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

Ill-treated heroine by grandfather, because of her resemblance to mother who died at her birth. She spends her days with goose-herd, her greatest friend. Grandfather goes to meet king. Heroine weeps that she may not go too. Herd-boy proposes to take her. On the way a rich youth (who is king's son) enquires of them the way to king; falls in love with Tattercoats and wants to marry her. Persuades her to go that night to ball with her geese, and in torn petticoat with bare feet, and promises to dance with her--Meeting-place (ball). Herd-boy plays his pipe, and heroine's rags become silk, and gold crown sits on her golden hair; geese are transformed to page-boys bearing her train-- Happy marriage.

TABULATION

(1) In palace by the sea lives a great lord with a little grand-daughter whom he hates, because of her resemblance to the dearly-loved daughter who died at her birth. Child is neglected and lonely, and her greatest friend is the goose-herd-- (2) King is passing through the land, and orders the nobles to meet and do him honour. Grandfather, richly clad, goes in chariot of state to meet king. Old nurse asks if little girl shall not go too, but is mocked at by master and other servants, who say, "Mistress Tatter-Coats is only happy in her rags, with bare feet, herding geese in the lane." Tatter-Coats weeps at this, and herd-boy proposes that they go by themselves to meet king. -- (3) On the way a handsome youth, clad in velvet and gold, stops them to ask way to the town where king will meet his nobles, then dismounts to walk beside them, and falls in love with sweet Tatter-Coats. He asks her to marry him, but she laughs, and says he would be ashamed of a poor goose-girl for a wife. He persuades her to go that night to the ball with her geese,
and in her torn petticoat with her bare feet, and promises to dance with her, and present her to the king as his dear bride.-- (4) At the stroke of midnight she enters the great hall at lower end, is met by her lover-- he in satin and jewels, she in rags with bare feet, and followed by the quacking geese and the ragged herdboy. They stand before the king, and the herdboy takes out his pipe and begins to play, when lo! her rags turn to silken folds, a golden crown sits on her golden hair, and the geese become a crowd of little page-boys bearing her train. Her lover is the king's son.

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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