The Egyptian Cinderella (International Literature)

The Egyptian Cinderella, written by Shirley Climo and illustrated by Ruth Heller is a great piece of international literature. The story is about a Greek girl named Rhodopis who is stolen by pirates and sold into slavery in Egypt. Rhodopis does not fit in with the other servant girls because she has fair skin and blonde hair while they have olive skin and dark hair. Since the other girls tease her, Rhodopis takes refuge with the animals. She is caught dancing with them, and her master is so impressed that he gives her a pair of shoes. One of her shoes is stolen by a falcon, a symbol of the God Horus, and dropped in the lap of the Pharoah. He takes this as a sign and is determined to find its owner. Like most other Cinderella stories, there is a pursuit for the owner and Rhodopis finally steps forward and becomes his wife. I would use this book in the classroom as an example of international literature, and I would use it to talk about several themes. I would use it to discuss that physical differences are unimportant. The story has elements of fact and fable, so I would also discuss these aspects.