Cinderella, or The little glass slipper

Cinderella is a good girl who is treated badly by her mean stepsisters. But when the prince has a party, she gets to go because her godmother is a fairy. Of course, the prince is stunned by her beauty but disappointed because she can't stay late. The next night when she returns, she accidentally stays past midnight and as she flees the castle, she loses all her magic stuff (coach, footmen, yada-yada) except for her slippers. One falls off as she runs and she keeps the other. Will the love-sick prince be able to find his beautiful "princess" with only a shoe as a clue?

     This is a "free translation" from the French "original" version of this classic story. It's amazing how often I've read this book considering I'm not very impressed by it. I read it to my students because it is one of the "purest" Cinderella stories in European and American literature and I want my students to know the basic storyline (not the Disney version). I always read other versions of the story to them afterward and we have lots of fun comparing them. If you are interested in reading what the "original" story of Cinderella is, try reading this book.(Warning: this book has lots of old-fashioned language, which makes it a little harder to read.)

     Be sure to check out this great version of Cinderella, by the Brothers Grimm. This is the REAL story, which the author Perrault cleaned up for his version! It is much older and pretty morbid. I love it!