Europa's Fairy Book, Reading B
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 The Swan Maidens. This story was full of suspense, surprise, and rich plots.
The story began in an interesting way: There used to be a hunter who would stalk a deer to hunt. He suddenly heard the sound of ducks' wings and pointed his gun at them to catch.
This was such a beautiful description of a scene with so much visual and imagery details: "there appeared seven maidens all clad in robes made of feathers, and they alighted on the banks of the lake and, taking off their robes, plunged into the waters and bathed and sported in the lake."
Although all of the maidens were beautiful, the smallest and youngest one really caught the hunter's eye, so he acted out in a creepy way: "he crept forward from the bushes and seized her dress of plumage and took it back with him into the bushes." This sounded extremely creepy to me. The hunter was amoral for sure.
So the other six maidens weren't so compassionate for their youngest, kidnapped sister: "We must away; 'tis the dawn: you meet your fate whatever it be." And with that, they donned their robes and flew away, and away, and away." I thought this encouraged the hunter to take the youngest maiden even with more confidence.
This hunter, I thought, was pretty clever yet evil: "He gave her his cloak but would not give her her robe, feeling that she would fly away."
Wow.. This story seemed to turn out to be the hunter's eventual victory?: "he made her promise to marry him, and took her home, and hid her feather robe where she could not find it. So they were married and lived happily together and had two fine children, a boy and a girl, who grew up strong and beautiful, and their mother loved them with all her heart"
One day, one of the maiden's little daughters found her mother's feather-made robe and took it to the maiden.
The maiden was determined to go despite her children: ""Tell father that if he wishes to see me again, he must find me in the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon," and with that she flew away." I guessed she really didn't want to be with her husband.
I like this really rich visual, imagery description of the scene: "Then he uttered a shrill whistle, and soon all the plain in front of them was filled with all of the beasts of the world" This was depicted like a movie scene.
The old man and beast didn't know what the West o'clock and East o'clock meant though.
This again was an amazing scene, full of imagery details: "So the King of the Birds whistled loud and shrill, and soon the sky was darkened with all the birds of the air."
Even the King of birds didn't know, so they went ahead to consult the King of Fishes. At least the dolphin knew roughly what it was: "at last a dolphin that had come late called out: "I have heard that at the top of the Crystal Mountain lies the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon, but how to get there I know not, save that it is near the Wild Forest."
When the hunter went to the forest, he was encountered with two men quarreling. The hunter ruled like a solomon: "best thing I can think of is for you to race from here to that tree yonder, and whoever gets back to me first, I will hand him either the shoes or the cap, whichever he wishes."
What a clever and cunning the hunter was!: "they had started running towards the tree, he put on the shoes of swiftness and placed the invisible cap on his head and wished himself in the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon." This was a trick! What a bad and marvelous trick was it? It was really cunning.
There he finally arrived at the King. The hunter was a clever man again indeed: "when she had dwelt with him she had sewn the little shifts and dresses of her children, and the forefinger of her right hand had the marks of the needle." He knew 'how' to distinguish his wife.
Well.. it was a surprise for me that they lived happily afterwards. But I think this story teaches an important lesson: someone has to be clever, often cunning to get what they want.
Although I thoroughly liked reading all the amazing and fascinating European fairy stories, the one that really caught my particular attention was The Swan Maidens. This story was full of suspense, surprise, and rich plots.
The story began in an interesting way: There used to be a hunter who would stalk a deer to hunt. He suddenly heard the sound of ducks' wings and pointed his gun at them to catch.
This was such a beautiful description of a scene with so much visual and imagery details: "there appeared seven maidens all clad in robes made of feathers, and they alighted on the banks of the lake and, taking off their robes, plunged into the waters and bathed and sported in the lake."
Although all of the maidens were beautiful, the smallest and youngest one really caught the hunter's eye, so he acted out in a creepy way: "he crept forward from the bushes and seized her dress of plumage and took it back with him into the bushes." This sounded extremely creepy to me. The hunter was amoral for sure.
So the other six maidens weren't so compassionate for their youngest, kidnapped sister: "We must away; 'tis the dawn: you meet your fate whatever it be." And with that, they donned their robes and flew away, and away, and away." I thought this encouraged the hunter to take the youngest maiden even with more confidence.
This hunter, I thought, was pretty clever yet evil: "He gave her his cloak but would not give her her robe, feeling that she would fly away."
Wow.. This story seemed to turn out to be the hunter's eventual victory?: "he made her promise to marry him, and took her home, and hid her feather robe where she could not find it. So they were married and lived happily together and had two fine children, a boy and a girl, who grew up strong and beautiful, and their mother loved them with all her heart"
One day, one of the maiden's little daughters found her mother's feather-made robe and took it to the maiden.
The maiden was determined to go despite her children: ""Tell father that if he wishes to see me again, he must find me in the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon," and with that she flew away." I guessed she really didn't want to be with her husband.
I like this really rich visual, imagery description of the scene: "Then he uttered a shrill whistle, and soon all the plain in front of them was filled with all of the beasts of the world" This was depicted like a movie scene.
The old man and beast didn't know what the West o'clock and East o'clock meant though.
This again was an amazing scene, full of imagery details: "So the King of the Birds whistled loud and shrill, and soon the sky was darkened with all the birds of the air."
Even the King of birds didn't know, so they went ahead to consult the King of Fishes. At least the dolphin knew roughly what it was: "at last a dolphin that had come late called out: "I have heard that at the top of the Crystal Mountain lies the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon, but how to get there I know not, save that it is near the Wild Forest."
When the hunter went to the forest, he was encountered with two men quarreling. The hunter ruled like a solomon: "best thing I can think of is for you to race from here to that tree yonder, and whoever gets back to me first, I will hand him either the shoes or the cap, whichever he wishes."
What a clever and cunning the hunter was!: "they had started running towards the tree, he put on the shoes of swiftness and placed the invisible cap on his head and wished himself in the Land East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon." This was a trick! What a bad and marvelous trick was it? It was really cunning.
There he finally arrived at the King. The hunter was a clever man again indeed: "when she had dwelt with him she had sewn the little shifts and dresses of her children, and the forefinger of her right hand had the marks of the needle." He knew 'how' to distinguish his wife.
Well.. it was a surprise for me that they lived happily afterwards. But I think this story teaches an important lesson: someone has to be clever, often cunning to get what they want.
The Child Finds the Feather Dress. Source: Child found the Feather Dress
Bibliography:
Europa's Fairy Book by Joseph Jacobs and illustrated by John Batten (1916).
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