Fairy Tales

Have you read any classic fairy tales recently? I purchased the children two different books filled with classic tales and we've been reading them for months now. The children love the tales, but I have my reservations. I didn't object when the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood ate grandma and Little Red and the huntsman had to hack them out of his belly--I had read that version before. I was a little surprised when the prince in Sleeping Beauty had an ogress for a mother who ordered her cook to serve up her grandchildren and daughter-in-law. I didn't remember that particular twist, but the ogress ended up dead and Sleeping Beauty and her children lived happily ever after, so justice was served. T

There was one story, however, that I found unacceptable. The tale started out like a lot of fairy tales. We meet the good king with his good wife and his lovely, good daughter. The queen becomes ill. She makes her husband promise he will not marry again unless he can find a bride fairer than she. (Huh?! Why?) She dies. He searches and searches for a bride fairer than his dearly departed. No luck. Until that is he notices his lovely, good daughter. (No! No!) His daughter is appalled and seeks the help of her godmother. They try to outmaneuver the king, but he is relentless so the princess has to flee and live in a pig pen. She is rescued by a prince who marries her. Her father and his new bride (!?) attend the wedding. All is forgiven.

Where is the justice in that? The whole point of fairy tales it to show that good triumphs over evil. The bad wolf is hacked up and the evil ogress jumps in a cauldron of poison. Evil is punished. I like that.

I searched online to see what other people thought was the value in fairy tales. Jim Trelease in his "Read-Aloud Handbook" tells us that fairy tales prepare children for the cold, cruel world. They tell it like it is, but they promise children that "If you have courage and if you persist, you can overcome any obstacle, conquer any foe." It's true; the heroine in a fairly tale always wins. The villain might not be punished, but the heroine is always triumphant. She escapes her awful circumstances and finds a better life. Be brave and work hard and you can better your life. Your tormentors might not be punished, but you can leave them behind. That is how real life sometimes works. Evil people are not always punished, but good people can courageously choose to leave horrible circumstances in their past.

Go read those fairy tales...well, the good ones. Skip that one I mentioned above even if it does reflect real life.