How is it different or similar to versions of the story you may be familiar with? What are the specific themes that correlate? Or differ? Why is it considered within the “Cinderella” family? Why did you choose this version?
I picked the Italian version of Cinderella, Cenerentola, the story of Zezolla. Similar to the original stories, Zezolla after the death of her mom, is mistreated by her stepmother. With the help of a fairy, she is able to dress up, attend the royal ball and get married with the king. Similar to the version I grew up familiar with( the Disney animation movie), the Italian version of Cinderella also emphasizes the theme of "good get rewarded and bad get punished." The bullied Cinderella eventually went above the her step mom and step sisters. But there is a major difference in the Italian version: Zezolla has two stepmoms. Zezolla's first stepmother does not treat her well but her governess loves her very much. So Zezolla asks if the governess who loves her so much can be her mom. But when the governess actually becomes her stepmother, after Zezolla kills her first step mom, the governess brings her own children in and starts abusing Zezolla. Even Zezolla's own dad starts to dislike Zezolla due to her new stepmom's bewitchery. The Zezolla version of Cinderella is darker: Zezolla is not the vague symbol of goodness and purity. She murdered her first step mom because she wants her governess to be her mom. But in the Disney version, all the bad things is done by Cinderella's birds friends such as revenging on her bullied sister. The movie emphasizes the pure goodness of Cinderella so much that when she got bullied she just sits there, cries and waits for others' help passively. I chooses the version of Zezolla because I wants to see a version of Cinderella who actually takes actions, even though it is not necessarily a good action.
The Happy Prince
Once there was a prince who lived in a splendid palace. He had unparalleled wealth, beautiful face and a tall figure. His life was fulfilled with happiness: he did not need to worry about state affairs because the king and mayor would worry about them. He did not need to worry about the trivialities of life because the servants of the palace would satisfy all his needs. Every day guests from all over the world come to the palace to present the prince with treasures from all over the world.
But this happy prince, at his most beautiful age, died because of illness, and the whole country mourned for him. The sad king spent a lot of money to build a magnificent statue of the Happy Prince in the center of the palace garden. The statue's face was carved day and night by the most famous sculture masters in the country, and the statue's body was studded with all kinds of gorgeous gems. Every day, people who adore the Happy Prince come to admire and praise this incomparably beautiful statue, expressing their love for the Happy Prince. And those who were poor and could not afford to pay the entrance fee to the palace garden were not allowed to enter the beautiful palace.
Over time, the happy prince thought: my life here is so boring. I can't stay in this place anymore. But no one can hear his words.
One evening in late autumn, a group of swallows came to the city. After a short rest at the river, they continued to fly to the south. They want to go to the warm south before winter arrives. The winter in this city is too cold and cruel. But one young swallow stayed behind. Even though he came from a more northern land, he had heard about the Happy Prince and his magnificent statue. The swallow thought to himself: I heard the story of the happy prince since I was a kid but I haven't had a chance to come to this city. Now I am here. I must take a look at the statue. Just one look, one look and I'll go back to the big group and go to the south.
So he flew early in the morning all over to the palace gardens. Although not yet officially winter, the weather has been very cold, so today there is no one to visit the Happy Prince. The Happy Prince, maintaining his perfect angle, was secretly angry: what a boring day, no one actually came to visit me.
"Dear Happy Prince, I am a swallow from the north, I have heard of your story since I was a child, and today I finally have the opportunity to come and see your statue with my own eyes. Sure enough, it is a palace of unparalleled beauty with a statue of unparalleled beauty, I have not come in vain on this trip."
The Happy Prince was astonished to see a swallow slowly landing on his palm and saluting him.
"A swallow? "The Happy Prince raised his eyes and asked, "Everyone who comes to visit me brings a gift, what gift do you bring, swallow? "
"Dear prince, I was in a hurry to go to the south, because this year's winter came too fast and furious. So I did not bring anything with me. "
"So." The prince closed his eyes in disappointment
"I flew from the far north of this country, crossing countless cities and meeting countless people. I have many interesting stories, both good and bad, can I offer them to you as a gift." Although the swallow maintained a respectful attitude on the surface, he already had a slight dislike for the prince inside. He thought to himself: What an arrogant and unpleasant prince. If he doesn't accept my gift, then I'll shit on his shiny crown and pat myself on the back.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" To the surprise of the swallow, the prince showed great enthusiasm for his gift. "Come on, tell me some interesting stories. The people who visit me tell the same stories back and forth, and it's boring. "
"I don't need to tell a story that happened in a distant place, just one in this city."
Swallow slowly told the story he saw when he first arrived in the city yesterday
"There was a poor family living on a side street in the distance. A window was open, and through it I could see a woman sitting at a table. Her thin face was covered with weariness, and her rough, reddened hands were stitched everywhere, for she was a seamstress. She was embroidering the satin dress with passion flower, which the queen's favorite court lady was going to wear at the next court ball. In a bed in the corner of the room lay her sick child. The child was running a fever and was screaming for oranges. His mother did nothing but give him a few sips of river water, so the child kept crying."
"Is this the story that happened in this city?" The prince was shocked. He had never been out of the magnificent palace in his life, and even after his death, he stood in the giant royal garden. The king who loved him had never let him see the world beyond the praise of luxury and enjoyment."
Suddenly swallow feels a drop of rain falling on him. He looks up and sees the prince’s two beautiful eyes made of blue jewelry fill with water.
“ dear prince, are you crying? “
“ Yes. I am overwhelmed by sadness. I haven’t had this feeling before. All the people I met are happy, wealthy and beautiful so I thought everyone in this city, in this world are happy. Are there lot of people suffering right now in this city ?”
“ Sadly yes. In the other part of the city, there are lot of them who probably can’t make it through the winter.”
“ Why didn’t I know?”
“ because people who are not happy, wealth or beautiful are not allowed in the palace.”
The prince is silent for a long period of time. In the end, he asks “ swallow, swallow, can you please take this blue jewelry, my left eyes and fly around the city? I want to see them.”
“ my pleasure”
The swallow took the prince’s left eye and flys to the other part of the city. There isn’t any tidy path, trees and flower, big houses that the prince is familiar with but dirty dungeon, sting smell, piles of trash and homeless laying on the ground.
When the swallow finally got back to the status, the prince signed “ dear swallow, can you please bring this blue jewelry to that poor mother? I think that could help her and her family goes through this cruel winter.”
The swallow did what the prince said. He gave the prince’s eyes to that mother and tells the prince about her burst of tears of excitement and gratefulness.
“Good, good…” the prince murmurs
In the following days, the swallow would take the prince’s left eyes to the other part of the city. The prince would then cry and give out one more piece of jewelry on his body.
As the winter approaches, the other part of the city is no longer as bleak, cold, and dark as before. People praise the gift from above but they wouldn’t know that those are the gifts from the prince because they never have a chance to see that marvelous status.
Of course, the status is not marvelous no more as he gave out the last pieces of jewelry out, the most precious blue one, his left eyes on the first night of snow. When the swallow returns, the prince, now blind, asks “ dear swallow, how is it? Are they happy now?”
After a long silence, the swallow replies with a weak, shaking voice “ Yes, my prince. They are happy.”
After a long silence, the swallow doesn’t say anything. The prince starts to worry “ what’s happened? My dear swallow? Are you tired? Do you need to sleep? I am so sad that I can’t see your beautiful face now.”
“ I am so sorry my prince…” the swallow says very very slowly. “ I am so sorry. I should tell you earlier but I am too scared to look at your ocean blue eyes. My prince. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. But I know that you will never be mine. People in this world know you love you. I am nothing but a little swallow compared to them. The devil of mine deludes me to think of an evil idea: What if the prince is no longer that beautiful? What if the prince loses all his beautiful jewelry, his luxury outfit? Will he stay for me for a moment, will he love me at that time? I am dying now. I have no strength to fly to the south anymore. Can you give me one last kiss and allow me to spend my last hours here with you? "
The prince cried "People from the palace teach me what is happiness, what is enjoyment; what you teach me what is sadness, what is suffering, what is pain; but you also teach me what is love. I want you to stay with me here, but I also want you to go, to stay in the warm south, to join your family. Kiss me on my lips and go. I love you more than anything"
The swallow struggles to get up, kiss the prince on his lips, and fell on the prince's hugs. He fell in long somber.
When the winter is finally over, people finally go out and take a look at the happy prince. Shockingly, they find that all the jewelry on the status has gone away and the status is no longer smiling at the perfect angle. He stoops and tries to hold something but his hug is empty.
The people are greatly disappointed: the happy prince is no longer happy and no longer beautiful. so they decided to melt it down in the foundry and make a new one. "What a strange thing!" said the overseer of the workmen at the foundry. "when I cut the status in half, the heart of the status is the shape of a bird."