Warsaw Community Public Library — World Folktales And Fables Week
Erica Bennington of information services at the Warsaw Community Public Library is shown with various books of fairy tales available at the library. Photo provided by Warsaw Community Public Library.
By Erica Bennington
Information Services
Warsaw Community Public Library
WARSAW — Growing up, I loved fairy tales. I loved hearing the words, “Once upon a time …” and being transported to a world of mystery and magic. I wanted to know how the lost princess was found, how a poor girl won the heart of a prince, or to find out how Jack escaped the giant by chopping down the beanstalk.
When I wasn’t reading about fairy tales, I loved watching these stories through the animated Disney movies. These movies had all the adventure and excitement I so desperately wanted to find and, more importantly, these stories all had a happily-ever-after ending.
However, the original versions of the fairy tales that we know and love actually have some darker endings than the Disney versions.
The Grimm brothers published one of the most well-known books of these darker tales in 1812. “Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, provides the original versions of many classic fairy tales such as those about Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White. In these tales, the characters have more violent endings.
In the Grimm’s version of Snow White, the Evil Queen wants to eat Snow White’s organs and, in the end, the queen is forced to dance in red-hot shoes until she dies. In Cinderella, the prince seeks to find the woman who dropped her shoe at the ball. When the shoe comes to Cinderella’s house, the stepsisters are so desperate to marry the prince that they cut off part of their toes to squeeze into the shoe. The story ends with birds pecking out the stepsisters’ eyes. For Rapunzel, the prince who comes to save the lost princess is blinded by thorns; luckily, the prince’s eyesight is restored through Rapunzel’s tears.
Other Grimm’s tales contain even more gruesome endings, but you will have to read those for yourselves. If you want to read the original fairy tales or binge watch the Disney versions, the library has these books and movies waiting for you to borrow. Library staff is available to help you find your new favorite tale, whether during World Folktales and Fables Week in March or any time of year.