A fairy tale, or wonder tale, is a kind of folktale or fable. In these stories we meet witches and queens, giants and elves, princes, dragons, talking animals, ogres, princesses, and sometimes even fairies. Marvelous and magical things happen to characters in fairy tales. A boy may become a bird. A princess may sleep for a hundred years. A seal may become a girl. Objects too can be enchanted — mirrors talk, pumpkins become carriages, and a lamp may be home to a genie.
The oldest fairy tales were told and retold for generations before they were written down. French fairy tales were the first to be collected and written down, but now we can read fairy tales from almost any culture. When these stories were studied together, something amazing was discovered. From countries as distant and different as Egypt and Iceland similar fairy tales are told. Both Egypt and Iceland have "Cinderella" stories, as do China, England, Korea, Siberia, France, and Vietnam; and the list doesn't stop there. There may be a thousand versions of the Cinderella story, each with a unique telling which carries cultural information about the time and place the story was told. One thing is for sure; people everywhere like stories in which truth prevails over deception, generosity is ultimately rewarded, hard work overcomes obstacles, and love, mercy and kindness are the greatest powers of all.
Here is an example of fairy tale.
Beauty and the Beast
Once upon
a time as a merchant set off for market, he asked each of his three daughters what
she would like as a present on his return. The first daughter wanted a brocade
dress, the second a pearl necklace, but the third, whose name was Beauty, the
youngest, prettiest and sweetest of them all, said to her father:
"All I'd like is a rose you've picked specially for me!"
When the merchant had finished his business, he set off for home.
However, a sudden storm blew up, and his horse could hardly make headway in the
howling gale. Cold and weary, the merchant had lost all hope of reaching an inn
when he suddenly noticed a bright light shining in the middle of a wood. As he
drew near, he saw that it was a castle, bathed in light.
"I hope I'll find shelter there for the night," he said
to himself. When he reached the door, he saw it was open, but though he
shouted, nobody came to greet him. Plucking up courage, he went inside, still
calling out to attract attention. On a table in the main hall, a splendid
dinner lay already served. The merchant lingered, still shouting for the owner of
the castle. But no one
came, and so the starving merchant sat down to a hearty meal.
Overcome by curiosity, he ventured upstairs, where the corridor
led into magnificent rooms and halls. A fire crackled in the first room and a
soft bed looked very inviting. It was now late, and the merchant could not
resist. He lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. When he woke next morning,
an unknown hand had placed a mug of steaming coffee and some fruit by his
bedside.
The merchant had breakfast and after tidying himself up, went
downstairs to thank his generous host. But, as on the evening before, there was
nobody in sight. Shaking his head in wonder at the strangeness of it all, he
went towards the garden where he had left his horse, tethered to a tree.
Suddenly, a large rose bush caught his eye.
Remembering his promise to Beauty, he bent down to pick a rose.
Instantly, out of the rose garden, sprang a horrible beast, wearing splendid
clothes. Two bloodshot eyes, gleaming angrily, glared at him and a deep,
terrifying voice growled: "Ungrateful man! I gave you shelter, you ate at
my table and slept in my own bed, but now all the thanks I get is the theft of
my favorite flowers! I shall put you to death for this slight!" Trembling
with fear, the merchant fell on his knees before the Beast.
"Forgive me! Forgive me! Don't kill me! I'll do anything you
say! The rose wasn't for me, it was for my daughter Beauty. I promised to bring
her back a rose from my journey!" The Beast dropped the paw it had clamped
on the unhappy merchant.
"I shall spare your life, but on one condition, that you
bring me your daughter!" The terror-stricken merchant, faced with certain
death if he did not obey, promised that he would do so. When he reached home in
tears, his three daughters ran to greet him. After he had told them of his
dreadful adventure, Beauty put his mind at rest immediately.
"Dear father, I'd do anything for you! Don't worry, you'll be
able to keep your promise and save your life! Take me to the castle. I'll stay
there in your place!" The merchant hugged his daughter.
"I never did doubt your love for me. For the moment I can
only thank you for saving my life." So Beauty was led to the castle. The
Beast, however, had quite an unexpected greeting for the girl. Instead of
menacing doom as it had done with her father, it was surprisingly pleasant.
In the beginning, Beauty was frightened of the Beast, and
shuddered at the sight of it. Then she found that, in spite of the monster's
awful head, her horror of it was gradually fading as time went by. She had one
of the finest rooms in the Castle, and sat for hours, embroidering in front of
the fire. And the Beast would sit, for hours on end, only a short distance
away, silently gazing at her. Then it started to say a few kind words, till in
the end, Beauty was amazed to discover that she was actually enjoying its
conversation. The days passed, and Beauty and the Beast became good friends.
Then one day, the Beast asked the girl to be his wife.
Taken by surprise, Beauty did not know what to say. Marry such an
ugly monster? She would rather die! But she did not want to hurt the
feelings of one who, after all, had been kind to her. And she remembered too
that she owed it her own life as well as her father's.
"I really can't say yes," she began shakily. "I'd
so much like to..." The Beast interrupted her with an abrupt gesture.
"I quite understand! And I'm not offended by your
refusal!" Life went on as usual, and nothing further was said. One day,
the Beast presented Beauty with a magnificent magic mirror. When Beauty peeped
into it, she could see her family, far away.
"You won't feel so lonely now," were the words that
accompanied the gift. Beauty stared for hours at her distant family. Then she
began to feel worried. One day, the Beast found her weeping beside the magic
mirror.
"What's wrong?" he asked, kindly as always.
"My father is gravely ill and close to dying! Oh, how I wish
I could see him again, before it's too late!" But the Beast only shook its
head.
"No! You will never leave this castle!" And off it
stalked in a rage. However, a little later, it returned and spoke solemnly to
the girl.
"If you swear that you will return here in seven days time,
I'll let you go and visit your father!" Beauty threw herself at the
Beast's feet in delight.
"I swear! I swear I will! How kind you are! You've made a
loving daughter so happy!" In reality, the merchant had fallen ill from a
broken heart at knowing his daughter was being kept prisoner. When he embraced
her again, he was soon on the road to recovery. Beauty stayed beside him for
hours on end, describing her life at the Castle, and explaining that the Beast
was really
good and kind. The days flashed past, and at last the merchant was able to
leave his bed. He was completely well again. Beauty was happy at last. However,
she had failed to notice that seven days had gone by.
Then one night she woke from a terrible nightmare. She had dreamt
that the Beast was dying and calling for her, twisting in agony.
"Come back! Come back to me!" it was pleading. The
solemn promise she had made drove her to leave home immediately.
"Hurry! Hurry, good horse!" she said, whipping her steed
onwards towards the castle, afraid that she might arrive too late. She rushed
up the stairs, calling, but there was no reply. Her heart in her mouth, Beauty
ran into the garden and there crouched the Beast, its eyes shut, as though
dead. Beauty threw herself at it and hugged it tightly.
"Don't die! Don't die! I'll marry you . . ." At these
words, a miracle took place. The Beast's ugly snout turned magically into the
face of a handsome young man.
"How I've been longing for this moment!" he said.
"I was suffering in silence, and couldn't tell my frightful secret. An
evil witch turned me into a monster and only the love of a maiden willing to
accept me as I was, could transform me back into my real self. My dearest! I'll
be so happy if you'll marry me."
The wedding took place shortly after and, from that day on, the
young Prince would have nothing but roses in his gardens. And that's why, to
this day, the castle is known as the Castle of the Rose.
