One of the oldest documented versions of the story appeared in China, around 860. In that version, Ye Xian is an incredibly beautiful, kind and gentle girl, who is gifted in many skills such as pottery¹ and poetry. She befriends a fish which embodies² the spirit of her mother, but Ye Xian's stepmother kills the fish.

 

据记载，灰姑娘最古老的一个版本出现在公元860年的中国。在这一版本的故事中，女主人公名叫叶限，是个善良温柔、多才多艺的美丽姑娘，她擅长陶艺、作诗等。叶限和母亲化身的鱼成了好朋友，但她的后妈把鱼杀死了。

 

Ye Xian saves the bones of the fish which are magical and creates her a gown for the New Year Festival where she is recognized by her stepmother and stepsister. While running away from them, she loses her slipper³. The king finds the slipper, falls in love with Ye Xian and saves her from the cruelty she lives in.

 

There are also a few interesting versions of the story from Iran and the Middle East. One of them is titled as the "Maah Pishànih" which means "The Girl With The Moon On Her Forehead." These versions have a different beginning of the story - Cinderella kills her mother so that her father could marry the Quran observer in the neighborhood. But her new stepmother is very cruel and her stepsister is stupid and mean.

 

She is harassed⁴ and lonely, so she befriends either a cow (her mother's spirit/reincarnation) or a 1000-year-old, underground female demon⁵ which becomes her helper.

 

After working hard for her stepmother, she is rewarded with a moon-shaped jewel on her forehead. Then, one day, respectively to the culture, the Sultan, eventually the King, or the Emperor sees her face at a celebration. She escapes as she feels embarrassed (Islamic women should hide their face and stay reserved in front of men) but the King falls in love with her. The plot is pretty similar to the familiar story.

 

Also, there are some elements of the story that vary in the different versions and make it creepy and frightening. For example, Disney's motion picture from 1950 is based on the Brothers Grimm version but the original Grimm's story is bloodier⁶ than the movie.

 

In this version, Cinderella's stepsisters cut off their toes so the golden slipper would fit their feet. Also, instead of a godmother, there is a wishing tree next to her mother's grave.

 

Considering Cinderella's father, in some versions, he stands with his wife (Cinderella's stepmother) and humiliates⁷ his daughter. In other, he isn't aware of the situation or he's presented as being away on a trip or as deceased.

 

There are versions of the story where the stepmother doesn't appear at all and Cinderella is harassed by her stepsisters. Sometimes the antagonist⁸ is rather a stepfather who oppresses her because he wants to enlarge the dowry of his daughters on account of Cinderella's belongings⁹.

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