Cinderella — the story

Rhodopis

Rhodopis

La Cenerentola is the story of Cinderella, an old folk tale that has been told by countless story tellers over the years.

The usual attribution, though, is to the French writer, Charles Perrault, who published Cendrillon in 1697.  This version of the story included the pumpkin, the fairy godmother, and the glass slippers — all the stuff that anyone familiar with the Walt Disney movie knows about.

Other versions of the legend can be found on Wikipedia.  Although Perrault’s version is probably closest to the version most kids read today, it certainly was not the first version of the story.

Rags to riches stories go back for centuries. The story of Rhodopis told by the Greek historian, Strabo in the first century BC. (see link).  It’s about a Greek slave girl, who marries the king of Egypt.  It’s considered the earliest known variant of the “Cinderella” story.

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