Grimm's Fairy Tales

I love fairy tales and have since I was little. Maybe I'm like most girls.... Who doesn't love a beautiful princess living happily ever after with a handsome prince? They have children and life is perfect, or so we're lead to believe. This is why I love fairy tales-they are fiction!!!! How many people really have the perfect life where there's never any problems after marrying your handsome beau? Not many of us probably do.

I like fairy tales because it gives me a chance to escape from the realities of my life and travel to another time, another world where everything is serene. I know most fairy tales have a protagonist facing a problem and life cannot be perfect until the problem is solved. I guess what gets me is the "happily-ever-after" part. No matter what the circumstances may be, readers experience a nice, warm, happy feeling at the end of most fairy tales because we, again, are lead to believe that life from now on is limitless and perfect.

I read a few fairy tales from the Grimm's Fairy Tales book and I chose ones I already knew and read. I really wanted to see if there was much difference between Grimm's and some newer versions. The biggest difference I noticed was the language. The vocabulary and language really seemed to be richer. Words were used that we don't usually use anymore. For example, in Rumpelstiltskin, the little man spoke to the miller's daughter by saying, "Good morrow to you, my good lass, what are you weeping for?" This can maybe make these tales a little harder to read. I don't believe I'm alone in saying that sometimes I get used to watching the Disney versions of fairy tales and these differ greatly from the Brothers Grimm and Aesop's Fables.

Overall, I enjoy reading versions of fairy tales from the Brother's Grimm. I even think it would be a good unit to read fairy tales from the Brother's Grimm and then other versions and compare/contrast. I think it would be very interesting.