Pearl Buck's Fairy Tales of the Orient. This is my favorite book of fairy tales in the entire world. I managed to buy a copy last year at a library book sale and I was thrilled.
This book was a gateway drug. See, when I was little, I tended to read EVERYTHING under the author's name. And once I finished Buck's other stories for kids (like The Chinese Children Next Door), I found this book. Honestly, I remember opening it and feeling bored, because to me, fairy tales were Grimm and Andersen, and I knew those already
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Fantastic. I read some Japanese fairy tales while I was over there, of course, and it's really interesting how Eastern fairy tales are and are not like Western ones. I'll have to take a look at that book.
Hmmm. How does Merneith strike you? It was the name of a consort and ruling queen of First Dynasty Egypt, and it means "beloved of the goddess Neith." Neith was the goddess of wisdom, women, weaving, water and war; it was said that she wove the world into being every day. If anyone could trump fate, Neith--or a mortal favored by her--could.
That's one of my favorites as well! ^_^ That and "Katie Crackernuts" (which is a rarity in fairy tales in that the titular Katie is the stepsister of the fairytale and instead of being wicked and petty, she is kind, loves her sister, and is the heroine who sets off on the quest to save her sister from the curse the mother put on her) and Tatterhood (where the heroine is not the pretty, demure princess, but the one who is not afraid to fight, get dirty, and make it clear to the prince that he must accept that she does things on her own terms).
Also, the version of that fairy tale that I read was a little different, and explains why the princess didn't dive in after the prince: it was a swamp that the prince was knocked into, and he had a rope tangled around his legs (I believe the dog knocked him off of his horse). The princess cuts the ropes so that he can get himself out of the bog without drowning.
Oh, YES! I love Katie as well. It's great seeing two sisters in a fairy tale who care about one another, and Katie and her sister are fantastic in that respect.
Tatterhood was one of the first fairy tales I can remember. It was the first one in a collection I had, which was full of stories that celebrated strong heroines. Some of my other favorites from that story were
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I remember the story of Janet and Tam Lin--though I didn't run into it until I was in college--but I never heard of the others before. What was the name of this collection?
I also just remembered - when she's told about the fates, she's the only one who points out that given that Death By Dog is on the menu, it's really not very wise of him to keep a pet dog. When the prince refuses to give up the dog, she makes him promise to at least keep a sword with him at all times.
Yes! Here's the passage:
Several weeks later the prince said to his wife, "My life is in the hands of three creatures--a crocodile, a serpent and a dog
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This book was a gateway drug. See, when I was little, I tended to read EVERYTHING under the author's name. And once I finished Buck's other stories for kids (like The Chinese Children Next Door), I found this book. Honestly, I remember opening it and feeling bored, because to me, fairy tales were Grimm and Andersen, and I knew those already ( ... )
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I like it. It inverts the nonsense that goes on with Lleu and Blodeuwydd!
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I like the way you think!
And oh, yes, there DO need to be more stories where the women are brave and intelligent, not faithless and foolish.
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You could give the princess a name, couldn't you?
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Also, the version of that fairy tale that I read was a little different, and explains why the princess didn't dive in after the prince: it was a swamp that the prince was knocked into, and he had a rope tangled around his legs (I believe the dog knocked him off of his horse). The princess cuts the ropes so that he can get himself out of the bog without drowning.
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http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/twelvedancing/stories/katiecrackernuts.html
I'd read Tatterhood before today, but I'd forgotten it, and I'm sorry to say that. It's a great story.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/norway122.html
And thank you for the explanation. That does clarify things. Good for the princess, cutting the ropes--like as not, pulling him to safety.
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I also just remembered - when she's told about the fates, she's the only one who points out that given that Death By Dog is on the menu, it's really not very wise of him to keep a pet dog. When the prince refuses to give up the dog, she makes him promise to at least keep a sword with him at all times.
Yes! Here's the passage:
Several weeks later the prince said to his wife, "My life is in the hands of three creatures--a crocodile, a serpent and a dog ( ... )
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