Storytelling for Week 13: The Fairy Godmother

Once upon a time there was an old little fairy named Nancy. She was flying high above the cloud with all of her little fairy friends. You see, that is where are of the fairies used to spend their days while waiting on their chance to help people. Nancy was minding her own business gossiping with the girls when all of a sudden she had a vision. Now to explain, visions are the sole thing that fairies anticipate most in this world. Getting a vision means that you finally get to become a fairy godmother, and that there is a girl out there who needs your help!

The vision came to Nancy so vividly that it was almost like a dream. She saw a young girl sitting on the floor crying. She was holding tightly onto a mop with soot covering her head to toe. However, through all the dirt and tears Nancy could see that she was absolutely gorgeous. Immediately she felt a connection to this young girl and knew that she had no time to waste. Nancy left to go see her that very second.

When she arrived on the scene she made the decision to stay hidden at first. She saw first hand that the pain that will beautiful young lady was going through. When she stepped into the light her startled this girl. It took a while for her to explain that she had come to be her fairy godmother. After all of the shock and awe was over, the girl explained that her name is Cinderella and that she lives with her stepmother and stepsisters. Cinderella said that they all treat her poorly and that they will not let her go to the Prince’s ball.

Nancy immediately knew what she had to do. It is her job to give this girl the night of her dreams and to make her feel special for once in her life. She would give Cinderella a night at the ball and a night to feel like royalty. She used her magic wand and without a second thought turned Cinderella’s raggedy outfit into a beautiful blue ball gown. She looked absolutely stunning and had sparkling glass slippers to match. Nancy turned a pumpkin into a carriage and two mice into drivers. Cinderella had everything she needed to have an amazing night at the ball, and she was eternally grateful to her fairy godmother. As Nancy watched Cinderella ride off in a carriage, she knew that she had done a great job. 

She had a feeling that Cinderella would live happily ever after.

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Author's Note: Everyone knows the story of Cinderella, but not everyone knows very much about the fairy godmother. I wrote this story to give perspective about who she was as a person and how and why she helped Cinderella in the first place. 

Bibliography: This story is adapted from the story The Cinder-Maid. This story is part of the Europa unit. Story source: Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten (1916).

Week 13 Reading Diary, Continued: Europa's Fairy Book

As I continued reading through the European unit, I saw and read so many interesting stories. However, for this reading diary I decided to focus my attention to Europa's Fairy Book. The stories are written by Joseph Jacobs. This unit consists of stories taken from a fascinating book he wrote called Europa's Fairy Book. Here Jacobs has chosen some of the fairy tales that he saw repeated again and again in different European traditions.

The Cinder-Maid: Naturally I am very familiar with the story Cinderella because it has always been a favorite from my childhood. I was interested to see how the story altered in this version of it. In the story I head I don’t believe that Cinderella’s father was a noble of the king’s court. Also I found it very strange that it was not a fairy godmother who helped her get ready for the ball, but it was a little bird and that scene was very short lived. In the story I heard it is a much bigger deal but it this story they kind of just blow over it very quickly. Although it is a little different from the story I know it this has the same message and overall plot line.

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The Language of Animals: clearly this story caught my attention because of my love of animals. When I saw the title I had to know more, and I truly enjoyed reading it. It was a well told story that had a lot of vivid detail.

Week 13 Reading Diary: Italian Popular Tales

For the thirteenth week in my Mythology and Folklore class I was told to read stories from a European unit. There were many areas that I found to be very interesting. I decided to focus on my efforts on a particular country. Today I will be reading stories from Italian Popular Tales. This selection of stories from the Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Crane provides a great introduction to the fabulously rich tradition of Italian folktales and fairy tales.

Zelinda and the Monster: right away it was easy to tell that this was a different version of Beauty and the Beast. I had no idea that this was originally an Italian story. I really enjoyed the way that the story added in the culture of the people. It has been a long time since I have seen the Disney movie of Beauty and the Beast, so while I was reading this story it was jogging my memories and reminding me of my childhood.

The Fair Angiola: after I finished the story I was able to understand that this was a version of the story we come to know as Rapunzel. The beginning of the story was very different though. I do not remember the witch being Rapunzel’s aunt, nor do I remember the witch hurting and threatening her. It was interesting to read a different version to this story. I know learned much more background information about how Rapunzel or for the purpose of the story, Angiola, came to be.