English (ELA)FreePrintable

Cinderella Folktale Comparison

A free english (ela) worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Cinderella Folktale Comparison

Read both original summaries below. Then answer the questions using details from the text. Folktales often change as they are told in different places and times; these two versions share a pattern but are not identical.

Two Cinderella Folktales

A European Cinderella (a familiar version) After Cinderella’s father dies, her stepmother and stepsisters make her do the household work. When an invitation arrives for a royal ball, they leave without her. A fairy godmother appears and uses magic to provide fine clothes, a coach, and a warning: the magic will end at midnight. Cinderella attends the ball and dances with the prince. She leaves in a hurry as midnight approaches, dropping one glass slipper on the steps. The prince searches for the person whose foot fits the slipper. When it fits Cinderella, he recognizes her, and she leaves her harsh life behind. Ye Xian (an early Chinese folktale) Ye Xian lives with a stepmother who treats her cruelly. Ye Xian secretly cares for a beautiful fish, but her stepmother discovers it and kills it. An old helper tells Ye Xian to collect the fish’s bones, which have magical power. Later, when a festival is held, the bones provide Ye Xian with beautiful clothes and golden shoes so she can attend. She loses one shoe while leaving. The shoe travels to a ruler, who searches for its owner. When Ye Xian is found and the shoe fits, she returns with the ruler. Her stepmother and stepsister are left behind.

1.What event does Cinderella attend, and what event does Ye Xian attend?

2.Which answer best compares the magical help in the two stories?

Both characters are helped by a magical fish.
Cinderella is helped by a fairy godmother, while Ye Xian receives help through the magical fish bones.
Both characters receive help from a prince before attending an event.
Neither character receives magical help.

3.Fill in each blank: Cinderella leaves behind a ; Ye Xian leaves behind a .

4.In both stories, a lost shoe helps a ruler or prince find the main character. True or false? Give one detail that supports your answer.

TrueFalse

5.What happens to Ye Xian’s magical fish, and how does that differ from Cinderella’s source of help?

6.Number these Ye Xian events from 1 to 3: ___ Ye Xian loses a golden shoe. ___ The magical bones provide clothes and shoes. ___ The ruler searches for the shoe’s owner.

7.Why might a lost shoe work well as a clue in both stories? Use a detail from the summaries in your explanation.

8.How do the endings resolve the main characters’ difficult situations? Include one difference between the outcomes.

9.Write one similarity and one difference between the two folktales. Support each point with a specific detail.

10.The stories share some plot features but also have their own details. Which detail makes Ye Xian’s story especially distinct? Explain why you chose it.