloak of feathers and both her golden shoes. She was as beautiful as a heavenly being. And the king knew that he had found his love." So they were married, and "there were lanterns and banners, gongs and drums, and the most delicious delicacies. The celebrations lasted for seven days."  Now that all of her wishes had come true, Yeh-Hsien.asked her husband to come with her to honor her fish friend. They floated the bones out on the tide, and "the spirit of the fish was free to swim in sun-sparkled seas forever."

From: Yeh-Hsien, a Chinese Cinderella Retold by Casey, D. & Holland, R. (2006)Yeh-Hsien: A Chinese Cinderella (Folk Tales) (Chinese Edition)Yeh-Hsien a Chinese Cinderella in French and English (Folk Tales) (English and French Edition) Yeh-Hsien: A Chinese Cinderella (Folk Tales) (Vietnamese Edition)

London: Mantra Lingua Ltd. Vietnamese/English bilingual

Montessori Connection: Geography/Asia/China/Vietnam

1. Read this story and compare it to Yeh-Shen, by Ail Ling Luie. 

2. Do both stories take place in China?

3. Why do you think this book is bilingual in Vietnamese instead of Chinese?

Cinderella #132 The Wonderful Birch

The mother had been
transformed into a black sheep.

Once upon a time, in Finland, there lived a little girl.  She lived withe her mother and her father in the woods.  One day, "one of their sheep went astray, and they set out to look for it, and searched, and searched, each in a different part of the wood." That is why no one was with the mother when she met a troll woman among the trees.  This creature chanted a spell: "Spit into my knife-sheath, Pass between my legs, Turn into a black sheep." And when she had done saying those words, the mother had been transformed into a black sheep, and the troll took over the mother's form. So the troll called, "I've found the sheep." and the man and the daughter and the wicked troll all went back to their cottage.  Now the troll told the father to kill the sheep, as it had caused so much trouble.  But the little girl, who was very clever, had walked next to the black sheep all the way home.  She knew it was her mother.  When she ran out to the barnyard, she clung to the black sheep and cried.  It spoke to her in her mother's voice, saying, "Well then, do not eat the meat or broth, but only gather all my bones and bury them by the edge of the field."  And when the troll butchered the sheep and made soup of it, and set a bowl before the child, she would not taste it.  Instead, she did as her mother had asked, and gathered the bones, and buried them.  "And from the bones there sprang up a tree."  The years passed, and the troll-mother bore her own child.  Now her dislike of her stepdaughter increased.  When the king announced that he was going to give a festival, and that everyone was invited, "even the most poor and wretched" the two girls were excited.  But the troll would not her stepdaughter go. Instead, she "threw a bowl of barley grains among the cinders and said, 'If you have not picked every grain of barley out of the ashes, and put it back into the bowl before nightfall, I shall eat you up!" When she was alone, the girl tried and tried to gather all the barley, but it was an impossible task.  At last, she sat down to cry.  That's when she heard her mother's voice saying, "Why do you weep, little daughter?" And when the girl explained, the mother said, "Do not weep. Break off a branch from the birch tree, strike the hearth with it crosswise, and all will be put right."  That is just what the girl did, and immediately "the barley flew into the bowl and the hearth was clean. Then she went back to the tree and laid the branch upon the grave.  Then her mother's voice bade her to bathe on one side of the tree, dry herself on the other, then put on the clothes she found within the tree trunk.  And after the girl had done this, she became so lovely that no one on earth could rival her."  Then, out from the birch tree sprung a horse.  It was a splendid animal, made partly of silver, partly of gold, and partly "of something more precious still".  Then she rode to the palace as swiftly as the wind.  When she got there, the prince himself attended to her horse.  He danced with her all evening, and at dinner time, sat beside her.  But the troll's daughter was under the table with a joint of meat, and "was noisily gnawing the bones.  The prince heard the sound, and, thinking it was a dog under the table, he kicked her, and the blow broke the arm of the troll's daughter."  When it began to grow late, the girl realized that she had better get home, but when she left, some of the guests followed behind her.  Now she "took off her ring and threw it behind her, and while they were all looking for it, she got up on her horse and rode away from the castle."  At home, she left the horse and the gown by the birch tree and went inside, to sit before the fire. When her father and the troll came back, the troll yelled at her, "Oh! You miserable wretch. You don't know what fine times we've had at the palace. The prince carried my daughter about.  But the poor thing fell, and broke her arm." The banquet continued the next day.  The troll wife told her husband to go on ahead with their daughter, while she laid out work for his girl.  Then "she threw a bowl of flax seeds among the ashes and said, "If you do not get this sorted out and all the seed back into the bow, I shall eat you!"  Again the girl went to her mother's grave, and again the spirit advised her to take a branch and strike the ashes, crosswise on the hearth.  She did this, and "instantly, all the seeds flew into the bowl".  Then she went to one side of the tree and washed, the other to dry, and looked into the trunk. A luxurious gown was there, and the marvelous horse sprang out.  Again she rode to the palace, and again the prince danced with her.  The troll's daughter could not resist the meat, and took some under the table to eat.  And the prince thought there was a dog under the table, so "he gave a kick and broke her leg," The man's daughter sat quietly, making no notice.  Again, she left early, returned the dress and horse to the tree and was sitting on the warm bricks beside the fire when her family got home. For the third night of the feasting, the troll woman decided to give a task that she was sure the girl could never do. She "poured a bowl of milk on the ashes, saying, 'If you do not get all the milk into the dish again before we get home, I will eat you up!" What was the girl to do? She tried and tried to gather the milk but it had soaked into the ashes.  Screaming with fright she ran to her mother's grave. Again the mother soothed her child and told her to use a birch branch to make the sign of the cross on the hearth.  The moment the girl did this, the bowl of milk was full again.  Back to the tree she went, washing on one side, drying on the other, the putting her hand into the trunk to see what came forth. This time it was "a splendid gown and gold shoes".  The horse jumped out, the glorious girl rode forth, and soon, they were at the palace. Again the greedy stepsister chewed bones under the table.  Tonight the prince gave her such a kick that one of her eyes fell out. And again, when the girl tried to slip out unseen, the people followed her.  She threw her golden necklace behind her, and the crowd fought to pick it up.  By the time they remembered the girl, she was long gone. But, one of her golden shoes had fallen off.  When her troll mother and her father got home, the mother bragged about how the prince had carried her daughter all night.  But had dropped her, knocking out one eye. The next day, there was a royal announcement: the prince had found a ring , a necklace, and a shoe and was looking for the girl who could wear them.  That one would become his bride. When the troll woman heard this, she decided to patch up her daughter and send her over.  She "tied a wooden washing bat in place of her foot, a pancake roller in place of her arm, and a piece of horse-dung in place of her eye." When they got to the palace, and the troll saw how small the jewelry and the shoe were, she 

"cut and filed her daughter's head, and finger, and foot, until they fit. And so the prince was forced to take the unseemly girl as his bride." And when the prince and his "horrid bride" passed by the girl, she rushed over and whispered to him, " Dear prince, do not rob me of my silver and gold." So he took her along too, because her recognized her as his dancing partner.  When he got partway down the road, with both of the girls, he saw a river.  That's when he "threw the troll's daughter across it as a bridge, and there she remained, unable to move." So the prince and the "cinder lass" went to the wonderful birch tree, and her mother left gifts for them there: "three sacks of gold, and as much silver. And they went to live in the palace, and soon a son was born." Now, the troll mother, in her foolishness, really believed that her chopped up, hideous daughter had married the prince.  So when she heard that the prince's wife had a child, she assumed that it was her daughter's babe.  Off she went to the palace.  But on the way, she came to a river.  There was a bridge over it, and a "golden reed" grew over the walkway.  The troll started to cut this reed, as a gift for her grandson when she heard a voice.  It said, "Alas, mother, do not cut me." And when the troll called out her daughter's name, a voice answered, saying "They threw me across the river to make a bridge of me!" and then then troll broke the spell, and the bridge became a girl again.  At the palace, the troll mother 

chanted: "Spit into my knife-sheath, Bewitch my knife-blade, Become a reindeer." and at that instant, "the poor queen was transformed instantly into a reindeer, and the troll used her magic to make her own daughter take on the form and shape of the queen.  But the baby prince missed its own mother's care and cried without ceasing." So the prince begged advice from a wise woman, who looked carefully at the child and said, "I'll take him with me tomorrow when I drive the cows to the wood.  I will make a rustling among the leaves and a trembling among the aspens.  Perhaps the boy will quiet when he hears it." And the prince agreed.  In the morning, the wise woman gently wrapped the baby boy, and carried him on her back as she walked along. And when "she came to the edge of a marsh, and, seeing a herd of reindeer, she began at once to sing a magical song, and immediately one of the reindeer came and nursed the child and cared for it all day long." In this way, the wise woman learned the truth. The next day, the prince and his baby son both came to the woods with her, and there they "built a fire by the edge of the marsh.  The reindeer came as before and began to nurse the child.  'Take off your reindeer skin.' said the woman, 'and I will comb your hair for you.'  So the reindeer shed it's skin as the prince hid and watched." As the wise woman combed the creature's hair, the prince dashed out and threw the reindeer skin into the fire. Before his eyes, he saw his wife become a spinning wheel, then a spindle, and many other things. "But the prince smashed each one, until his own wife stood before him again, and he brought her home to the castle." When they got their, the prince gave some orders.  He commanded that a bath kettle be hoisted over the fire, and filled with tar instead of water.  When the tar boiled, he threw a blue cloth over it to give the appearance of water. Then he called for the troll woman and her daughter, inviting them to enjoy a hot bath. "They fell into the hot tar and perished.  But before they vanished forever, the troll screamed, 'May worms come upon the earth, and insects fill the air, for the torment of all humankind."

From The Oryx Multicultural Folktale Series: Cinderlla. Sierra, J. Cinderella (The Oryx Multicultural Folktale Series) Notes: This is clearly a very ancient story.  Elizabeth Wayland Barber, author of Women's Work, the First 20,000 Years,(Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times) says, "The Slavic women of Eastern Europe preserved memory of a pagan goddess, Mokosh, or Mokusha, who walked at night, spinning wool, and to whom one might pray for help both with spinning and with doing the laundry.  If sheep were losing their wool, the saying was: Mokosh has sheared the sheep."( p. 247) Such female spirits could be good, or evil.  The fact that the spirit of the mother advises that the sign of the cross be made in the ashes, as means of completing the task, seems  to me a clear display of the superimposition of Christianity over many traditional fairy tales. 
Montessori Connection: Literature of Finland
1. Read this story, then find Finland on the globe.
2. Read some famous children's stories from Finland:Finn Family Moomintroll, Comet in Moominland, Moominsummer Madness (Moomintrolls) 

Cinderella #127 Maria la Cenicienta (1873)

The girl found that she had a turkey-cock's crest on her forehead. 

Once upon a time, in Spain, there lived a man and his wife.  They had a small daughter named Maria who was the joy of their lives.  One day, the woman fell ill, and the next, she died.  Her daughter was left to manage as best she could in life without a mother.  Soon, Maria's father took a second wife.  At first the woman was cordial enough to the little girl but when her own child arrived, things took a different turn.  By the time Maria was seven years old, she spent every day in the pasture tending the cows. And by the time her stepsister was old enough to talk, she was insulting Maria.  Since she spent her days in the mud and her evenings huddled in the ashes, she began to call the girl Maria la Cenicienta, or Cinder Mary.  Poor Maria.  All day she labored in pasture, with nothing more than the grass which the cows ate for her meal.  One day, when she was so hungry she could not stand it, she sat down to cry.  That's when she heard a strange voice.  One of the heifers mooed softly and said, "Why does your stepmother treat you so cruelly? Every day you take us to pasture and each evening you bring us home, yet the woman will not provide you with milk to fill you belly. Pull on my horn and see what happens." So Maria pulled on the cow's horn, and suddenly her hands were filled with the weight of a basket. She opened this and found that it contained fresh rolls, sausages, a round cheese, grapes, and a jar of fresh milk.  The girl finished every morsel of this repast, and from then on, took her meals daily from the cow.  One day her stepsister spied on her as she tugged the cow's horn, and relayed the tale of her sister's secret feasting to her mother.  Enraged, the stepmother ordered Maria to bring the helfer into the yard.  Then she asked her husband to slaughter the cow, claiming that she was with child and craved fresh meat.  When the cow had been butchered, Maria was ordered to clean the entrails.  So she carried the tub of guts to the streams edge,and began the process of rinsing.  As she did so, she heard a low mooing sound, and the voice of her friend,  the cow.  "Maria, I am still with you.  Take the wand which you will find in my entrails.  It will help you in time of need." And when Maria looked into the tub, she found a small carved stick.  The entrails had been washed away in the stream and as she looked up, she saw her stepmother running towards her.  She had time only to thrust the stick into her sleeve before her stepmother slapped her face.  "Lazy pig of a girl! Careless idiot! You have let the tripe float downstream!" And with that she dragged the girl into the trees.  There was a small hut there which Maria's father used to store things, and now her stepmother pushed her in, and bolted the door behind her.   But instead of finding herself in the storage hut, Maria realized that she was in a tiny cottage. An ancient old woman sat in a rocking chair by the fire.  "Pretty child, pray tidy this hut and cook my supper,"  spoke the ancient old woman.  So Maria swept the floor with a broom that she saw, and then cleared the cinders from the grate.  She rekindled a fire, and builti it into a bright blaze.  Then she looked in the cupboards and found cheese and sausage, and a round loaf of fresh bread.  She sliced these and laid them on the table, and the old one beamed and nodded.  When Maria had eaten he fill, the old one beckoned her close. Patting the girl on the forehead, she gestured to a fat featherbed in the corner.  Maria sank into this and slept until dawn.  That's when she heard pounding on the door.  It was her stepmother, and just as she opened the door, the old woman pointed to a basin on the table.  It was filled with the freshly rinsed calf's entrails!  When Maria's stepmother saw the basin, she grabbed it, and then gasped. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, and grabbed Maria by the hair.  "Why do you have a star on your brow? Dirty pig! You must cover it up!" She grabbed a rag from a corner of the storage hut, and tied it firmly over Maria's head.  Then she slapped her and said, " Tell me at once.  Where did you get this trip and who put that star on your head?" So Maria told her about the ancient old woman, and her stepsister listened while she spoke. "I want a star on my head too! I will spend the night in the hut and make the old woman give me a star!" So that night her mother thrust her into the hut and bolted the door.  When the haughty girl turned around, sure enough, there was an ancient old woman in a chair by the fire.  "Pretty child, pray tidy this hut and cook my supper," the ancient one said to her.  But this girl just laughed and said,"Cook your own supper, lazy old thing! Give me a star on my head like my sisters! I am hungry now, what shall I eat for supper?' The old woman just nodded and smiled and the stepsister thought her a fool.  She opened the cupboard and found nothing but crumbs and the leavings of mice.  She stamped her foot and said, "Where shall I sleep?" and as she spoke, found that the light of the fire had gone out.  She was in the storage hut, alone with the rakes and shovels.  In the morning when her mother let her out, she was furious and shivering with cold.  But when her mother saw her she screamed. "Ahhh! Idiot of a girl! Why do you have the crest of a turkey-cock on your brow?" And the girl felt her head and now she screamed aloud.  Her mother quickly covered it with a silk kerchief.  It happened that one day not long after that the prince announced that he was hosting a ball.  All of the young ladies in the land were required to attend.  But when Maria begged to go, her stepmother locked her in the hut. "Stay there, Maria la Cenicienta!" she jeered, and bolted the door. But Maria drew out her magic wand.  With a wish and a wave she transformed her clothing into a dress far prettier than her stepsister's.  Her black hair flowed freely down her back, and the golden star shone brightly on her forehead.  Another wave of her wand unbolted the door of the hut and produced a team of horses and a fine wagon. Maria leaped into the driver's seat.  Sooner than seemed possible, they were in front of the palace, and she entered the ball as though in a dream.  When the prince saw her, his eyes seemed fastened to her.  They danced together all evening long.  But when the music ended, this lovely girl with a star on her brow wrenched herself from his hands and  fled.  Though he ran after her, he could find no trace of the lovely stranger, but only a small leather slipper of brilliant red. The next day, Maria's stepmother and sister could talk of nothing but the prince and his mysterious dancing partner.  She had disappeared, they said, leaving only a red shoe on the palace stairs. No sooner had they spoken than the king's herald passed by.  "Oye, oye! His majesty commands that all maidens attempt to wear the red slipper! The prince will take as his bride the one whose foot will fit the shoe." He was followed by the prince, who carried a small red slipper on a pillow. Now Maria's stepsister burst into the street, and her stepmother grabbed Maria by the hair. She dragged her into the kitchen and knocked her to the ground.  Then she turned a gigantic kneading trough over onto the girl, and went out to see the prince.  Her daughter was trying to squeeze her foot into the shoe, but it would not fit, and her face was nearly as red as the slipper, with effort.  "Is there no other maiden here?" asked the prince, and the stepmother said," Only dirty Cinder Mary and she is too ugly for you to see!"  That's when a dog ran past barking.  "Arf! Arf-arf!" It yapped.  Suddenly, it stopped before the prince and said, "She hides your bride in a tub inside!" and then ran away.  The prince went into the house and found Maria under the kneading trough, and when she saw the red shoe in his hand, she waved her wand.  Once more she stood before him in splendor, her shining brown clean and uncovered, with one red slipper upon her foot.  Gently, he slipped the other onto her, and they were married the same day. From Cox, Number 21 p. 10; taken from Biblioteca de las Tradiciones Españolas. 

Notes: This story has clear parallels with Little Gold Star, a Spanish-American Cinderella, as well as with the Baba Yaga-type tales involving old women in huts in the forest.  A kneading trough, presumably used for setting a whole week's worth of bread to rise, is the means of hiding the cinder girl. 

Montessori Connection: Fundamental Needs of People/Foods of Spain/Beef and Beef Products

1. Read this story and pay attention to the part of the cow's body that Maria is cleaning. (The entrails.)

2. Have you ever eaten anything made from the entrails of an animal? Think about it.

3. Learn about tripe, menudo, and sausage, three delicious foods made from cow's entrails: Handstand Kids Mexican Cookbook Kit; The International Cookbook for Kids. 

4. Learn about the food of Spain:Cocina sana para ninos/ Healthy Cooking for Your Kids (Spanish Edition); Chichita cocina con los chicos / Chichita cooking with kids (Spanish Edition)

5. Learn a little Spanish vocabulary: Fruits and Vegetables / Frutas y vegetales (English and Spanish Foundations Series) (Book #10) (Bilingual) (Board Book) (English and Spanish Edition); 

Cinderella #125 The Little Rag Girl (1850)

These little rag dolls are fun to make! 

Once upon a time, in the Eastern European country of Georgia, there lived a man and his wife and child.  This man was bitterly poor, and could hardly clothe himself and his wife, let alone one more.  The daughter wore such tatters that her nickname was Conkiajgharuna, or Little Rag Girl. Well, things went badly and then they went worse, and one day, the man's wife died.  How could he hope to make a living with a motherless child undefoot?  He married again, as quickly as he could.  But one thing he forgot to tell this woman: he had a child already, a little girl.  The new wife was angry, and declared that her own girl, a child of the same age, was to have the best of everything.  Every morning, before she pushed the little girl out the door to tend the cow, she gave her stepdaughter some old bread and said, " Eat as much as you want, and give some to every stranger you meet, but be sure to bring the whole loaf home." Life became a misery for Little Rag Girl.  One day, when all happiness seemed to have drained from her life, and she could find no joy in her days, she began to cry. Her tears flowed as though to fill a bucket.  That's when the cow said, "Why are you weeping? What is troubling you?" And the girl told her all.  And the cow leaned over and whispered, "Don't cry, for in one of my horns there is honey and in the other is butter.  Take what you want." In this way, the girl began to fill out, and no longer had a pinched stomache.  Soon, her stepmother noticed this, and began giving her more work.  Now Little Rag Girl had to spin a whole basketful of wool every day,, while she minded the cows.  It happened one day that the cow wandered far afield, and the girl, spinning while she trailed after it, dropped her spindle.  She found that it had slipped down a large hole in the ground, and bent over to look. Then she saw "an old woman, sitting on a stool.  ' Good mother, please give me back my spindle.' 'I cannot, my child, come and take it yourself.' answered the old one.  So Little Rag Girl went down.  Now the granny said, "Daughter, daughter, come and look at my head a moment, I am almost eaten up." And when the girl looked, she saw that the woman's head was crawling with worms. Quickly, she bent and picked off a dozen and threw them into the fire. "This pleased the old woman very much, and she said,' When you leave here, follow the road until you see three springs — one white, one black, and one yellow.  Pass by the white and black and dip your head in the yellow." This the girl did and "her hair became golden and her hands, too, shone like gold." How her stepmother raged when she saw this! She demanded to know the secret, and then the poor golden-haired Little Rag Girl told her about the old woman who lived underground, she immediately sent her daughter after her.  But when this young maid chased the cow and threw her spindle, and went down the hole, she spoke rudely. "Dog of an old woman! Come here and give me my spindle!' 'Come, child, and look at my head." And when the girl did so, she screamed and said, "Ugh! What a horrid head you have, you disgusting old woman!" The biddy smiled serenely and thanked the girl.  Then she told her that she had a gift for her on the way home.  The girl would pass by three springs — one white, one black, and one yellow.  She was to dip her head in the black one, and her reward would come.  This the girl did, and the moment she dipped her head into the black stream "a long, black horn grew out of her head".  The more she pulled it the longer it grew, and when she drew out her knife and hacked it off, it grew back again, only uglier and thicker. She fled screaming home, and didn't Little Rag Girl get a beating when she got there! And then the mother declared that she would kill the cow.  But the cow overheard her, and snuck over to the window, and whispered into Little Rag Girl's ear, "When I am dead, gather my bones together, and bury them in the earth. Whenever you are in trouble, come to my grave, and cry aloud,'Bring my steed and my royal robes!".  Well, the stepmother killed the cow, and Little Rag Girl gathered the bones. One day, the stepmother announced that she was taking her daughter to church. Then she dumped out a one hundred pound sack of millet and kicked it around the yard.  To her stepdaughter she said, "Before we return from church, fill this trough with your tears and gather up every single grain of millet." And off she went.  Now, Little Rag Girl knew that she would get a beating if she did not obey her stepmother, but she also knew that it would be impossible for her gather the grain.  Once again she sat down and cried, and once again she heard a voice. This time it was the kind neighbor lady, who said, "What's the matter, poor child?" And Little Rag Girl told her, and the woman shook her head.  Then she "brought out all her hens and chicks and and they picked up every grain of millet.  The she put a lump of salt in the trough and poured water over it. 'There, child, there are your tears! Now, go and enjoy yourself!"  And that's when Little Rag Girl remembered the cow bones.  She went to the place where she had buried them and called out softly, "Bring me my steed and my royal robes!" and sure enough, "there appeared a horse, and beautiful clothes, and slippers of gold."  She changed quickly and went to church.  Her stepmother saw her, and her stepsister thought the well dressed lady looked an awful lot like Little Rag Girl.  They both agreed that the idea was ridiculous! How would that dirty girl get a gown like that? In any case, the strange maiden left the service before anyone else.  In her haste, she lost a shoe while crossing a stream, though she did not notice.  Once home, she dressed herself in rags, and sat down to spin.  Now the days passed drearily, with hard work and poor meals.  But one day, as the king rode through the woods, his horse shied at a stream. There was something shining in the water.  His servant pulled it out, and they saw that it was a golden shoe.  This intriguing find inspired the king to seek for the owner.   Soon all the girls in the village had lined up to try on the shoe, and it fit none.  So the king took to the forest to search for woodcutter's huts, and found the home of Little Rag Girl.  But her stepmother heard the king coming, and shoved her stepdaughter under basket.  Then she brushed her own girl's hair, and dressed her in her best shawl.  When the king arrived, he found only one young girl, and she with feet too stout for the shoe.  He sat down in defeat, resting upon a large basket.  That's when he felt a sharp jab in his shin.  Yelping with pain, he demanded to know what was in the basket.  "No!' cried the stepmother. 'It's only a turkey and will run away!" So the king sat down again, and a moment later, he felt another poke. It was Little Rag Girl, stabbing his leg with a needle. And now the king insisted that the basket be lifted, and "Little Rag Girl came forth.  'This slipper is mine and it fits me well.' she said.  She sat down and the king found that it was indeed a perfect fit, Little Rag Girl became the king's wife, and the stepmother was left with a dry throat."

From Sierra, J. The Oryx Multicultural Folktale Series: Cinderella 

Notes: When I read the title of this story I assumed that it was about a little doll, such as help Cinderella in several other stories from the Ukraine, and neighboring countries.  That is why I illustrated it with a photo of rag dolls,which I myself made. Sierra's notes about this story say that the woman underground, with worms in her hair is clearly a corpse; little underground houses for the dead were built in places, apparently, and so one might have been able to drop a spindle down one.  Spindles are tools that are either of clay, and cone shaped, or are sticks with pointed ends, used to draw out thread as one spins it.  Because it was such a time consuming process, women and girls spun all the time.  In Greece, and probably in Russia and the surrounding countries, a kind of spindle that dangled in front of you, like a yo-yo, was used. This left one hand free to push more fluff in, and the other free to draw the thread out. 

Montessori Connection: Fundamental Needs of People/Clothing/Spinning and Weaving

1. Read the story and pay attention to what the girl drops down the hole. 

2. Learn about spindles, spinning wheels, and weaving:Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave (We Are Still Here : Native Americans Today) or Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times. 

Cinderella #121 Nomi and the Magic Fish (1969)

Fish swam in the deep pool.

Once upon a time, in South Africa, there lived a little girl named Nomi.  When she was very small, her mother died, and her father married again.  "This woman had a daughter named Nomsa.  Nomi was a beautiful, tall child, but Nomsa was very short and ugly.  The second wife did not like Nomi.  Often she beat her and sent her to bed without supper.  Ever since the girl was six years old, she had sent her to the  veld to look after the cattle." Each day at dawn, she pushed the child out the door, telling her," Drive the cattle to the veld. Do not come home at midday, for I have no food for you. And take your ugly dog with you!" So Nomi had no choice but to obey.  It happened one day, as the cattle were crowding around a watering hole, that Nomi sat down to watch.  She had seen a large fish flash by under water, and hoped to catch it: she was so hungry. Now she started to cry, and that's when the fish swam up and spoke to her! It said, "Do not be afraid, Nomi, I shall not touch you.  Why are you crying?" And the child sobbed, "I am hungry.  My father's second wife is very cruel to me. Often she gives me no food to eat. This morning, before breakfast, she sent me to the veld with the cattle. Last night I had no supper. Look at my arms. They are very thin.  My fingers look like the claws of a bird. In winter I am cold.  I have no warm coat to wear. Look at these ugly clothes I am wearing.  I have no pretty clothes." And the fish spoke kindly to Nomi, and gave her some bread and milk.  It asked her to bring the cattle to that pond every day, and she would provide a meal for her while the cattle drank.  So this Nomi did, and soon she "grew fat, and looked happy and beautiful. The dog too, was fat, and did not creep under the table."  And of course this made the mean stepmother angry and suspicious.  "She beat Nomi with a big stick but Nomi would not tell her who gave her the food.  Then the cruel woman beat the dog.  At last, the poor animal said, 'A big fish that lives in a deep pool in the river gives us food each day.'  The girl ran to the pool and told the fish," who answered, "I know the wicked woman will kill and eat me.  Do not cry but take my bones and throw them into the chief's garden.  Do not let anyone see you doing this." Sure enough, the very next day, the woman tricked her husband into thinking that she was very sick. The only cure for her, she insisted, was to eat the big fish that he would find swimming in a certain part of the river.  So Nomi's father killed her friend, and her stepmother ate the fish.  The only thing left on her plate when she was done was the fish's bones. Now she said, " Nomi take this plate and wash it.  Now, nobody will give you food to eat, you naughty girl.  Take the cattle and go to the veld.  There is no food for you and your ugly dog today. You will soon be thin and ugly again, with fingers like the claws of a bird."  So Nomi carried the plate away and washed it, but secretly, she hid the bones.  Late that night, when the house was asleep, she tiptoed out in the dark.  Quietly, she made her way to the chief's garden, and there she threw down the bones.  Then she went back home and went to bed.   In the morning, there was a big commotion.  The chief had found some white bones in his garden, and there was something very mysterious about them: no one could seem to pick them up.  First one, then another, and finally, a third, servant was sent to pick up those bones.  But each time anyone reached down to grab them, the bones eluded them. A person's fingers simply passed right through them as though the bones were made of smoke.  At last the chief himself stamped out to clear them.  He had no more luck than his own servants.  So he called for all the girls of the village to come and try to pick them up, declaring that he "would marry the girl who brings the bones" back to him. So all the maidens dressed in their finest robes, and went to the Great Place, as the chief's house was called. Not one could get their hands around them.  "When all the girls had tried, the chief said,'Are all the girls of the village here?' One woman said, 'Nomi is not here. She is on the veld, looking after some cattle.' Nomsa's mother said, 'Nomi is not strong. She is very thin, and cannot pick up the bones.' But the chief said, 'Send a servant to fetch her.' When Nomi was brought to the Great Place, she walked over and picked up the bones, just like that, with her little dog barking merrily behind her! " And the chief watched this beautiful, tall girl, and her laughing dog, and said to her,"I will marry you tomorrow." And then "many women stamped mealies and made big loaves of bread. The men killed six oxen and many sheep, and the next day, there was a great feast. Nomsa and her mother didn't come to the feast. They were afraid, and ran away into the forest."

From The Oryx Multicultural Folktale Series: Cinderella. Sierra, J. (1992)

Notes: This is very similar to many European stories involving the slaughter of the helper animal. In Greece, the step mother ate Cinderella's pet goat, (roasted, with olive oil and rosemary); in England, her cow.  

Montessori Connection: Geography/Africa/South Africa

1. Read the story.

2. Find the continent of Africa on the globe, and then find the country of South Africa.

3. Learn about the rivers and the fish of South Africa:Wildlife of South Africa: A Photographic Guide or John Muir's Last Journey South to the Amazon and East to Africa: Unpublished Journals and Selected Correspondence.