Sootface An Ojibwa Cinderella Tale

Sootfaceis another Native American Cinderella Tale.

In this version, Sootface is not a stepchild, but lives with her father and her two sisters. Her father is typical of many Cinderella fathers neglectful, but not directly involved with the abuse. Her sisters are mean and lazy leaving her with all the chores and refusing her any comforts.

The Prince in this tale is a mighty warrior who has been blessed with the ability to make himself invisible. When he decides to marry, he tells his sister that he will marry the woman who can see him. Predictably, all the available women in the village, including Sootface's sister fail the test. Sootface wants to try, but her sister's refuse to help her prepare. She is mocked by the village for the outfit she makes from birch and the flowers she wears to visit the warrior's sister.

On arriving at the tent, she asks the sister who the handsome man is and is provided with the same test questions as the previous contestants. She answers correctly and is rewarded with not only a husband, but also a kind sister. She helps her to clean up and provides her with clothing and appropriate adornments so she can be married.

Smokey Mountain Rose An Appalachian Cinderella

Smoky Mountain Rose: An Appalachian Cinderella (Picture Puffins)is a retelling of Perrault's Cinderella set in Appalachian Mountains.

As this is a retelling of Perrault's tale, the author focuses on changing the setting and the details to fit the culture he has placed the story in so it will fit the format he has selected. Rose lives with her father a trapper in the Smokey Mountains. He decides to marry and brings home a widow with two daughters who are both mean and lazy. The situation only worsens for Rose when her father dies leaving her to their mercy.

In the tradition of the Cinderella ball, a wealthy neighbor decides it is time to find a wife and hosts a fancy party to meet the eligible ladies in the neighborhood. Her sisters are sure they will attract the gentleman's attention and laugh when Rose asks if she too might attend.

Rose finds assistance from a magical hog that provides her with appropriate clothing and transportation and a warning about leaving before midnight. As expected, Rose loses a glass slipper. Seb then uses the slipper to locate and marry Rose.

Anklet for a Princess A Cinderella Story from India

While much older than the Grimm's version, Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from Indiawill be recognizable to those familiar that version.

In this tale, Cinduri's father had two wives. When her mother and father die, she is left in the care of her stepmother who of course also has a daughter. As is the format of most Cinderella tales, she is forced to take on all the work while her stepmother and sister make her life miserable.

While fetching water Cinduri encounters a large white snake with a red jewel on its head. He seems very distressed to find a beautiful girl dressed in rags and hungry. He waves his head and a plate of wonderful food on a golden plate is provided to the hungry girl. After she eats, the snake offers to become her Godfather and continue to help her. He teaches her a song that will summon him when he is needed.

The snake continues to feed the girl and her stepmother discovers her secret just as Cinduri rushes in to tell them that the Crown Prince will be arriving for the ninth night of the Navaratri Festival. As is traditional with Cinderella stories, Cinduri is forbidden to go. Godfather snake comes through with appropriate attire and the traditional warning to be home before midnight.

At the Festival, she meets her Prince and loses her anklet as she flees at midnight. When the Prince comes to try the anklet on, her stepmother tries to prevent her from having a chance to meet the Prince by providing her with endless chores. She uses the magic left over from her Godfather Snake and finishes the chores in record time. She marries the Prince and brings Godfather Snake to the Palace to watch over her new family.

The Korean Cinderella

The Korean Cinderella (Trophy Picture Books (Paperback))is another Cinderella tale retold by Shirley Climo. Those familiar with the traditional Grimm's tale will find much they recognize in the Korean version.

In this tale, Pear Blossom has a happy life with her parents until the death of her mother. In his distressed state, her father goes to a matchmaker to find a mother for his daughter. She matches him with a widow who has a daughter about the same age as his own. From here, the story becomes very familiar to those who know the Cinderella tale. Only the cultural details of her life with her stepmother differ. Her stepmother works her hard and her distraught father provides little support. Her stepmother constantly threatens to send her off if her work is not completed.

As the tasks get more impossible, Pear Blossom encounters a tokgabi, or goblin that appears in the form of animals that help her as each task grows more difficult. A frog closes the hole in a water jug that will not hold water. Sparrows help her to hull a huge sack of rice her stepmother scatters in the courtyard. Finally, an ox helps her weed the rice paddies so she may attend the festival, providing her with suitable food for the celebration. Along the road, she is startled by the local magistrate and loses her sandal. Fearing she is in trouble, she runs away and sits alone at the festival enjoying her food and all the sites. As she is finishing her food, her stepmother spots her. Pear Blossom attempts to explain how finished her task, but her explanation only angers her stepmother. The stepmother is stopped in the middle of her tirade when the magistrate's servants announce they are looking for the owner of the sandal the magistrate found.

Her stepsister convinced Pear Blossom was about to be arrested quickly points the servants to her sister. Instead of being arrested, the magistrate of course wants to marry the mysterious girl who ran away.

The Way Meat Loves Salt A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition

Like the Mexican Cinderella, Domítíla: A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Traditionthis version,The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Traditiondoes not have the traditional format of a Cinderella story.

In this version, a Rabbi lives with his wife and three daughters in Poland. He asks his children how much they love them. The older daughters give predictable answers, but his youngest tells him, "she loves him the way meat loves salt." For some reason the man is unreasonably insulted and banishes her from the house.

The upset child flees from the house where she meets an old man who she will later realize is the prophet Elijah. He gives her a stick that will grant her wishes when she taps it three times. He also sends her to the home of another Rabbi, Rabbi Yitskhok ben Levi who has a wife and son. She arrives distressed and unable to eat or speak. The Rabbi's family takes her in and allows her to stay in the attic.

The family heads for a wedding feast in Cracow the next day leaving the girl behind. She uses her magic stick to get appropriate clothing and transportation to the wedding. Of course, the Rabbi's son is unable to recognize the distressed girl of the attic and is entranced by the beautiful girl who mysteriously arrives at the wedding. In keeping with Cinderella tradition, the Rabbi's son leaves tar outside the house where the celebration was taking place. When Mireleh leaves to beat the family home from the wedding, she loses a shoe in the tar. She does arrive back to the attic before the Rabbi and his family make it home.

The Rabbi's son sets off on a quest to find the girl and is shocked when the beggar girl requests a chance to try on the shoe. She demonstrates her magic stick and he returns to his parents to explain that while he knows nothing of her past, she has an amazing gift.

The story continues with the wedding ceremony where the bride orders the meal to be cooked without salt. A careful reader will guess the bride's motives. There are no evil step relatives in this version and an interesting lesson on the purpose of salt.

Domitila A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Tradition

Domítíla: A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Traditionis one of the more complicated Cinderella tales. The story begins with Domitila's family alive, but struggling on a ranch in Mexico. After rain destroys their home and makes Domitila's mother ill she heads off to work in the Governor's mansion where her mother's training helps her to become a successful cook. As a reward for her success, she is given the chance to provide a meal for the governor's son and his Abuela.

She cooks a meal her mother taught her to cook and the grandson Timoteo is rude about the quality of food provided. His grandmother rebukes him and insists he try the food. He is quite impressed with the taste and becomes determined to find out more about the food.

Domitila receives word that her mother is very ill and she must return home. Sadly, she fails to return home before her mother dies. This is where the Cinderella part of the story starts to form. The Governor's son decides he must locate the woman who can cook so well and sets out to find her. He encounters a widow on his journey who sends him on an extended journey. She sees an opportunity for her own daughter and heads off to comfort the grieving father. He of course marries her and the traditional Cinderella evil stepmother and sister portion of the story is established.

In this version, she is hoping she can pass her daughter off as Domitila when Timoteo arrives. Timoteo is not the Prince Charming many think of when they are looking for Cinderella princes, but he does grow into the role.

Jouanah A Hmong Cinderella

Jouanah: A Hmong Cinderella tells a unique Cinderella tale. It incorporates some traditional elements like the shoe, while adding ones unique to this tale.

The author notes that in the traditional version of this tale the Cinderella is called Nkauj Nog, which would be pronounced GO-NAH. The translation according to the author is female orphan. The author changed the name to make it easier for American readers to Ntsuag Nos, pronounced JO-a-nah, which is a generic term for orphan that can be male or female.

This version has one of the more unique versions of how the Cinderella character becomes an orphan. In this version, her parents are struggling with their farm and head to the market to buy a cow. Markets being bad they lose their opportunity at the one available cow and head home. The wife offers to allow her husband to use magic to make her the family cow so the family can prosper. Jouanah is a first thrilled to see the family has a cow, until she realizes the sacrifice it required.

As the farm prospers, the father decides to remarry. The stepmother and sister of course prove to be cruel and lazy. They are jealous of the daughter of the house and eventually turn her into the family servant. When the new wife realizes the secret of the cow, her jealousy takes over and she sets out to convince her husband to destroy it. The cow dies of a broken heart before the husband can actually kill it. Her father does not live long after the cow, leaving his daughter's life even more in question.

As with several other versions of this story, the New Year’s festival is the setting for the meeting between the Cinderella character and the Prince. Jouanah like other Cinderella characters is given a challenging task to prevent her from attending the celebration.

In this version she has hidden a piece of cow hide in her Mother's sewing basket. On the third day of the festival, she reaches into the basket to pull out some sewing to keep her occupied and finds the piece of cowhide. As she reflects on her mother's advice, she reaches in for her sewing and finds all the items she will need to attend the celebration.

As is reflective of the culture she does not dance with Shee-Nang, son of the village elder. She watches him play and does catch his eye. She is caught off guard when her stepmother frustrated by her daughter's lack of success with the man, decides to head home. Realizing she must arrive home before her stepmother, she loses her shoe. While this tale does have the young man traveling to find the owner of the shoe, he does not need to fit the shoe to the girl to recognize the girl. She refuses to try on the shoe in an attempt to avoid her stepmother's anger. During dinner, he realizes the trick being played on him and finds his true bride.

Fair Brown & Trembling An Irish Cinderella Story

As part of our traditional tales unit, I always liked adding the multicultural tales I could find that had the same basic story told in different cultures. Cinderella is one of the easier tales to find. Publishers have printed many multicultural versions and it is a great way for students to see how traditional tales do emerge in different cultures at different times.

Fair, Brown & Trembling: An Irish Cinderella Storyis a tale that will be familiar to children who have read even the Disney version of the Cinderella tale. The Irish tale presents twists that change the story. However, this twist is not as different as those found in other multicultural Cinderella tales.

In this version Fair, Brown, and Trembling are three daughters of a widower who live in a castle in the hills of Ireland. No mention is made of a stepmother or any stepsisters. Trembling is the Cinderella character in the story and her sisters are jealous of her beauty. No mention is made as to why the father allows the bullying, but Trembling is the traditional servant character of the Cinderella tales. In this version, there is no ball. The sisters wear their best attire to attend mass, hoping to attract a suitor. Since they fear Trembling will distract their suitors, she is not allowed to go to Church with them.

A henwife has sympathy for Trembling and provides her with three opportunities to attend mass, but she is told she may not go into the Church. This prohibition is never clearly explained in the story. Trembling appears three times, attracting attention and eventually Princes vow to fight for her hand. This version does include a shoe hunt. However, there is also a battle among princes to determine who will be allowed to marry her.