#ashenputtel

The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm

translated by mrs Edgar Lucas

1909

Artist : Arthur Rackham

Original fiction/"Cinderella" adaptation (leaning more on the Brother Grimm version, "Ashenputtel") Status/Word count: Another snippet from the long List of Books I Want to Write One Day. 401 words. Summary: It's a bumpy road to "happy ever after."

It would be nice to say that everything was fine when Ashenputtel left her family and went to live in the palace. Servants washed the soot and grime from her hair and skin, and her rags were discarded in exchange for gowns as beautiful as the ones she had worn for the ball. She finally, timidly, told the prince her real name, and no one called her "Ash-Fool" anymore, nor was she forced to work or slapped if she refused.

Prince Hartwin watched her face that whole first day, waiting for the sad girl whom he had danced with to finally smile. Instead, she went through everything in a daze, as though unsure what was happening.

He thought—or maybe hoped—that things would get better as the days passed. Instead, they seemed to worsen. Whenever he tried to talk to her, she looked as scared and miserable as she had at the balls. She flinched if he spoke too loudly or gestured too quickly. And whatever he offered her—a tour of the palace grounds, a meal, a gift—she accepted, but with the distinctive air of one afraid to say otherwise.

He talked to Goda, one of the maids assigned to her service, who confirmed everything that Hartwin said. "She even seems afraid of me and the other girls," she added. "We ask her what she wants to wear, and she acts like she's terrified to choose."

On the fourth day since his new guest had come to the palace, Hartwin laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, as his brother watched from a chair.

"I think I made a mistake with her."

"What kind of mistake?" Goswin asked.

"I don't know," he said emphatically. "I just know that I've made one."

He didn't mention his misgivings to his mother, but she noticed his distress watching her distress during dinner.

"Give her time," the queen said. "She's been through a lot of hardship."

"I know," Hartwin said defensively. "That's why I brought her here. To end her hardship."

The queen smiled wanly, running a hand through his hair as if he were still a child.

"You have, and it was a very good thing to do, my dear." Her face turned solemn as she added, "But just because it has ended doesn't mean that it's ended for her."

fairytale edit ~ {ashenputtel/cinderella}

Cinderella is stuck in my mind these days. I talked about my ideal heroine before, so this time, I will divulge my favourite way to portray Cinderella’s stepsisters.

I can’t stand characters that are just ornamental, so I prefer the stepsisters to have substance to them. Now, how to reason why they stayed in the shadow of their very wicked mother? Well, if the Stepmother could treat Cinderella like she did, who is to say how she treated her own children? I picture the sisters as cowed little sheep that are terrified of upsetting the woman raising them to be gold diggers.