A princess riding in a pumpkin coach, straight out of the fairy tale. The body of the coach is one big shape that fills quickly, the two spoked wheels are the fine work, and the small figure at the window is the detail to save for last. Free to download and print.
Cinderella. The pumpkin belongs to Charles Perrault’s French version of 1697, in which the fairy godmother hollows out a pumpkin, turns it into a gilded coach and harnesses mice to it as horses to carry Cinderella to the ball. The Brothers Grimm told a different Cinderella altogether, with no pumpkin and no coach in it.
✨ When does the magic wear off?
At midnight. In Perrault’s telling the fairy godmother warns her that the coach, the horses and the gown will all turn back at the stroke of twelve, which is why Cinderella runs from the ball as the clock begins to strike — and why she leaves a slipper behind on the stairs.
🎨 What colours suit the pumpkin coach?
Orange is the obvious choice, and gold makes the coach look grander. Keeping the wheels a pale silver-grey stops them competing with the body for attention, and leaving the curtains at the window almost white is what keeps the little princess inside easy to see. Anything left unfilled reads as light.
