Book excerpt: The true story of Cinderella begins in the late 16th century with the birth of Germaine Cousin in the small village of Pibrac France. At a tender age her mother is taken away by the plague. Her father quickly remarries a widow who had three daughters of her own. It does not take long before the new stepmother and step-sisters began physically and mentally abusing the little girl. The fable of Cinderella is but child's play compared to the true story recounted in these pages. Indeed, the dark, sinister treatment this little sixteenth-century French shepherdess received, at the hands of her stepmother and three stepsisters, is so appalling that it scandalizes anyone who reads the accounts of her life. This poor little shepherdess is, however, not left completely defenseless, but unlike the fable, the events surrounding her life are true.