Cinderella

このストーリーについて

Cinderella is a folk tale told all over the world; this version follows Charles Perrault's Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper, published in France in 1697, with its fairy godmother, pumpkin coach, midnight deadline and glass slippers. It keeps Perrault's two balls and his forgiving ending, where Cinderella pardons her stepsisters. The Brothers Grimm's Aschenputtel (1812) ends much more harshly for the sisters; that ending is left out here.

読み聞かせのコツ

• Count the twelve bongs of midnight together, getting faster and faster.
• Let your child guess what each animal will turn into before the godmother taps it.
• Afterwards, ask why Cinderella forgave her sisters, and whether that was easy.

よくある質問

What is the moral of Cinderella?

Kindness and good grace matter more than beauty or riches. Perrault's own rhyming moral says graciousness is a greater gift than good looks, and Cinderella shows it by forgiving the sisters who mistreated her.

Who wrote Cinderella?

Cinderella is an old folk tale with versions in many countries. The best-known written versions are Charles Perrault's (France, 1697) and the Brothers Grimm's Aschenputtel (Germany, 1812); one of the oldest relatives is the Chinese story of Ye Xian, written down in the 9th century.

Are the glass slippers in the original Cinderella?

Yes. Glass slippers come from Perrault, whose title is literally Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper. In the Grimms' version there is no fairy godmother, and the slipper she loses is made of gold.