Cinderella’s story is a timeless tale and is one of the most loved fairy tales the world has known till now. It is one classic narration that establishes the supremacy of love, empathy, kindness, and simplicity over cunningness, selfishness, and greed with a touch of magic. This classic piece makes us believe in those things that otherwise look impossible to us. In the face of abuse and misery, Cinderella stood firm on her ground and remained humble and kind to everyone, and most importantly, she never stopped dreaming. Hence, destiny rewarded her in the end, and she got what she deserved- a life full of appreciation and love. Make your kid read the full story of Cinderella in English and see them explore a world unknown with a great message in their own innocent way.
Origin And History Of The Story Of Cinderella
The earliest mention of this tale is found in the recorded tales by Strabo, a Greek historian who closely followed the story of Rhodopis, a Greco-Egyptian girl, between 7 BC and 23 CE. The most prominent written version is that of a French author named Charles Perrault and is found in his 1697 collection, “Histoires ou contes du temps passé” (Tales of Mother Goose). His version added the three most iconic elements to the tale: a carriage made of pumpkin, glass shoes, and a fairy godmother. This story has had various oral versions across several cultures for generations.
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Story Type Of The Cinderella Story
It is a fairytale with an underlined moral. You can read this story with pictures during your kid’s bedtime.
Story Characters
Various characters make this story a beautiful read. Some notable characters are mentioned below.
- Cinderella: A beautiful girl who was ill-treated by her stepmother and two step sisters. She is the protagonist, and in the end, she gets rewarded for her kindness and patience in the form of a good life with the prince.
- Stepmother: She is the second wife of Cinderella’s father and a very cunning lady who mistreats her stepdaughter.
- Two Stepsisters: They are the biological daughters of Cinderella’s stepmother. They are very selfish and misbehave with Cinderella whenever they get a chance.
- A Fairy Godmother: She appeared when she saw Cinderella sad as she was not allowed to attend the prince ball for the maidens. She provided magical glass shoes, a dress, and a pumpkin carriage for Cinderella to participate in the ball. She was the one who instructed Cinderella to be back on time.
- Prince: He is the hero of the story. He falls in love with Cinderella, sees her at the ball and later finds her with the help of her left-behind glass slipper.
Story Of Cinderella For Children
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella. She used to live with her stepmother, stepsisters, and her father. Her father used to stay out of the town on business, and her own mother died long ago. The behaviour of the stepmother and stepsisters towards Cinderella was very mean and self-centred, and they used to make her do all the household chores, like cleaning the house, cooking, ironing clothes, etc.
Stepmother used to boss her and give her orders all the time, “why are you sitting, Cinderella? Who will make the preparations for the dinner? You need to clean my room also after that.”
Even stepsisters used to make her do their work too, and they used to create unnecessary complaints about Cinderella to their mother so that she would ask her to do extra work.
“She needs to arrange our room’s bedding, Mumma, and she has not put laces to my new dress also,” said one of the stepsisters.
However, Cinderella, being a kind-hearted girl, never replied back and kept doing all the work in silence. Days passed and turned into years, but her miseries never ended.
One day, everyone in the town got an invitation from the palace for the royal ball. The king and queen wanted their son to choose his wife and future queen; therefore, everyone was invited. The invitation read like, ” The king and queen request the honour of your presence at the Royal Ball. The king wants to choose the bride for the prince, and the future king. Be there with your family to have a gala time.”
The letter reached Cinderella’s house too. Cinderella’s stepmother instantly ordered Cinderella to design beautiful ball gowns for her and her daughters.
Cinderella thought in her mind, “I will make beautiful gowns for everyone. I hope mama will take me along too.”
But, on the final day, the stepmother and stepsisters gave her more household work to complete and at last left her home, citing her incompetence in finishing the work on time as the reason.
“We are getting late, Cinderella. You cannot do one work on time. Right now, you cannot come with us as there is so much left to do,” said the stepmother.
Her stepsisters also secretly tore her dress to add to her agony.
Left alone in the house, sad Cinderella cried and said, seeing the sky, “Dreams never come true, never.”
At the same time, a fairy appeared before her and said, “Don’t be afraid, my child; I am your fairy godmother. I know you want to join others at the royal ball, and I can make it happen, my dear.”
She waved her magic wand and converted Cinderella’s torn dress into a beautiful gown. She transformed a nearby pumpkin into a colossal coach and turned six rats into four horses to pull the coach and the driving coachmen. She also gave her a beautiful pair of glass slippers matching her dress. Now, Cinderella was all set to join the others.
Cinderella was so thankful and said,” thank you fairy godmother. Now, I can join my sisters and enjoy the ball.”
But before she left, the fairy godmother gave her one warning, “My dear, you need to be back before midnight because my magic won’t work after that. You will be back in your original look.”
Cinderella nodded yes and left for the ball to join the others.
At the party, everyone was stunned to see Cinderella, as she was the most beautiful girl at the ball. The prince fell in love the moment he laid eyes on her. He instantly came and asked her to dance with him.
He said, “I have not seen anyone more beautiful than you. Will you care for a dance with me.”
It was like a dream come true for Cinderella. She said yes instantly.
All the girls, including her stepsisters, were jealous of her. The prince and Cinderella conversed and danced the entire night until she realised the clock was reaching midnight. She rushed back home, leaving the prince in dismay. The prince ran after her but in vain. As she was rushing back, one of her glass slippers dropped on the stairs of the palace.
The next day, the prince decided to search the entire kingdom for the girl who would fit the glass slipper as he wanted to marry that girl.
“Search every house and find me the girl whose foot will fit inside this slipper, as she would be my bride for life,” said the prince.
The soldiers searched all the houses one by one but in vain. At last, they knocked on Cinderella’s house. They asked the stepsisters and Cinderella to wear the shoes one by one. The evil stepsisters tried hard to squeeze their feet inside the slipper but were useless. Then it was Cinderella’s chance to try the shoe, which was the perfect fit. The prince was called and immediately recognised Cinderella from the ball night.
Prince said, ” I was looking for you everywhere. Why did you leave me like this? Now, I will not let you go. Will you marry me?”
Ecstatic Cinderella said yes instantly. Later, they got married in a grand ceremony and lived happily ever after.
Story Summary
Given below is the summary of the story of Cinderella.
The story revolves around a beautiful and kind-hearted girl named Cinderella, who lived with her stepmother, stepsisters, and father. Her own mother died a long ago. Her father used to stay out of the house due to work. Her stepmother and stepsisters used to ill-treat her and make her do all the house chores. One day, the prince invited all the unmarried girls to a ball in his palace, but the stepmother and stepsisters ban Cinderella from attending the ball. She got very sad. At that time, a fairy godmother appeared and provided Cinderella with a carriage, gown, and attractive glass slippers to attend the party. She asked her to return before the clock struck midnight as all the magic would fade away by that time, excluding the glass slippers. Cinderella reached the ball and mesmerised everyone with her beauty, including the prince. He danced with her all night. But, as planned, she rushed back home before midnight and accidentally left one of her slippers near the palace stairs. The prince found the slipper and searched the kingdom to find the girl whose foot would fit in the slipper. At last, he found Cinderella, and they lived happily ever after.
Moral Of The Story
One of the significant lessons or morals that you can learn from the story is that “kindness is always rewarded in the end in one form or the other,” and any kind of abuse or cunningness falls flat on its face one day. Cinderella never left her good and forgiving nature and finally got what she deserved- A blissful life.
Another lesson this fairytale has is don’t stop chasing your dreams, even if the whole world is against you. Have trust, and you will get what you deserve at the end of the day.
How Can Children Apply The Moral Lesson Of The Story In Their Real Life?
Kids can learn to be optimistic and patient by reading this short story. Even in the face of bad behaviour, Cinderella remained true to her nature and patiently tackled everything. In the end, it all went well for her. Similarly, if kids patiently wait out unfavourable conditions, they will emerge victorious in all situations.
Stories like Cinderella make an exciting read and allow kids to explore a world of magic, dreams, and possibilities. So give them this beautiful story to read and see them drift away in their land of imagination and anticipations.
