It's Not about the Pumpkin! Read online

  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

  in the forest for a long time.

  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.

  The princess came to see it.

  “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

  “That was cute,” said Lily.

  “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?