Meanwhile, I Keep Dancing

Day 4 King Lear page 1616, The Globe Illustrated Hissing A warning in the grass behind the rock deep in a crack of my heart they are thoughts writhing in my mind snakes in the grass I reach out to touch them as they pass by old thoughts familiar thoughts thoughts twisted 'round my bones Do not tread farther stay back let your eye catch the bright colors of attractive poison and if I listen to the soft hissing I can just make out Stay too long with us and we will devour you whole

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 ...