I’ve just had an inspiration! Today’s FFF will be my five favorite classic fairy tales! Every child (ok, probably not EVERY child, but plenty of them) has at least one fairy tale told them that they want to hear over and over and over and over and…well, you get the point. So here is a fairly short trip down memory lane, to my favorites.
The Princess and the Pea: I’m not quite sure why this one appeals to me so much, but it absolutely does. Something about the imagery of a princess being so delicate and sweet that she can feel a pea through a stack of mattresses most people couldn’t feel a boulder through is just lovely. Every girl should be treated as delicately as the princess in this story. Yes, they should. And I just plain like the idea of the story.
The Ugly Duckling: The little duckling suffers through endless torment by other ducklings because he looks different than them. They all think that just because he’s a little different, well, that just means he must be ugly! I love that despite the suffering he endures, all the little duckies learn a lesson when it turns out that the ugly duckling was not a duckling at all, but a cygnet, or rather…a swan! This is often considered one the most beautiful birds—certainly more often than ducks are, anyway. It teaches children (and maybe some adults should take notice, too) that different does not have to (and shouldn’t) mean ugly. Different just means different. And that’s ok.
Twelve Dancing Princesses: Though this one is a little less well-known, I loved it as a kid! My sister H got a fairy tale book that had this story in it and it fascinated me from the moment I first read it. Twelve princesses go to bed each night with brand new slippers, and wake up each morning with holes in them! Their father said that the man who could figure out how the princesses’ slippers got holes in them could choose the princess he wished, and marry her. Then the story goes on to show how many men try and fail and how one tricks the princesses and discovers that they go each night to a magical land and dance the night away, returning in the morning. The way to the magic land is full of silver and gold trees and all sorts of wonderful magic things. And the prince chooses the youngest princess, because they are in love and they marry and live happily ever after. This story just appeals to me on so many levels that I cannot describe it!
Three Billy Goats Gruff: Three clever little (well, some little, one really BIG) billy goats outwit a wicked troll under the bridge. The first two across said, “Oh, don’t eat me, my brother is coming and he’s much bigger than me!” and the third brother was big enough to boot the troll right off the bridge! Pretty tricky little goats, if you ask me, who executed a simple yet effective strategy any general would be proud of! They won the day, and the right to eat in the lovely greener grass on the other side of the bridge. **applause**
Stone Soup: 3 travelers are stopped for the night but have no food. Other people keep coming by and asking to share their camp and food. So the 3 throw some stones in a pot and say they are making stone soup. Each time someone asks to share, the 3 say that the soup will be ready soon, but it is missing one more ingredient, like, say, potatoes, carrots, or meat. The individual who asked to share the travelers’ meal then promptly runs off to get the “last” ingredient. After enough have asked of course, the pot is brimming full of an actual delicious soup! And everyone is fed and happy to have contributed to the meal. It just goes to show that helping someone when you can is a very good thing to do that you can gain from as well, and that sometimes, too many cooks do NOT spoil the soup!
And those are some of my favorite fairy tales. Do you like them? What are your favorites?
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