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: The Buck Stops Here

Sanitized Fairy Tales

By Stuart Buck, Esq.

I liked this Boston Globe article arguing that the "glossy, sanitized new versions of fairy tales leave out what matters: the scary parts." The author points to an egregious retelling of Rapunzel, in which Rapunzel stays with a "kind witch." One fairy tale that couldn't really be sanitized -- because there'd be nothing left -- is "The Dog and the Sparrow," which you can read online here. It's from Grimm's Fairy Tales. I hadn't ever heard of it, as it doesn't seem to be in most fairytale books. I first came across it in an old book that I was reading to my kids the other night. The story started out nicely enough, with a sparrow helping a hungry dog to get some food. Then everything goes downhill: A surly "wagoner" runs over the dog on purpose as it sleeps in the middle of the road...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Buck Stops Here on November 02, 2008 (boomark / email).