Once upon a time there was a gentleman who married, for his second wife, the proudest and most haughty woman that ever was seen. She had two daughters of her own, who were, indeed, exactly like her in all things. The gentleman had also a young daughter, of rare goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world. The wedding was scarcely over, when the stepmother’s bad temper began to show itself. She could not bear the goodness of this young girl, because it made her own daughters appear the more odious. The stepmother gave her the meanest work in the house to do; she had to scour the dishes, tables, etc., and to scrub the floors and clean out the bedrooms. The poor girl had to sleep in the garret, upon a wretched straw bed, while her sisters lay in fine rooms with inlaid floors, upon beds of the very newest fashion, and where they had looking-glasses so large that they might see themselves at their full length. The poor girl bore all patiently, and dared not complain to her father, who would have scolded her if she had done so, for his wife governed him entirely. When she had done her work, she used to go into the chimney corner, and sit down among the cinders, hence she was called Cinderwench. The younger sister of the two, who was not so rude and uncivil as the elder, called her Cinderella. However, Cinderella, in spite of her mean apparel, was a hundred times more handsome than her sisters, though they were always richly dressed …

The Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault

One of Charles Perrault s most popular Mother Goose tales is brought to stunning new life When a miller s youngest son inherits nothing but a cat, he thinks he might as well make himself a hat out of it. What else would it be good for? But this is no ordinary cat and one of the first things she demands is a handsome pair of boots."

One king, his queen and their daughter lived once in a big castle which was so rich because of the magical golden donkey they had. One day the queen died. Her last wish was that the king would remarry only if he found someone as beautiful as her. But it was not an easy task because such beauty was nowhere to be seen. Eventually the king realized that his own daughter was as magnificent as her own mother, so he decided to marry her. The poor girl however was not willing to marry her own father so she sought advice from her fairy godmother. The girl had to make impossible demands and if she was granted all of them, the king was going to get her consent. One of the conditions was the skin of the king’s precious golden donkey. Do you think the king will sacrifice the source of the kingdom’s wealth? Find out in "Donkey Skin". Charles Perrault (1628-1703) was a French author. He is known for being a pioneer of the fairy tale genre, deriving his stories from traditional folk tales. His most famous stories include "Puss in Boots", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Cinderella". His stories have been adapted to stage and screen countless times, most notably by Disney with classic animated films like "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella". His story "Puss in Boots" was the basis for the character from the animated films "Shrek 2" and "Puss in Boots".