Here is a wonderful story just for you. Many cultures have Cinderella stories, but this story is true! The slave girl, Rhodopis, married Pharaoh Amasis around 550 B.C. and became the Queen of Egypt! Her story became a legend.

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo (1989, HarperCollins), retold by Natalie Guest.

Long ago, in the land of Egypt, there lived a maiden called Rhodopis. When she was still a small child, Rhodopis had been stolen by some pirates. She was taken from her home in Greece across the sea to Egypt, and there sold as a slave.

Rhodopis was different than the other slave girls. They had brown eyes while she had green. They had dark hair that touched their shoulders while her blond hair blew into many tangles. The others girls had dark skin the color of the sand while hers was fair and burned easily in the sun. Her name meant "rosy-cheeked" in Greek.

Her master was an old man who was fond of sleeping. The other girls would yell, tease, and boss Rhodopis around. Her master would never see this though for he was always asleep.

Rhodopis still had friends. These, were the animals. One day her master saw her dancing with her animal friends. He thought to himself, this must be the most beautiful dance I have ever seen. He quickly summoned a pair of dainty slippers for her to dance in. The soles were made of real leather and the toes were rose-red gold. The slippers sparkled like no others.

Because of these slippers the Egyptian servant girls were jealous, for they had shoes made of papyrus. They were so jealous that they gave Rhodopis extra tasks so she could almost never dance.

One evening Kipa, the leader of the servant girls came to them saying that the next day they would sail for Memphis to see the Pharaoh. For the Pharaoh would be holding court for all his subjects. The girls bragged to Rhodopis that she would not be able to go. Instead she would have to care for the house.

While she was washing the clothes a hippo splashed into the water and got mud all over Rhodopis' shoes. She cleaned them and set them near the bank. When a falcon swooped down next to her and took one of her slippers. Rhodopis yelled to the falcon to bring back her slipper. But the bird flew to the sun and was no longer visible.

It happened that the falcon had took the slipper to court where the Pharaoh was. The falcon dropped the slipper into the Pharaoh's lap. The Pharaoh liked the shoe so much that he made an announcement that whoever fit this slipper would be his bride.

He set out to find the woman who would fit this slipper. But no matter where he went no one fit it.

One day he arrived at Rhodopis' house. He showed the slipper to the Egyptian servants and their mouths dropped when they saw the slipper, for they knew that it was Rhodopis'. They tried hard to fit the shoe but it didn't fit no matter how hard they shoved and pushed. When all the girls had tried on the slipper the Pharaoh turned to leave when he saw Rhodopis entering the room. He turned to her and had her try on the slipper. It slipped on with ease. The Pharaoh looked into Rhodopis' eyes and announced that she was his bride.