Famous Fairy Tales

Famous fairy tales present a doorway for millions of children to the world of fantasy and make-belief.

A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature fantasy elements such as magical places, creatures and things. It’s difficult to distinguish between fairy tales and fantasy. But the term fairy tale is usually used to describe a fantasy story aimed at children that has its origin in an ancient tale.

Most famous fairy tales are hundreds of years old are and were originally intended for an adult audience. People passed on them from one generation to the next through world of mouth for centuries before they ever wrote them down. Because they were originally aimed at adults, the early versions of many tales are dark, even gory. They have evolved through the centuries and some have become altered almost beyond recognition. However, most retain an echo of their original characters and story.

The German academics, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, better known as the Brothers Grimm, are responsible for preserving many age-old fairy tales. In the 1880s, they published their own versions of some of the most famous fairy tales of all time, including Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood (see below). And it is the Grimm versions of these tales that live on today.

Most famous fairy tales have ‘a moral to the story’, one that warns children of the dangers of talking to strangers perhaps or of wandering too far from home. They almost always have a happy ending, one in which the hero triumphs and the wicked creature pays for his or her ways. This of course teaches children that kindness is rewarded while wickedness is punished.

Many famous fairy tales involve a young idealistic female character and a maleovalent force that wants to end her happiness or even her life. Such tales have given us a host of stereotypes, including the stereotypical damsel in distress, the knight in shining armor and the wicked corrupt queen.

I grew up immersed in famous fairy tales, which my babysitter read to me every afternoon as I lay curled up in her lay, utterly enchanted. My favorites included Puss-in-Boots, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Sleeping Beauty and Rumpelstilskin. Those ancient stories of good and evil, of danger and adventure, of princesses and knights, instilled in me a love of all things fantasy – and I am forever grateful for that.

Here is an overview of one of the most famous fairy tales of all time (and one of my personal favorites), Little Red Riding Hood:

Little Red Riding Hood (left: as portrayed in the 1995 movie Little Red Riding Hood) is a famous fairy tale about a little girl’s encounter with a wolf. Most people are familiar with the version pinned by the Brother’s Grimm in the 1800s. But the original tale is more than 500 years old.

In the Brothers’ Grimm version, Little Red Riding Hood walks through the woods alone bringing a basket of food to her sick grandmother. A wolf sees her and wants to eat her but is afraid to attack her in public. So he approaches her and asks her where she’s going – to which she responds truthfully. The wolf suggests she pick some flowers on the way, which gives him enough time to get to her grandmother before she does.

The wolf convinces Riding Hood's grandmother that he is Riding Hood to get past the doorway, then proceeds to swallow her whole. When Riding Hood arrives, she finds the wolf lying in bed disguised as her grandmother. She draws closer, commenting on her unusually large appearance.

Here’s an excerpt from the scene that follows:

The wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come get into bed with me."

Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed. She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes, and said to her,

"Grandmother, what big arms you have!"

"All the better to hug you with, my dear."

"Grandmother, what big legs you have!"

"All the better to run with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big ears you have!"

"All the better to hear with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"

"All the better to see with, my child."

"Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!"

"All the better to eat you up with."

And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up.

(End of excerpt)

In this, one of the most famous fairy tales of all time, a huntsman saves the day. He slits opens the wolf’s stomach from which Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge whole and unharmed. In other, more child-friendly versions of the tale, the wolf merely locks the grandmother up in the closet and a woodsman arrives before he has the chance to harm either her or Riding Hood.

Some ancient versions of the story, however, were far more violent. They often involved an ogre or other monster. One version even had the wolf tricking Riding Hood into eating the remains of her grandmother. Ugh, gross!

The 'moral of the story' in Little Red Riding Hood is that it's unwise for children, particularly pretty girls, to speak to strangers. The wolf in the story is gentle and polite until he gets his victims alone and devours them. This suggests to children that the strangers who seem the friendliest can be the most dangerous of all.

Famous fairy tales are an essential part of our culture. They have given us some of our most iconic characters. Little Red Riding Hood is usually portrayed as a dark-haired girl wearing a red dress and a red cape with a big hood and carrying a basket. Other fairy tale figures, such as Snow White, Rapunzel and Cinderella are equally iconic and recognizable.

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