ABSTRACT
The king grew even more extreme, and the next evening at the party he said to his servants:
“Either you’re going to find out where she lives, or I’ll have your heads chopped off!”
This time, just as she was leaving, she threw them her shoe as she ran off. The servants picked it up and carried it to the king, who then issued a proclamation saying:
“I will take as my wife the woman whose foot fits this shoe.” Once the women of the realm heard this proclamation, they all came run-
ning to the palace, but the shoe would not fit any of their feet. Finally, the stepmother, who was always thinking of new ways to humiliate her stepdaughter, insisted that the maiden try it on. So you can imagine her astonishment when that shoe slipped onto the girl’s foot as naturally as if it had been made for her!
