Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China retold by Ai-Ling Louie

We have all grown up in the the United States hearing about Cinderella and her glass slipper. This is a tale that was told long before Disney's singing mice and pumpkin carriage. This story dates back to 618 AD! Several thousand years later, an Italian version was created and then spread through the rest of the world.

Yeh-Shen becomes an orphan when her father died and she was left to be raised by her stepmother. The stepmother was unkind and jealous that Yeh-Shen was much more beautiful than her daughter. Life was hard for Yeh-Shen and her only friend was a beautiful fish with golden eyes. She fed him from her meager rations and he grew to an enormous size. Stepmother was furious that Yeh-Shen had hidden something from her and tricked and killed the fish. Yeh-Shen was naturally heartbroken.

A wise man told her to gather the fish bones and keep them--they contained a powerful spirit that would aid her in times of need. She did as told and was very careful to keep them a secret. Festival time came and all the women of the village dreamed of marrying the king. Yeh-Shen was of course denied access to the festivities and told to guard the fruit trees from thieves. She spoke to the bones of her fish and was transformed into dazzling gown and beautiful slippers.

We know the rest of the story. Yeh-Shen marries the King and her stepmother and stepsister, having been so horrible to her, were not allowed to come to the palace. They stayed in their cave, but were crushed to death in a shower of flying stones. Wow--I didn't see that one coming.

This stunningly beautiful story is in typical Chinese block-printed pages. This format adds to the somewhat exotic style. I loved the illustrations as they reached past set blocks on the page. The story is timeless for a reason and seems to be influential in many other well-known stories. Interesting cultural differences play a key role in this story, as American children might be unfamiliar with why a girl would spend so much time with a fish. American stories tend to involve dogs and cats as cohorts to human counterparts. The African Tale Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters uses several of the same key plot elements. Again, care is placed on showing that being kind will be rewarded, even if hardships have to be first endured. I think that this story demonstrates the need for different view points from around the world--it helps lead to more understanding.