Cinderella (The Real Story) by the Brothers Grimm (Summary) - Minute Book Report

Summary

The story revolves around Cinderella, a girl mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters after her mother's death. Despite her hardships, she is aided by a magical hazel tree that grants her wishes, including beautiful dresses for the royal festival. There, she captivates the prince with her charm, and after a series of trials involving a lost shoe, they finally marry. The stepsisters, who attempted to deceive the prince, meet a grim fate with their eyes pecked out by birds.

Takeaways

• 🏰 The story revolves around a girl whose father is wealthy but whose mother is sick and eventually passes away.
• 🌲 The girl, later known as Cinderella, is forced to live a life of servitude by her stepmother and stepsisters after her father remarries.
• 🔥 Cinderella is made to sleep near the fireplace and covered in cinders, which leads to her nickname.
• 🌿 Her father brings her a hazel twig from a fair, which she plants at her mother's grave, and it grows into a magical tree.
• 🕊️ The hazel tree is inhabited by birds that help Cinderella by granting her wishes, including providing her with dresses for the festival.
• 🎉 The king organizes a three-day festival for the prince to find a bride, which Cinderella's stepsisters are excited to attend.
• 🥣 The stepmother sets an impossible task for Cinderella to attend the festival, which involves picking lentils from ashes.
• 👗 With the help of the birds, Cinderella's wishes are granted, and she receives beautiful dresses to attend the festival.
• 💃 Cinderella and the prince have a wonderful time at the festival, but she must flee each night before the magic ends.
• 👠 The prince uses a trick with tar to make Cinderella leave behind a glass slipper, which he uses to find her.
• 🔍 The stepsisters mutilate their feet to fit the slipper, but the prince discovers the deception and returns to find Cinderella.
• 💍 Cinderella's true identity is revealed when the slipper fits her perfectly, leading to a marriage proposal from the prince.
• 👁️ The stepsisters meet a grim fate, as birds pluck out their eyes as punishment for their cruelty.

Q & A

What is the initial condition of the girl in the story?

The girl's father is wealthy, but her mother is sick and eventually dies.

Why does the girl visit her mother's grave often?

The girl visits her mother's grave often because her mother has passed away.

How does the girl's life change after her father remarries?

After her father remarries, the girl is treated poorly by her stepmother and stepsisters, who force her to do household chores and sleep near the fireplace.

What is the significance of the hazel twig that the girl's father brings back from the fair?

The hazel twig is significant because the girl plants it at her mother's grave, and it grows into a tree that produces birds that grant her wishes.

What is the purpose of the three-day festival organized by the king?

The king organizes a three-day festival for his son, the prince, to select a bride from among the young girls of the land.

Why do the stepsisters laugh at the idea of Cinderella attending the festival?

The stepsisters laugh at Cinderella because she is dirty from housework and they don't think she would be allowed to attend.

What task does the stepmother give Cinderella to potentially attend the festival?

The stepmother gives Cinderella the task of picking lentils from a pile of ashes, which is meant to be an impossible task.

How does Cinderella manage to attend the festival despite her stepmother's trick?

Cinderella manages to attend the festival by making a wish at her hazel tree, and the birds bring her a beautiful dress.

Why does Cinderella run away from the Prince at the end of each festival night?

Cinderella runs away from the Prince at the end of each night because she is afraid of being discovered as the girl who is treated poorly at home.

How does the Prince find Cinderella after she loses her shoe?

The Prince finds Cinderella by searching for the woman whose foot fits the shoe that got stuck in the tar on the stairs.

What happens to the stepsisters at the end of the story?

At the end of the story, the stepsisters have their eyes plucked out by birds as punishment for their cruelty.