In reading Neil Gaiman's weblog I learned this week an interesting thing about the Rapunzel story. 'Punzel says a really stupid thing to the witch after she's been visited in the tower by the prince a few times: "You're heavier on my hair than that prince who comes by to see me." Why would she give away her secret like that? Gaiman says the original form of the story has Rapunzel asking the witch instead: "Why is it getting harder and harder to lace up my dresses over my stomach?" Since this implied something that later fairy tale compilers didn't want to imply, it was rewritten.
What's your favorite fairy tale? Why? Mine's one where a girl who does nice things for someone, and because of that every time she speaks, gold coins and jewels would fall from her mouth every time she talked. I used to daydream about how useful a talent that would be. Also I wondered what would happen if I'd get laryngitis.
Yep, that one about the jewels falling from the girl's mouth is one of my favorites too! :-D
Posted by: Lucilla at September 30, 2002 02:10 PMIt isn't a fairy tale. I already know several women for whom that is true. Every time their mouths open, gold flows forth. Since they have a tendency to write the gold down, as the 'Borg' would say, "laryngitis is irrelevant."
My favorite fairy tale....
The one Enjolras tells in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables:
"Citizens, in the future there shall be neither darkness nor thunderbolts, neither ferocious ignorance nor blood for blood...In the future no man will slay his fellow, the earth will be radiant, the human race will love. It will come, citizens, that day when all shall be concord, harmony, light, joy, and life.î
Ahhh...Utopia...the greatest fantasy of them all
Posted by: John at September 30, 2002 09:43 PM