(Of course she was! This is a fairy story.) Princess Lovelypenny determined to search far and wide to find her hero, whom she thought had frightened away the big hairy monkey.

“The princess was none other than the rich and beautiful Princess Lovelypenny,”

Very embarrassed, he flees the scene, losing his tatty old trousers into the bargain. Disaster ensues when the clock strikes midnight, and he reverts to his spotty, lanky self. The story follows Prince Cinders to the Royal Rave up, and his encounter with a pretty princess (clad in leopard-skin lycra disco wear) whom he inadvertently frightens in his monkey guise, at a bus stop. We see through his eyes that the reflection shows a suave and dashing fine figure of a man, Prince Cinders ends up looking like a big hairy monkey, although when he looks in the mirror he views himself rather differently. Unfortunately, although she is well-meaning, she is rather inept (and grubby to boot) and the mistakes she makes with her spells to transform him have most unexpected results. One Saturday night, a small dirty fairy falls down the chimney and promises Prince Cinders that all his wishes will come true. True to the original's ugly sisters, all this trio of bullies ever do is live the high life, whilst poor Prince Cinders cleans and scrubs and tidies up after them. The next page intoduces his three big hairy brothers, who are “always teasing him about his looks”, and the accompanying illustration is of their three fatuous, self-satisfied, grinning faces in close-up. Here he is on the first page, looking rather self-conscious and embarrassed. He was small, spotty, scruffy and skinny.”Īnd indeed he is. “Prince Cinders was not much of a prince. The book is hilarious, very silly, and takes only a few minutes to read. Prince Cinders is our hero, and in the scene shown he is not losing his glass slipper, but his trousers. The cover alone gives you a big clue as to its feel.

Based on Charles Perrault's 'Little Glass Slipper', it twists the story, providing the reader with a revision which qualifies as a fractured tale, rather than a parody. The picture book of Prince Cinders is different again. 'Cinderella' is one of the worlds best known fairy tales, with its origins lost in antiquity, although the modern version as we broadly know it was first transcribed by Charles Perrault in 1697. How do you feel about the story of 'Cinderella'? Do you fall into a dream-like swoon? Or do you conversely feel a great yawn coming on at the prospect?

Prince Cinders by Babette Cole