Fairy Tales 1

I heard all the popular fairy tales as a child. I think most of us did. Maybe you were told the classic Grimm's version. let me tell you, they were grim. I have heard it said that fairy tales were really created to teach children social dangers.
The world is quite strange when you look at the lessons fairy tales were supposed to convey.

Take the story of Rapunzel. Pregnant Mom drives her husband nuts with cravings. Desperate, he scales a tall wall to steal some kind of vegetable called rapunzel. Wife loves it. Wants more. Owner of garden notices all her hard work has been for naught as someone has been making off with her goods. Gardener is really a witch and tells dear old dad he can have all the rapunzel he wants if he promises to give her whatever she asks for in return some day. Of course being a man he doesn't think and says "sure."

Baby girl is born and witch asks for the child. She takes the child and raises her high up in a tower never cutting her hair. so we now have theft and vanity among our sins. A Prince gets lost in the woods hunting and notices Rapunzel and her ladder of hair. He watches her interact with the witch and pretends to be her the next day. Naive Rapunzel goes along with whatever princey poo says and plays several rounds of booty call. Bing* can we have fornication please.

This is where I have heard two versions. Version one: Prince forgets to re lace Rapunzel's corset tipping off the witch that she has had another visitor. Version two: Rapunzel is getting thicker and rounded in the waist. Unable to re lace her corset witch notices that she is pregnant. Both find Rapunzel kicked out with her hair hacked off. The Prince returns, is tricked by the witch into believing he is crawling up to meet his beloved. He is thrown from the window and lands in a rose bush. The thorns blind him. He wanders the forest for several years before coming upon a woman and her twin sons. It is Rapunzel. Her tears of joy land in his eyes returning his sight.

You see the couple had already been punished for their sins. So they got to have a happily ever after. Not all of Grimm's end so well.

The original tale of the little mermaid finds the Prince falling in love with another woman. The mermaid is offered a chance to regain her life from the sea witch if she will kill the prince. so in love she refuses and is then sentenced to die for her love. I prefer the Disney version with Ariel and Prince Eric.

My daughter is named after a type of mermaid. The Lorelei or Lorely are sirens found in the Rhine River. The story is that Lorelei was in love with a sailor. He either died of betrayed her. Bitter, she decided to end it by throwing herself off of the cliffs overlooking the ocean. It is said that her spirit became a siren. she sings, luring sailors on ships to travel too close to the rocks. The boats are destroyed, the sailors die. Charming right?

Lorelei also means "alluring melody"

We prefer to go with that meaning.









Cinderella is my Mother's favorite. A life serving humbly is rewarded with the chance to become a queen.

Cinderella does everything with out complaining. A virtue praised in the bible. I believe he passage says, "Do everything with out complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure." Many blessings on dear Cinderella for her virtuous behavior.

I kind of thought the lesson was don't let your parents remarry.







Alice in wonderland. Hmm. I always just thought that was going to have to be explained as a dream. If it was anything else then large amounts of mind altering drugs were involved.

That said, I love the Cheshire cat. My favorite part of the movie is when he asks Alice "Can you stand on your head?" What makes is so funny to me is that he has detached his head, sat it on the ground, and is standing on it with his feet. If you have seen the movie you know what I mean. If not, you might be asking if I have had large amounts of mind altering drugs.

I assure you. I only take the ones my doctor prescribes for me.



Beauty and the Beast. Do you have to ask the lesson here? Beauty is found in word and deed. Outward appearance is fleeting. Never rely on looks to last.

I remember seeing Beauty and the Beast when it came out in theaters. I did not get all the symbolism then. This is one of my favorite fairy tales. I love that the couple found themselves in love with the people each other were. Not the idea or how they appeared.

I have been a sucker for true love and a happy ending from the cradle I swear.