Sierra, Judy. 2000. THE GIFT OF THE CROCODILE: A CINDERELLA STORY. Ill. by Reynold Ruffins. New York: Simon & Schuster.

In this Indonesian Spice Island version of the Cinderella story, a girl named Damura escapes her cruel stepmother and stepsister to marry a handsome prince with the help of Grandmother Crocodile. In an unusual twist, after Damura becomes a princess, her jealous stepfamily members push her into the river where she is swallowed by a crocodile. An angry Grandmother Crocodile forces the guilty one to “spit her out right now!” Naturally, Grandmother Crocodile brings Damura back to life and all ends well, with Damura and her prince raising a happy family together.

As a variant of the Cinderella fairy tale, this story exemplifies the rags to riches theme of the good-natured heroine and embodies the human desire to escape everyday drudgery and find true love. The Gift of the Crocodile features many traditional motifs: the cruel stepmother/stepsister; the supernatural benefactor/mentor; the beautiful new clothing magically provided; the time limit; the lost slipper; the prince’s quest; the “surprise” of the perfectly fitting slipper; and the splendid wedding celebration. The story adheres to the usual Cinderella tale formula which contains mostly strong female characters, follows the customary story pattern and narrative structure, compresses time - “a year passed, several years passed,” and ends predictably with the happy couple living together “for many years in great splendor and happiness.”

Reynold Ruffins’ illustrations are as bold and colorful as Indonesian formal dress. Painted using acrylics on watercolor paper, the pictures vary in size between full two-page spreads to small silhouettes accompanying blocks of text. The houses, boats, palm trees, parrots, clothing designs, and dance steps are authentically depicted, giving readers a glimpse of traditional Indonesian culture. The emotions of the story characters are clearly conveyed by expressive body position and facial expression, even the stinky baby crocodile seems to be grinning mischievously as it nips the stepsister’s fingers.

Reviews and Awards

Booklist: “a storytelling treat.”

School Library Journal: “Sierra's retelling is strong and fun to read aloud. A fine addition to the groaning shelf of Cinderella stories.”

Publishers Weekly: Ruffins's primitivist acrylic art… creates a visual syncopation. Even with an abundance of available Cinderella stories, this version is memorably vivid.”

Connections

This particular version of the Cinderella story seems to lend itself well to performance or readers theater. The well-known plot is easy to reenact and could be quite humorous with the addition of the stinky baby crocodile and the regurgitation incident. Colorful printed fabric lengths are all that’s needed for the sarong costumes and headwraps. With a little adaptation and a few dress rehearsals, upper elementary or middle school students could easily perform this traditional tale on stage for younger students who would enjoy it immensely.

Author Judy Sierra has also gathered versions of tradition tales from around the world that resemble the stories of “The Three Little Pigs,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “The Frog Prince,” and “Hansel and Gretel” featured in her book, CAN YOU GUESS MY NAME? : TRADITIONAL TALES AROUND THE WORLD. Ill. by Stefano Vitale. (2002, Clarion Books).