The video that I selected to compare the Cinderella Grimm version is Yeh Shen, which is a Chinese fairytale. Yeh Shen is an orphan who lives in a cave with her stepmother and stepsister. Yeh Shen goes to the pond where she is greeted by her only friend who is a fish named Golden Eyes. Her stepmother and stepsister see her talking to the fish and they send her to retrieve wood from a far away place. While Yeh Shen is gone, the stepmother captures and cooks the fish. When Yeh Shen comes back from gathering wood, she ends up realizing the fish has been eaten by the stepmother and stepsister.
She was left with the bones of the fish, she came to realize the bones were magical. The fish gives her food every time the stepmother tells her she does not get to have any supper. When it’s time to go to the village festival where the most handsome men are at, the stepmother tells Yeh Shen she cannot attend. Yeh Shen becomes sad and the bones provide her with a beautiful dress and a pair of golden slippers. When she goes to the festival everyone looks at her and admires her beauty. The prince welcomes her and they dance until Yeh Shen runs away because she does not want to be caught by her stepmother.
As Yeh Shen runs away, she falls and loses one golden slipper. Later that night, some man found the golden slipper and goes to the merchant to sell it. The merchant buys it and gives the slipper to the king as a gift. The king is so fascinated by the slipper that he goes out looking for the woman who owns the slipper. Many women try on the slipper and do not succeed. Yeh Shen goes to the kingdom and ask people if they have seen a golden slipper. Someone pointed to the man that found the slipper.
The man told her that he sold it to the merchant. She goes to the merchant and tells her that he gave it to the king as a gift. He tells her that he king is looking for the woman whose foot fits into the slipper. Yeh Shen gets in line to try on the shoe. She gets thrown in dungeon for telling the guards the shoe belongs to her fish. The stepsister tries on the shoe but does not fit her. That night when Yeh Shen is set free, she grabs the shoe and and goes back to the pond with both shoes and tires tell the fish he can go to his four fathers.
The king approaches her and tell her to try on the slipper and they fit her perfectly. She is transformed into a beautiful woman. The king asks her to be his queen. The stepmother and stepsister still live in the cave alone. Throughout Yeh Shen’s heartbreaking moments she kept her head up and believed her in her dreams. Cinderella faces more misfortunes in the Grimm Version and is considerably more violent compared to Yeh Shen. Cinderella’s mother dies from an illness and her father remarries to a woman who has two daughters who treat her poorly.
Originally named Ella, she slept near the cinders which lead her to be called Cinderella. One day her father leaves and ask for request from the three daughters. Cinderella wanted a twig. When he comes back he gives her a hazel twig. She plants it next to her mother’s grave. The twig grows into a tree where it produces birds that grant her wishes. When it’s time to go the ball, the stepmother tells Cinderella in order to attend the ball she has to pick lentils from a pile of ashes.
The birds help her with the task, when Cinderella is finished she goes to her stepmother and she rejects what Cinderella has done. She makes a wish to the tree and the birds give her a dress so she can attend the ball. When Cinderella is at the ball she dances with the prince the whole night. At the end of the night, Cinderella runs away from the prince. The next day she wishes for another dress and does the same thing she did the night before. The third day she wishes for another dress.
When the night is coming to an end Cinderella runs away and her shoe gets stuck on one of the stairs because the prince put tar on them so she can not flee. The prince looks for the girl who owns the shoe One of the stepsisters cut off her toe to try to fit in the shoe. The next stepsister cuts off part of her heel to try to fit in the shoe. When Cinderella tries on the shoe it fits her perfectly and they get married. The stepsisters get their eyes plucked out by birds. Both of these stories share the same theme which is ” Good will always triumph over evil and love will find a way”.