YMMV / One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes

• Alternate Character Interpretation: The story never establishes what the mother looks like. She's often made two-eyed in illustrations and adaptations, giving her a plethora of motives on why she hates Two-Eyes:
  • She's a witch and favors One-Eye and Three-Eyes for their evil-eyes, or works on a Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad mentality, and mistreats Two-Eyes because she's a Muggle Born of Mages.
  • She resents Two-Eyes because she symbolically reminds her of her own shortcomings.
  • She simply resents the girl for being pretty. Perhaps she's an old hag. Howard Pyle went with this interpretation in his retelling, "The Apple of Contentment."
  • Given that the mother is a widow, it's possible Two-Eyes was the father's favorite. This is the case in the Samoan version of the story.
  • Some versions go the obvious route and just have the mother be one-eyed or three-eyed, too.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: This story was surprisingly popular among European settlers in the United States, and different versions of the story appear throughout the states. Sometimes, Two-Eyes goes to a ball, like Cinderella, or rescues an enchanted prince. "The Apple of Contentment" is a rare literary variant.
  • The story is also retold in Samoa, where Two-Eyes is localized as Matalua and is helped by a rat. Some versions cut out the helpful animal entirely and just have the heroine meet the king early on.