Reading Notes, Week 15: Lang II

Medio Pollito sounds like a perfect tale to tell misbehaving children. I love the weathervane origin too! I'm pretty sure deformities are not that uncommon in smaller chicken communities (especially if there's only one rooster kept around for several generations). I wonder if he was just born with a bad attitude and half the usual parts (nature), or if his attitude developed over time as a consequence of his differences (nurture). Clever Maria delighted me; cunning heroines are not nearly as common as their male counterparts. I love her boldness, and the ending was a total surprise.

Blue Beard was an entirely different sort of story. This kind of temptation strongly reminds me of Pandora's Box, or even Eve and the fruit from the tree in the garden of Eden. Forbidden knowledge! To learn of the secret is to bring about one's own undoing. I'm reminded a little of how placebos stop working if you tell the person they're taking sugar pills. There's also the concept of secrets eating away at a person (Tell-Tale Heart).

An illustrated adaptation by Shawn Cheng of Charles Perrault’s version of the folktale “Bluebeard.” Published in The Graphic Canon of Crime and Mystery.

Seven-Headed Serpant was new to me, and I especially enjoyed the apple and its rind generating such a bond between the prince and his horse. Elements of several Greek stories jumped out at me (the Isle of Circe, the sword of Damocles, the yearly offerings made to the Minotaur). While I was initially reminded of the Fates in the Abbess, her actions toward the deliverance of this country from its annual tribute were far more benevolent. I wasn't sure exactly how the Horse was aware of her existence or power, but I adored the similarities to The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.

Story sources: 

The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1889)

The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1892)

The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1894)

The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1903)