Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe
Wow!! I am really late at posting Fairy Tale Fridays this week! I am so sorry!! I have been so excited and involved in Armchair BEA this week combined with a crazy morning, that I am just now getting the chance to get this piece written and published! Let's get to this . . .
This week's selection was The Twelve Brothers by The Brothers Grimm. In a nutshell, the story features twelve royal brothers. Their mother becomes pregnant yet again and the King indicates that if the baby is a girl, he will have all twelve executed, even going so far as to have twelve coffins built and prepared for their bodies. They escape, the daughter arrives, and their lives are spared for the time being. When the beautiful princess is older, her mother shares the details of the brothers' story and she sets out to find the rest of her family. They are re-united, live happily ever after for a while . . . well, until she picks some flowers and the brothers are turned into ravens. In order to save her brothers, she must not speak or laugh for seven years. Does she save them? Of course, but the tale would not be complete without the usual Grimm ending . . .
"The wicked step-mother was taken before the judge, and put into a barrel filled with boiling oil and venomous snakes, and died an evil death."
Not a really surprising ending, considering the writers' other works we have read thus far! I'm beginning to wonder if "grim" came from "Grimm"!!
To be honest, I was not a fan of this tale. It seemed to be pieces of other tales pieced together and very choppy with all the different twists and turns. What father is willing to execute his twelve sons, princes, and heirs to his throne? Why must there always be a "wicked witch" that appears out of nowhere? And, once again, the somewhat happy ending was ruined with the hot oil and snakes! It's almost formulaic!
Thankfully, next week's tale will bring a bit of refreshed reading! I could use a break from not only Andersen, but now Grimm! And, as noted below in the upcoming tales, I have not announced the titles for late June. I am looking for your suggestions, and will post my decision next week!
Any additional thoughts on your mind after this tale? Any tales you would like seen on this list?
UPCOMING TALES:
Friday, June 4th: Strega Nona by Tomie dePaolo
Friday, June 11th: The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Aesop
Friday, June 18th: Peach Boy or Momotaro (A Japanese Folktale)
Friday, June 4th: Strega Nona by Tomie dePaolo
Friday, June 11th: The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Aesop
Friday, June 18th: Peach Boy or Momotaro (A Japanese Folktale)
Friday, June 25th: To Be Announced*
*I am working on diversifying the tales a bit, looking for those that are lesser known and more culturally diverse; therefore, I have not yet decided on this date. If you have suggestions or ideas, please feel free to pass them along to me!
I didn't do anything with fairy tales all week as my year is winding down. I look forward to Strega Nona though as she is one of my favorite characters!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, this one wasn't one of my favorites either. I'll have to think a little about which I'd like to see.
ReplyDeleteI didn't care for this one much either. Thank you for visiting today! Hope you can come back.
ReplyDeleteOh, and what are the rules for linking up>?
ReplyDeletehmmmm, I must have left my comment on someone else's blog. That's really going to make no sense anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteI have liked the way they're treated in Fables (a comic book about fairy tale creatures), they're interesting minor characters.
Peaceful Reader . . . I hope you ended up having a great wrap-up for the year!!
ReplyDeletecarolsnotebook . . . If you come up with any ideas, just let me know. You already know which direction I decided to take, but I am always up for changing things up again if you are interested!
Brooke from The Bluestocking Guide . . . This seems to be the consensus on this one! Thank you for stopping by my site and I will be sure to visit your's again!
Ticia . . . No specific rules! If you post for the week, just come on back and add the permalink to your post. We would love to have you! And, I have heard about Fables, but have yet to read it! I've really got to get my hands on them!! Thanks for the recommendation!