At first Anil was surprised
that the cow could speak.
But then he told her about
the stepmother and his hunger.
“Don’t cry,” said the cow,
and she began to stamp
the ground with her hooves.
Fine sweets appeared,
and Anil quickly gathered them up.
He shared them with his stepsister,
but told her to keep it a secret.
Soon the stepmother noticed
that Anil was getting stronger.
He’s drinking cow’s milk,
she thought, and she grew angry.
She asked her daughter about it
and found out about the sweets
and the black cow. That evening,
the stepmother told her husband
that he must sell the cow.
Anil was sad
and went to tell the cow.
“Get on my back,” said the cow.
“We will hide deep in the forest,
and I will take care of you.”
Anil and the cow stayed
Near the place where they stayed
was a deep hole in the ground.
Inside, lived the Great Snake.
To honor him, every day the cow
poured her milk into the hole
for the snake to drink.
The Great Snake was pleased.
“Is it you who gives me the milk?”
The cow nodded her head.
“What can I give you in return?”
the Great Snake asked.
“I’d like you to dress my son
in a suit of gold,” said the cow.
“I can grant that wish,”
said the Great Snake.
And instantly,
Anil was dressed in gold,
from his head to his toes.
One day as Anil bathed,
his shoe fell into the river.
A fish swallowed it.
A fisherman caught the fish
and sold it at the royal palace.
When the palace cook cut the fish,
the golden shoe fell out.
“How beautiful,” she sighed.
“I would like to meet the owner
of such a fine shoe.”
Servants were sent out to find
the one who lost the golden shoe.
They looked up and down the river,
until they saw the shining boy
wearing only one shoe.
They took him to the palace
and brought him to the princess.
As soon as Anil saw her,
he forgot about the black cow.
In time, the two were married.
At their feast, Anil ate sweets
that tasted like the ones
the black cow used to feed him.
Suddenly, he remembered her
and rushed away to find her.
Anil found the cow in the forest.
He embraced her
and thanked her for everything.
Then he took her to the palace,
and they lived happily
with the princess for many years.
THE PUMPKIN PART 2
“Anil married the princess.
But that story is not
like Cinderella.”
“Yes it is,” said Ben.
“Anil has a cruel stepmother
who treats him badly.
And he loses his shoe,
just like Cinderella.”
“What are you doing?”
Lily asked Jake.
“I’m looking for green crayons.
I want to draw the Great Snake,”
said Jake.
“Me, too,” said Lily and Ben.
And they did.
ABOUT THE STORIES
There are hundreds of Cinderella stories from different cultures around the world. These are three:
Ash Girl is based on The Cinder Maid by Joseph Jacobs, who reconstructed it from many versions told throughout Europe.
Fish Bones is from a Chinese tale called Yeh-hsien, one of the first Cinderella stories to be written down about a thousand years ago.
The Black Cow is one of the few boy Cinderella stories found, and it comes from India.
Do you know more Cinderella tales?