Rhodopis, The First Cinderella Story Ever Found

Rhodopis

The First Cinderella Story Ever Found

Long ago in the Ancient land of Egypt were the green water of the Nile River flows into the blue water of the Mediterranean Sea lived a young maiden named Rhodopis. She born in Greece but had been kidnapped by pirates and carried to Egypt where she was sold into slavery. Her owner was a kind old man and because he spent most of his time sleeping under a tree he never saw how the other servant girls in the house taunted and teased Rhodopis. They did not accept her because she looked different from them. Their hair was straight and black while hers was golden and curly. They had brown eyes and hers were green. Their skin had the glow of copper, but she had pale skin that burnt easily in the sun so they called her Rosy Rhodopis. They made her work extremely hard, shouting at her all day, "Go to the river and wash the clothes. Mend my robe. Chase the geese from the garden. Bake the bread."

She had no human friends only the nearby animals. She trained the birds to eat from her hand, a monkey to sit on her shoulder, and an old hippopotamus would slide up, out of the mud, onto the bank to be closer to her. At the end of each day, if she wasn't too tired, she would go down to the river to be with her animal friends and if she had any energy left from the hard day's work, she would sing and dance for them.

One evening as she was dancing, twirling around lighter than air with her feet barely touching the ground. The old man awoke from his sleep and watched her as she danced. He admired her dancing and decided that one- so talented- should not be without shoes. He ordered her a special pair of slippers. The shoes were gilded with rose-red gold and the soles were leather. 

Now the other servant girls would really hate her for they were jealous of her beautiful slippers.

One day, word arrived that the Pharaoh was holding court in Memphis and all the entire kingdom was invited. Oh how Rhodopis wanted to go with the other servant girls, for she knew there would be dancing, singing, and lots of wonderful food. As the other servant girls prepared to leave in their finest clothes they turned to her and gave her more chores to be completed before they returned. They pushed their raft away leaving the sad girl on the bank of the river. As she began to wash the clothes at the river she sang a sad little song-- "wash the linen, weed the garden, grind the grain." The hippopotamus grew tired of this little song and splashed back into the river. The splashing of the water wet her slippers. She quickly grabbed them up, wiped them off and placed them in the sun to dry. As she was continuing with her chores the sky darkened and when she looked up she saw a falcon sweep down, snatch one of her slippers, and fly away. Rhodopis was in awe for she knew it was the god Horus who had taken her shoe. Rhodopis, now with only one slipper, put the remaining one away in her tunic.

Now the Pharaoh, Amasis, Pharaoh of upper and lower Egypt, was sitting on his throne looking out over the people and feeling very bored. He much preferred to be riding across the desert in his chariot. Suddenly a falcon swooped down and dropped a rose-red golden slipper in his lap. Surprised, but knowing that this was a sign from the god Horus, he sent out a decree that all maidens in Egypt must try on the slipper, and the owner of the slipper would be his Queen.

When the servant girls arrived the celebrations had all ended. The Pharaoh had left by chariot in search of the owner of the golden slipper.

After searching on land and not finding the owner he called for his barge and began to travel the Nile pulling into every landing so that maidens could try on the slipper. As the barge rounded the bend in front of the home of Rhodopis everyone heard the sounds of the gong, the trumpets blaring, and saw the purple silk sails. The servant girls ran to the landing to try on the shoe while Rhodopis hid in the tall rushes. When the servant girls saw the shoe they recognized it as Rhodopis' slipper, yet they said nothing and still tried to force their feet into the slipper. At that moment the Pharaoh spied Rhodopis hiding in the rushes and asked her to try on the slipper. She carefully slid her tiny foot into the slipper and then pulled the other one from her tunic. The Pharaoh was filled with joy and then pronounced to all that she would be his Queen. The servant girls screamed out "She is a slave and not even Egyptian!" The Pharaoh responded with "She is the most Egyptian of all...for her eyes are as green as the Nile, her hair as feathery as papyrus, and her skin as the pink of a lotus flower."

Yen-Shen, A Japanese Cinderella Story

Yen-Shen

A Japanese Cinderella Story

During the time of the Qin and Han dynasties, a cave chief named Wu married two wives and each gave birth to baby girls. Before long Chief Wu and one wife died leaving one baby, Yeh-Shen, to be reared by her stepmother.

The stepmother didn't like Yeh-Shen for she was more beautiful and kinder than her own daughter so she treated her poorly. Yeh-Shen was given the worse jobs and the only friend she had was a beautiful fish with big golden eyes. Each day the fish came out of the water onto the bank to be fed by Yeh-Shen. Now Yen-Shen had little food for herself but she was willing to share with the fish.

Her stepmother hearing about the fish disguised herself as Yen-Shen and enticed the fish from the water. She stabbed it with a dagger, and cooked the fish for dinner.

Yeh-Shen was distraught when she learned of the fish's death. As she sat crying she heard a voice and looked up to see a wise old man wearing the coarsest of clothes and with hair hanging down over his shoulders.

He told her that the bones of the fish were filled with a powerful spirit, and that when she was in serious need she was to kneel before the bones and tell them of her heart's desires. She was warned not to waste their gifts.

Yeh-Shen retrieved the bones from the trash heap and hid them in a safe place. Time passed and the spring festival was nearing. This was a time when the young people gathered in the village to meet one another and to find husbands and wives.

Yen-Shen longed to go to the festival but her stepmother wouldn't allow it because she feared that someone would pick Yeh-Shen rather than her own daughter.

The stepmother and the daughter left for the festival leaving Yeh-Shen behind. Yeh-Shen wanting desperately to go asked the bones for clothes to wear to the festival.

Suddenly she was wearing a beautiful gown of azure blue with a cloak of kingfisher feathers draped around her shoulders. On her feet were beautiful slippers. They were woven of golden threads in a pattern of a scaled fish and the soles were made of solid gold. When she walked she felt lighter than air. She was warned not to lose the slippers.

Yeh-Shen arrived at the festival and soon all were looking her way. The daughter and step-mother moved closer to her for they seemed to recognize this beautiful person. Seeing that she would be found out, Yeh-Shen dashed out of the village leaving behind one of the golden slippers. When she arrived home she was dressed again in her rags. She spoke again to the bones, but they were now silent. Saddened she put the one golden slipper in her bedstraw.

After a time a merchant found the lost slipper, and seeing the value in the golden slipper sold it to a merchant who gave it to the king of the island kingdom of T'o Han.

Now the king wanted to find the owner of this tiny beautiful slipper. He sent his people to search the kingdom but no one’s foot would fit in the tiny golden slipper. He had the slipper placed on display in a pavilion on the side of the road where the slipper had been found with an announcement that the shoe was to be returned to the owner. The king's men waited out of site. All the women came to try on the shoe.

One dark night Yeh-Shen slipped quietly across the pavilion, took the tiny golden slipper and turned to leave, but the king's men rushed out and arrested her. She was taken to the king who was furious for he couldn't believe that any one in rags could possibly own a golden slipper.

As he looked closer at her face he was struck by her beauty and he noticed she had the tiniest feet. The king and his men returned home with her where she produced the other slipper. As she slipped on the two slippers her rags turned into the beautiful gown and cloak she had worn to the festival.

The king realized that she was the one for him. They married and lived happily ever after. However, the stepmother and daughter were never allowed to visit Yeh-Shen and were forced to continue to live in their cave until the day they were crushed to death in a shower of flying stones.

Native North American Indian Girl- as Scarface would look like...

The Hidden One

A Native North American Indian Story

 

A long time ago, in a village by a lake, there lived a great hunter who was invisible. He was called the Hidden One. It was known that any young woman who could see him would become his bride, his loving wife.

Many were the hopeful young women who visited his wigwam at the far end of the village. Each was tested by the hunter’s sister, who was called the Patient One. But years passed, and none succeeded.

 In the same village lived two sisters who had lost their mother. The younger sister had a good heart, but the older one was jealous and cruel. While their father was out hunting, the older sister would torment and hurt the younger one, holding her down and burning her arms and face with sticks from the fire.

“Don’t you dare tell our father,” she would say, “or next time will be worse!”

When the father came home, he would always ask in dismay, “Why is she burnt again?”

The older sister would answer, “The stupid, clumsy thing! She was playing with the fire, just like you told her not to! She does not listen!”

The father would turn to the younger. “Is this true?”

But she only bit her lip and said nothing as she looked to the ground.

After a few years she had so many scars, she was called “Little Scarface”. She lost her long braids too, when her sister singed them off with fire. She had to go barefoot and wear rags each day, for her sister would not allow her any animal skins to make moccasins or new clothes.

Of course, the sister made up all different reasons and stories to tell their father. And he would shake his head in sorrow and feel disappointment with his younger daughter.

Now, in their village people talked about a handsome hunter who no one could see, because the great hunter was invisible. He was called “The Hidden One.” All the single girls in the village knew of him and each one of them wanted to marry him.

One day, the older sister put on her finest clothes and many shiny strings of sea shell beads.

“Do you know what I’m doing?” she asked Little Scarface. “I’m going to marry the Hidden One. Of course, that’s something you could never dream of doing.”

Little Scarface bowed her head.

The older sister left immediately and soon reached the wigwam at the edge of the village, where she was greeted by the Patient One, the hunter’s sister.

“You are welcome,” said the Patient One, “please come in.” “My brother will soon return from the hunt. Come help me prepare the evening meal so we may eat with him.”

The two of them worked awhile, until the sun was nearly down. After cooking, the Patient One led the young girl to the shore of the lake.

“My brother comes,” the Patient One said, pointing along the shore. “Do you see him?”

The young woman saw no one, but she had decided to pretend. “Of course! There he is now!”

The eyes of the Patient One narrowed. “What is his shoulder strap?”

“A strap of rawhide,” said the young woman, thinking it was a safe guess.

The Patient One frowned. “Let us return to the wigwam.”

They had just finished preparing for the meal when a deep voice said, “Greetings, my sister.”

The young woman jumped in surprise. She stared at the entrance, but saw no one.

“Greetings, my brother,” replied the Patient One, “Welcome home”.

As the young woman watched with wide big eyes, a moccasin appeared in mid-air and dropped to the floor, followed by another. A moment later, bits of food were rising from a birch-bark tray near the fire and vanishing into an invisible mouth.

The young woman turned to the Patient One and sharply asked “When will our wedding take place?”

The Patient One turned to her angrily. “What wedding? Do you think my brother would marry a liar and a fool?”

The young woman was stunned. She ran out of the wigwam crying and went home.

All the next morning she stayed in bed, weeping and sobbing. Then Little Scarface came to her and said: “Sister, let me have skins to make moccasins and new clothes. It is my turn to visit the Hidden One.”

Her sister’s face changed as she screamed “How dare you!”. She jumped up and slapped Little Scarface, knocking her to the floor. “Are you so stupid to think you can do what I could not? Even if you saw him, do you think he would marry a pathetic thing like you?”

Little Scarface sank back to her corner in tears.

She sat huddled for many, many hours, listening to her sister howl and sob. Then she rose steadily and said again, “It is my turn to visit the Hidden One.”

Her sister stopped crying and stared at her scared sister in amazement.

Little Scarface went to her father’s chest and took out an old pair of her father’s large moccasins. She put them on her own small feet.

She then went out into the woods with a strong look in her eyes.

In the woods she found a birch tree and carefully stripped off the bark in a single sheet. From the sheets she made a suit of clothes, which she put over her rags and tied them in place with strings of vine.

She then walked back through the village to continue her journey to the Hidden One’s home. Everyone in the village stared at her. “Look at Little Scarface!” yelled a boy. “She is dressed like a tree!”

“Hey, Little Scarface, are those moccasins big enough for your feet?” yelled a young boy.

“I do not believe it!” an old woman said. “She is on her way to the Hidden One!”

“Little Scarface,” called a young woman, “Did you burn yourself and singe your hair so short to look pretty for him?”

Ignoring their taunts and mocking laughter, Little Scarface walked on till she reached the wigwam at the village edge.

The Patient One saw Little Scarface and regarded the young woman with surprise. Still she told her, “You are welcome. Come in”

Little Scarface then helped her prepare the evening meal as The Patient One usually did. When the sun was nearly down, she led Little Scarface to the lake.

“My brother comes,” the Patient One told her. “Do you see him?”

Little Scarface gazed along the shore. “I’m not sure . . . .” Then her eyes lit in wonder. “Yes, I see him! Yet, how can there be such a one like him?”

The Patient One looked at her curiously and asked, “What is his shoulder strap?”

“His shoulder strap is . . . . . the Rainbow!”

The Patient One’s eyes grew large and wide. “What about his bowstring?”

“His bowstring is . . . the Milky Way!” With this response the Patient One finally smiled and said “Let us return.”

When they reached the wigwam, the Patient One took the strange clothes off Little Scarface and washed her with water from a special jar. With the magical water the young woman’s scars disappeared, leaving her skin shiny and smooth. Then she took out a magic comb. The comb made the young woman’s hair grow instantly to her waist with each brush, making it ready for braiding long black beautiful braids.

Then the Patient One opened a chest and took out a beautiful wedding outfit. Little Scarface had just finished putting it on when a deep voice said, “Greetings, my sister.”

Little Scarface turned to the entrance and stared at the magnificent young hunter. As their eyes met, she saw the surprise in his and happiness in his eyes.

“Greetings, my brother,” said the Patient One. “You are discovered!”

The Hidden One walked over to Little Scarface and took her hands in his and said, “For years I have waited to find a woman of pure heart and a brave spirit. Only such a girl could see me. And now I shall ask your father for you to be my bride.”

So they were married. And from then on, Little Scarface had a new name which everyone in the village spoke... this new name was the Lovely One.... for she too, had been hidden, but now was hidden no more.

 

Amazing painting... I hope you like this one...

Life-Long Learning!

 -Besides the Quranic emphasis on education we find many sayings of the Holy Prophet on this subject. A drop of sweat of the brow of a thinker is better than the thousand blood drops of the martyr, is a famous Hadith of the Holy Prophet. The Prophet further said: “ Attain knowledge from the cradle to the grave”. Then the Prophet said: “ Acquire knowledge even if you have to travel to China”. In another Hadith the Prophet said: “ Acquiring of knowledge is obligatory to every Muslim male and female”.-

 

http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_151_200/islamic_concept_of_education.htm

Life Sometimes Brings Funny Surprises!

The Hero

My mother's parents came from Hungary, but my grandfather was educated in Germany. Even though Hungarian was his native language, he preferred German to all the other languages he spoke. It seems he was able to hold a conversation in nine languages, but was most comfortable in German. Every morning, before going to his office, he read the German language newspaper, which was American owned and published in New York.

My grandfather was the only one in his family to come to the United States. He still had relatives living in Europe. When the first World War broke out, he lamented the fact that if my uncle, his only son had to go, it would be cousin fighting against cousin. In the early days of the war, my grandmother implored him to stop taking the German newspaper and to take an English language paper, instead. He scoffed at the idea, explaining that the fact that it was in German did not make it a German newspaper, but only an American newspaper, printed in German. But my grandmother insisted, if only that the neighbors not see him read it and think he was German. So, under duress, he finally gave up the German newspaper.

One day, the inevitable happened and my Uncle Milton received his draft notice (draft notices order you to go to war). My Grandparents were very upset, but my mother, his little sister was ecstatic. Now she could brag about her soldier brother going off to war. She was ten years old and my uncle, realizing how he was regarded by his little sister and all of her friends, went out and bought them all service pins, which meant that they had a loved one in the service. All the little girls were delighted. When the day came for him to leave, his whole regiment, in their uniforms, left together from the same train station. There was a band playing and my mother and her friends came to see him off. Each one wore her service pin and waved a small American flag, cheering the boys, as they left.

The moment came and the soldiers, all rookies, none of whom had had any training, but who had nevertheless all been issued, uniforms, boarded the train. The band played and the crowd cheered. Although no one noticed, I'm sure my grandmother had a tear in her eye for the only son, going off to war. The train groaned as if it knew the destiny to which it was taking its passengers, but it soon it began to move. Still cheering and waving their flags, the band still playing, the train slowly departed the station.

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It had gone about a thousand yards when it suddenly ground to a halt. The band stopped playing, the crowd stopped cheering. Everyone gazed in wonder as the train slowly backed up and returned to the station. It seemed an eternity until the doors opened and the men started to file out. Someone shouted, "It's the armistice. The war is over." For a moment, nobody moved, but then the people heard someone bark orders at the soldiers. The men lined up formed into two lines, walked down the steps and, with the band in tow, playing a Sousa march, paraded down the street, as returning heroes, to be welcomed home by the assembled throng. As soon as the parade ended they were, immediately, mustered out of the army. My mother said it was a great day, but she was just a little disappointed that it didn't last a tiny bit longer. The next day my uncle returned to his job, and my grandfather resumed reading the German newspaper, which he read until the day he died.

By Sue Ragland