Rushen Coatie facts for kids
Rushen Coatie or Rashin-Coatie is a Scottish fairy tale. It was collected by Joseph Jacobs in his book More English Fairy Tales.
This story is a type of tale known as Aarne–Thompson type 510A. This means it's about a hero or heroine who is treated badly, much like the famous story of Cinderella.
The Story of Rushen Coatie
Once upon a time, a queen had a daughter. Before the queen died, she told her daughter something important. She said a red calf would come to her. This calf would help her whenever she needed it.
A New Family
After the queen passed away, the king married again. His new wife was a widow with three daughters. The new stepmother and her three stepsisters were very unkind to the girl. They treated her badly and gave her only a coat made of rushes to wear. Because of this, they called her Rushen Coatie. They also gave her very little food.
The Magical Calf
Just as her mother had said, a red calf appeared. When Rushen Coatie was hungry, she asked the calf for food. The calf told her to pull food from its ears. The stepmother became suspicious. She sent one of her own daughters to watch Rushen Coatie. The stepsister soon found out about the magical red calf.
The stepmother then pretended to be sick. She told the king she needed the sweetbread from the red calf to get better. The king, believing her, had the calf killed. But the dead calf spoke to Rushen Coatie. It told her to bury its body. Rushen Coatie did as she was told. However, she could not find one part: the shankbone.
The Prince's Ball
At Yuletide, which is like Christmas, the stepmother and stepsisters made fun of Rushen Coatie. They laughed when she said she wanted to go to church. They made her stay home to cook dinner. But then, the red calf, limping, came into the kitchen. It gave Rushen Coatie beautiful clothes to wear. It also told her a special charm to cook the supper quickly.
Rushen Coatie went to church. There, a young prince saw her and fell in love. She went to church two more times. The third time, the prince set a guard to stop her. But she jumped over the guard. As she jumped, one of her glass shoes fell off.
The prince announced he would marry the woman whose foot fit the glass shoe. One of Rushen Coatie's stepsisters tried to fit the shoe. She even cut off part of her foot to make it fit. But the blood showed she was not the right person. Everyone else had tried, except Rushen Coatie. So, the prince insisted she try the shoe. It fit her perfectly! And so, Rushen Coatie and the prince were married.
