Fairy Tale Story #1: Cinderella

HISTORIA/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

From rags to riches, and the goose that laid the golden eggs, to escaping a witch’s oven,
these fairy tales for kids have captured the hearts of children and adults alike.

“Cinderella” is one example of classic fairy tales for kids. Once there was a hardworking girl
with a heart of gold and a wicked stepmother. She got a makeover from a fairy godmother
and scored a dream date at the ball with a prince who tracked her down by her single lost
glass slipper… and this story crossed the globe for thousands of years, winning hearts
wherever it went. Although our version of “Cinderella” was recorded by 17th-century French
writer Charles Perrault, according to the well-respected scholarly website Sur La Lune
Fairy Tales, there may be as many as 1,500 traditional variants of the tale around the
world, including “The Girl with the Rose Red Slippers” from ancient Egypt, and a ninth-
century A.D. Chinese version that just might explain the story’s fascination with small feet.

This is the fantasy that just won’t quit. Apparently “the Cinderella area of [Sur La Lune]
receives over twice as many visitors as any other tale” every day, and the story has inspired
countless modern retellings including Walt Disney’s iconic 1950 cartoon, the blockbuster
film Pretty Woman, the novel and movie Ella Enchanted, which reimagines its dutiful
heroine with a curse that makes her obey, and too many others to name. Some even saw
the familiar fairy tale in the furor around Meghan Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry.
You may not be surprised by this fact, but you’ll find these facts about Disney characters
pretty surprising.