The Grimmest Of Tales

I’ve always wanted to read Grimm’s Fairy Tales but have never gotten an opportunity until now.  Some of them are interesting and I have heard as a kid.  The one that surprised me the most was Little Red Riding Hood.  The one version I was told when I was a kid was very tame compared to the one we read in class.  First off Little Red Riding Hood never even met the wolf on the path on the way to her grandma’s house.  There was no huntsmen, didn’t know what happened to grandma, and Little Red Riding Hood got away from the wolf.  The part that really caught me off guard was the huntsman shooting the wolf in the shoulder, eviscerating the wolf to pull out the undigested Little Red Riding Hood and Grandmother.  Then to have Little Red Riding Hood put rocks in his belly and sew him back together, just to have the wolf run off the bleed to death internally.

One of the stories I really enjoyed was The Cat and the Mouse Set Up House.  I was laughing when the cat said was saying the kittens were named Top Off, Half Gone, All Gone, since that was the status of how much fat was left every time the cat said he was going to be the godfather of a kitten.  The story to me made me think of Tom and Jerry, except the cat ends up actually getting the mouse.  Having the cat as in the story as a cunning character and the mouse eventually figuring out what was going on did remind me of the cartoon but again, the cat actually got the mouse.

The Three Leaves Snake was also one of my favorites.  I liked the ending, the story was wrapped up in a nice neat little bow.  The man stuck to his word but revived his wife because he either didn’t want to die or actually loved her, since he agreed to the terms it implies he loved her, I think.  The wife gets revived doesn’t love her husband, cheats on him, tries to kill him but ends being killed for her treachery.  Everyone got what they deserved, no loose ends, hearts are broken but when I think of Grimm’s Fairy Tales that’s kind of what I expect.