Who wrote Cinderella?

Who is the author of one of the most famous fairy tales of the world, who wrote "Cinderella"? Does it belong to the hand of Charles Perrault or was it invented by the Brothers Grimm? Or this unique story came from the people's lips? Is it possible to answer at least one of these many questions?

Most folklore researchers are sure that no. The legend of the girl who lost the shoe is so old that it is no longer possible to establish the original source. In London at the end of the XIX century, the book of M.R. Cox was published, where a specific number of variations of the fairy tale found by the author was mentioned - 345. Modern collectors of myths and legends have found a much larger number, among which, perhaps, one of the oldest is Chinese, Eleven centuries ago.

But for many of those who wrote "Cinderella", of course, remains Charles Perrault - a French storyteller, writer and poet. He clamored for the stories that already existed in folklore, he remade them in his own way, and at the same time to please His Royal Highness, often ending each story with a conclusion - "morality", stated in the ironic and witty poem of his own authorship.

In the elegant creation of Perrault, Cinderella appears before us in the hypostasis of a kind, obedient and beautiful daughter of a nobleman, whose first wife was also a beautiful woman. But, unfortunately, she dies, and Zamarashka's father must marry another. So the misadventures of the main character begin, which gets its name only because the frequent cleaning and mockery of her step-sisters and stepmothers covered it with ashes and dust. It's clear, thanks to her gentleness and kindness, she will with honor hold all the trials prepared for fate, and will necessarily marry the prince thanks to her lost shoe, trimmed with fur (no, not crystal!), And will live happily ever after. But has this sweet story of a girl named Cinderella always ended so safely? Charles Perrault in fact, in fact, showed the reader a simplified version, where the negative characters are almost not punished for their atrocities.

In the hands of the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, collectors of folklore, the fairy tale acquires completely different tones, becoming much more magical and harder. For example, there is no godmother as such in the exposition of the Germans, but there is an amazing tree growing on the mother's grave, as well as two pigeons that settled in its branches, from which it receives Cinderella's main help. Charles Perrault, who based his version of the fairy tale on the Northern European variation of history, which was used by the brothers almost 100 years after the Frenchman's death, probably also removed from her the bloody details of the "vengeance" of the stepmother and her daughters for mistreatment of the main character. It is worth mentioning that at the end of the Grimm fairy tale, two half-sister Zamarashka sisters cut off one or another part of the leg to climb into the already golden shoe, after which the two above mentioned pigeons in the episode of the wedding peck each of them both eyes.

In the "Pentameron" of the Italian storyteller and poet Basile you can see that edition of the story, which, according to some assumptions, Perro also saw. Cinderella here - Zezollah - is not that sweet girl, as we used to imagine her. She kills the trunk of her first stepmother, after which the second becomes her teacher, who, in fact, persuades the main character in the crime. Sisters in the Italian variation are not two, but six, and the godmother herself does not appear on the stage. But the father of the unlucky girl brings a special set of magic things from her friend fairy, with which Zezoll easily passes through a series of balls, the loss and subsequent fitting of the shoe and marries the prince.

When we hear another version of the fairy tale set forth in the book of histories about beautiful Greek courtesans published in France, it becomes even less clear to us who wrote Cinderella. In it the author does without balls, stepmothers, half-sisters and magic, leaving only the fact of the loss of the shoe, or rather the kidnapping of the sandal from the main heroine by the eagle. By the bird , it is thrown to the feet of Pharaoh Psammetich, who then orders to find the owner. The narrative still ends with a happy wedding.

The Chinese Cinderella mentioned above, by the name of Yehhsien, differed from others in her intelligence and talent for engaging in ceramics. A magical assistant is a goldfish, which, unfortunately, is killed by the stepmother. Nevertheless, this does not prevent the main heroine from using her bones, which also have a magical power. With their help, Yehhsien goes to the carnival in a raincoat trimmed with kingfisher feathers, and in gold shoes, one of which she, of course, loses. Find her commander, who then seeks the owner all over China, and then, after finding his Cinderella, marries her. And for the bad treatment in relation to the stepdaughter's stepmother, and at the same time, her daughters are beaten to death with stones.

But, despite the huge number of versions of this famous story, it's up to you, not researchers, storytellers and numerous collectors of folklore to decide who wrote Cinderella. After all, it can happen that only one of all will fall in love with your heart, which means it will be the main and the most faithful. And this, of course, will be the right choice.