For anyone who is a kid or ever has been a kid...so that means everyone...today is an especially fun day. It's National Tell A Fairy Tale Day. We all have our favorite story. You can probably guess which one is mine. (Hint: It involves a princess and a cute little green frog.) I thought I'd start off this morning's blog with a little history of fairy tales and then end up with a few fun and interesting facts. So let's hop right to it, shall we?
Simply put, a fairy tale is a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story. These stories typically feature creatures such as dwarfs, elves, dragons, giants, goblins, unicorns, talking animals and, of course, fairies. Fairy Tales are stories with origins in European tradition and, at least in recent centuries, mostly relates to children's literature and are.blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy-tale ending" Fairy tales that are told verbally are a subset of the genre and are called folktales. "The oral tradition of the fairy tale came long before the written page. Tales were told or enacted dramatically, rather than written down, and handed down from generation to generation. Because of this, the history of their development is necessarily obscure and blurred." The earliest written fairy story, Panchatantra, date back to 300 B.C. in India. So now that we've taken a quick look at the history of these wonderful tales, let's have some fun!
Did you know?
1. A pair of brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, created a compilation of traditional German folktales. It was published in 1812 and often referred to as Grimm’s Fairy Tales. This book contains many of the fairy tales we have come to know and love, like “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Snow White”.
2. The original versions of fairy tales can be gruesome, so they are often rewritten and toned down to appeal to the masses. For example, in the Disney movie Snow White, the evil queen sought Snow White’s heart. But in the Grimm brothers’ original tale, the evil queen wanted to consume her lungs and liver. What a huge appetite she had! Here are other less-familiar and less-happy endings; toes cut off to fit into a slipper, a wooden boy killing his cricket or instead of kissing that frog prince his head must be cut off. Thankfully, those are the unrated versions.)
3. In the French version of Rapunzel, the story does not have a happy ending. Rapunzel is turned into a frog and the prince is cursed with a pig’s snout. (My kind of girl!)
4. The very first tale of Cinderella was recorded in China at around AD 850. That Cinderella is Yeh-hsien. She wears a dress made of kingfisher feathers and her shoes are made of gold.
5. In the early centuries, the story of the Little Red Riding Hood was used to warn children of the dangerous wild animals in the woods.
6. Fairy tales have been reinvented by various cultures over the years. Hollywood has created popular movie versions of Cinderella, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland. Johnny Depp also starred as the Hatter in Alice in Wonderland done in 2010.
7. In Roald Dahl’s version of the Little Red Riding Hood, Red Riding Hood is not as helpless as she was in the story we grew up with. She actually strikes back against the wolf!
8. The original title of Sleeping Beauty is La Belle Au Bois Dormant in French, which means The Beauty in the Sleeping Wood. The Grimm brothers titled it “Little Briar Rose” in their collection.
9. “Snow White and Rose Red” is another story found in Grimm’s Fairy Tales. It is rather different from the Snow White tale mentioned earlier, as there isn’t an evil queen or huntsman in the story. There’s a vicious bear instead though!
10. Fairy tales are well-liked by famous authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, and C.S. Lewis. Charles Dickens also said that fairy tales helped to keep him ever young!
11. In Grimm’s Fairy Tales, there’s a whimsical verse at the end of “Hansel and Gretel” that goes, “My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.”
So how can you celebrate this awesome day? Read a fairy tale! If you are reading one of these stories to a child, here are a few tips on how to make the story come to life.
That does it for me on this very special day. Don't forget to stop back by tomorrow and see what life lesson the Dharma Frog has in store for me. Whatever he has, you can be sure that I'll share the details with you. Until then, I wish you
PEACE.
Simply put, a fairy tale is a folklore genre that takes the form of a short story. These stories typically feature creatures such as dwarfs, elves, dragons, giants, goblins, unicorns, talking animals and, of course, fairies. Fairy Tales are stories with origins in European tradition and, at least in recent centuries, mostly relates to children's literature and are.blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy-tale ending" Fairy tales that are told verbally are a subset of the genre and are called folktales. "The oral tradition of the fairy tale came long before the written page. Tales were told or enacted dramatically, rather than written down, and handed down from generation to generation. Because of this, the history of their development is necessarily obscure and blurred." The earliest written fairy story, Panchatantra, date back to 300 B.C. in India. So now that we've taken a quick look at the history of these wonderful tales, let's have some fun!
Did you know?
1. A pair of brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, created a compilation of traditional German folktales. It was published in 1812 and often referred to as Grimm’s Fairy Tales. This book contains many of the fairy tales we have come to know and love, like “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Snow White”.
2. The original versions of fairy tales can be gruesome, so they are often rewritten and toned down to appeal to the masses. For example, in the Disney movie Snow White, the evil queen sought Snow White’s heart. But in the Grimm brothers’ original tale, the evil queen wanted to consume her lungs and liver. What a huge appetite she had! Here are other less-familiar and less-happy endings; toes cut off to fit into a slipper, a wooden boy killing his cricket or instead of kissing that frog prince his head must be cut off. Thankfully, those are the unrated versions.)
3. In the French version of Rapunzel, the story does not have a happy ending. Rapunzel is turned into a frog and the prince is cursed with a pig’s snout. (My kind of girl!)
4. The very first tale of Cinderella was recorded in China at around AD 850. That Cinderella is Yeh-hsien. She wears a dress made of kingfisher feathers and her shoes are made of gold.
5. In the early centuries, the story of the Little Red Riding Hood was used to warn children of the dangerous wild animals in the woods.
6. Fairy tales have been reinvented by various cultures over the years. Hollywood has created popular movie versions of Cinderella, Snow White, and Alice in Wonderland. Johnny Depp also starred as the Hatter in Alice in Wonderland done in 2010.
7. In Roald Dahl’s version of the Little Red Riding Hood, Red Riding Hood is not as helpless as she was in the story we grew up with. She actually strikes back against the wolf!
8. The original title of Sleeping Beauty is La Belle Au Bois Dormant in French, which means The Beauty in the Sleeping Wood. The Grimm brothers titled it “Little Briar Rose” in their collection.
9. “Snow White and Rose Red” is another story found in Grimm’s Fairy Tales. It is rather different from the Snow White tale mentioned earlier, as there isn’t an evil queen or huntsman in the story. There’s a vicious bear instead though!
10. Fairy tales are well-liked by famous authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, and C.S. Lewis. Charles Dickens also said that fairy tales helped to keep him ever young!
11. In Grimm’s Fairy Tales, there’s a whimsical verse at the end of “Hansel and Gretel” that goes, “My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.”
So how can you celebrate this awesome day? Read a fairy tale! If you are reading one of these stories to a child, here are a few tips on how to make the story come to life.
- Engage your audience. Children like to participate. Have them quack every time the Ugly Duckling is mentioned, or make the motions of climbing Jack’s beanstalk.
- Use repetition. Repeated stanzas, syllables or movements will keep the kids engaged. It not only helps them to remember the story but sets them up for the next round of the repeated phrase or stanza.
- Give your characters a voice. Nobody likes a monotone storyteller. Buehler, Buehler, Buehler. No, not even children like the monotone. Varying your voice for each character and inflecting excitement, sadness and disappointment will create drama and stimulate the imaginations of the little minds listening to you.
- Ask questions as you go. It’s an excellent way to keep your story flowing and to gauge the children’s listening skills.
- Find out if someone has a story of their own. You might be in the presence of a great storyteller!
That does it for me on this very special day. Don't forget to stop back by tomorrow and see what life lesson the Dharma Frog has in store for me. Whatever he has, you can be sure that I'll share the details with you. Until then, I wish you
PEACE.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale
2. http://www.nlb.gov.sg/discovereads/2016/01/28/11-fun-facts-about-fairy-tales/
2. http://www.nlb.gov.sg/discovereads/2016/01/28/11-fun-facts-about-fairy-tales/
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