Katie Wooden cloak (Norway) by Tianna Toth

Katie Woodencloak (Norway)

tt106652 — 2024-10-30 17:44:37 UTC

Country Origin: Norway

Authors: Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe

Published around 1841-1844

Summary of Norwegian Cinderella

tt106652 — 2024-10-30 17:53:24 UTC

This story is about a clever and lovely girl. Her father is often away in the army, and she has a cruel stepmother and stepsister who despises her. The stepmom and stepsister are envious of the girl, and mistreat her. They do not feed her, and so she looks starved.

When staying outside, she meets a magical bull. The bull says to pull a cloth out his ear, and there will be delicious food. This food gets the girl nice and plump, which shocks the stepmom. As the father returns back home, the stepmom has a maid spy on Katie. She soon realizes that Katie is getting food from the bull.

The stepmom tells the maid to tell the girl's father that the stepmom is "sick," and needs to specifically eat that bull. The girl overhears this, and the bull and her escape to the forest together. There, the bull fights many trolls in the magical forest, due to the girl accidentally taking some items from there. They soon reach a castle.

The bull tells the girl to go by, "Katie Woodencloak," and to follow some instructions he gives her. She kills the Bull, puts on a wooden cloak, and works in the castle. The prince later falls in love with Katie during church, and finds her golden shoe. The prince realizes the shoe belongs to Katie. They end up falling in love, the end.

Similarities between Norwegian Cinderella and American Cinderella

tt106652 — 2024-10-30 17:55:12 UTC

Lost shoe:

They both lose a shoe, which the prince then makes everybody try on.

Mean stepmom and stepsister:

They both have a stepmother that hates them, and that is cruel to them.

Differences between the Norwegian Cinderella and the American Cinderella

tt106652 — 2024-10-30 17:56:13 UTC

There is no bull in the American Cinderella:

Instead of a bull that leads her places, it is a fairy in the American cinderella.

Different names:

Norway’s is named Katie Woodencloak, and the French’s is called Cendrillon or Cinderella in English.

Reflections of Culture

tt106652 — 2024-10-30 17:58:02 UTC

A kirtle (An outfit from European middle ages)
Wooden cloak is included in many Norwegian tales
The talk of trolls and deep forests is part of Norwegian storytelling culture

Moral of the story

tt106652 — 2024-10-30 18:02:03 UTC

The moral of the story is that inner beauty and kindness always gets rewarded. Even after being abused by her stepmother, her inner morals and kindness made her have her happily ever after with the prince. It tries to tell kids that being jealous and cruel will get you nowhere, and in the end the person with the better heart gets better rewards. It also shows them to stay hopeful, and that enthusiasm will help them be successful.

Song:

tt106652 — 2024-10-31 18:54:57 UTC

This song has deep roots in folklore and creates a medieval love story. It talks about a man doing almost impossible tasks for the woman he loves, and when the tasks are done she has to come back to him. This relates to Katie, because Katie goes through the almost impossible forests and reaches her lover.