Europa's Fairy Book, Reading A
I really liked reading all the European fairy stories. One interesting thing that I've found is that all the stories are incredibly rich with vivid, imagery details, rich plots, and interesting characters.
Although I thoroughly liked reading all the amazing and fascinating European fairy stories, the one that really caught my particular attention was Beauty and the Beast. I've never read the book version of the story, and I was amused at how text version of the story is more fun to read than watching the Disney movie!
The story begins in a really interesting way, which is quite different from the Disney movie. There are the father and his doting three daughters. He asked his daughters for a favor because he loved them so much: "What shall I bring you back, my dears?"
I like the youngest and most mature, in my personal opinion, daughter's interesting response: "Bring back yourself, Papa, and that is what I want the most." I thought this daughter really cared about his father and his well-being.
But the father refused that caring answer and asked for something materialistic. So the youngest daughter asked him a rose. Wow.. this is a fascinating scene that a rose turned into a monster: "Near where he had stopped, he saw a great garden and, getting off his horse, he wandered about in it till he found a lovely rose-bush, and he plucked the most beautiful rose he could see on it. At that moment he heard a crash like thunder and, looking around, he saw a huge monster — two tusks in his mouth and fiery eyes surrounded by bristles, and horns coming out of its head and spreading over its back."
I've never heard or seen anything like this amazing, science-fiction like scene in other fairy tales and folk tales I've read over the course of semester.
Obviously this monster was somewhat of a philosopher too: "Thieving is thieving," said the Beast, "whether it be a rose or a diamond; thy life is forfeit."
I thought this monster, although not moral, but clever for demanding the man's daughter: "seven days from now, thou must bring this youngest daughter of thine, for whose sake thou hast broken into my garden, and leave her here in thy stead."
Although I thoroughly liked reading all the amazing and fascinating European fairy stories, the one that really caught my particular attention was Beauty and the Beast. I've never read the book version of the story, and I was amused at how text version of the story is more fun to read than watching the Disney movie!
The story begins in a really interesting way, which is quite different from the Disney movie. There are the father and his doting three daughters. He asked his daughters for a favor because he loved them so much: "What shall I bring you back, my dears?"
I like the youngest and most mature, in my personal opinion, daughter's interesting response: "Bring back yourself, Papa, and that is what I want the most." I thought this daughter really cared about his father and his well-being.
But the father refused that caring answer and asked for something materialistic. So the youngest daughter asked him a rose. Wow.. this is a fascinating scene that a rose turned into a monster: "Near where he had stopped, he saw a great garden and, getting off his horse, he wandered about in it till he found a lovely rose-bush, and he plucked the most beautiful rose he could see on it. At that moment he heard a crash like thunder and, looking around, he saw a huge monster — two tusks in his mouth and fiery eyes surrounded by bristles, and horns coming out of its head and spreading over its back."
I've never heard or seen anything like this amazing, science-fiction like scene in other fairy tales and folk tales I've read over the course of semester.
Obviously this monster was somewhat of a philosopher too: "Thieving is thieving," said the Beast, "whether it be a rose or a diamond; thy life is forfeit."
I thought this monster, although not moral, but clever for demanding the man's daughter: "seven days from now, thou must bring this youngest daughter of thine, for whose sake thou hast broken into my garden, and leave her here in thy stead."
Bella was a kind-hearted and loving daughter: "Oh, Father, it was all on account of me that you fell into the power of this Beast, so I will go with you to him" Most daughters aren't quite like Bella, so I thought she was unusual.
She went to an empty castle with nothing inside, very much like the Disney movie. The story of mysterious invisible servants are also kind of similar. The beast's kind hospitality did move the heart of Bella and she wasn't scared of him afterwards.
Obviously Bella did fall in love with the beast because she wandered around to find him when he was missing. She saw the lifeless, unbreathing beast lying on the floor of the garden.
The beast turned into a handsome prince. He was the prince in the first place, but was cursed. Owing to Bella's love, he could turn back to the handsome prince he was and they lived happily afterwards.
I really like this amazing story of Beauty and the Beast and reading it was even more fun than watching the movie.
Beauty and the Beast. Source: Bella and the Beast
Bibliography:
Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten (1916).
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