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Fairy Tales..

Gem

Gem

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Not sure if this is the right place for this thread, but here goes...
I'm doing a little research into fairytales and legends across different cultures. Was wondering what everyones favourite tale was, and whether you guys preffered the traditional popular ones or the more obscure ones.
 
sirmyk:
This is a difficult question; I have so many favorites.
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name a few - oh gone on :)

I have quite a few faves as well but the one that always stands out is a short one called: the Straw, the piece of coal and the Bean.- anyone heard of it?
 
I haven't heard of that one, Gem. One favorite I will share with you though is "The Gift of the Magi," about James and Della, with the Christmas crisis involving the pocket watch and the hair combs. I don't know, maybe that's more of a parable than a fairy tale though.

As far as classics go, I really like Cinderella.

Oh, and does the Chinese story of Fa Mu-Lan count? I mean the real story, not the Disneyfied version.
 
'The Gift of the Magi' sounds great - i hadn;t heard of that before, thanks for sharing that Kristocat. I'm athinking that Mulan non disney does most definetly count. I loved the non disney Little mermaid but boy was it sad.
 
I don't think I've got a favorite. I just liked god/goddess lore period. I took a couple classes dedicated to myths and fairy tales in college. They were a couple of my favorites.
 
Gem said:
and whether you guys preffered the traditional popular ones or the more obscure ones.
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I prefer the traditional ones. My region does have some of its own tales, but I've never really taken an interest.
 
Gem said:
Was wondering what everyones favourite tale was
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The non-disney Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretal, or Cinderella. :)

Gem said:
and whether you guys preffered the traditional popular ones or the more obscure ones.
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I prefer the traditional popular ones myself.

The Maori cultural "fairytales" here in NZ are mostly about Taniwha (taan-ee-fa), which look kinda like the dragons used in Chinese celebrations, and the spiritual gods of the certain areas, such as Rangi, god of the sky or Tane, the god of the forest. Pretty boring, really.
 
I prefer the traditional ones.

Anything by Hans Christian Andersen. "The Princess and the Pea" stays my favourite by him though.
From the Arabian Nights, however I loved "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves".
The "Askeladden-tales" by Peter Asbjørnsens (& Moe) were also good.
Jacob Grimms "Hansel and Grethel"... etc etc etc.
I don't remember half of the titles of the tales I read, since it's years back I was an avid fairy-tales-reader, but hope this helped you out a bit.
 
I love the Arabian Nights, though it's really the frame story of Sheherazade herself that grabs me.

I like stories that involve three wishes. There are so many twists to how the wishes can be used, or wasted, or can go awry.

I also like collections of folktales from around the world. It's a great way to get a taste of other cultures.

Lastly (for now), I read Aesop's Fables when I was very little. I'm sure their lessons are ingrained in me.
 
personal favorites

godfather death
the red shoes
the mouse, the sausage and the bird keep house
the sisters who danced with death
the devil's sooty brother
the boy who did not know how to shudder
mother holle

these have various names, but you should be able to find them with the ones i've given

gift of the magi is not a fairy tale, it is an o henry story..perrault has the good, rough versions of little red riding hood, hans christian anderson does the little mermaid...wilde wrote some really nice ones, the boy without a soul is particularly nice ( i forget the real name, offhand)
 
KristoCat said:
I haven't heard of that one, Gem. One favorite I will share with you though is "The Gift of the Magi," about James and Della, with the Christmas crisis involving the pocket watch and the hair combs. I don't know, maybe that's more of a parable than a fairy tale though.

As far as classics go, I really like Cinderella.

Oh, and does the Chinese story of Fa Mu-Lan count? I mean the real story, not the Disneyfied version.
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I always thought of "The Gift of the Magi" as a good O'Henry story. Never really classified it as a fairytale, though.

I like the Brothers Grimm stuff. Like the "Billy Goat Gruff". Trolls under bridges are awesome!
 
JRakovan said:
wilde wrote some really nice ones, the boy without a soul is particularly nice ( i forget the real name, offhand)
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The Fisherman and the Mermaid?

I love the old ones but I also like many of the ones in 'The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales'. I don't feel like going to the shed to check titles and authors now but there is one where a witch helps the hero to win the hand of the pricess and when he does he realises she is a bore and marries the witch instead and another one where a girl goes to rescue a prince from the sorcerer's castle and turns out the prince was not imprisoned but drop in to stay the night and then the sorcerer could not get rid of him.
 
thanks everyone theres some great suggestions there. :)

JRakovan - Mother Holle - boy that brings back memories - my sister used to make me read it so that I would housework without grumbling :rolleyes:

Leckert - Trolls under bridges - a very topical choice ;) but i'd have to agree they are awesome.

Mari - I'd have to agree, Scheherazade's story was much more interesting to me then the ones she told.

Monkeycatcher - its funny how cultural stories from across the world are so darn similar....

Molto - thanks for the link I'll check it out.
 
Oh clueless I just read your post now, the stories you described sound so great I don't think i've read them before, will have to do some digging.
 
I'm quite fond of the short story 'The Changeling' (Bortbytingen) by Selma Lagerlöf. It's about a troll that swaps her child for a human child.
 
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