Today's tale is actually a two for one Grimm selection. "How Some Children Played at Slaughtering" was in the Grimms' first collection in 1812, but was not included in later editions and I can see why- even for the Grimms it's pretty horrible.
There are two stories under this title. The first starts with some five and six-year-olds playing together. One boy is designated the butcher. The other children pretend to be cooks, a cook's assistant and the pig. The "butcher" attacks the little boy playing the pig and slits his throat. Then, the cook's assistant catches the blood in a bowl.
An adult walking by, sees what happens and takes the "butcher" to the mayor's house, where they summon the council. The council can't decide what to do since it was just part of a children's game. Finally, one old man advises the judge to put an apple in one hand and a gold coin in the other. If the child takes...
I have a few irrational fears, but only one is relevant to today's tale, "The Willful Child" by the Brothers Grimm. I don't know when it started, but I was young and I think we had read a story in school that somehow contributed to it, but I've always been afraid of being buried alive. I'm not talking about being in a cave or tunnel and having it collapse, I'm talking about being buried like I'm dead when I'm not. I know it's impossible now, with all the modern science and chemicals they pump into you, and I've only recently given up the idea of being cremated when I die, but only because my husband doesn't like the idea. I doubt I'm the only person with this fear, which probably explains both why stories like this one were told and why they can still strike us with terror.
"The Willful Child" is a short story, scary in its simplicity. In the...
"The Riddle" is from Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's Household Tales. It tells the story of a king's son who is traveling about the world by choice, with only a servant to keep him company. One evening, the pair is deep in a wood and have no where to spend the night. Then the king's son sees a girl heading to a small cottage. He asks if they can find shelter there that night, and the girl replies yes, but she wouldn't recommend staying with them, because guess who's house it is. A witch, of course, who else would live in the dark, mysterious, dangerous forest? They stay the night anyway, just making sure not to eat or drink anything, thanks to a warning from the girl. Unfortunately, right before they leave, poison gets spilled on the servant's horse and it dies. The servant runs to tell the king's son and then goes back for the saddle. He also kills the raven...
Today's tale, "The Water of Life," come to us from Spain. It was collected by D. Francisco de S. Maspons y Labros in Cuentos Populars Catalans (1885), and included by Andrew Lang in his The Pink Fairy Book (1897). I found it on-line here.
We have three brothers and one sister. Given that set-up it's no suprise that the sister, traditionally the weakest, is the heroine. Remember, fairy tales love underdogs.
The four siblings worked very hard, became rich, and built a palace. It was much admired, but an old woman told them it needed a church, so they built a church. I'm not sure why they had to listen to a random old women, but older people are usually considered wise and , especially in fairy tales, it's usually a good idea to take the advice you're given. The palace and church were even more admired, but an old man told them it needed a pitcher of the water of life, a branch where...
"The Cat who Became Head-Forester," a Russian tale retold in Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome, 1916, has a couple elements common to many fairytales. First we have talking animals instead of people, animals who think and act like we do, for better or worse. Second is the theme of the weaker, smaller character using his intelligence to outwit a bigger, more powerful character.
The cat in the story is an old, one-eyed tomcat who was always fighting. His owner did not like him and stuffed him into a bag which he then dumped in the middle of the forest. The cat claws his way out of the bag, looks around at the woods and sees how much larger it is than the village he came from. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he thinks of it as a new opportunity. "'I was the head-cat in the village,' says he to himself.' If all goes well, I shall be head here too.' And he...
"Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears" a West African tale retold by Verna Aardema has been a favorite in our household since Amber was young.
The story is simple and sad, but shows how misunderstandings can have drastic consequences. A mosquito annoys and iguana, so the iguana plugs his ears with sticks, which means he doesn't hear the snake's greeting. Snake thinks the iguana is planning some kind of mischief so he hides, unfortunately the only spot he finds is the rabbit's hole, which sends rabbit scurrying. The crow sees the rabbit running so warns everyone of danger, which sends a monkey off through the trees, accidentally breaking a branch that kills one of Mother Owl's owlets. Mother Owl is so sad she won't wake the sun the next day. When night lasts and lasts, King Lion calls a meeting of all the animals and the whole situation is straightened out.
Two things make this a perfect read aloud book. As the...