SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Marian Roalfe Cox: Cinderella: Three Hundred and Forty-five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin, and Cap O' Rushes, abstracted and tabulated

Death-bed promise--Deceased wife's resemblance (star on brow) marriage test--Unnatural father--Grandmother aid-- Counter-tasks--Magic dresses--Heroine disguise (mouse-skin dress)--Father deluded by ducks' splashing--Heroine flight-- Hunting prince finds heroine; takes her to palace--Menial heroine (goose-herd) -- Meeting-place (fete)-- Token objects named--[Threefold flight]--Lovesick prince--Recognition food, contains ring given at ball--Happy marriage.

TABULATION

(1) Emperor has wife with gold star on brow; daughter with the same. He promises wife on her death-bed never to marry any but a woman with gold star on brow.-- (2) None such is to be found, and at last Emperor, with the assent of his minister, determines to marry his daughter.-- (3) She takes counsel of her grandmother, and demands from her father, first a silk dress, then a silver, and lastly a gold dress, each so fine that it will go in a nutshell. Having received these, heroine demands and obtains a dress of mouse-skins.-- (4) On the eve of the wedding, she wishes to bathe in a tub, and wants two ducks. She locks herself in bath-room, and, leaving the two ducks to splash about in the water, she escapes out of window to the mountains, wearing the mouse-skin dress. Servants listen, and hearing splashing, think the princess is still bathing. When her flight is discovered, she cannot be overtaken.-- (5) Heroine is found in a hollow tree by a neighbouring prince, who is out hunting in the mountains. He takes her by force to the Court, where, clad in mouse-skin dress, she tends the geese as Aschenbrodel.-- (6) Prince gives a large feast, to which many guests are bidden. Heroine is present in her silk dress, with the gold star on her brow. Her beauty draws all eyes towards her. Prince wants to know who she is and whence she comes. She says she comes from Cizma-Grad (Boot-Town), which, of course, cannot be found.-- (7) At the second fete she appears in the silver dress, and says she comes from Legen-Grad (Legen-Town).¹ Neither can this place be found.-- (8) Thud time she appears in gold dress, and says she comes from Sablya-Grad (Sabre-Town). Prince slips ring on her finger, unnoticed, whilst dancing with her.-- (9) He falls ill with love and longing, and craves to eat crumbled bread soaked in milk. Heroine persuades cook to allow her to break the bread, and she lets her ring fall into the bowl.-- (10) Hereby she is discovered, and the marriage follows.

1: The word Ledjen occurs very frequently in Serbian and Bulgarian popular traditions. . . I might express the conjecture that the word legen enfolds the Magyar legeny which signifies "young fellow, comrade, soldier". The Southern Slavs came often enough into contact with the Magyar Legeny. (V. Jagie.)
Return to place in text.

Cox, Marian Roalfe. Cinderella: Three Hundred and Forty-five Variants of Cinderella, Catskin, and Cap O' Rushes, abstracted and tabulated. London: David Nutt for the Folklore Society, 1893.

While the original text of this book is out of copyright, the special formatting and compilation available on SurLaLune Fairy Tales is copyrighted. Be aware that while the original content has been honored, page numbering, footnote numbering, redesigned charts, links, and other aspects are unique to this site's version of the text. Use at your own risk. For private and fair use educational purposes only.

Available from Amazon.com

©Heidi Anne Heiner, SurLaLune Fairy Tales
E-mail: surlalune@aol.com
Page last updated February 1, 2006
www.surlalunefairytales.com