"Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", (French: Cendrillon, ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre, Italian: Cenerentola, German: Aschenputtel) is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune. The story was first published by Charles Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé in 1697.

Although both the story's title and the character's name change in different languages, in English-language folklore "Cinderella" is the archetypal name. The word "cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes were unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect. The still-popular story of "Cinderella" continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements, allusions, and tropes to a wide variety of media.

Plot (Aschenputtel)

A wealthy gentleman's wife lay on her deathbed, and called her only daughter to her bedside. She asked her to remain kind and generous, and God will protect her. She then died and was buried. After a transition of seasons (winter and spring) the widower married another woman, who had two beautiful daughters of her own; they were both cruel and wicked. The stepsisters stole the girl's fine clothes and jewels and forced her to wear only rags; they banished her into the kitchen to do the worst chores, and gave her the nickname "Aschenputtel" ("Cinder-Fool".) Despite all of this the girl remained good and pious, and would always go to her mother's grave to cry and pray to God to give better circumstances for herself.

One day, the gentleman visits a fair, promising his stepdaughters gifts of luxury. The eldest asked for beautiful dresses, while the younger for pearls and diamonds. His own daughter merely asks for the first twig that will hit his hat off on the way. The gentleman goes on his way, and acquires presents for his stepdaughters. While passing a forest he gets a hazel twig, and gives it to his daughter. She plants the twig over her mother's grave, waters it with her tears and over the years, it grows into a glowing hazel tree. Under it the girl would pray for thrice a day, and a white bird would always come to talk and grant her everything she would ask for.

The king decides to give a festival that will last for three whole days and nights, and invites all the beautiful maidens in the land to attend, because the prince is supposed to select from one of them a bride for himself. The two sisters were also invited, but when Aschenputtel begged them to allow her to go with them into the celebration, the stepmother refused because she had no dress nor shoes to wear. When the girl insisted, the woman threw a dish of lentils into the ashes for her to pick up, guaranteeing her permission to attend the festival, and when the girl accomplished the task in less than an hour with the help of two, white doves sent by her mother from Heaven, the stepmother only redoubled the task and threw down even a greater quantity of lentils. When Aschenputtel was able to accomplished it in a greater speed, not wanting to spoil her daughters' chances, the stepmother hasted away with them to the ball and left the crying stepdaughter behind.

The girl retreats to the graveyard to ask for help. The white bird drops a white gown and silk shoes. She goes to the ball, with the precaution of leaving before midnight. The prince dances with her, but she eludes him before midnight strikes. The next evening, the girl appears in a much grander gown of silver and silver shoes. The prince falls in love with her and dances with her the whole evening, but when midnight comes, she leaves again. The third evening, she appears dressed in spun gold with slippers of gold. Now the prince is determined to keep her, and has the entire stairway smeared with pitch. Aschenputtel loses track of time, and when she runs away to leave, one of her golden slippers gets stuck on that pitch. The prince proclaims that he would marry the maiden whose foot would fit the golden slipper.

The next morning, the prince goes into Aschenputtel's house and tries the slipper on the eldest stepsister. The sister is advised by her mother to cut off her toes in order to fit the slipper. While riding with the stepsister, the two doves from Heaven tell the Prince that blood drips from her foot. Appalled by her treachery, he goes back again and tries the slipper on the other stepsister. She cuts off part of her heel in order to get in her foot in the slipper, and again the prince is fooled. While riding with her to the king's castle, the doves alert him again about the blood on her foot. He comes back to inquire for another girl. The gentleman tells him that they kept a kitchen-maid in the house - yet does not mention that she is his own daughter - and the prince asks him to let her try the slipper. The girl appears after washing herself, and when she puts on the slipper, the prince recognizes her as the stranger with whom he had danced at the ball.

In the end, during Aschenputtel's wedding, as she is walking down the aisle with her stepsisters as her bridesmaids, for they had hoped to worm their way into her favor, the doves from Heaven fly down and strike the two stepsisters' eyes, one in the left and the other in the right. When the wedding comes to an end, and Aschenputtel and her prince march out of the church, the doves fly again, striking the remaining eyes of the two evil sisters blind, a punishment they have to endure for the rest of their lives.

Aschenputtel's relationship with her father in this version is ambiguous; Perrault's version states that the absent father is dominated by his second wife, hence why he does not prevent the abuse of his daughter. However, the father in this tale plays an active role in procuring Aschenputtel's request of a branch, and it is not explained why he tolerates the mistreatment of his child. He also describes Aschenputtel as his "first wife's child" and not his own.

[ source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashputtel ]