Thursday, September 16, 2010

Fairy Tale Fridays: The Three Army Surgeons

Special Thanks to my Personal Faery Friend for the Button Art: Ye Olde Faery Shoppe 

I was first introduced to The Three Army Surgeons via Connolly's The Book of Lost Things.  To be quite honest, it was probably one of the most gruesome parts of the book and it really stood out because of the premise of the story.  As I was planning for the upcoming weeks, I thought this could be a good tale to get us in the mood for the season of Halloween!

The Three Army Surgeons is a tale of three outstanding surgeons that believe they are so good at their craft that they are willing to cut off their own hand, heart, and eye to prove their talent.  The true key was actually a secret healing salve that they carried with them everywhere.  Unfortunately, a forgetful inn girl and a cat end up making a grave mistake and each organ ends up being replaced with an alternative.  The next morning, the surgeons healed themselves, but soon discovered that something was just not right.  How do the surgeons decide to resolve this issue?  Read the short tale here to find out!

Considering the premise of the story, I was actually a bit surprised by the mild ending!  And, as I read the final word of the tale, I really began to ponder what the moral of the story should be.  I could not come up with a good one, but my mind did start thinking about the fine line between confidence and egotism or narcissism in a person's skills.  Confidence is a good thing.  I would want my surgeon to be confident!  However, going beyond confidence and entering the narcissistic or egocentric realm can lead to errors and oversight.  I think that the army surgeons fit into this latter category, resulting in the mistake of living without their own original organs.  I have a hard time feeling sorry for them!  They shouldn't have self-mutilated to prove their point!

Now that I think of it, I've got a moral for you . . . "Modesty is a virtue."

What did you think of The Three Army Surgeons?  Did it put you in the mood for the season of scary?  Do you have an alternate moral?

UPCOMING TALES:
Friday, September 24th:  A New, Modern Tale


5 comments:

  1. You are the greatest. I have passed along to you, The One Lovely Blog award. You can check out and pick up the award at: http://AnnaLWalls.blogspot.com

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  2. Great idea for a pre-Halloween story. Headed over to check it out now. Thanks!

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  3. I'm not a fan of this one to be honest. It's just kinda gross, but nothing else. No real point and nothing that really makes it fit in with Grimm's other stories, at least in my opinion.

    I can't say it really got me in the Halloween mood either, but it did remind me of a great way to make hand shaped ice cubes for Halloween punch.

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  4. I didn't get a chance to read this one this week, but oddly enough I stopped by to tell you that I awarded you The One Lovely Blog Award here:
    http://herbookself.blogspot.com/2010/09/bbaw-future-treasures-one-lovely-blog.html

    I guess you really, really deserve it!!

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  5. Anna L. Walls . . . Thank you so much!!!! I will be sure to post about in this evening!! :)

    TexasRed . . . You're welcome! Did it help you get in the mood?!? :)

    carolsnotebook . . . You've got me curious about how to make these hand shaped ice cubes for punch!! This could be a fun treat to do with my kids!! And, I already commented on your other thoughts on your site, so I won't repeat them here!

    lisa :) . . . Thank you so much!! Two awards in one day completely made my week!!! Yippee!!! :)

    ReplyDelete

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