Before Cinderella lost the glass shoe, Ye Xian lost a golden slipper. The Chinese fairytale is considered the precursor to the modern telling. It features a number of similar elements, including a horrible stepmother, an ugly stepsister, and a royal suitor.
The story contains some notable differences; for instance, one won’t find a fairy godmother. The magic instead arises from a beautiful fish. I wanted to honor the fish’s presence while making the story my own, so I drew Write Right wearing a mermaid dress and carrying a Chinese lantern that depicts the symbol for “fish.”