Connie's Corner

Seeing as a child must be different...

July 26 Prompt - Describe your favourite fairytale, myth or legend from your childhood.
Discuss why it’s your favourite and how it has influenced your beliefs and morals throughout your life so far.

For one of my very young birthdays, I can't remember which and I can't remember who, someone gave me a copy of Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. An only child and an avid reader, I soon devoured the entire book and settled on my favorite as Hansel and Gretel. I admired Hansel's resourcefulness at such a young age, the pebbles and the breadcrumbs, even though they didn't work out. Gretel's cunningness at avoiding danger by her own wits when she needed the witch to "show" her how to get into the oven made me proud of my gender. Taking their newfound treasures and returning to their father's home showed me the goodness of their hearts.

So when I had a granddaughter old enough to read, I remembered the Brothers Grimm and bought the most luxurious and expensive copy I could find for her birthday. Arriving home with my new purchase and feeling very proud of myself, I had to look up my old favorite and give it another read. Just a few paragraphs through, I got this funny feeling in my stomach and I felt some of the blood drain from my face as I realized how "grim" this story really was. A mother and father were trying to figure out how to get rid of their children and took them deep into a forest to lose them. Then they are enticed by a house made of sweets just to be eaten by an evil witch...yikes. What had I done? How had I overlooked all that when I was little?

Well, the end result was, I returned to the store and got my granddaughter a Barbie doll, and I have a beautiful but unused copy of Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. I still have not figured out why I liked Hansel and Gretel when I was little, and why I was not scared out of my wits by the plotline. I do believe it showed me the beginnings of being independent and trusting in myself and it may even have taught me a little about love...as grim as it was...

until next time...c