This is a pretty drastic retelling. The story begins with a clumsy mistake by Pepelyouga (Cinderella), where she drops her basket off of a cliff. Because of this, her mother is turned into a cow. The father remarries, and the step-mother challenges Pepelyouga to spin a top out of hemp. Pepelyouga almost fails, but is assisted by a cow who turns out to be her mother. The step-mother has this cow slaughtered, and Pepelyouga makes sure that the bones receive proper burial (this moment of the tale definitely borrows from The Juniper Tree).
Soon, she is ordered to clean up millet while her family goes to church. She receives help at the tree where her mother's bones rest, finds new clothes in a treasure chest, and goes to church, where she meets a prince (This adds a religious moral to the tale). This church service happens three times, and on the third time, she runs off too quickly and loses her golden slipper.
The ending is exactly the same as the other tales. The prince goes door to door, making women try on the golden slipper. However, what is interesting is that after Pepelyouga and the Prince get married, absolutely nothing happens to the step-family. No one is punished or rewarded other than Pepelyouga.
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This story seemed to have a didactic element to it. If you are not careful with your possessions (Don't drop baskets over cliffs), you will be punished. The religious aspect and the fact that the step-family are not punished seemed to be connected in some way (Maybe as a lesson on forgiveness).
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that your story, as well as the story I selected, had the original mother turned into an animal. The Cinderella stories I grew up with had the mother pass away. It is an interesting cultural difference.
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