Tales from long ago

Every so often, a fairy tale I used to know pops into my head after years of being forgotten. I don't know what makes them surface. Last year, I was obsessing about the Emperor and the Nightingale. I remembered only fragments of the story, and when I read it again after more than decade, I cried. I recall thinking that it was a rather sad tale as a kid, but I wasn't old enough to fully appreciate it back then.

Since last week, I've been thinking of the Red Shoes. All I remembered was that the girl was dancing non-stop, and finally had her feet cut off. I was under the impression that she bought the red shoes despite being warned against them. I can't find that version anywhere; instead, I get the original tale that has the girl wearing red shoes to church and thinking obsessively about them. I'm in the midst of searching for a pair of red shoes myself. Maybe I should give up on that.

How well do you know your fairy tales and nursery rhymes? I am under the impression that I know more tales and rhymes than most people. I have never asked anyone though. Fairy tales don't always end with "they live happily ever after". There isn't always a prince or a princess. Yet, mention fairy tales and these are the very things that pop into one's head. Darn Disney.

My father tells me that I used to have an excellent memory as a child. He says that it was hard for him to skip even a word when reading to me coz I would catch him. I think it is something common to all children if you read to them enough. What good did the fairy tales do me? I can't really say. The versions you get in bookstores are sanitized, with little moralizing left in them. I can read and write like everyone else. I have always found it easier to write than most others, but that might have been inherent. My little sisters grew up to me spinning tales instead of reading to them. They turned out differently despite having had the same treatment. Does it matter if you read to an unborn child?

I bought a book of nursery rhymes some time ago for a newborn. I had a lot of trouble finding a suitable book. With nursery rhymes, you can't mess up on the words, but many publishers sure have messed up on the illustrations. Instead of dreamy swirly Mother Gooses, I find stark cartoons of scary lions masquerading as kings. Few collections are complete. It was depressing because I know what the book should look like, but it cannot be found. I had to settle for a poorly drawn, overpriced, truncated collection of nursery rhymes. It might be easier to buy a book for an unborn child.

Nothing accomplished, two new items on my wishlist: cursed red shoes, and a proper book of nursery rhymes.