Emma Keith

In a thriving city not far from here, there lived a talented baker and his wife.  But the passion in the baker’s heart for his pastries and bake shop did not match the funds in his bank account, which ran drier by the day. At last, the baker and his wife realized that they had but enough money and ingredients for one more day of pastry production.  The baker dutifully prepped his ingredients and bases for his last day of operation the night before, shedding a single tear as he turned off the lights in his shop’s kitchen and headed upstairs to his apartment.  But when the baker turned up the lights in the kitchen the next morning, he was met with a glorious surprise: a row of pastries and treats, still hot and fresh, all ready their trays. He gasped in delight and called to his wife, who helped him set the treats out in the shop.  Soon the shop’s regulars began to appear for their morning muffins and danishes. They noticed on first sight how beautiful ...

I wasn't as much of a fan of several stories in this unit — they seemed a little more unfocused than the Unit A stories, most of which had clear endings and morals. Here, however, were several that I did enjoy from this Grimm unit:  Simeli Mountain This story was one of the darker ones in the unit, more of what I would expect from a Grimm tale. I enjoy that in this story, as in many of the stories in this unit, the evil character truly does receive a terrible comeuppance at the story's end, but I think I might change that in a retelling. Maybe instead of being beheaded in the mountain, the older brother is chased out of the mountain and exiled from the land by the twelve strong robbers.  Illustration by Otto Ubbelohde. Web source .  The Duration of Life This was an interesting origin-type story that was actually kind of sobering at the end. I wonder if I might add another animal in that gives more life and joy to the duration of m...

This week, I read some of the Brothers Grimm work from the Ashliman unit. The stories were quite clever and I enjoyed them all — overall, they definitely weren't as dark as I expected. Here were some of my favorites:  Little Red Cap Little Red Riding Hood, by Arthur Rackham. Source: Wikimedia . I love this Little Red Riding Hood-esque tale — the details are charming and vivid (especially the bit about how the wolf distracts Little Red Cap while she's on her way to grandmother's house). I think one thing I could do with this story is retell it from Little Red Cap's perspective. I also thought about modernizing the tale with some present-day details, but I think the story would lose some of its charm that way.  The Singing Bone This story was dark, but so interesting — I actually gasped at the terrible fate of the older brother at the end. I wonder if there might be a way to bring the younger brother back to life at the end of the story, so he can truly tr...