The author
of the famous fairy tale never mentioned what happened during the carriage ride that brought Cinderella to the castle to meet her prince on that magic
night.
This past
weekend, I made a discovery that
made me think that something happened during
that glorious ride. What if Cinderella’s fairy god-mother rode with her and
told her the secret of the magic pumpkin? Here is what I believed happened.
The fairy: “Cinderella,
she said, although everything will disappear at midnight, I want you to
remember that one thing will not. It is this bag of seeds offered by the
pumpkin before it was transformed beautifully tonight. You must promise me to
plant them next spring.”
Cinderella:
“I promise to do anything you want, but once I am a princess, why should I grow
pumpkins?”
The fairy:
“Because the seeds are a gift from the pumpkin to keep you beautiful and
healthy for as long as you live. You see, when there are enough seeds, you can press them to get a fantastic oil. That oil is a
culinary delicacy. However, you must never cook it otherwise it would lose all its benefits. You can also put it on your skin to keep it moist, young and
radiant. That way you will help keep the memory of the pumpkin alive so that every woman in the world can learn about it.”
What the
fairy tale never said either is that Cinderella was a bright young woman who
loved plants and herbal medicine, like many others of her day.
Cinderella:
“Hum, I see what you are getting at. What are the properties of that oil? Maybe
I could give some to the women of palace and
make beauty creams with it.”The fairy: “I am so glad you see the potential already. It contains:
· antioxidants
A, C, E (4 to 5 times more than olive oil) and selenium
·
vitamins B1, B2, B6, D
· calcium,
magnesium, iron, copper, phosphor, zinc (remember this one helps protect from the sun)
· high
levels of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids that help regulate heart rate,
blood pressure and
inflammation, and aid in fighting infections.”
Cinderella:
“Fairy god-mother, this is amazing. I want to grow pumpkins and use this oil, whether I live in a palace or not!”
The
fairy: “Dear child, there is no doubt that the prince will marry you and that you will live at the palace. You will be very busy taking care of
your family and your realm so I don't want you to remember it. This oil (and pumpkin butter too) is good for everybody: children, men and
women. And it is helpful to keep your face, hands and feet soft and flexible. It will be excellent for you specifically because of your Vata body type. The
oil being sweet, warming and fairly heavy, it will take care of you as you grow older in beauty and wisdom. You will want to keep singing and dancing all your life.”
As
you know, Cinderella married her beautiful prince and lived happily every
after… not only because of her prince but because she kept taking care of
herself and sharing the knowledge of the pumpkin seed with her maids, friends
and children. It is one of her great-great-great-great-great-great-great
grand-daughters, Ernestine, who taught me about it this past weekend at the
Whole Earth Expo. Ernestine still carries the tradition and sells the
wonderful, nutty and dark green oil.
And
just in case you are afraid that green oil will transform you into a little fairy green
woman, don’t worry. You already are green at heart, but the oil won't stain your skin. The colour disappears quickly once it penetrates and its aroma marries well with your natural body scent.
by Samyukta
* Ernestine, a Canadian of Austrian origin and owner of Styrian Gold, sells organic pumpkin seed oil.
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