Once upon a time there was a young girl named Cenerentola who hailed from a small village on the outskirts of Fénis. She lived in a small cottage with her father and her two older sisters. Their family was close. When her father would travel her sisters would torment her because she was the youngest and leave her responsible for all their duties.
One day her father was to make a journey to Venice to find work and he asked his daughters what he could bring them home as souvenirs. The eldest daughter wanted nothing other than a Venetian mask that she could wear to a ball someday. The middle daughter begged their father for a pair of the finest high heels he could find. When their father asked Cenerentola what she desired as a souvenir, she told him that she wanted a bean so she could grow her own garden outside their cottage.
While Cenerentola’s father was away on his journey, news spread amongst the village that the King of Fénis would be holding a ball in honor of his son, the Prince, who was coming of age and would soon take place as King. It became known that everyone in Fénis and the surrounding villages would be invited to properly celebrate the Prince with all his subjects.
A week passed and the girls’ father returned home with gifts for his precious daughters. While the two eldest marveled at their beautiful offerings and made fun of Cenerentola’s bean, Cenerentola was so excited to begin her garden that she ran outside and planted it under her favorite tree.
As the night of the King’s ball approached, the eldest girls worked tirelessly to create the perfect gowns to wear to the Fénis castle and make their big debut. However, because the girls were too busy creating their masterpieces, they left Cenerentola to worry about all the household responsibilities.
When the night finally came, the two eldest daughters descended the stairs in their gowns adorned with their Venetian mask and beautiful heels. Following closely was Cenerentola, who scrounged up an old dress that she had worn years before along with her house shoes that were falling apart.
As her sisters turned around and saw her, they insisted that she go back upstairs and find something new to wear, or they would not bring her with them to the ball as they were afraid to be tainted by her image. Cenerentola went to find a new gown, but when she returned, her sisters were long gone.
She immediately ran outside in time to see the dust that was displaced from the carriage settling back into the ground. Cenerentola then ran to her favorite tree, sat down, and began to cry. As her first tear hit the ground, something occurred. It seemed as though her tear landed just on top of where she planted her bean, and it began to glow. Too upset to notice, she was mumbling her sorrows of not being able to go to the ball because she was not dressed appropriately.
It was just then that there was a whirlwind of light and air, and when it settled, she looked down and she was adorned in the most beautiful gown she had ever seen. Not only did she now have a gown to wear, but she had a Venetian mask that would put her sisters to shame and high heels that were diamond-encrusted and even more beautiful than those of her second sister. Just as she began to walk away from the tree, her bean sprouted a stalk which produced a giant pumpkin. As this pumpkin grew, it turned into a carriage which would take her to the ball.
When Cenerentola arrived at the ball, all eyes were on her. She was dancing the night away when she felt a tap on her shoulder from a stranger. As she turned around, she realized that it was not just any stranger, but the Prince of Fénis himself. From that point through the end of the night, the two of them were inseparable. They laughed, danced, and shared stories of their childhood only as two people who were in love would.
As the guests of the ball dwindled, Cenerentola and the Prince said their goodbyes and Cenerentola moved toward the grand entrance. It was there she spotted her sisters and she knew that she couldn’t let them see her. She began to run, but as she ran past the guards, her diamond-encrusted high heel slipped off her foot. In her panic, she had no time to turn back, and she kept running towards home.
She made it back to the cottage with just enough time to change back into her clothes before her sisters came inside laughing and reminiscing about their night. They taunted Cenerentola with their stories, and the fact that she didn’t attend, but inside, she was smiling at her own memories.
Back at the castle, the Prince picked up Cenerentola’s heel and thought about his night and how he believed in love at first sight. At that moment, he knew that Cenerentola would be his Queen when he became King.
The next day, the Prince paced back and forth wondering who she was and where she returned home to. Finally, he ordered his men to find her and bring her to him. The King vetoed this plan, claiming that love at first sight didn’t exist and that he would marry a Princess. Ignoring his father, he set out to find Cenerentola if it was the last thing that he did.
But how would he know who she was? He hadn’t even seen her face the night before. All he had of her was her heel that she had left behind. But of course! He would go door to door until he found the rightful owner of the heel. He did this for hours until he finally found the home of Cenerentola where she tried on her heel and it fit like a glove. They then returned to the palace where they were married and lived happily ever after.
Author's Note:
This version of Cenerentola that I have created is an adaption of the popular Italian fairy tale Cinderella. The name Cenerentola is actually the Italian translation of the name for Cinderella. I chose to use the Italian name for the story since my storybook is based on Italian fairy tales. I decided to place Cenerentola as my first story in my storybook because it is a tale that most readers would be familiar with, but most likely did not know the Italian version of the story. Because Cinderella is such a common fairy tale, I wanted to keep the basic story while adding elements of my own to it.
Like the original story, I decided to have the father bring material gifts to the girls that they could wear to the ball. This included the Venetian mask, which are the masks worn to Carnevale in Italy, and the high heels, while Cenerentola asked for something different and add an element of magic to it. This takes place of the dress, hat and shawl, and the magic bird verdeli that Cenerentola asks her father for in the original story. I decided not to use the magic bird in my story because I wanted it to be a little more original. I hope you all enjoy reading and taking a trip down memory lane. Let me know what you all think on the comment wall!
Crane, Thomas Frederick. Italian Popular Tales.
Banner Image: Fénis Castle