! ! Machiavelli's Advice To Princes Poem by Michael Shepherd

This is brilliant. And excellent footnote ;)

(This footnote is longer than the text in accordance with Best Academic Practice) : Sandra, the Cinderalla story comes down to us only in the version with Cinders as protagonist. In fact the original, said to be by John of Salisbury in his advice to princes, is a paradigmatic instruction featuring the Prince as ideal ruler, seeking a Rousseauesque social contract with the representative of the oppressed underclass. She represents woman as soul and the natural wisdom that guides the Prince in his duty. In the original, Buttons is the chief character, as mediator of this social contract. More of this elsewhere. The fairy godmother is of course universal justice and redemption. ('Fairy' stories actually mean stories about fate.) Thanks for asking...

I guess that gave him a toe-hold on his tootsie, eh? Rusty

Or the fairy god-mother taketh and the fairy god-mother taketh away. Brilliant.