76. La Cenicienta

Mila y Fontanals, Observaciones sobre la poesia popular. p. 181. (A Catalonian tale translated by Wolf in Proben portugiesischer und catalanischer Volksromancen. Wien, 1856. p 43.)

"LA CENICIENTA"

ABSTRACT

Ill-treated heroine (by step (1) to shell sack of millet and sack of beans, (2) to cleanse sack of rice--Saint aid---Magic dresses from almond, from nut--Meeting-place, (1) mass, (2) ball---Flight--Lost shoe--Shoe marriage test--Happy marriage.

TABULATION

Heroine is cruelly treated by her stepmother, who leaves her at home to shell a sack of millet and a sack of small white beans (jundias). Heroine sits weeping; female saint comes and asks why; promises to perform task, and gives her almond containing golden dress. Heroine dons it and goes to Mass. Prince falls in love with her. She returns before stepmother and stepsister, who tell her of the lovely stranger. "Perhaps so, perhaps not; perhaps it was I" (tal ves se, tal vez no, tal vez era yo). Both exclaim, "You be quiet, Cinderella, who fan the fire" (Cendrosa, ventafochs). Next day heroine must cleanse a sack of rice whilst stepmother and stepsister go to ball. Saint again appears, and gives her a nut containing a dress with bells (un vestido de campanitas [1] ),clad in which she goes to ball and dances with prince. She will give him no information about herself, and escapes suddenly. In her haste he loses a shoe, which prince finds. He will wed whomsoever it fits. Step sister cannot get it on. Cinderella is asked for, and stepmother says it is no use for her to try. But she appears in the dress of bells, is recognised, [the shoe fits her], and she is married to prince.