Robin Redbreast

Robin Redbreast
Birds can represent the fluttering, darting thoughts of intuition. This is why little birds helped Cinderella help herself.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Cinderella #26 Cinderella (as if you didn't already know the story) ( 2006)

Barbara Ensor
Once upon a time, during a wedding ceremony between a man with one daughter and a woman with two daughters, a minister declared, " If anyone knows of any reason why this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, let them speak now, or forever hold their peace. ' Nobody said anything out loud during the brief silence that hung over the room after the minister spoke those words. So the wedding ceremony for Cinderella's father and her new stepmother went ahead as planned. In case you want to know if the children of one person not liking the children of the they are marrying would be enough reason to call a wedding off, the answer is NO. Because in a  strict legal sense, only the adults are getting married. " Now, Cinderella tried to do what she thought her mom might have wanted: "First, you have to try to get to know them." Yet it was plain that those girls did not like her one bit and "It made the edges of her smile hard to hold up." She went to bed early that night and wrote her mother a letter: Dear mom, I regret to inform you that Dad your husband has married again a second time."It took her a few tries to get the words right, and yes, she was aware that her mom was dead. But still. It made her feel better to write. She continued: They are moving a bunch of furniture pretty soon, so I gotta go. Your daughter 4ever, Cupcake." Sure enough, the bedroom that Cinderella's mom had helped her decorate just last year was now stripped of her things. She was booted to the attic, while her stepsisters lolled about in her old room. Her next letter to her mom began: Dear Mama, as you might have noticed, I am sleeping in the attic now, where you didn't even think we should put the kittens!" And so it went. One awful day, "her stepsisters burst noisily into the room. Cinderella could tell they were in one of their giddy, giggly, moods. " Atwitter, those two were, over the news that the prince was throwing a ball. and " technically, you see, the invitation is for you as well, ' said one. "Strictly speaking..." said the other. Cinderella got the point. Her clothes were wrong, her shoes were worn..." I think...I better not" she told them, so that was settled. That night, she wrote to her mother once more: Dear Mama, Please Don't be mad at me. I know that you are already. What fun would it be to go to the ball with everyone wishing I wasn't there?"When the big day came, she was worn to a frazzle by the ups, the downs, and the many, many frowns of the day. Later, alone in the laundry room, she "sat down next to a pile of laundry to have a good cry. " That's when she heard the voice of her fairy godmother! Boy, was she surprised! "I don't know why you look so surprised" said the fairy, "We'll have you on your way in no time, Cupcake! There are a few little errands your godmother needs you to help her out with first. Could you get me that rather nice pumpkin I noticed in the garden?"  So the magic was begun, and next thing she knew, Cinderella had a pumpkin coach, with a team of six white mice-horses, tended by six "silk clad coachmen chatting about last night's football game. The former lizards clung effortlessly to the decorative doodads all over the coach.  'And now it's your turn my dear! ...' There was a whooshing sound, then a pop like a cork being pulled out of a champagne bottle" and there it was: a new dress, floaty and elegant.  Gorgeous, ivory colored shoes with curlicued gold trim peeked out below her petticoat. " Wow! Was she ever ready for the ball! Oh, yeah, her fairy godmother yelled after her: Midnight! or there's going to be a very serious consequence!" Since you already know the story, I'll skip most of it. Of course she danced with the prince, and of course he fell in love with her, and of course she  ran away, and you KNEW she was gonna lose a shoe. But here's what happened next: "The prince nervously dropped to one knee. His armor scraped noisily into its new position and made a clanking noise. 'Cinderella, will you do me the honor of becoming my bride, my lawfully wedded wife?" And she had to think about it. " Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm' Cinderella said. Should she marry the prince? She just wasn't sure. She didn't even really know the guy, apart from, well, his favorite foods. He certainly was a good dancer...but then again...Cinderella's heart beat loudly in her chest. " And she said YES! And "as days became weeks, and weeks became months, Cinderella and the prince discovered that they were actually as different as a tree and a lake. It was hard sometimes, but it opened up a big landscape for both of them. As the love between them grew, they began to trust themselves, even the dark scary places."  The prince found his warm, fuzzy spot and began to compose and perform folk songs that made his subjects cry. And Cinderella found her inner iron fist: she'd had enough. Remembering how her only friends had been animals, she threw her family out of the castle and turned it into a sanctuary. And best of all, "Her toughness as a diplomat  brought a period of peace. With no wars, her husband's suit of armor was no longer needed, and it became a curious object that people stared at in a glass case in a museum." And everyone lived peacefully ever after! 
Notes: This is a really cute, fun book! Barbara Ensor, who seems to have done the black ink illustrations as well, has taken a comfortable old shoe of a story and made it into something quite fun, sort of Cinderella-meets-Bridget Jones. A great read for kids 10+ and adults.
Montessori connection 6-9: History, Cinderella's Personal Timeline
1. Read this Cinderella story with a friend.
2. Roll out a long strip of paper to make a time line on, about 3 feet long and tape it down at both ends (either on the floor or a long table).
3. At one end, write"Cinderella is born". Pretend that she is exactly your age, and write your birthday, including day, month and year.
4. In the middle write "Dad remarries".
5. At the end write " Cinderella marries the prince."
6. Fill in the details!
9-12: Grammar Symbols, Personal Pronouns 
1. Read the Cinderella book.
2. In your language notebook, write today's date and the title of this lesson: Personal Pronouns.
3. Now, pretend that you are looking into an empty room and that you are stepping into it. You are the FIRST PERSON in the room, and you say, " --------- am in this room!" (fill in the blank)
4. Now, pretend that your friend steps in. Tell her, " Now --------- are in this room too!" (fill in the blank.)
5. Your dad walks in. Tell your friend, " See that guy? ------- is my dad!" (fill in the blank)
6. Now your mom walks in. Your friend asks you, "Who is ------------?" (fill in the blank)
Imagine that two more  teachers walk in. Say, " It's getting crowded in here. Now ----------- came in."
7. Maybe it is time to get going! Tell your friend, "It's too crowded in here! ------------ should leave."
8. Check that you have these personal pronouns listed: I, (first person); you (second person); he, she (third person, singular); they (third person, plural); we (first person, plural).