Cinderella (Perrault)
Short summary
A fairy tale kingdom. A worthy man's second wife was proud and haughty, with two daughters just like her. His first wife's daughter was forced to do all the housework and sleep in the garret. She sat among the cinders after work, earning the name Cinderella.
When the king's son gave a ball, the stepsisters prepared excitedly while Cinderella helped them dress. Her fairy godmother found her crying and transformed a pumpkin into a coach, mice into horses, a rat into a coachman, and lizards into footmen. She gave Cinderella a magnificent dress and glass slippers, warning her to leave by midnight.
At the ball, Cinderella's arrival caused a sensation.
At once there fell a great silence. The dancers stopped, the violins played no more, so rapt was the attention which everybody bestowed upon the superb beauty of the unknown guest.
The prince married her days later.
Detailed summary
Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper
A worthy man married for his second wife the haughtiest, proudest woman ever seen. She had two daughters who possessed their mother's temper and resembled her in everything. The man also had a young daughter from his first marriage, who was exceptionally sweet and gentle by nature. After the wedding, the stepmother began displaying her bad temper toward this young girl.
The stepmother could not endure the excellent qualities of her stepdaughter, as they made her own daughters appear more hateful. She thrust upon the girl all the meanest household tasks - cleaning plates and stairs, sweeping rooms. The girl slept on a wretched mattress in a garret while her stepsisters had fashionable rooms with mirrors. She came to be known as Cinder-slut because she sat among the cinders after finishing her work. The younger stepsister, less spiteful than the elder, called her Cinderella.
But her wretched clothes did not prevent Cinderella from being a hundred times more beautiful than her sisters, for all their resplendent garments.
When the king's son gave a ball and invited all persons of high degree, the two stepsisters were invited. They spent all their time discussing what clothes and hairstyles would become them best, creating fresh trouble for Cinderella who had to iron their ruffles and help with preparations. They asked Cinderella's advice since she had good taste, and she gave them excellent suggestions, even offering to dress their hair.
When the stepsisters teasingly asked if Cinderella would like to go to the ball, she replied that it would be no place for her. They agreed, saying people would laugh to see a cinder-slut in the ballroom. After the sisters left for the ball, Cinderella began to cry. Her godmother found her in tears and asked what was troubling her. When Cinderella could barely express her wish to attend the ball, her godmother revealed herself to be a fairy and promised to arrange it if Cinderella would be good.
The fairy godmother instructed Cinderella to bring a pumpkin from the garden. She scooped it out and struck it with her wand, instantly transforming it into a beautiful gilded coach. She then found six mice in the mousetrap and transformed them into dappled horses, chose a rat with elegant whiskers to become a coachman, and turned six lizards into lackeys in braided liveries. Finally, she touched Cinderella's clothes with her wand, transforming them into garments of gold and silver cloth bedecked with jewels, and gave her glass slippers.
The fairy godmother warned Cinderella not to stay beyond midnight, as everything would return to its original form. At the ball, the prince received the unknown princess with great ceremony. Everyone was struck by her beauty, and she danced with such grace that admiration increased. She sat beside her stepsisters, sharing oranges and lemons the king had given her, though they did not recognize her. When she heard the clock strike quarter to twelve, she quickly departed.
Cinderella attended the ball again the next night, even more splendidly dressed. She enjoyed herself so much that she forgot her godmother's warning. When midnight struck, she fled as quickly as possible, but let fall one of her glass slippers, which the prince picked up tenderly. She reached home out of breath, in her shabby clothes, with only the matching slipper remaining.
She rose and fled as nimbly as a fawn. The prince followed her, but could not catch her. She let fall one of her glass slippers, however, and this the prince picked up.
The prince proclaimed he would marry whoever could fit the glass slipper. After trying it on princesses, duchesses, and the whole court in vain, they brought it to the stepsisters' home. Neither could squeeze her foot into the slipper. Cinderella laughingly asked to try it, and despite her sisters' mockery, the equerry allowed it. The slipper fit perfectly, and when Cinderella produced the matching slipper, her godmother appeared and transformed her clothes into an even more magnificent dress. The stepsisters recognized her and begged forgiveness, which Cinderella graciously granted. She married the prince and provided apartments for her stepsisters, marrying them to gentlemen of the court.
Moral
The moral teaches that while beauty is a rare treasure, there is something even more valuable that good fairies bestow - the gift of grace. This grace weaves a spell around form and face, makes magic of each word, and lends charm to all actions. This was Cinderella's true fairy dress. The tale advises that to win a prince's heart, one must be as kind and sweet as Cinderella. A second moral notes that godmothers are useful even without wings, but wisdom, wit, courage, and industry are useless without a friend to call upon.