The Chinese Cinderella tale tells the story of Yehhsien, a girl whose parents have both passed away, leaving her in the care of her stepmother and stepsisters. Similar to the original Cinderella story, Yehhsien’s only companion is a fish, which her stepmother kills. However, a stranger advises her to keep the fish bones and pray to them in order to receive what she desires. When Yehhsien is forbidden from attending the spring festival with her stepmother and stepsisters, she turns to the fish bones and asks for golden shoes and a beautiful dress to wear.
When Yehhsien attended the festival, one of her step sisters recognized her, prompting Yehhsien to hastily flee and leave one of her golden shoes behind. In a cave, an individual discovered the shoe and sold it, eventually reaching the ruler of another kingdom. The ruler diligently searched for the owner and eventually found Yehhsien. He brought her and her bones back to his kingdom, where he married her and prayed to the bones, resulting in boundless treasures. However, the following year, the bones lost their powers, so the ruler buried them near the shore. Unfortunately, they were washed away, leading to the demise of the step-mom and step-sisters as they were struck by flying stones.
A summary of the African Cinderella Story reveals a tale of a man with two wives, each having a daughter. Unfortunately, one wife passed away, leaving Cinderella in the care of her stepmother and father, who treated her as a slave. Instead of consuming the food she prepared, they only offered her scraps. However, Cinderella selflessly gave them to the frogs residing in the burrow-pit. In return for her kindness, the frogs wanted to do something special for her at the festival. Although she was instructed to come the following morning, she failed to appear.
The frog patiently waited all day for the girl to arrive. When she finally came, both the frog and the girl leaped into the water. The frog swallowed her and then spat her out repeatedly until she was perfect. In return, the frog adorned her with new clothes, jewels, and a gold and silver slipper. The frog instructed her to leave the gold slipper at the festival, and she followed his advice. Cinderella and the chief’s son conversed until people began to depart. As instructed, she left her slipper behind and returned to the pond. The frog once again swallowed her and spat her out until she transformed back into a sorry, ragged girl. The chief’s son discovered the slipper and realized that the wearer of the slipper was the girl he wished to marry.
They conducted a thorough search throughout the town for a girl who could wear the slipper, leading them to Cinderella. The son of the chief expressed his desire to marry her. A frog bestowed gifts upon her and provided instructions to create harmony with the other wives of the chief’s son. They built a well near her hut, which became home to the frogs. “The Native American Cinderella” narrates the tale of a Native American girl who endures mistreatment and ridicule from her older sisters. While her sisters seek an invisible King, it is the rough-faced girl who discovers him and weds him.
