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--Priest aid--Counter-tasks--Magic dresses--Heroine's hiding-box--Heroine flight--Prince buys chest containing heroine--Surprise rencontre.--Prince goes to war; bids servants take food to his room as usual. They spy heroine through key-hole; cast her into a pit of thorns, and sell chest. Peasants deliver heroine and make her tend swine. Prince returns, seeks heroine in vain, falls ill. King offers reward for cheering prince. Swineherd appears, is recognised by ring-- Happy marriage.

TABULATION

(1) Father wishes to marry his own daughter.-- (2) By advice of father-confessor, heroine first demands dress of all colours. Father goes hunting in woods, procures birds of every sort of plumage, and makes dress of their feathers, in which every colour appears. Heroine next demands dress of fishes' scales, which father supplies, after fishing night and day to procure every kind of fish. Heroine now asks for dress of stars. Father searches the earth for diamonds, the sea for pearls, and shapes them into stars for dress.-- (3) Heroine, in despair, her eyes two streams of water, again con- salts confessor, and is advised to ask father for a gold cage, and to shut herself into it. Father digs into the bowels of the earth, tears out the gold, and a hundred men work day and night to make cage, shut in like a box, except at top, where a hole is left to breathe through. Father takes it to heroine, saying, "The heavens and the earth have been moved for you."-- (4) Heroine shuts herself in chest, and tells servants to carry her away to place of safety. They carry box through the world, and at length reach a country where every one is sorrowing because king's son is dying of depression, and none can cheer him. Servants are urged to sell the gold box as an offering to prince. They do so.-- (5) At night, whilst prince sleeps, heroine gets out of box, writes on prince's left hand, and returns to hiding-place. On waking, prince is very angry to see hand written on, and bids chamberlain lock door next night from inside. When he is asleep, heroine comes out and writes on his right hand.-- (6) Prince resolves to lie awake third night, feigning sleep. Seeing the lovely girl come out of box, he gets up to pay her homage, and asks who she is, and how she has come there. Heroine tells him why she has fled from home, taking care not to incriminate father. Prince falls in love with her, regains his gaiety, and henceforth orders double rations to be brought to his room.-- (7) Presently he has to go off to the war, and heroine is very sad. He gives her a ring as keepsake, and orders servants to continue taking to his room during his absence one ration of food. When prince and knights have departed, and none but servants are left in palace, these conspire to discover reason for strange order. They spy through key-hole of prince's room, see lovely girl, and resolve to sell her with costly hiding-box. They carry her all over the world to insure highest bid.-- (8) All would buy the box and not the girl, so servants strip heroine and throw her into briar-bush, then sell clothes and box, and flee into a far land. Heroine weeps. Some shepherds pass by with their flocks. They give her some of their skin garments, and set her to herd pigs at their farm.-- (9) Prince returns from the war, rushes to his chamber, to find golden cage no longer there. He sends his knights forth in quest of heroine, describing her features to them. They fail to find her. Prince is despondent, and like to die. His father makes public proclamation through all cities and farms, offering great reward for the cure of the prince.-- (10) One day the swineherd on the mountains hears herald's proclamation, and begs employers to let her go to console prince. Shepherds deem her mad, and laugh at her, but at length let her go. She wanders over the wilds, through snow and rain, till she reaches the palace. They refuse to admit her; she pleads so hard, saying prince would be better at sight of her, that she is taken to him.-- (11) He appears as dead, and does not stir. She shows him the ring; he clasps her in his arms; presents her to the whole court as his bride-elect. They are married mid great rejoicings.

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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