In literature, fairy tale is amongst the many literary devices that showcases stories for children that are usually filled with magic and contains supernatural characters. The said characters include but are not limited to dwarves, leprechauns, mermaids, animals with human characteristics, goblins, witches, and other extraordinary creatures. There is still no apparent line existed that divides the attributes of folklores, myths, and fairy tales. However, fairy tales can be identified from the rest of the folk stories, like legends and definite tales with morals.
The term “fairy tale” is basically utilized for tales that originated from the Western tradition and have usually fall under children’s literature. Also, it originated from the translated work of Madame D’Aulnoy, which is the Conte de fees, for it was first utilized in her anthology in the year 1697. Moreover, these stories are highly patronized by children for they have been tied to these tales during their growing up stage. Parents, guardians, and nannies read these fairy tale books to kids during their bedtime, study time, or even past-time; thus, these tales serve as the primary agents for shaping up the minds of these young learners.
Since quarantine has not yet been lifted up to this day, here are some wonderfully written fairy tales that you can read to your child or sibling during this period:
The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Anderson
The Steadfast Tin Soldier is a fairy tale written by one of the great masters in his time, Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published, using the Danish language, by C.A Reitzel on October 2, 1838 in the Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. Ny Samling. Første Hefte. 1838 — also known in English as Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. First Booklet. 1838. The tale centers on the affection of the tin soldier towards the paper ballerina.
The tin soldier was among the 25 toy soldiers received by a child during his birthday. The love that the soldier felt for the ballerina sprouted when she saw her standing in one leg just like he does. It was not an easy love for he has a rival, which is the goblin in a jack-in-the-box that warned him to stop looking at the beautiful dancer. The soldier neglected the caution of his rival and ended up falling from the windowsill and landing on the street. He was found by two boys, who put him into a voyage using a paper boat. After that, he also had his little stop overs in a drain where he met a rat and in a canal where he was eaten by a fish. The fish was caught and brought to the same home which the soldier was gifted to. He found himself in a tabletop before the love of his life; however, he was tossed to the fire by his owner. The wind blows the ballerina into the fire and they were eaten by it together.
The Patchwork Princess by Connie Arnold
The Patchwork Princess is authored by Connie Arnold. It was published by iUniverse last March 18, 2019. It is the first book of the Adventures of Ra-me the Traveling Troubadour series written by Arnold, which was followed by the Blaze the Dragon and Mudcat the Pirate. This book is also the recipient of the NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in the Children’s Fairytale Category for Winter 2019.
The tale begins when the ruler of the kingdom distributed an invitation for the courageous knights in his kingdom to try to rescue his lovely daughter from the ten-story tower of Terrance The Terrible. There are two antagonists that must be defeated and killed — which is the black knight and the dragon. The million-dollar question is: “Who will be courageous enough to bring victory to the kingdom?” The winner was pledged with generous prize, which are the one-third part of the kingdom, three bags of gold, three brand-new armor suits, three white stallions, a sword that has a ruby-studded handle, and the hand of the princess. A singer — also known as a troubadour, turned out to be the story’s hero. He is delighted to receive all the prizes except for one, which is to marry the princess. That said, he composed new songs, cleaned his instruments, and exposed himself to the king in order to ask his blessing to start the journey.
Snow White by the Brothers Grimm
Snow White is a German fairy tale written in the 19th century by the Brothers Grimm. The story has become popular all around the world because of its film adaptation called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs produced by Walt Disney in 1937. It was published by the authors in the first edition of their Grimm’s Fairy Tales anthology in the year 1812. The tale was originally titled Sneewittchen and was categorized as Tale number 53.
The story started when the queen is sewing in her windowsill when she pricked her finger. Her blood fell into the snow; thus, she wished to have a daughter with a hair as black as ebony, skin as white as snow, and lips as red as blood. The queen had a child, which she named Snow White, but she unfortunately died after delivering the baby. The king remarried. The new queen was very beautiful but also really vain. In fact, she has a magic mirror which she constantly asked who is the fairest of them all. One day the mirror answered that her step daughter, Snow White, is the most beautiful in the kingdom. The evil queen ordered to kill her but Snow White was spared by the huntsman and ordered to escape. Snow White ran through the forest and was fostered by seven dwarves. However, the queen — disguised as an old woman, found her and offered her a poisoned apple. It poisoned Snow White but she was awaken by the kiss of a Prince. The queen discovered that Snow White is still alive when the mirror told her that the fairest is the bride of the Prince, which is her step daughter. The Prince defended his bride by ordering the queen to wear a pair of absolutely hot iron slippers and dance until she drop dead.
The Damsel’s Files 