Day 14: Favorite Fairy Tale
I'm a fan of strong women in my fairy tales, which is hard to find since most of the women are princess' under spells, or they are a grand prize after the hero vanquishes the monster or completes the quest.
There are a few that really stuck with me. Especially the Scandinavian folktale The Prince Lindworm.
The story goes like this; a Queen wants a child, and she is told that if she eats two onions she will have twin sons. She does so, but the first onion she is so greedy to eat that she doesn't remove the outside skin. Soon she gives birth to two sons, but the first born was a monster, half snake and half boy.
The boys grow up, and the second born prince wants to get married. But his terror of an older brother won't let him until he gets married first. Course, no one wants to marry a half-man half-snake creature who keeps eating his prospective brides. Finally, a peasant girl comes forward and volunteers to marry the elder brother. She goes to him, wearing all of her dresses, and makes a deal with him to remove a layer of clothing each time he would shed a layer of skin.
Finally she is naked, no more layers of clothing, and he has shed the last of his snake skin, and before her stands a man.
I think what I find so enchanting about this story is how brave the girl was, going before the monster and laying herself bare, literally. In the story I remember reading, the girl is standing there naked, her eyes closed, waiting to be eaten. And the snake has wrapped himself around her, but his embrace is warm and soft. And when she opens her eyes is it a man that is holding her, not a monster.
I hope that in my loving I am able to lay myself open the same way.
There are a few that really stuck with me. Especially the Scandinavian folktale The Prince Lindworm.
The story goes like this; a Queen wants a child, and she is told that if she eats two onions she will have twin sons. She does so, but the first onion she is so greedy to eat that she doesn't remove the outside skin. Soon she gives birth to two sons, but the first born was a monster, half snake and half boy.
The boys grow up, and the second born prince wants to get married. But his terror of an older brother won't let him until he gets married first. Course, no one wants to marry a half-man half-snake creature who keeps eating his prospective brides. Finally, a peasant girl comes forward and volunteers to marry the elder brother. She goes to him, wearing all of her dresses, and makes a deal with him to remove a layer of clothing each time he would shed a layer of skin.
Finally she is naked, no more layers of clothing, and he has shed the last of his snake skin, and before her stands a man.
I think what I find so enchanting about this story is how brave the girl was, going before the monster and laying herself bare, literally. In the story I remember reading, the girl is standing there naked, her eyes closed, waiting to be eaten. And the snake has wrapped himself around her, but his embrace is warm and soft. And when she opens her eyes is it a man that is holding her, not a monster.
I hope that in my loving I am able to lay myself open the same way.
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