Golden slipper
In short: A shoe tried on to identify its owner in the Grimms’ Cinderella and the Armenian tale The Golden Maiden.
Object
How does it work in the tale?
In this English edition of Grimm, the prince finds the slipper on the stairs. In Seklemian’s Golden Maiden, it shines in a fountain and startles the prince’s horse. One search begins on a staircase and the other on a trip to water a horse.
What do the birds know that the slipper can’t tell us?
In Grimm, a dove exposes the deception of someone who has forced the shoe on. In The Golden Maiden, a rooster reveals that the owner is hidden in the oven pit. The first bird exposes the wrong person. The second brings the right person into view. I’m Black Horse. If the rooster stayed quiet, who would miss the chance to try the slipper?