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

Ill-treated heroine (by step-mother)--Father persuaded to lead heroine to forest--Tasks, strawberry-picking, spinning--Heroine passes night in cottage, lights the fire, and cooks--Helpful animal (mouse), in return for food, helps heroine to outwit hear, with whom she must play at blind-man's buff. Heroine receives riches and horses as prize for winning game--Animal witness (dog) announces heroine's return with gifts--Step-mother, jealous, sends own daughter to forest. She drives mouse away, and is devoured by bear--Animal witness (dog) announces return of father from fetching woman's daughter, carrying her bones in a sack--Villain Nemesis. Step-mother dies of grief--Happy marriage.

TABULATION

(1) Heroine's widowed father marries a widow, who brings her own daughter with her. Stepmother ill-treats heroine, and one day persuades father to lead her into the forest, where she must spend the day in picking all the strawberries that are to be found, and the night in spinning. Heroine is forced to pass the night in a cottage, to light the fire and cook the polenta -- (2) Mean while a little mouse (misic) appears to her, and asks heroine for a spoonful of porridge. She promises to give more if only it will stay to keep her company. The little mouse satisfies its hunger, and then hides in a hole.-- (3) Presently heroine falls asleep; a bear gets into the cottage, wakes her up, bids her put out the fire, hang a little bell round her neck, and play with him at blindman's buff (slijepe babe). Then the mouse, having climbed on to her shoulder, whispers in her ear, bidding her not be frightened, but quickly hang the bell on his neck, and he will willingly play with the bear in her stead. This done, heroine hides in an angle, and the mouse begins the game with the bear, who thinks to be playing with the girl. The bear exerts himself for a long time to no purpose, and, being tired out and vanquished, tells the girl that she plays the game splendidly, and, as she has won, he gives her as a prize a stud (ergela) of horses and a cartload of silver. Then the bear takes himself off to the forest.-- (4) Next day wicked stepmother sends her husband into the forest with an empty sack, to see how many strawberries heroine has picked during the day, and how much thread she has spun during the night.-- (5) The little house-dog announces, barking, the return of heroine from the forest. "Bow-wow-wow here comes our daughter home again. By her picking and her spinning she has gained an immense sum of money, a whole stud of hand. Some steeds as well." Stepmother says dog is lying; that what they hear is not the stamping of the horses and the noise of the carriage, but the rattling in the sack of stepdaughter's dry bones. When stepmother really sees heroine coming she is in a great rage, and next day she sends husband with her own daughter into the forest.-- (6) Daughter drives mouse away with the spoon and when bear comes, is obliged to hang bell round her neck and play with him. The mouse, instead of helping her, exults over her misfortunes. For the bear kills her in an instant.-- (7) Next day stepmother sends husband into the forest to fetch back her daughter with her two cart-loads of money and two studs of horses.-- (8) But the dog announces, barking, that her husband is returning with the sack on his shoulders full of her daughter's bones. Stepmother will not believe it, and tries to coax the dog to announce happier things. But the animal only repeats the pitiful tidings, and husband meanwhile appears with his gruesome burden, at sight of which mother begins wailing desperately, and next day she dies.-- (9) Father lives happily with heroine till she marries a nice young man; and they are ever afterwards prosperous and blessed. And the little dog was pleased, for it was heard not far off, saying, "Bow-wow-wow."

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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