The Golden Sandal - an Iraqi Cinderella

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Henna Page Forum ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by Anne in CT on September 29, 2001 at 15:31:36:

Hej,

I was able to get The Golden Sandal by Rebecca Hickox (illustrated by
Will Hillenbrnad - most of the illustrations are great)at the library
yesterday, as well as Inea Bushnaqu's Arab Folktales (in which is the
story upon which Hickox based her interpretation).

It's an interesting story - the main character, Maha, encourages her
father to marry again, but the step-mother, initially kind to her
step-daughter, soon moves to "wicked step-mother" mode. There's no
fairy godmother (a la Disney) or magic tree growing from the dead
mother's grave (a la the more traditional European story): Maha's
help comes from a a magic red fish (similar to the Chinese version,
only in this one, the fish doesn't get eaten).

Instead of the ball, the daughter of the master mearchant is to be
married and all the women in the town are to "gather before the
wedding to sing and celebrate and watch the bride's arms and feet be
painted with red henna stain."

Maha has to leave before her step-mother and step-sister, and she
looses one of her golden sandals in the process. It falls into the
water, and a few days later, when the brother of the bride is leading
his horse to water, it won't drink because of the shoe. He decides
he wants to marry the owner of the shoe.

It goes on in the more-or-less traditional Cinderella pattern, and
the version in Arab Folktales is a little different. The only thing
that disappointed me was the depecition of henna in the story - it
looks like the bride has chickenpox (or some other type of pox) on
her hands and feet, and the henna itself is in a jug with a large
brush-type object sticking out of it, looking bright red and more
like paint than anything else.

Overall, it's a wonderful story - well worth reading to the little
ones or adding to your collection of multicultural fairy
tales/Cinderella variations.

Follow Ups

Re: The Golden Sandal - an Iraqi Cinderella jolynn 04:11:01 10/2/2001 (0)

Post Followup

Name:
E-Mail:
Subject:
: Hej, : : I was able to get The Golden Sandal by Rebecca Hickox (illustrated by : Will Hillenbrnad - most of the illustrations are great)at the library : yesterday, as well as Inea Bushnaqu's Arab Folktales (in which is the : story upon which Hickox based her interpretation). : : It's an interesting story - the main character, Maha, encourages her : father to marry again, but the step-mother, initially kind to her : step-daughter, soon moves to "wicked step-mother" mode. There's no : fairy godmother (a la Disney) or magic tree growing from the dead : mother's grave (a la the more traditional European story): Maha's : help comes from a a magic red fish (similar to the Chinese version, : only in this one, the fish doesn't get eaten). : : Instead of the ball, the daughter of the master mearchant is to be : married and all the women in the town are to "gather before the : wedding to sing and celebrate and watch the bride's arms and feet be : painted with red henna stain." : : Maha has to leave before her step-mother and step-sister, and she : looses one of her golden sandals in the process. It falls into the : water, and a few days later, when the brother of the bride is leading : his horse to water, it won't drink because of the shoe. He decides : he wants to marry the owner of the shoe. : : It goes on in the more-or-less traditional Cinderella pattern, and : the version in Arab Folktales is a little different. The only thing : that disappointed me was the depecition of henna in the story - it : looks like the bride has chickenpox (or some other type of pox) on : her hands and feet, and the henna itself is in a jug with a large : brush-type object sticking out of it, looking bright red and more : like paint than anything else. : : Overall, it's a wonderful story - well worth reading to the little : ones or adding to your collection of multicultural fairy : tales/Cinderella variations.
Optional link URL:
Link title:
Optional image URL: