Adelita a Mexican Cinderella

Tomi dePaola retells the story of Adelitathe Mexican Cinderella using his distinctive illustrations and adding Spanish words to give the reader a more cultural feel for the story.

This version shares many of the characteristics most children associate with Cinderella, but there is no footwear in this version. Cinderella's mother dies in childbirth. As she reaches her young adult years, her father remarries a woman with two daughters. I always find it interesting how the widow always seems to have one or two daughters, never three. In this version, she has a beloved servant that has been with the family since her birth. As her stepmother forces her to become a servant, she sends Esperanza away. Even when the woman offers to work for no wages, the stepmother senses she could cause trouble and forces her to leave.

When Dona Micaela discovers the Gordillo's will be hosting a party for all the local families and it is expected their son Javier will be seeking a bride, we have our required Cinderella ball. In this tale, Adelita is banned from attending. The stepmother is taking no chances in setting impossible tasks that might be achieved. When the family leaves, Esperanza arrives and uses the hidden key for Adelita's mother's trunk to provide her with a dress and a beautiful red shawl. Esperanza drives Adelita to the ball in a cart and she has a wonderful evening. In this version, she and Javier knew each other as children. She is afraid to tell him the truth about her circumstances and flees to Esperanza leaving nothing behind. Her prince sets off in search of her.

She puts the shawl out the window to attract him to the house and then dresses in the outfit she wore to the dance. When he arrives, the other daughters try to attract his attention. When she arrives dressed as before, he only has eyes for her. The family is invited to the wedding, but only Esperanza is invited to live with them.

The Rough Faced Girl

The Rough-Face Girlis an Algonquin Native American Cinderella Story.

The Rough Faced Girl is very similar and based on the same traditional tales as the Ojibwa tale, SootfaceI reviewed earlier.

This story takes place near Lake Ontario. The prince in this version is also an invisible warrior who will only marry the woman who can see him. A poor man in the village has three daughters. The youngest has become scarred from tending the fires and they cruelly taunt her calling her the roughed faced girl. The two oldest sisters demand their father make them presentable so they can take the sister's test to marry her invisible brother. He does so and both fail, as they are unable to see the warrior.

The Rough Faced Girl approaches her father for help in taking the test, but he has little left to offer after his older two have cleaned him out. She takes what he offers and heads off with a birch dress to meet the invisible warrior. The villagers are cruel, but beyond the village, she encounters great beauty. She is able to pass the sister's tests and is welcomed into the family. As with Sootface, she gains a sister along with a husband.

The Gift of the Crocodile a Cinderella Story

The Gift of the Crocodile: A Cinderella Storyis set in the Spice Islands in Indonesia and has details those familiar with multicultural Cinderella stories will recognize and a few new ones to keep readers interested.

Damura starts the story with a mother who dies leaving her with a respect for nature and kindness for its creatures. Her father draws the attention of a widow with a daughter of her own. This version has a unique warning about temptation. The widow offers Damura a beautiful doll if she tells her father he should marry the widow. The father resists, but the child wants the doll and insists. Thus begins the traditional Cinderella tale. The widow starts slowly. She and the daughter are kind at first. As they grow more comfortable with their power, she quickly becomes the family servant.

One day while doing laundry at the river she loses her sarong and is afraid to return home without it. In her distress, she remembers her mother's counsel and calls out to the creatures of the wild to help her. An ancient crocodile rises up and the girl greets her without fear as Grandmother. Since she greeted her politely, the crocodile does not eat her but inquires about her problems. The crocodile offers to retrieve the sarong if the girl holds her baby. The girl rocks the baby, singing it a lullaby and refrains from calling it a name despite the smell. The crocodile returns with a beautiful sarong and tells the girl to return if she needs anything.

The stepmother refuses to allow her to keep the sarong and forces her to tell her how she got the sarong. The next morning, her daughter throws a rag into the river crying that she has also lost her sarong. While she remembers her stepsisters warning to be polite, she cannot tolerate the baby crocodile’s behavior spanks it and is sings a cruel song to it. The Grandmother Crocodile appears with a silver sarong that the girl tries to grab from her. Since her behavior to the baby was bad, it turns into a filthy leach covered rag she cannot remove.

When a Prince comes to the village to choose a bride the stepmother steals Damura's silver sarong for her daughter to wear. Damura goes back to Grandmother Crocodile who provides her with a gold outfit and the traditional warning to return before the rooster crows. There always seems to be a curfew. Grandmother Crocodile adds an additional requirement. Damura must return everything she wore. She heads off into the carriage and mindful of the crocodile's warning, she heads out as soon as she hears the crowing. The prince grabs a slipper and Damura is concerned she may have offended the kindly reptile. When she returns, Grandmother Crocodile informs her that losing the slipper will make her a princess. Damura shows up in rags to try on the slipper and of course, it fits. She returns to Grandma Crocodile to get her golden clothes to appear before him appropriately attired.

Her stepmother and sister are not pleased and decide to get rid Damura so her sister can have the prince. They take her out on a boat and dump her into a river where she is eaten by a crocodile. Instead of accepting a substitute bride, the prince is devastated and pleads with Grandmother Crocodile for help. She summons her children and demands that the one who has swallowed Dumura spit her up. Grandmother Crocodile wakes her up by licking her and warns her children that none of them must eat Damura, the Prince or any of their children. However, she does tell them it’s open season on the stepmother and daughter.