Fairy tales have ways to inspire and teach little children through endearing characters and happy endings. Many of these tales have been adapted to pop-ups and feature films but few know the dark origins of these tales. Born centuries ago, our favourite childhood folklores crawl out of deep, dark minds of many literary pioneers.
Cinderella
This old tale has many variations but the very first, recorded in the first century BC by ancient Greek historian Strabo tells the tale of a Greco-Egyptian girl, Rhodopis. In this version, an eagle snatched one of Rhodopis’ slippers and in pure coincidence, carried it onto the lap of the king. The king, having been intrigued by the beautiful shape of the slipper and the absurdity of the whole incident, sent his men to look for the owner of the slipper. Rhodopis was eventually found and brought to the king’s homeland to be his wife.
Charles Perrault’s version in 1697 saw the additions of the pumpkin, fairy godmother and the glass slippers. In a dark version by the Brothers Grimm, the evil sisters cut off parts of their own feet to fit into the slippers. Upon finding out this trickery, the king orders pigeons to peck out the sisters’ eyes and they live the rest of their lives as blind beggars.
The Little Mermaid
The popular Disney film is an adaptation of Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairy tale published in 1837, and while we all know about Ariel’s happy ending in the Disney film (her father grants her wish of becoming human and she marries Prince Eric to live happily ever after); the real Little Mermaid’s fate is heart breaking.
It’s a long story to explain, but here’s a quick summary of the stark differences: In exchange for human legs from the Sea Witch, the Little Mermaid had to give up her singing voice and her actual tongue (whereas Ariel just had to sing to give up her voice); Ariel seemed to enjoy her legs pain-free in the film, but in the real story the human legs actually put the mermaid through excruciating pain, much like ‘walking on sharp swords hard enough to make her bleed’; and instead of marrying the prince in the end, the prince marries someone else and the Little Mermaid dissolves into foam. The ‘happy ending’ here is that instead of ceasing to exist like other mermaids would when they die, she gains an eternal soul and turns into a spirit – a daughter of the air.
Beauty and the Beast
The original version written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740 proves that protagonist Belle is trapped in the Beast’s castle (much like the 1991 Walt Disney film) and had an endless supply of luxurious materials while being waited on by invisible servants. Belle soon misses her home and begs the Beast to release her, which he agreed to do for a week.
Belle goes home to her two sisters who become jealous of her life in the castle and delay her return by putting onion in their eyes to make them water. Touched by how much her sisters want her around, Belle stays back but feels guilty about breaking the Beast’s promise. She uses her magic mirror to look in on the Beast and was shocked to see him half-dead, lying on the ground in heartbreak. She immediately returns to the castle and weeps on the Beast, which breaks his curse allowing him to turn into a handsome prince and subsequently, marry Belle.
Little Red Riding Hood
Altered to no end, it’s difficult to trace how this story originated. Told by French peasants in the 14th century, the original versions are violent and disturbing equalizing modern-day slasher films. In one version, the wolf leaves the grandmother’s meat and blood for the girl to eat, who then unknowingly cannibalises her own grandma. The wolf also removes the girl’s clothing, tosses it into the fire and eats the girl after she gets into bed with him. In a rare version, the red hood is non-existent.
Sleeping Beauty
The original by Charles Perrault is largely referred to in the 1959 Walt Disney film. The princess pricks her finger on a spindle, falls asleep for a hundred years; a brave prince cuts through the impenetrable thorns to rescue the princess, fell on his knees before her; she wakes up and they marry. In a more twisted Italian version of the tale, the princess falls into a deep slumber upon pricking her finger but is raped by the prince in her sleep. As this process repeats, she gives birth to two children (in her sleep), one of whom sucks on her finger thus removing the cursed prick and wakes the princess up. She wakes up (undoubtedly) shocked.
The Red Shoes
Another one by Hans Christian Andersen, ‘The Red Shoes’ may not have been Disney-fied to grow as popular as the rest, but maybe that’s because they couldn’t find a better way to substitute the severed feet part of the story with something less grisly. The story tells the tale of a girl adopted by a rich lady and grows up vain. She gets a pair of red princess shoes which she constantly wears to church without paying any attention to the service. Later she’s hit with a curse where her shoes continue to dance without stopping, and she cannot take them off. They bring her so much pain that she seeks an executioner to chop off her feet and when he does, her shoes continue to dance – now with her amputated feet in them.
