Reading notes: English fairy tales, unit B
This reading was surprisingly dark, but I loved all the unique characters I thought the fox motif throughout all the stories was really interesting — several tales featured a fox as the trickster or villain. Here were my favorites from this unit.
Molly Whuppie
This story was very casually dark and grim, but I did think it was interesting. I would like to retell it from Molly Whuppie's perspective — she's obviously both clever and brave, and unafraid to trick or rob a giant. I think Molly's quite a character, and instead of just marrying the king's son at the end of the story, I'd like to have her become the kingdom's ruler herself — she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who'd be interested in just settling down.
Mr. Fox
This story was incredibly spooky and fascinating to me — I actually gasped at the ending where Mr. Fox was cut to pieces. I think this story could work if I retold it as some kind of dating horror story. Maybe Lady Mary is an aging woman, happily married, listening to her teenage daughter complain about boys with her friends. She would pull this story up from the past and show them just how terrible and dark the dating pool truly can be.
The Ass, the Table, and the Stick
I do enjoy this story (again, a little twisted, but a rather sweet ending), and I think it might work in a modern context. Maybe the ass is a car; maybe the table is a small refrigerator filled with the best meals. The material items would still be material items, and I don't think I'd have Jack kill anyone — I didn't like that aspect of this story.
Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890). Web source.
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| Illustration: "Childe Roland." Source: Wikimedia. |
This story was very casually dark and grim, but I did think it was interesting. I would like to retell it from Molly Whuppie's perspective — she's obviously both clever and brave, and unafraid to trick or rob a giant. I think Molly's quite a character, and instead of just marrying the king's son at the end of the story, I'd like to have her become the kingdom's ruler herself — she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who'd be interested in just settling down.
Mr. Fox
This story was incredibly spooky and fascinating to me — I actually gasped at the ending where Mr. Fox was cut to pieces. I think this story could work if I retold it as some kind of dating horror story. Maybe Lady Mary is an aging woman, happily married, listening to her teenage daughter complain about boys with her friends. She would pull this story up from the past and show them just how terrible and dark the dating pool truly can be.
The Ass, the Table, and the Stick
I do enjoy this story (again, a little twisted, but a rather sweet ending), and I think it might work in a modern context. Maybe the ass is a car; maybe the table is a small refrigerator filled with the best meals. The material items would still be material items, and I don't think I'd have Jack kill anyone — I didn't like that aspect of this story.
Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890). Web source.
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