Casual Folktales Episode 12: "Cinderella"

Good morning.
It is time for the 12th episode of "Casual Folktales."
Your guide is me, Salami-kun (see episode 1).
Why have folktales been passed down to the present day?
Perhaps it is because there are very important life lessons within the stories, or perhaps that is not the case at all.
After all, how one interprets them is up to the individual.
Today's reading and commentary will be provided by Professor Nancy Kobayakawa from the Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology at Delusion University.
This is her fifth appearance. Nancy, please go ahead.

Hiii! Long time no see. I'm Nancy.
Lately, I've been called Yoshiko. It's a bit strange, isn't it, considering I'm a blonde beauty?
Today's story is "Cinderella."
Of course, you all know it. But let's review it just in case.

"Cinderella"

Once upon a time, in a certain country, there lived a girl who lived with her stepmother and her stepsisters.
The girl's name was Cinderella.
Although she was actually very beautiful, she was always made to do dirty work in shabby clothes.
One day, a ball was held at the castle to choose a bride for the prince.
The handsome, cheerful, and sociable prince was the object of admiration for all the girls in the country.

The stepmother and stepsisters dressed up in style and left for the ball, leaving Cinderella behind to cry alone. Then, suddenly, a suspicious old witch appeared before her and said to Cinderella,
"You there, you dirty girl, why are you crying? You're noisy!"
"What did you say, you old hag! I want to go to the castle ball too!" Cinderella retorted.
"If you want to go, then just go," said the old woman.
"But I don't have a dress or shoes, and on top of that, I don't have a carriage!" said Cinderella.

"What, if that's all it is, why didn't you say so sooner!"
The old woman used magic to transform the junk lying around one after another.
She turned a withered pumpkin into a carriage, mice into white horses, and stray dogs and cats into attendants, and Cinderella became a princess wearing a beautiful dress and shining glass slippers.
"There, that should be fine, right? Go to the ball. However, you must return by 12 o'clock at night. All right? If it goes past 12, the magic will wear off and everything will return to normal," the old woman said, and then she vanished.

When Cinderella entered the grand hall of the ball, everyone gasped at her beauty.
The prince, who was a sucker for a pretty face, came over immediately, took Cinderella's hand, and said,
"Princess! Please dance with me." The next few hours were like a dream, and Cinderella was very happy.
Suddenly, she realized it was almost 12 o'clock at night. Oh no, she shook off the prince's hand and dashed out of the grand hall. As Cinderella fled in a panic, she dropped one of her glass slippers.

The prince, who could not forget Cinderella, decided to search for her using the glass slipper as a clue.
He thought about having every girl in the country try it on, but that was too much trouble, so he decided to use hunting dogs instead. He ordered his servants to gather the five best hunting dogs in the country and commanded them to find Cinderella by the scent on the shoe.
However, when faced with the glass slipper, the dogs suddenly began to rampage as if terrified.
Two of them chewed through their chains and ran away.
Two others, who gathered the courage to approach, frothed at the mouth and fainted.
The last and best dog slowly brought its nose to the glass slipper with a look of resignation. And then, it quietly brought its glorious life to an end.

The prince, finding this strange, picked up the glass slipper himself and gently brought it to his nose.
As expected of a prince who would carry the future of a nation, he did not change his expression, but the glass slipper slipped from his hand, hit the floor, and shattered into pieces. And for some reason, he stopped trying to find Cinderella.
After that, the prince, who had been cheerful and sociable, became famous for being a silent, reclusive, and woman-hating prince.

And they lived happily ever after.

The end

Huh? Was that the story? Wasn't it a happy ending where the prince finds Cinderella at the end and they live happily ever after?
Well, whatever. Gentlemen of the world, if you want to get married, you have to turn a blind eye to a few things.
It's fine, isn't it, even if her feet smell a little? It just means that every beauty has one or two flaws. Patience, patience, right, right, right.