The Other Cinderella

An Illustrated Children’s Book

The title of the book is The Other Cinderella, the subtitle of the book is The Inventor of the Business Card. It is listed as juvenile (0-12), but the humor of the story would appeal to all ages. The book is written in rhyme, and begins by telling of some the great inventors, and what their inventions were. It laments the fact that the inventors of everyday objects have been forgotten, and rectifies that by giving the names of the inventors of pencils, pens, paper and such. It then tells the story of Jack Mason, the inventor of the business card. Jack was a chimney sweep, and cleaned out the cinders left in fireplaces. He had the idea of a small card he could pass around town advertising the fact. He called himself that Cinder Fella. Now the fairy in Jack’s town had a cold, and on the day she was to meet Cinderella, who lived in Jack’s town, she just wanted to hurry-up and get home. She heard people calling for Cinder Fella, and decided that would do. She then appeared to Jack and put him in a beautiful satin dress and brocade shawl, plus a carriage to take him to the Prince’s Ball. Jack was a businessman and thought why let such a great opportunity go bye. He decided to go to the ball and slip the king his business card. Sadly, when Jack got to the ball and saw the Prince approaching his entrepreneurial spirit failed, and out the ballroom doors he sailed. He dropped his business card while fleeing and the Prince found it and sought him out. The story ends with the moral that people in business need to promote themselves.