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--Counter-tasks--Magic dresses--Heroine demands skin of gold-ass -Heroine flight- -Fairy [godmother] aid--Heroine disguise (ass-skin) --Menial heroine (shepherdess at castle)--Heroine discovered by king's son--Lovesick prince-- Recognition food, contains ring given by fairy--Ring marriage test--Happy marriage--Father attends wedding.

TABULATION

(1) Widowed king has a daughter so very beautiful that he falls in love with her and promises her anything she can desire if she will marry him.-- (2) Heroine, in alarm, asks for a dress like the sky with stars. King procures it after much trouble, and heroine next demands dress like the moon. When this is procured, she says she must yet have dress like the sun. Father obtains it, and tells heroine she must now marry him in eight days.-- (3) Heroine goes to her room and weeps day and night. Presently she bethinks her that her father has an ass, which she has heard him say he would not part with even if his life depended on it. She determines what to do, and when father comes to her room to ask if she is ready to marry him, she tells him she must first have the skin of his pet ass. Father is vexed, but can refuse her nothing; the ass is flayed, and the skin given her.-- (4) Heroine now determines to escape. She takes her dresses and the ass-skin, and sets forth at night. She meets a fairy who had been present at her baptism, and who now asks where she is going so late. Fairy gives her magic ring, by means of which she can work her will, and leaves her. Heroine puts ass-skin over her shoulders, and proceeds.-- (5) At length she reaches a castle, and asks to be engaged as shepherdess. The people are astonished at her strange garb, but give her charge of the lambs. One day, when following her flock, she enters a little house, throws off the ass-skin, dons the sky-coloured dress, and amuses herself before the mirror. King's son happens to pass at the moment, and, being curious to see the little house, peeps through the keyhole, sees a most beautiful young lady, and forthwith is enamoured of her. He goes to castle and inquires who the young lady is who is shut up in the little house. They think he must be joking, for she is only some tramp that they have hired as shepherdess, and she is always wrapped up in her ass-skin. He insists that he saw a beautiful lady, and they tell him to go and look again, for he must be mistaken. He does not see her, however, for in the meantime she has left.-- (6) He goes home and falls ill. His parents send for the doctor, who tells them that the best remedy would be for him to marry. King's son says he will not marry till he has eaten a cake made by the shepherdess called Peau d'Ane. His mother asks where he saw her, and is directed to the castle. All burst Out laughing when they hear that the queen has come to fetch such a dirty creature to make a cake for her son.-- (7) Heroine shuts herself up in the little house, throws off ass-sk1n, and dons the moon-dress. Then she kneads her cake, puts in it the ring the fairy gave her, and sends it to king's son.-- (8) He tastes the cake and finds the ring, and declares he will wed whomsoever it fits, and will make her queen. All the young girls come to the castle to try it, but it is too large for some, too small for others. King's son asks continually for Peau d'Ane, who is so lovely in his eyes. His mother, however, has found her so ugly that she refuses to admit her, till king's son says all except Peau d'Ane have tried the ring.-- (9) Heroine is fetched, and all laugh to see her wrapped in her ass skin. She asks for a room to dress in, and in a moment she emerges clad like a princess in the sun-dress. The ring fits her perfectly, for it is enchanted and will fit no one else, and king's son marries her. News is sent to her father, who attends the 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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