Why Do So Many Fairy Tales Feature Magical Shoes?
A great pair of shoes can take on magical powers for the women who wear them, but in the case of some folk stories and fairy tales, that magic’s real. In literature, shoes are often transformative not just because they’re made of glass or rubies: they’re a symbolic means through which women find grounding in the world, and have their lives changed, for better or worse.
Fairytales much older than previously thought, say researchers
Study of fairy story origins traces some back thousands of years, with one tale dating back as far as bronze age
A long time ago there were a king and queen who said every day, “Ah, if only we had a child,” but they never had one.
But it happened that once when the queen was bathing, a frog crept out of the water on to the land, and said to her, “Your wish shall be fulfilled, before a year has gone by, you shall have a daughter.”
What the frog had said came true, and the queen had a little girl who was so pretty that the king could not contain himself for joy, and ordered a great feast. He invited not only his kindred, friends and acquaintances, but also the wise women, in order that they might be kind and well-disposed towards the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but, as he had only twelve golden plates for them to eat out of, one of them had to be left at home.
Continue reading Tale: Dornröschen
Hans had served his master for seven years, so he said to him,
master, my time is up, now I should be glad to go back home to my
mother, give me my wages. The master answered, you have served me
faithfully and honestly, as the service was so shall the reward be.
And he gave Hans a piece of gold as big as his head. Hans pulled his
handkerchief out of his pocket, wrapped up the lump in it, put it on
his shoulder, and set out on the way home.
Anne Frank’s Copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales Bought by American Museum
The Museum of World War II outside Boston has paid $50,000 for Anne Frank’s inscribed copy of Grimm’s fairy tales, in what the museum is calling the first major offering of material connected directly with Frank in nearly 20 years…