The Little Differences in Fairy Tales

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Cover of the book “Treasury of Fairy Tales”[/caption]

Once upon a time, my parents read fairy tales to me. I had stacks and stacks of books about fairy tales filling my bookshelf, but my favorite fairy tales came from one particular treasury. It was a fairly familiar book that could be found on many children’s bookshelves back in the early 90s. The book had gold-edged pages and a blue cover with a picture of a castle on it. The only difference between the copy on my bookshelf and that at most bookstores, was that the spine of mine was broken and the gold had been rubbed off most of the pages.

Part of why I liked my Treasury of Fairy Tales was because most of the stories in it also had Disney counterparts that were almost identical. I liked hearing the familiar stories every night before bed. Of course, no matter how many times I had heard each story, they were never exactly the same as they had been the last time I heard them. One night, Mom would read to me, the next night Dad would. In one telling, Dad would use a spooky voice for the wicked step-mother, the next time he would use a silly voice for the princess.

Of course, it’s not unusual that a child would like repetition. Studies have shown that children are more likely to respond positively to something if the child is already familiar with it. For me, though, it was the repetition-with-a-twist that I liked best of all. The fairy tale book’s version of The Little Mermaid was almost exactly the same as the Disney version, but the few alterations between the two were what kept the retelling fun. Even between the nightly readings from the fairy tale book, it was the little changes that I looked forward to. I knew exactly how the story was going to end, but the variations along the way were exciting mysteries.

As I grew up, I became obsessively invested in revised versions of fairy tales. Usually these books were longer than their picture-book “originals.” Books like Ella Enchanted provided more details explaining the circumstances that led to the various classic events in the Cinderella story. I adored how, once again, I was able to become immersed in the stories that I knew so well, but which included changes that continued to keep me entertained.

In every stage of my life, there have been reading-level appropriate versions of fairy tales that I have been able to enjoy. Time and time again, I return to the stories I love. My love doesn’t stop at novel versions of fairy tales, either. I’ll be the first person to admit that I will peek through the children’s fairy tale books whenever I stop in a bookstore. Typically, I’ll look for the fairy tale treasury that most resembles the one I had as a child, and see how the story has changed for the latest generation of kids.

In my experience, I think part of the draw to retelling these fairy tales is because that’s how life works. No matter how much I think I’ve grown up and matured, I find that I’m reliving the same experiences over and over again, the only differences are the little ones. The words that are said, the places that make the setting, and the names of the people are always changing, but the stories that make up my life stay the same. Constantly, I am forced to recall the old cliché that “History repeats itself.” I don’t mind it, I like the familiarity of the same ending each time. The mysteries I look forward to are who will play each character and how they choose to preform said role.

Sometimes, this repetition calms me, because I know how everything will work out. Other times, the repetition worries me, usually for the same reason. Every once in a while, when life gets particularly stressful, I find myself lifting the cover of that old fairy tale treasury of mine, and reading the stories again. For the next hour, I bask in how familiar those old stories are. And, with my new thoughts and experiences of my own in tow, I am always excited to see how those old fairy tales of mine have changed.