Cinder Jack

This Hungarian tale is found in Surlalune's Frog Tales collection but it's also a gender reversed version of Cinderella (by the way that's an idea for a collection I'd love to get my hands on some day, I love a good gender reversed fairy tale!)

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A peasant had three sons, and he sent the eldest to guard the vineyard. During the night, a frog came up to him and asked for a piece of the cake he was eating. Angrily, the young man threw a stone at the frog and in the morning the vineyard was ruined. The same thing happened to the second son the next night.

The following night, the youngest son offered to watch the vineyard. The family thought very little of him, and he always sat in the cinders, so he was called Cinder Jack. But they allowed him to try. When the frog approached, he shared his cake. In return, the frog gave him three rods of copper, silver, and gold; and told him that three horses of the same material would come to destroy the vineyard unless he used the rods. Cinder Jack was able to subdue the horses, and the vineyard flourished; but he did not tell his family the secret of his success.

One day, the king erected a high pole and hung a golden rosemary on the top, promising his daughter to whoever could reach it in one jump on horseback. All the knights of the realm tried, but failed. Then, a knight in copper mail, on a copper horse, came and took the rosemary, and disappeared. When Cinder Jack's brothers returned home, they told him all about the mysterious knight. Their brother claimed he had seen the whole thing from the top of the hoarding, so his brothers had it pulled down, so he wouldn't be able to see anything else.

The next week an even higher pole was put up with a golden apple at the top, and the same promise. This time a silver knight on a silver horse took it and disappeared. When Cinder Jack told his brothers he witnessed the whole thing from the pigstye, they had it destroyed.

The following week, a gold and silk kerchief was placed on yet a higher pole, and a gold knight took it and disappeared. Cinder Jack claimed to have seen it from the top of the house, so his brothers had the roof taken off.

The king invited the mystery knight to come forward with the rosemary, apple, and kerchief. The people were astonished to see that it was Cinder Jack, and he was good hearted enough to rebuild his brothers' house and give them gifts. "Cinder Jack is reigning still, and is respected and honored by all his subjects!"
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I find gender bent fairy tales to be fascinating-in some ways they might seem to confirm gender bias but the mere fact that they exist proves that gender roles in folklore may be more flexible than we often assume. For example, I like the fact that Jack forgives his brothers. Although Cinderella gets criticized for forgiving her sisters in some versions, and it can be troubling and seem naive, when a man forgives and even goes beyond that to restore their house and give them gifts, it comes across less as weakness and more as him being the better man taking the high road, at least to me--(which makes me wonder how much of my/culture's interpretations themselves are biased and not the character's actions themselves?). Then again, it depends on each story; in this tale, Cinder Jack was clearly manipulating his brothers and Cinderellas don't tend to do that.

Then there's the matter of how Jack wins the bride-rather than simply appearing beautiful as Cinderella does, he performs feats of strength, which on the surface seems unfair and to reveal unbalanced gender expectations. And yet...is jumping really high on a horse that much more impressive than Cinderella's feats of dexterity, sorting grains, etc.? Especially when considering the fact that neither of them are actually performing their impossible tasks on their own merits, but using aid of magical helpers they befriended because they were kind?
What do you think of Cinder Jack?

Illustration by Charles Folkard

Fairy Tale Sushi

Snow White Sushi Roll

I'm no sushi expert by any means, but Tony and I do enjoy it every once in a while for a special dinner. We were out for a date and I was thrilled to discover something I had never seen before: a Beauty and the Beast roll! Of course I had to get it.

Most sushi menus will feature a Snow White roll, with snow crab and white tuna, also on the menu above. I liked that this restaurant also topped it with "cherry kiss cream" which I don't think is usually part of the description.

I thought that the BATB roll would be only a local specialty but it turns out there's a somewhat standard recipe for it-this picture is from a restaurant in Orlando.

I did find one restaurant, Thelonious Monkfish, that has a specialty fairy tale sushi roll section. It's fun, and although mostly random, you can see some connections between the tale and the ingredients. The menu even includes little descriptions/snippets of the tales too. Fairy tale menu below.

Has anyone else come across any fairy tale rolls?

Sleeping Beauty Roll $18.95

Like Princess Aurora asleep in her chamber waiting to be woken with a kiss, this blonde roll is prepared with white tuna (escolar)*, crushed pineapple + tempura flakes wrapped in yellow soy paper + sushi rice, draped with salmon, sliced ripe mango + drizzled with refreshing pineapple-lime mayo. (Ten pieces.)

Red Riding Hood Roll $18.95

Ambling through the dark forest with innocence as her only weapon, she leaves the trodden path and encounters the blackest, hungriest of wolves. Our roll is reminiscent of this ancient folk tale: spicy tuna, shrimp tempura + cucumber ensconced in sushi rice + green soy paper, draped with pared scallop + strawberry medallions, topped with black tobiko + drizzled with red berry coulis. (Ten Pieces.)

The Frog Prince Roll $18.95

In one version, the princess flings the frog against a stone wall; in another, her kiss precipitates its transmogrification into prince; but what to do if your prince is actually a frog and not the other way around? The interior:salmon, mango + tempura crunch; the exterior:layered with avocado + crowned with spicy snow crab + tobiko salad.

The Snow Queen Roll $16.95

Benumbed & blue in the ice palace, Kay feels nothing, for his heart’s a lump of ice; only Gerda’s tears can warm his frozen heart. Our roll evokes childhood memories of grandmother’s tales. Shiitake, green apple, cukes & asparagus wrapped in seaweed & rice, draped with young coconut meat, drizzled with pineapple mayo, garnished with coconut flakes. (8 pieces)

The Rumpelstiltskin Roll $18.95

Three times, he spun straw into gold, then awaited his prize. Under a coverlet of dark branches, round a smoky fire he danced a jig. “Today I brew, tomorrow I bake; then the Prince child I will take; for no one knows my little game: that Rumpelstiltskin is my name!”Inside: wok-roasted balsamic-glazed shiitake,yellowtail, asparagus tempura + green apple. Outside: fresh tuna, drizzled with wasabi mayo; topped with spring onion confetti; crowned with crispy yu mein noodles.

Grimms' Frog King vs. Frog Prince

In the Grimms' first edition of Household Tales, from 1812, there were two versions of "Frog Prince", one in each volume. The first, "Frog King, or Iron Henry" is actually the version that we know today as "Frog Prince," and the original "Frog Prince" is now virtually unknown.

In "Frog King," there is one daughter who meets the frog after she loses her golden ball in a well, and promises him to eat off her plate and sleep in her bed in order to get it back (although she doesn't actually think she will have to follow through with that promise). Her father forces her to fulfill that promise, and after she gets frustrated, she lthrows the frog against a wall, and he transforms into a prince (ironically, not a King). The prince's friend Henry is then introduced (kind of randomly, IMO) as being so joyful his master is released from his enchantment, that he had ordered iron bands to be wrapped around his heart "to keep it from bursting with grief." As the prince and princess drive away, the breaking bands cause loud cracking noises.

In "Frog Prince," there are three daughters. The eldest discovers that a frog is making the water in their well murky. He offers to make it clear again if she will be his sweetheart, and she refuses. The same thing happens to the middle daughter, but the youngest decides making an empty promise is worth getting clear water. That night the frog comes to her, and of her own accord she reluctantly opens the door to him, and he sleeps at the foot of her bed. He does this for three nights; on the last she tells him she won't let him sleep there any more, but she wakes up to find he's transformed into a Prince, just because she allowed herself to be his sweetheart. They married and her sisters were jealous. This version was later excluded from subsequent editions of Grimms fairy tales.

Which version do you like better?

Also, for an interesting comparison of "Frog King" from the first to last edition, this page allows you to literally see each phrase/section side by side (way easier than trying to follow along in two separate books!)

(Also, thanks for those of you who have offered suggestions on our fairy tale summer reading post! Be sure to get in your suggestions if you haven't already!)

Images-Unknown artist (Please share in the comments if you know!), William R Symonds

Texts can be read in either of these books:
The Complete First Edition: The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, translated and edited by Jack Zipes

Surlalune's Frog Prince and other Frog Tales from Around the World

From Toys to Husbands: Children and Romance in Fairy Tales

I got to see two productions of "The Nutcracker" this year, one that my student was in, and then I wanted to see the Joffrey's classic production of Nutcracker one last time before they switch to a different production next year!

One thing that stood out to me this year as I watched the story unfold was how odd it was that Clara is such an odd mixture of child and woman. At the beginning of the story she is very excited to be getting dolls and dolls beds for Christmas, but the whole story is a romance. Although she doesn't marry the Nutcracker Prince at the end of the ballet, E.T.A. Hoffman's original story makes it all the more jarring-the heroine (who was originally named Marie) begins the story at 7, and the conclusion says that she and the Prince were "married after a year and a day." Yes, some time has passed, but not long enough for that to be any less troubling!

Katharine Cameron

Yet this is not a new issue in fairy tales (and yes, I'm aware that "Nutcracker" isn't technically a fairy tale). I've already mentioned that I find it kind of creepy that the Princess in Frog Prince is so childish at the beginning, especially in the Grimms' version-her golden ball (another toy) is her favorite thing, she needs to be taught (in a rather condescending manner) about the "importance of keeping your word" (not the danger of letting strange supernatural males sleep in your bed), and after throwing the frog against a wall, she all of a sudden marries him.

Arthur Rackham

Yet another seven year old fairy tale character ends up married in the Grimms' version of Snow White. Some say that she must grow during her enchanted sleep, but even then it's hardly more comforting-she would still emotionally be a little girl after waking up (there are plenty more disturbing things about the Grimms' Prince I won't go into here). And why is her age even mentioned? Unlike Clara/Marie and the Frog Prince's bride, her story could have happened to an older teenager/young woman. Her stepmother is jealous of her beauty-an odd thing for a seven year old girl-and she is tempted not by toys, but by an apple and beauty products. Removing the age from the story would make total sense.

I've already done a little looking into the fact that, in other cultures, many girls really did get married off extremely young (see Frog Prince and Marriageable Age). It's possible that in some of these stories, the idea of a young girl going right from baby dolls to making babies would have seemed more natural, but it's also possible that the extreme and sudden transition was intentionally meant to show how unnatural the process felt for many of those young girls. Often fairy tales served to be the voice of the voiceless, as women passed down their experiences to those in the next generation.

Joffrey Ballet

Yet maybe it's not all that unnatural. It's very common for young children to have romances, even though they are not sexual ones. I remember having my first "boyfriend"at age 6. It was a label that really had no meaning, but for many people of all ages, having a significant other can be more of a status symbol or form of identity than anything else. Children see romance stories all the time, and it's natural to have crushes, even though they might not think through the logical outcomes of those crushes.

Joffrey Ballet

And stories like the "Nutcracker" may just be an exploration of that odd time when young girls are still children in many ways, but starting to feel that pull towards adulthood. It can also be seen as a sweet story of a girl's first crush-in the Joffrey version, Clara is the only one to join in both the children's and the adults' dances.

Thoughts on the subject?

Frozen Fairy Tales

I was thrilled and honored to receive a copy of Frozen Fairy Tales, courtesy of Kate Wolford and the fine people at World Weaver Press! There's been lots of buzz about the book over at Enchanted Conversation and around the fairy tale web, and it was definitely one of those books I wanted to keep an eye out for.

I love the concept of collecting fairy tales that are winter-themed but not necessarily Christmas. Winter can be really hard, with the cold and the dark, and once Christmas is over there's not that much to look forward to until Spring (there's a reason Narnia was cursed with "Always winter, but never Christmas"-how awful would endless January be?). Very few books and movies are set in non-holiday winter, they all seem to have pleasantly mild weather. When I actually see/read of characters bundling up, shivering, and extremities getting numb with cold, I get a sense of "oh I can relate to that!" because it's something many of us deal with for several months out of the year, depending on where you live.

This would also make an excellent Christmas present-it can be enjoyed for the next few months and doesn't have to be put away with the holiday decorations! I'm all about seasonal traditions and I think having special traditions for January and February is one of the best ways to battle the winter blues.
I've started the book but want to save some of the stories for after Christmas, for that reason. So far I'm really enjoying it, though. In fact, the first night I had a chance to sit down and read, I was looking all over for the book, and couldn't find it anywhere. I asked Tony if he had seen my copy of "Frozen Fairy Tales" and he was actually sitting in bed reading it! (He had turned randomly to "The Ice Fisher" and he enjoyed it-so it appeals to those who are more casual fairy tale fans as well!).

As with any collection of short stories, some of them resonate with me more than others. So far I really enjoyed Steven Grimms' "Faithful Henry", a retelling of the Frog Prince. Grimm (great last name alert!) did a really good job of taking the odd aspects of the original brothers Grimm tale and making so much more sense with them. It really is a strange story in ways-the Princess is childishly obsessed with a toy ball and in the brothers Grimms' version it became all about telling kids the importance of "keeping your promises" which makes it all the more creepy that this young and immature Princess who needs to learn such basic lessons would be immediately married off to the Prince who came from a frog she just hurled at the wall. Also, the character of Faithful Henry seems so randomly thrown in at the end. In Steven Grimms' version he makes sense of all these things, spinning it in a new light, as well as weaving in Winter as a character  in a really interesting way.

In a completely different vein, Lissa Marie Redmond's "Buffalo Wings" was another favorite of mine-it's a fun modern story where the fairy tale words crashes into a hipster coffee shop, and the main character has his own fantastic adventure.

It's interesting to see how the different authors use winter as a setting and a theme in the stories. I also noted that in almost all of the stories I've read so far, winter doesn't stand alone. At least one other season is mentioned, and is sometimes one of the main themes as well. Symbolically, and literally, winter never lasts forever. It's part of an ever changing cycle, and each season plays an important part. Yet even in the midst of the coldest, darkest winter, there is always hope of sping.

I'll be back with more comments as I read through more of the stories in the coming months!

UPDATE: If you would like to win an ebook version of "Frozen Fairy Tales," be sure to enter the giveaway at Enchanted Conversation! You have till December 18 to enter

A Frog for a Husband: A Korean Tale

Here's an interesting "Frog Prince" tale from Korea, this one does not tell the story from the perspective of the bride. We also get a back story for the frog, which you don't often see.

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A Frog for a Husband

Once there was an old farmer, Mr. Pak. He was poor but worked hard to fish and grow rice. He and his wife were childless and wondered what might happen to them in the future.

Gradually the farmer started to notice that there were less and less fish in his pond, and less water in the lake. Without fish or water, Pak and his wife would have no resources and could starve to death. The farmer went in search of the cause of his trouble and found a large bullfrog. In anger, Pak brought down curses upon the frog and his line of ancestors.

The frog did not seem to mind the curses, but instead asked to come home with the farmer. The Pak was hesitant, but the frog promised that the farmer would be glad someday. Pak thought his wife might be glad to have someone else to talk to.

He brought the strange guest home with him, and at first Mrs. Pak was horrified to board a frog. But she soon became glad of their guest, who told wonderful stories and was very pleasant company. "Indeed, she felt almost like adopting Froggie as her son."

The next morning, the couple woke to find the frog singing on their porch, and as he sang, the music was bringing them everything they could have wanted-valuables or jade, gold, and silver; clothes and hats, gowns and jewelry, furniture, and a polished metal mirror; food and delicacies and even a new house to put all these things in. The couple was never hungry and they enjoyed all their new blessings with their friend the frog, who continued to entertain them with stories, as Mrs. Pak told the frog about the village, especially the beauty and charm of the young Miss Peach.

Miss Peach was the most beautiful young woman, and her father was rich, but severe. When someone offended him, he would have his servants beat them until they were bloody and crippled. So it was to the farmer's horror that one day the frog declared he wanted the farmer to get him Miss Peach for a wife.

Pak tried to convince the frog not to send him on this mission, but the frog would not be satisfied until he had Miss Peach. So reluctantly, Pak went to the Poom mansion to ask for Miss Peach.

Mr. Pak told of all of the good qualities of Miss Peach's potential suitor, and Mr. Poom was impressed. He insisted on knowing the name of the suitor, to which Pak replied that he had forgotten the name, because he had "so long thought of the suitor's grace and accomplishments." Poom named every great Korean family name, and was suspicious that the suitor did not belong to any of these families. Eventally Pak had to admit that the suitor had no family name, for he was a frog.

Poom was furious and ordered his servants to bring out the whipping bench. The servants were just about to deal the first blow when the sky darkened, lightening and thunder flashed, and floods and hail the size of eggs began to pour. Poom ordered his men to hold off, and immediately the foul weather ceased and the sun shone.

Poom was impressed at this, and agreed to give the frog to his daughter, but did not tell her the strange news about her suitor. She was made ready for the wedding, and "according to custom, her eyes were sealed shut and covered with wax, for a Korean bride sees nothing of her husband until the end of the feast, when she meets him in the bridal chamber."

When the new bride finally laid eyes on her new husband, she was furious. The frog handed her a pair of scissors, and asked her to rip open the skin of his back from shoulder to thigh. "In bitter disappointment at being married to a frog, she seized the scissors and almost viciously began to cut from nape to waist." Yet underneath she saw silk, and out of the frog skin came a handsome prince, "the ideal of her dreams."

The next day the former frog told his foster parents his story. He had been the son of the King of the Stars and was cast out for some offense, forced to live on earth as a frog, until he accomplished three tasks: to drink up all the water in the lake, eat all the fish, and win the most beautiful woman in the world for a bride. Having done these things, he took his bride in a chariot back to his kingdom in the stars. "From this time forth a new double star was seen in the sky."

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Illustrations by Charles Robinson

Full text available in Surlalune's Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around the World, summary by me.

I seem to like folklore variants of the Frog Prince much better than the Grimms' story. It always bothered me that the daughter was so whiny about the frog, yet rewarded. Yet on the other hand, who can blame her? No one wants a slimy pet eating off your plate or sleeping in your bed. But I didn't like that contrast between herself and the King, Mr. "Always Keep Your Promises" (easy for him to say, he didn't have to bring the frog into his bed).

I like that in this story, everyone is initially repulsed by the frog, yet they change their minds, and he gives them whatever they most desire. He promises the farmer to make up for what he lost, and gives him much more; he provided companionship and conversation to the farmer's wife and ultimately became like the son they never had; he impressed Poom with his power, and gave Miss Peach the ideal husband and a heavenly palace. It's not only a reminder not to judge by appearances, but that idea that sometimes the worst things in life are making way for better things to come.

The Frog Prince: A Sri Lankan Tale

Found this very curious Sri Lankan version of the "Frog Prince" tale in Surlalune's The Frog Prince and Other Frog Tales From Around The World. And although it features a frog who turns into a prince, it's pretty different from our standard, Grimm version of the tale of the same name.

This frog prince was not enchanted or cursed to have a frog form, but was simply born as a frog to a poor widow. One day the King proclaimed that whoever brought him the Jeweled Golden Cock from the home of the Ogress Rakshasi should be given half the kingdom and an elephant's load of goods. His mother pounded rice for a living, and one day he strung some of the rice on a date tree, and became a handsome Prince. (One wonders why he hadn't already done this? And what correlation the action had to the consequence? The mysteries of the fairy tale world...)

From there the tale continues for a while like a typical hero tale-the Prince travels, is given magical gifts from several Kings to help him in times of trouble (a piece of charcoal that will turn into a fire-fence, a stone that becomes a mountain, and a thorn that creates a thorn fence). He arrives at the Rakshasi's home and is hidden and protected by the Rakshasi's daughter. She hides him in a trunk, tells the Ogress that the human flesh she smells must be from elsewhere, and the next day provides a distraction so the Prince can get away with the Jeweled Golden Cock. (The Rakshasi and her daughter seem similar to Baba Yaga, who also sometimes has daughters who tend to fill the same helper functions while Baba Yaga tries to eat the hero).


The ogresses begin to chase the hero, and he uses his magical objects to throw barriers in their way. The thorn fence and mountain don't seem to be too much trouble for him, but they are both burned in the fire (even the daughter who helped him! Although the narration does say she all of a sudden starts running towards him to eat him. I had sort of been hoping that the ogress' daughter would become beautiful and marry the Prince).

Liga-marta

Then the ending is surprising and sudden. The frog returned to the string of rice that transformed him, ate the rice, and resumed his former frog form. "After he became a frog, the clothes that he was wearing, and the horse, and the Jeweled Golden Cock vanished. Out of grief on that account, that frog died at that very place."

Rakshasa image from Wikipedia
Read the full tale on Surlalune

*Also: I've added the tag "unhappy endings" to this and several older posts. So if you want to find world folklore and/or versions of traditional tales with a tragic twist, they're easier to find in my archives now

Princess and the Frog

Continuing on in my trend this week of reviewing Disney movies everyone has already seen...now we go even FURTHER back in time. Last weekend I saw one of the classic fairy tale cartoons that I somehow managed to never see around the time it came out, 2009, Princess and the Frog. At the time, as I remember, there wasn't that much buzz around it after it came out, and I assumed it wasn't that great.

Given my lower expectations, I was really impressed by the film! It wasn't the funniest Disney film ever but it had my group of friends and I laughing on several occasions. And even more impressive were the characters.

At first I was worried about Prince Naveen's character. I knew he would eventually end up with Tiana and I didn't see it. I thought it would be like Tangled-my main problem with Tangled was that I didn't believe Flynn Rider had really changed and that Rapunzel had any reason to trust him. So often in romances-and not just fairy tale romances-the audience isn't really supposed to think too much about the characters, and whether or not they could actually work together. We're just shown a guy and a girl and it's assumed we want them to be together. Yet, although Naveen's and Tiana's romance was short compared to reality, given the time constraints of a family friendly Disney musical, I thought they did a nice job. I believed the change in Naveen and found myself really rooting for them as a couple.

I really liked the fact that all the main characters came to a point where they had to make a choice and ultimately sacrifice their biggest dream for the sake of the other characters-Naveen was going to give up Tiana to give her her restaurant, she gave up her restaurant and later her humanity to be with Naveen, even Louis had to stop playing in a jazz band to help save them, and Ray! Don't judge me but I may have teared up a little when there were two stars in the sky...

This scene was gorgeous...

In fact it was kind of like the reverse of my thoughts on Into the Woods. In that film, the question is, how far will each character go to get what they want? "Princess and the Frog" shows the characters all giving up what they want for others. And that's pretty rare for Disney films (and most movies...) the only other Disney fairy tale I can think of where the characters make tough choices like that, instead of just responding to the situation around them, is "Beauty and the Beast" (Belle gives up her freedom for her father, Beast sacrifices his chance of being with Belle and becoming human to let her go home).

And speaking of BATB-the fact that Tiana became a frog was advertised in all the trailers at the time, and no secret. But it did provide a nice twist on the Animal Bride/Bridegroom tale to have both of them transformed-there's no wondering, like in BATB, if the Beast would have even fallen for Belle if she weren't the most beautiful girl in the village. Both of the characters fall for each other while they're frogs so the physical aspect of the romance isn't an issue at all.

Concept Art

Tiana is a strong, feminist character (if not a little extremely preachy about the value of hard work and judgmental at first, but that was part of her character's growth). I couldn't decide if showing a woman who is career focused and whose big lesson to be learned is that she needs love too is ironically unfeminist though...but I decided I didn't mind it. The reverse, a woman who only wants love, would be too much like her Princess predecessors. (We also had that character in Charlotte). Plus there are plenty of family movies out there in which the father has to learn to spend time with his family and not focus just on work. Tiana is clearly more mature and likeable than Naveen at first, but I'm really glad they both had something to learn and it wasn't all about spoiled rich people being selfish. To even show a female so career focused and uninterested in men was pretty unusual for Disney, and it does reflect the challenges women are facing now that we have more career opportunities to have to juggle work and family and try to find that tricky balance.

What did you guys think? According to Wikipedia, part of the reason the movie didn't do as well as the studio hoped is the fact that the word "Princess" was in the title of the movie, therefore it appealed mostly to little girls and not as wide of an audience (and hence the titles for more recent Princess movies being "Tangled," "Brave," and "Frozen"). And while critics liked it overall, the overwhelming response was to compare it to "Beauty and the Beast," "Lion King," and the other major animated films of the second Disney Golden Age in the 90s. That's part of the problem for any Disney movie, is people's expectations can be SO high they'll be disappointed with anything that won't be nominated for Best Picture ("Princess and the Frog" was nominated for Best Animated Picture, but lost to "Up.")

The Wonderful Frog

It's no secret that I am a big, big fan of the Surlalune series of Tales From Around the World. I am slowly but surely amassing my collection...although The Grateful Dead collection was just recently released, I'm finally adding two of the books to my library I'm very excited about: Frog Prince and Rapunzel.

These books will really fill out my fairy tale library. It's possible to find versions of some of the most famous tales, like "Cinderella", "Snow White", and "Little Red Riding Hood", in other sources, but "Frog Prince" and "Rapuzel" are a little more on the fringe. They're still very popular and well loved but it's a little harder to find information on them, or related tales.

And it is SO important for any folklorist (or amateur fairy tale nerd) to go beyond the most famous versions of the tales. We so often fall into the trap of analyzing all the details of the brothers Grimm or Perrault/Anderson versions of a tale without realizing that those details are not essential to the tale itself (and maybe weren't even present in the first edition of the Grimm tales, but added later as editorial choices). Only when studying multiple versions of the tales from various cultures do we start to see a picture emerge-what elements of the tales are found everywhere? What elements change with the culture?

I'll be sharing more from both of these books in the future, but for now enjoy this interesting, if not slightly disturbing, Frog Prince tale from Hungary:

The Wonderful Frog

"There was once, I don't know where, a man who had three daughters." One day the father told his eldest to fetch him some water out of the well. When the girl arrived, a huge frog called out to her from the bottom of the well, that he would not allow her to draw water until she threw him down her gold ring. The eldest refused to give her rings to such an ugly creature, and returned without water.

Next the father sent his second daughter, and the same thing happened. Finally the father sent his youngest, Betsie, pleading with her to find a way to save him from suffering thirst. Because Betsie was so fond of her father, she threw her ring down to the frog, and her father was delighted to have fresh water.

In the evening, the frog crawled out of the well and started banging on their door, crying,  "Falther-in-law! Father-in-law! I should like something to eat." The father was angry, and told his daughters to give the frog a broken plate to gnaw on. But the frog demanded some roast meat on a tin plate, and afraid the frog would cast a spell on them otherwise, the father obliged. For the same reason, the father eventually gave in to the frog's demands for wine and a silk bed.

Next the frog demanded a girl. The father commanded his eldest daughter to lie down next to the frog, but she refused. So did the middle child. The frog croaked that he didn't want the other daughters, he wanted Betsie. "So Betsie went to bed with the frog, but her father thoughtfully left a lamp burning on the top of the oven; noticing which, the frog crawled out of bed and blew the lamp out." The father attempted twice more to light the lamp, but always thwarted by the frog, "was therefore obliged to leave his dear little Betsie in the dark by the side of the ugly frog, and felt great anxiety about her."

In the morning, the father and his two eldest daughters were astonished to find a handsome lad by Betsie's side. He asked for Betsie's hand, and they were married. The elder sisters were now envious of Betsie, and she herself was very happy.

Illustrations by Charles Robinson
Tale summarized by me; full tale available in the book

Artist Feature: Frances MacDonald McNair

The Sleeping Princess

I came across this first image by Scottish artist Frances MacDonald McNair, 1873-1921 and was enchanted. It took a little digging to find more of her fairy tale works, and as happens with online research-my facts can only be as good as my sources; I would come across images given different titles on different sites, or some attributed to either Frances or her sister Margaret. (Many of these images are all over Pinterest, but that often just tends to lead you down a breadcrumb trail, attempting to track down an authentic source). So I'm not promising that this post is free of error, but these images are too stunning not to share. She seemed to be most inspired by Sleeping Beauty:

The Sleeping Princess

Prince and Sleeping Princess

Rapunzel

"Ill Omen," or, "Girl in the East Wind with Ravens Passing the Moon" (inspired by Celtic lore) 

The Legend of the Snow Drops

Frog Prince

EDIT: A special addition, courtesy of Once Upon a Blog's Gypsy, and what perfect timing!: 

The May Queen

And this is by Frances' sister, Margaret MacDonald:

Cinderella

Louis Vuitton and Hermes Fairy Tales

Old images, but new for me-I love when major designers use fairy tales to advertise!

Louis Vuitton S/S 2002

Louis Vuitton Holiday 2009

Hermes S/S 2010

Source