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The Other
Cinderella Story

Grade Level: 3-6

Story Preview: Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters announce the release of their tell-all book about her childhood!

Roles: Narrator, Attorney, Stepmother, Stepsister 1, Stepsister 2, Reporters 1-5

Setting: Once upon a time in a conference room.

Theme: Fairy Tales

Vocabulary:

• podium: a stand used by a speaker
• unbearable: awful
• décor: decorations
• deplorable: terrible
• poised: ready, prepared
• scheme: plan
• curfew: time by which a person must return home (or be indoors)
• cloak: cape or coat

Props: (Optional) a long table with three chairs behind it, a cone-shaped hat with flowing ribbons or streamers for stepmother, a hooded jacket or cape for Reporter # 5

Follow-Up Questions:

• What is the significance of the names of the characters Hyde Pryce Shark, Charity Abounds, Patience, and Harmony?
• What is unusual about the statements of Stepsister 2 (Harmony)?
• Compare and contrast the classic story of Cinderella with the stepmother and stepsisters' version.
• Who is Reporter # 5 of the Royal Record?
• What does Stepsister 1 mean when she says to her family, "You have them hooked, Mother. Now reel them in, Sis?"
• Whose story of Cinderella's childhood do you believe?

Follow-Up Activity:
Invite students, writing from Cinderella's point of view, to rebut the stepmother and stepsisters' charges. Arrange students in small groups and have each read a different version of the story of Cinderella, paying close attention to how the story supports, or fails to support, the stepmother and stepsisters' charges. When they're done reading, bring students back together and ask them to present their findings to the group. A spokesperson from each group might "appear" as a witness for the plaintiff or the defense!

Additional Notes:
The following resources contain plays also based on the character of Cinderella.

• In Cinderella Outgrows the Glass Slipper and Other Zany Fractured Fairy Tale Plays, by Joan M. Wolf, Cinderella wears to the ball shoes she has made from recycled materials!
• The book 12 Fabulously Funny Fairy Tale Plays by Justin McCory Martin tells the tale of "Spiderella" and her life with two evil ladybug stepsisters.

Click here for a printable script.

Article by Cara Bafile
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