Cinderella is a book with many different versions. This particular version is the Walt Disney version that I knew as a child. It is considered a fairy or wonder tale. It is a prose narrative and has many cultural variants. It is a traditional story that has been passed down from generation to generation.
Cinderella is a young girl who lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters. They do not like her very much. They made her work hard every day doing chores around the house. One day a letter arrived that stated "The king is giving a ball tonight. His son, the Prince, will choose a wife. Every girl in the kingdom must be there." Cinderella was brave and said she would attend also! They stepsisters just laughed at her. The stepmother agreed under the condition that Cinderella get all of her chores done. She ran to her room to celebrate with her friends, several tiny mice! She got out an old dress to mend and make beautiful for the ball. The stepmother and stepsisters made it almost impossible for poor Cinderella to get all of her chores done. In the mean time her little mice friends worked hard on her dress to surprise Cinderella. At the end of all her chores she walked slowly and very tiredly up to her room knowing she would never make it. She opened the door and was very surprised to fine her dressed all finished! She quickly dressed and ran to catch her family before they left. The girls could not believe their eyes and ripped Cinderellas dress. They left and Cinderella was standing there all in shreds. As she cried a fairy godmother appeared. "I am here to give you your wish" she said. She worked her magic and in minutes had Cinderella in a beautiful gown and in a buggy on her way to the ball. The only catch was the spell would be broken at midnight. As soon as she walked in the Prince spotted her and asked her to dance. He only danced with her all night. When the clock struck twelve, she ran. In the process of trying to make it home she lost a glass slipper. The Prince ordered that every girl in the kingdom try on the shoe. They tried the shoe on Cinderella and it fit perfectly! She went to the palace and married the prince and they live "happily ever after".
This is a story that will touch your heart. The hard working girl who is kind and deserving was rewarded in the end. Being mean and selfish will get you nowhere in your life. It is a life lesson that children need to hear. This could be used in multiple grade levels. It speaks of true friendship (Cinderella and the mice) and having dreams to work towards. It shows to always have hope because dreams really do come true and there is light at the end of the tunnel of a bad situation.
Although I lived with a stepmother I learned that it was not so bad! Now that I am grown up and have my prince charming with two precious children I realize that stepmother taught me a lot about who I am today. I am thankful that she taught me to sew and cook and clean. I worked hard growing up and learned to be nice to people and I am rewarded with a beautiful family. My wish came true and we are now living "happily ever after"!
THE END
This is one of my favorite traditional stories! I really liked how you related this blog to your life. I think doing this made the blog very interesting. You also gave excellent details about the story. If someone reads your blog and has never read this story, I think they will now.
ReplyDeleteGreat job Maggie! Cinderella is one of my favorite fairy tales of all time! I really liked how you related the story of Cinderella to your life when you lived with your stepmother. I feel like my students in the future could also relate to this story because they may have a stepmother or sisters that they live with as well. Great job overall!
ReplyDeleteCinderella was my absolute favorite story when I was a little girl. I love that you chose it! I agree that there are great lessons to be learned from Cinderella. I think it would be neat to read a few different Cinderella stories from different cultures and then compare and contrast. It would be very interesting to view different cultures through the same familiar story! Great post!
ReplyDeleteCinderella was a great traditional story and I love that you encorporated your own personal experience. There are many lessons that can be taught from this story and I love how you pointed out the friendship with the mice. I have never thought of the friendship from that perspective. I agree, this book can be used for multiple grdae levels. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Walt Disney stories! I'm glad you chose Cinderella to blot about. I agree with you 100% about how students can learn values and morals from this story. I like how this story points out that just because someone starts off with a rough life when they're younger, that doesn't determine who they will later be in life! Cinderella was kind and worked hard, which eventually paid off. This could maybe serve as motivation for some students. I think you should share your Cinderella-like story with your students. You can show your students that having step parents isn't always such a bad thing. Children with step parents could relate to you so much more just by you reading this story and telling YOUR story as well. I enjoyed your blog =)
ReplyDeleteHow very sweet this is! I too grew up with a stepmother Maggie. I can relate to many of the things you are talking about. This classic story definitely brings back memories.
ReplyDeleteMany children today grow up without and mother and/or father so I believe this could also be a great book for you to use when trying to encourage them. The morals in this story can really go a long way! I definitely will share this tale with my future students! I enjoyed your blog as well! :)