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Summary: A fresh new spin on the cinderella stry
Review: I Have never read such an interesting version of the cinderella story, i recomend that every one with children or who know those who have them buy this book and save it. It will provide pleasure to generations to come
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Summary: Spice
Review: This Indonesian version of Cinderella hails from the Moluccas, or Spice Islands--the place to which Christopher Columbus was headed when he found the New World. In 1492 they were the only place in the world where cloves grew. The earliest written version of Cinderella is from China. As the author indicates in the afterward, no one knows where the story originated. But she speculates that Cinderella may have traveled West with the spices. Damura was a child when her mother taught her to light a fire, cook, and to tend and harvest rice. But she still loved dolls when her mother died. The lorikeet and little green parrot outside in the nutmeg tree were not company enough for her. With a new doll, a neighboring widow bribed Damura into convincing her father to marry her. Her stepmother's two daughters were kind at first, but soon made Damura their servant. She cried at night that she had traded her happiness for a doll. One day as she washed the family's clothes, she lost her sarong in the river. She called to the creatures of the wild for help, and a crocodile appeared. "Good morning Grandmother," she said to the crocodile. The crocodile gave Damura her baby to care for, and returned with a silver sarong that sparkled like the night sky. She told Damura to take it and come to the river again if she ever needed anything. Her stepsisters were naturally jealous of the sarong. But when they tried to entice the crocodile to help them, she saw through their façade. A year later, the village buzzed with excitement as the prince planned to hold a dance to choose his bride. Damura asked her stepmother if she might go, wearing her silver sarong. Of course her stepmother refused her. The rest of this tale is very similar to that of Cinderella. But to find the unique ways in which it sparkles, you'll have to read this book. Alyssa A. Lappen
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