Fairy Tale Locations Map

Fairy Tale Story Locations

This is a map of the locations of some early versions of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast.Sources:

**Please note that this is not all the versions that exist in the world**

= Cinderella

= Beauty and the Beast

Zezolla is convinced by her governess to murder her cruel stepmother. The governess marries Zezolla's father and all goes well until the governess favors her own daughters and forces Zezolla to become a scullery maid. When her father returns from a trip, he brings Zezolla a fig tree. She cares for it and soon finds that she can transform into a beautiful princess. The king falls in love with her, but she runs away from him twice. Eventually, he finds her and the two marry.

"Cenerentola" by Giambattista Basile

"Beauty and the Beast" by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve

Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast story was over 100 pages. It was very similar to the tale people are familiar with but it dived into the backstory of the beast more deeply, and Beauty's story is much more complicated than just the daughter of a merchant.The beast is a young prince who lost his father and his mother had to wage war to defend the kingdom. The queen left the prince in the care of an evil fairy who tried to seduce him as an adult. When he refused she cursed him to be a beast.Beauty is not really the daughter of a wealthy merchant. Instead, she is the daughter of a king and a good fairy. The evil fairy tried to murder Beauty to marry her father, so she was hidden in place of the merchant's dead daughter.

The Ancient Roman tale starts with Psyche’s banishment to a mountaintop to wed a murderous beast. Cupid is sent to destroy her but instead falls in love and flies her away to his castle. There she is directed to never see the face of her husband, who visits and makes love to her in the dark of night. Eventually, Psyche succumbs to her curiosity but accidentally scars her husband with a candle. In attempted atonement, Psyche offers herself as a slave to Venus and completes a set of impossible tasks. After the last task of seeking beauty from the Queen of the Underworld, Psyche opens the ‘beauty in a box’ and at once falls into a coma. Overcome with grief, Cupid rescues her. He begs Jupiter that she may become immortal, so that the two could be forever united.

"Tale of Cupid and Psyche" by Apuleius

"Ye Xian" by Duan Chengshi

This tale first appeared in Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang by Duan Chengshi in China around 860.The story tells the tale of Ye Xian, whose stepmother treats her poorly and finds a friend in a fish that lives in a nearby river. When her stepmother kills the fish, Ye Xian is told by an old man to gather the fish bones and make a wish. She wishes to attend the festival. She is given a beautiful dress and goes to the festival. While there, her stepmother and step-sister recognize her and Ye Xian has to flee. In the process of running, she loses one of her slippers. The king finds the slipper and seeks out the one who fits it. Once he finds Ye Xian, they get married and live happily ever after. As punishment for their cruelty the stepmother and sister are stoned to death.

Beaumont's version significantly paired down Villeneuve's, removing the beasts, Beauty's backstory, and many of the characters. It was written for a younger audience and is more of a traditional fairy tale. This is the version that most people are familiar with. The story begins with Beauty the yongest daughter of a merchant. Beauty's father must leave and wishes to bring presents for each of his children. They all want superficial things, except Beauty who wants her father to return safely. He promises to bring her a rose. When he's caught in a storm he takes refuge in a castle where he plucks a rose from the garden. The beast threatens to kill him, but they make a deal that Beauty will return in her father's place. Beauty lives in the castle, and the beast continusly asks if she is in love with him. She says no, and he allows her to return home. She remains there for a week, and when she arrives, her sisters feign fondness to entice her to stay another week in hopes that the Beast will devour her in anger. Instead, she returns to a dying beast and restos his life. The two then marry and live happily ever after.

"The Beauty and the Beast" by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont

Tells the story of a maiden whose sandal gets stolen by an eagle and carries it to Memphis, Egypt. While the king of Egypt is administering justice, the eagle drops the sandal in his lap. The king is surprised by the event, and interested in the beautiful shape of the shoe. He sent his men all over to find the woman, and once she was found, the king brought her to Memphis and married her.

"Rhodopis" by Strabo

This story is a part of Panchatantra, a collection of five books with animal fables and magical tales. It was written down in India between the third and fifth centuries AD, but many of the stories were told orally years before. The Girl Who Fell In Love With a Snake is about a husband and wife who have a son who is a snake. they love and care for him, but the wife wants her son to marry. Her husband searches for a wife, eventually finding one. He brings her back to his snake son and they marry. She shows the snake respect and care until one day he transforms from a snake into a handsome man.

"The Girl Who Fell In Love With a Snake"

Perrault's version is the one most known today. He added the iconic elements of the fairy godmother, the pumpkin, the animal helpers, and the glass slippers. Cinderella is left behind by her mean stepmother and step-sisters to go to a royal ball. Her fairy godmother appears and grants Cinderella’s wish to go to the ball. She magically provides a coach, servants, a dress, and perfectly fitted glass slippers. The first night, Cinderella returns before the spell is broken at midnight. On the second night, she leaves just as the clock strikes midnight. As she runs, one of her glass slippers drops. The prince sends a herald to every house with the slipper to find its owner, and Cinderella is finally discovered. She marries the prince and lives happily ever after.

"Cinderella" by Charles Perrault