Friday, 26 February 2016

The "Grimm" side of fairy tales

It’s no secret I like stories that are kind of spooky—one of my favourite authors is R.L. Stine, who writes the Fear Street and Goosebumps series. So when my Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Kratky, told us to research fairy tales for Tell a Fairy Tale Day (today!), I was surprised—and excited—to learn that most classic fairy tales have a “dark side.”

I know what you’re thinking—every fairy tale ends with a happily-ever-after, right? In the beginning, they didn’t. In fact, early fairy tales—like Snow White, Cinderella, etc.—weren’t even written for kids! Especially the stories written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the famous Grimm brothers.

Take Snow White, for instance. In the Grimm version of the tale, Snow White’s mother was the “wicked” one, and it wasn’t just her heart she wanted—it was her lungs and liver, too! Not quite the Disney version I’ve watched with my sister, Amelia over and over again. <groan>

Probably unsurprising then, the Grimm brothers were criticized for writing stories that even I, for one, would never read to my little sister. After all, no one wants a bedtime story that gives them nightmares…

Well, except me, maybe. <he he>

Gotta jet! I’m writing my own fairy tale in class today, and THEN, I need to select which story to read Amelia tonight. Maybe Rapunzel…that one’s safe, right? See you next week!

— Chase Superman Duffy

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