Cinderella & the Chicken Soup

Two Stories

My Dad was a remarkable storyteller, especially when he was “happy” (our family euphemism for his being drunk). So I will tell you my two favourite. One today and one tomorrow. Enjoy.

Cinderella and the Chicken Soup

This story, according to my Dad's version, was all about a pretty little girl that grew up with the requisite evil and favoured stepsisters and stepmother just like the other Cinderella everyone else knew.

Anyway, instead of a ball and a glass slipper the twist of this story was soup – homemade chicken soup to be exact (Not sure if it was a Jewish story or not, but to be sure this gets in the official record: homemade chicken soup with matzo ball dumplings is the best when made by loving Jewish hands.).

That said, chicken soup in my Dad’s version of the story proved to be the challenge of a lifetime for all the women in this kingdom: whoever could make the richest, most luscious-tasting chicken soup, as judged so by the King and Queen and Prince, would be crowned Princess.

Well pity the pour chickens in THAT kingdom, all were snatched up in moments. Cinderella had no wealth and so could not buy a chicken. She hung around the big kitchen at her house watching her stepsisters and stepmom preparing the chicken meat for their soup. They cut all the meat off the bones and left the bones, backs and necks in a big bowl in the middle of the kitchen table.

When they saw Cinderella standing there they laughed at her, as you would expect in this type of fairy tale and she was sad. The taunted her when she asked if she could have some chicken to make her own soup too. And they said, “Sure, here have all these bones and the necks and the backs of the chicken. That’s all that’s left, sorry.” And laughed and laughed as they prepared their soup.

Cinderella was so sad, but she thought she just had to try anyway, so she threw all the bones and necks and backs of the chickens into a big pot with a couple of left over onions, celery and carrots and put it on a slow fire to leave it to simmer slowly, while she fell asleep by the fire after a long and exhausting cry, knowing she had no chance to become princess.

The next morning her sisters took their different versions of chicken soup and put them into big glass jars and sealed them and put the jars in lovely baskets covered with red and white checked napkins. Then they set off for the castle to deliver, what they knew to be, the prize-winning soup.

When Cinderella woke, everyone was gone and the kitchen smelled amazing with the fragrance of the broth. One little jar was left, and she ladled some of her soup into it. She wrapped the jar in her own shawl and headed off for the castle.

You guessed it by now? Yes, you are right, if you are going to make good chicken soup you must use the unattractive bits: the bones, the backs and the necks to get the best and richest broth. And, you have to let it simmer slowly for a long time to extract and blend all the flavours. And, oh yes, if you do this, you will also win the hand of a prince.

Tomorrow, the story of The Two Dogs