Fairy Tale Quiz!

[apple_pathways]

My recent poll about fairy tale princesses has brought to my attention the fact that most people know the Disneyfied versions of tales and have never heard the original versions. Think you know (or can guess?) the way these classic stories went before Disney added the cute singing animals?

First a couple demographic questions, then the quiz! Unless specified, the questions refer to the most famous version of the tale: The Grimm Brothers, Charles Perrault, or Hans Christian Andersen. Answers will be provided at the end. Try to do your best without consulting Google! (Santa's watching!)



[Poll #1678596]

ANSWERS: Highlight to read!



Q: "What does the Little Mermaid give to the Sea Witch as payment for a potion that will give her legs?"
A: "Her tongue." The Disney version got one thing right: the Sea Witch did covet her beautiful voice!

Q: "How is Snow White woken from the poison apple coma?"
A: "One of the servants carrying her coffin trips, and dislodges the apple from her throat." The prince 'buys' the comatose Snow White in her coffin. When his servants are hauling it off, one of them trips on a tree branch, and the bit of poison apple stuck in her throat is dislodged. Saved by clumsy pallbearers! Romantic, eh?

Q: "What happens to Cinderella's stepsisters at the end of the tale?"
A: "They marry rich Lords and live at the palace." In a rare move for a fairy tale, the wicked go unpunished: Cinderella forgives her wicked stepsisters, lets them move in to the palace with her, and sets them up with rich husbands. No comeuppance? How unsatisfying!

Q: "Why is Rapunzel imprisoned in the tower?"
A: "Her parents stole radishes from a witch's garden." Rapunzel's pregnant mother had a craving for the radishes that grew in their enchantress neighbor's garden, and her husband stole them for her. Child abduction: yeah, that seems a fitting punishment for produce theft!

Q: "How do Hansel and Gretel find their way home the first time their parents try to abandon them?"
A: "Hansel leaves a trail of white stones." When the moon comes up, they're able to follow the glowing stones home. Then Hansel suffers a head injury or something, because his next choice of trail marker is bread crumbs, which are quickly eaten by birds. Oops.

Q: "What happens to Little Red Riding Hood in Perrault's version of the tale?"
A: "She's eaten." Happy ending, CRAPPY ENDING! Don't talk to strangers, kids!

Q: "Why does Jack steal the giant's treasure?"
A: "To avenge his father--that giant killed his pa!" Jack's father was rich and generous, which made the giant jealous. So he killed Jack's dad and took all his stuff. You know: like you do! Therefore, Jack is TOTES justified in murdering the giant and taking his treasure!



And if that's not enough: what are your favorite and least favorite fairy tales?

My favorite: I LOVE the story of The Little Mermaid, but Andersen's writing itself is a little TL;DR. So I have to go with: The Robber Bridegroom. I won't spoil it for you, but there's an awesome reveal at the end! (And two genuine heroines! Hooray!)

Least favorite: Thumbelina. I don't know how much I've been influenced by an animated version I saw as a child, but a story where a tiny little woman is constantly fending off molestation by toads, beetles, and moles is just all kinds of icky. *shudders*

Comments

[katyscarlett76.livejournal.com]

This was really interesting! I think most of my knowledge comes from Ladybird books :) I did have a big book of Hans Christian Andersen though, can't really remember what was in it. I've alwasy found the alternative or "real" versions intriguing, like I remember reading somewhere that Sleeping Beauty was about childbirth?? Do you have any recs for books that have those versions or research about them??

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Like most of these tales, Sleeping Beauty existed in many, many versions before the Grimm brothers collected it for their definitive collection of fairy tales in the 18th century. In one of those earlier versions that originated in the 13th century, the princess is raped and gives birth to twins, all while still asleep! Even the pain of childbirth doesn't wake her up. She's woken when one of her newborn children sucks the splinter from her finger by mistake. (YIKES!)

There's a TON of books out there discussing the evolution of fairy tales. One that I own is called The Hard Facts of the Brothers Grimm by Maria Tatar; it gives a good overview of their life and career, and discusses what these stories meant to the people that read them. You can also buy books about individual tales! One of my favorites is Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale. It provides a good template for how classic folk tales grow and evolve over time as cultural values and storytelling traditions change.

Finally, my favorite way to learn about fairy tales is to read the contemporary re-tellings of them by modern authors. There's a three book (I believe?) anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. The first in the series is called Snow White, Blood Red. The collection contains some fantastic authors (Tanith Lee! Joyce Carol Oates! Neil Gaiman!). The authors who write them have studied the original tales, and their re-tellings pick up on the dark undertones that are present in the classic versions.