When Cinderella Dined with the Prince - Fairy Tale Table Etiquette

Every boy and girl knows how Cinderella's fairy godmother sent her to the Prince's ball in a golden coach. The Prince liked her instantly, but it was at supper that he really fell in love with her. She was so beautiful and had such perfect table manners. Cinderella's own mother had trained her carefully you see, and so she knew just how to act even with a Prince. You will want to read the story never written before about what happened when Cinderella and the Prince dined together.

  

When the Prince took Cinderella to dinner that first night wasn't she thankful her mother had taught her the right way to eat? She dipped her soup spoon away from her, and she didn't fill it too full. When Cinderella cut her meat, she held her fork in her left hand with the prongs down, and her knife in her right hand. Her fingers and thumb closed round the handles and didn't go near the blade or prongs.

  

Cinderella felt quite at home when she saw that the Prince ate with his fork exactly as she did. He held it in his right hand with the prongs up when he was eating vegetables, lifting it like a spoon to his mouth. A footman passed the bread to the Prince. He took a slice and laid it on his bread-and-butter plate. Then he broke off a little piece just big enough to go into his mouth and buttered it with his butter spreader.

  

Cinderella knew the right way to eat asparagus. She cut off the soft tips with her fork and ate them. Then she daintily took in her fingers what was left of each stalk and ate just a little more. When Cinderella finished her meat and vegetables, she laid her knife and fork close together on her plate with the fork prongs turned up. Then with her hands folded in her lap, she listened attentively to the Prince.

  

It was a pleasure to watch the Prince eat his salad. He cut it with the edge of his fork-the Queen would have fainted with shame if he had used his knife-then pierced it with the prongs and lifted it to his lips. Shortly before midnight, supper was served in the Great Hall. The Prince himself took ice cream to Cinderella. Notice how she dipped the spoon towards her and did not mess around with the whole pretty pink mound.

  

Very carefully too, Cinderella cut off small pieces of layer cake and lifted them up on her fork. She cut through the layers of her cake from the edge nearest her, just as she did with the mound of ice cream. Cinderella had dipped, first the finger tips of her right hand, then of her left hand into her finger-bowl and was wiping them gently on her napkin when hark! The clock began to strike twelve. She must fly!
This booklet was an advertisement for Community Plate silverware in 1924.