From the singing and sewing mice to the lovably pudgy Fairy Godmother, from the corkscrew curled stepsisters to Cinderella's blonde updo and white gown, Walt Disney's Cinderella, which was first released in 1950, created the most lasting and easily recognizable images ever to be associated with the tale. But did you know that the story of Cinderella did not originate with Disney? In fact, themes from the story have been appearing in folklore around the world for centuries. But in case you need to have your memory jogged, let us first begin with the story as you probably remember it best, the way Disney tells it.

Cinderella's mother passes away, and though her father is mourning, he remarries so that his daughter will not grow up motherless. To say the least, he doesn't make the wisest choice. The woman he chooses to marry has two daughters of her own to add to the mix (as well as a particularly nasty cat), and unfortunately, before he is able to see their true colors, he too passes away. Cinderella then becomes a slave in her own house - cleaning, cooking and being generally abused by her dreadful stepfamily. Her humble nature and kind heart, however, endear her to animals and help her bear her lowly lot in life.

Then one day, the King decides to throw a ball, with the intentions of finding a bride for his son. Cinderella is only allowed to go provided she finds a dress and gets her work done - so she immediately sets to work fixing up one of her mother's old gowns. Then she is given a ridiculous, impossible-to-complete-in-time list of chores she must do, including helping to primp and preen her wretched stepsisters for the ball. At the last second, Cinderella completes her tasks - but has had no time to work on her dress. Heartbroken, she returns to her room in the attic, where she discovers that her mice friends have helped sew a lovely gown for her (but they used trimmings from the evil sisters' discarded dresses - big mistake). So when Cinderella appears, dressed up and ready to go, those dastardly sisters really show their fangs. They rip poor Cinderella's dress to shreds, screaming things like "those are my pearls!" and "that's my ribbon!" with each swipe of their claws.

Cinderella is devastated - when along comes her Fairy Godmother to help her out. She turns a pumpkin into a carriage and assembles a whole cast of footmen, coachmen and horses from Cindy's animal friends. Then she transforms her torn gown into a magnificent white confection. But the magic, she warns, will only last until midnight. So away our heroine rushes to get to the ball, where she is greeted with awe. The Prince is transfixed by her, and even the wicked stepsisters wonder who the beauty in the white dress could possibly be. But after a night of dancing and canoodling with the Prince (whose identity, by the way, is lost on Cinderella), midnight eventually comes and our heroine runs off - leaving one glass slipper behind.

So the Prince sets off on a mission to find the owner of this slipper, going from door to door and trying it on foot after foot to no avail. When he finally reaches Cinderella's house, her stepmother realizes that Cinderella was the beauty at the ball - and promptly locks her in the attic - hoping one of the sisters can fit into the slipper instead.

Meanwhile, Cinderella realizes that that charmer with whom she danced the night away was indeed the Prince, but was helpless to do anything. That's when the animals save the day again, stealing the key to the attic and opening the door, whereupon Cinderella rushes downstairs and tries the slipper on - shocking her stepsisters when it's a perfect fit. She then pulls the other slipper from her pocket, runs away with the Prince, and they live happily ever after.

While the number of different variations on this theme are practically endless, there are always a few constants in any Cinderella story: a young girl, a wicked stepmother, a little magic, and a piece of clothing, usually a shoe, that plays an integral part in the story's happy ending.

Many of these tales have never been recorded, but are referenced in other works of literature. One of the earliest recorded stories, however, comes from the Chinese scholar Tuan Ch'eng-shih, and dates back to the 9^th century. This story tells the tale of Yeh-hsien, who befriends a magic fish, which is killed by her stepmother. But she saves the bones of her lost friend, and they prove to be magic. There is a festival and a lost shoe in this version, but it ends with the stepmother and sisters being stoned to death.

Then there's Giambattista Basile's 17^th century Neapolitan story, known as La Gatta Cenerentola, or "Cat Cinderella". This version features a heroine named Zezolla. At the urging of her governess, Zezolla ends up killing her stepmother, convincing her father to marry said governess. That's when the governess rears her ugly head, revealing that she has six daughters of her own already, and forcing Zezolla to do even more work than before and sleep in the ashes with the kitchen cat. She is ultimately aided, however, by the fairies of Sardinia and a magic date tree.

One of the most famous recorded versions of the story, and the version on which the Disney film is based, is from the 1697 Histoires ou Contes du temps passé, by Charles Perrault. In this version, Cinderella's animal friends play a crucial role, as does the pumpkin carriage and the jolly Fairy Godmother. Perrault's Cinderella, however, is extraordinarily (even absurdly) kind, and finds husbands and homes for her horrendous stepsisters in the end. In the movie, you'll recall, they justly receive nothing. Another version of the story that is rather famous comes from the Brothers Grimm - and Grimm is a fine description of it. While it has a happy ending, there is still plenty of gore to be had.

In this tale, instead of a Fairy Godmother, there is a magic tree that stands over her mother's grave that rains riches down upon Cinderella. And the ball lasts for a few days, so each day Cinderella is able to look more gorgeous than the one before. And the slipper is golden, rather than glass. But the horrific part comes when the prince tries to fit said slipper on the stepsisters. One has a big toe that does not fit, so she cuts it off - but when the Prince rides away with her he passes the magic tree, whereupon two doves call his attention to the trail of blood the missing toe is leaving. With the second sister, the same thing happens when she cuts off her heel. Then, at Cinderella's wedding, the stepsisters get their eyes poked out by pigeons.

These, of course, are just a few of the versions of Cinderella and her long, long road on the way to true happiness. If you want a more detailed look at many more of them, you may enjoy out Alan Dundes' fascinating book, Cinderella: A Casebook. And for a heartwarming trip down memory lane, go out and rent Disney's version again - and enjoy the collection of Cinderella collecibles we've assembled below. Bippidi-boppidi-boo!