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

Unnatural father--Countertasks--Magic dresses --Fairy god mother aid-- Heroine demands skin of gold-ass--Heroine flight--Heroine disguise (ass-skin dress made by god-mother)--Menial heroine (goose-girl at palace)--Heroine must help cook for dinner-party--Heroine discovered by prince through key-hole. He bids her put his ring in cake; during party he pretends to be choked; prince to wed girl who can extract ring from his throat-- Happy marriage.

TABULATION

(1) Widowed king has lovely daughter, and one day suggests that they should marry. She at first refuses, but he begs so much that at last she says yes. He promises her three dresses, like the sun, the moon, the stars, and sends messengers who obtain them.-- (2) Then she refuses to marry him because her fairy-godmother has forbidden it. Early on the wedding-day she wakes up, puts a covering (paliaçat) on her head, goes to father, and says "I am so untidy, and don't feel well; better wait till another day." Two or three days afterwards, when father proposes marriage, she asks for the skin of the gold-ass whence he derives his wealth; otherwise she will not marry him. After two days' deliberation, king consents to give it her; but they must be married next day.-- (3) At cock-crow next morning heroine runs to godmother who bids her put all her clothes in a box and escape: she will join her at the street-corner. King suspects nothing; heroine and godmother travel till they reach another country. Godmother has made a dress for heroine out of ass-skin, and leads her to king's palace.-- (4) Heroine persuades king to eng her as goose-girl. He gives her a wretched little room at the bottom of the courtyard. Two or three months pass. One day queen chances to see heroine, and asks her name. She says it is "Peau d'Ane". Queen tells her she has a large dinner-party to-morrow, and heroine must help cook. She is to make a cake.-- (5) The same evening, queen's son out walking, notices a light through a crack in door of old hovel, looks through keyhole, and sees a lovely girl. He rattles the door, enters, and has a long, long talk with heroine. Before parting he tells her not to tell his mother, but to make the cake as bidden, and put his ring into it. Then he will pretend to he choked, and they will have to send for a doctor. Heroine does this. -- (6) Prince notices just where the ring is, and takes that slice of the cake for himself, and pretends to be strangled, making a great to-do. Everyone gets up; they upset the table, and the lamp goes out, the glasses are smashed, and there is great confusion. All ask what is the matter; mother looks into his throat and sees the ring. She tries to extract it. Impossible! All the young girls try. No use! Peau d'Ane is there looking on, and marks father's alarm.-- (7) He sends a soldier to sound the trumpet and proclaim in all the streets that if any young girl can extract the ring from the prince's throat, the prince shall marry her. Quite a procession of girls file past him, and each one rokes about in his throat in vain. Queen begins to weep. Prince tries to speak, and mutters to his mother, "Oh, how I suffer! let Peau d'Ane try; perhaps she can do it." She puts her finger down, and the ring just fits round it, and comes out on it.-- (8) Prince says he will certainly marry Peau d'Ane. Queen is very vexed, but prince says he must keep promise made by king. Whilst they dispute over the matter, in comes fairy godmother, taps Peau d'Ane with her wand, and lo! she is a lovely princess in a dress like the sun. There is a grand wedding.

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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