Week 13 Storytelling - Catskin

Catskin

April 19

Dear Diary,

Today, my father has decided it’s time for me to get married. He told me any man can have my hand. He doesn’t care who it is. I know my father wished I was a son, but I don’t understand why he hates me so much. Since I was a kid, he has been distant towards me. Oh well. Soon, because of him, I will marry some strange man and never see him again.

April 23

So, it happened. A man came for my hand. He is the most atrocious man I think I’ve ever seen. I cannot believe father would let a man like that take me. He just wants me out of his hair. I went to the hen-wife to ask for advice. She said, “Say you will not take him unless they give you a coat of silver cloth.” And tomorrow, that’s just what I’ll do.

April 25

Dear Diary,

I told him what the hen-wife had said and he did it! He showed up the next day with the coat. Tomorrow I’m going back and trying again. Hopefully this time, she gives advice that will put an end to this man's advances. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Love,

April 29

Ugh, it didn’t work! Again! This time, she told me, “Say you will not take him unless they give you a coat of beaten gold.” And of course, he returns the next day with said coat. I cannot win. I do not want to marry him! He’s old, ugly and has a weird smell. Why can’t I marry for love? Father and Mother married because they loved each other. Why can’t Father let me do the same? Until next time..

Love,

May 3

I returned one more time to the hen-wife. Once again she told me to tell the man, “Say you will not take him unless they give you a coat made of the feathers of all the birds of the air.” This time when I repeated her message, he sent a man with peas to cry out to the birds, “Each bird take a pea, and put down a feather.” To which they obliged. He returned THAT NIGHT with the coat. He is relentless. I went back to the hen-wife asking her what I must do this time. She responded, “Say they must first make you a coat of catskin.” I did so and now I must wait. Hopefully this request is too much for him and he will give up. One can only hope though.

Love,

May 7

Dear Diary,

He returned with a coat of catskin…OF COURSE! I cannot marry this man. So I have decided to leave. I won’t be a bother to Father and I won’t have to marry that man. It’s a win win for everyone, except for the man, but I don’t care. He can find someone else.

May 13

Dear Diary,

Sorry it has been so long. When I left Father’s, I put my catskin coat on, grabbed the other coats and ran. Eventually I came upon a castle. I hid my dresses outside and went in to ask for work. The only work they could give me was scullion, which means I do all the dirty work in the kitchen, GROSS! It’s better than being married to that gross man I suppose. Anyways, the cook hates me. She is so cruel all the time. She has also given me the name Catskin, because of my dress. At least I don’t have to tell anyone my real name.

May 24

Oh my, so much has happened since the last time I wrote. The most important is that I met the love of my life! He’s so handsome and sweet. The only problem is that he is the young lord of the house. I can never be with him. A few days ago, he was returning home, so the lady of the house threw a grand ball to honor him. I snuck out that night, bathed in a crystal waterfall and put on my coat of silver. As soon as I walked in, nobody could take their eyes off me. I received so many compliments that night. I accidentally bumped into the young lord and we immediately fell in love. He asked me to dance and we did so all night. It was magical. Sadly, it had to come to an end. I hope to see him again.

May 29

I saw him again! Word around the house is that the lord fell in love with the lady in silver and refuses to marry anyone else. They threw another ball and of course I had to show up. I snuck out again, bathed in the crystal waterfall (it makes my skin so soft), and this time I wore my coat of beaten gold. Once again, all eyes were on me. It made me nervous. I thought someone would recognize me as the scullery maid, yet nobody did. Again, we danced all night and it was magical. Afterward, I had to rush back to the kitchen before the cook realized I was gone. She would not be happy if she found out what I was doing.

June 6

Dear Diary,

So much has happened! They threw another ball. This time I wore my coat of feathers. Everyone was in awe of my dress. I felt like a princess. My love and I danced all night, yet again. Once the night came to an end, I had to hurry back to the kitchen. Only this time, he followed me. He saw me change into my catskin dress and immediately knew who I was. When he told me of his discovery, my heart sank. I knew this was goodbye. How could he love me? A dirty scullery-maid. I was wrong though. He told his mother that he wanted to marry me and fell ill when she told him no. The lord told the doctor that he refused to take any medicine unless it was from my hands. The lady of the castle had to approve or her son would die. Now, we are set to be married at the end of the month! My dreams have finally come true and I couldn’t be happier.

Author’s Note: For this story, I wrote it as a diary from “Cindy.” In the original story, she is known as Catskin. Since this is a version of Cinderella, I chose the name Cindy to hint at the readers. Most of the story is the same, but from the perspective of Catskin. The major part that I secluded from the story was the cruelty of the cook towards her. The cook gives her the name Catskin because of the dress she was wearing when she arrived. For each of the dances, Catskin mentions to the cook that she would like to go. The cook berates her and then abuses her in some way. For the first ball, the cook threw a basin of water in Catskin’s face. For the second, she broke a ladle across her back, and for the third she broke a skimmer across her head. After the balls, the lord would ask Catskin where she lived and she told him at the sign of the Basin Water, at the sign of the Broken Ladle and the sign of the Broken Simmer. He attempted to find those signs and after failing, he decided to follow her. That is when he discovers she is the scullery-maid.

After they were married, they had a son. One day a beggar and her child came to the castle and the little prince gave the child some money. The cook (which still didn't like Catskin) made a comment about beggars’ brats taking to one another, which struck a nerve for Catskin. She asked her husband to find out what happened to her father and they went to find him. Once they were reunited, her father regretted how he treated Catskin, and they brought him back to the castle to live with them.

More English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs; Catskin

Signature source: Cindy's Writing Update