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 shoe test--Unnatural Father--Counter-tasks--Heroine's hiding box--Father sells chest containing heroine to prince--Surprise rencontre--Happy marriage.

TABULATION

(1) Rich Jew has beloved wife, who one day says to him, "My sins be upon you, if after my death you marry any but a woman who can wear my shoes." "All right," says he, and after her death lives alone with his daughter for three years, in the meantime trying the shoes everywhere without success.-- (2) Daughter puts them on, and father declares he will marry her. She says he must first fetch beautiful dresses from town.-- (3) During his absence she has lock fitted inside large chest, and shuts herself up in it with food and money. Jew returns, is enraged at missing her, and takes chest to market to be sold. Prince buys it, and keeps it in his own room.-- (4) In the evening he goes out into town and locks his door. Heroine comes forth, takes out some rice, and cooks it, sweeps the room, spreads the carpet, a pipe, and lays it en the sofa-cushions; then returns to chest. Prince opens door, is much astonished at what he sees, and begins to smoke. Next morning, early, heroine prepares coffee with sugar, and returns to chest.-- (5) Prince, amazed, pretends to go out and lock door, but hides in corner of the room. In the evening heroine comes out and does as before; prince surprises her. She tells her story, and about the shoes, and adds that if father should ever go to law with prince, claiming that he sold him the chest but not his daughter, she must be called into court to answer him. Prince agrees, and marries her.-- (6) She is the loveliest Jewess in the world, and is called Cabha (Aurora). When Jew hears she has been found in chest, he goes to prince to claim her. Heroine is called; father says she is his daughter. She says she is not, or would he have acted so towards her? Father persists that she is, and tells judge of vow to his wife, and how shoes fitted daughter, and that he told her she must no longer call him father. Judge orders his execution. . . . [Story does not end here.]

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.

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