Tap Into That Imagination and Tell a Fairy Tale Today

I have a very important, highly serious announcement to make: this is an unofficial national holiday. This is Tell A Fairy Tale Day!

Most of us grew up hearing stories before we were old enough to read actual books. Maybe our parents read aloud from colorfully-illustrated children’s books; classic compendiums like Aesop’s Fables or an assortment of Hans Christian Andersen’s greatest hits make it easy to become indoctrinated into a world of imagination. Or maybe the grown-ups riffed on some solid preexisting material and just made it up as they went along. Either way, it stuck.

Princesses wait in tall castles for their prince to arrive via white stallion. Wicked witches crouch over bubbling cauldrons concocting creepy potions with chilling incantations. Animals speak and perhaps even turn into humans. And humans frequently realize that the neighbor they naturally assumed was human is … anything but. These common themes pepper fairy tales, tall tales, morality tales, warning tales and “just-one-more-before-bedtime” tales. 

They live forever in the back of our minds, coming to the forefront when we see a real-life news story about a recently-discovered island, a royal wedding or a UFO. So, just for fun, we decided to see what came to mind when we reflected on the fairy tales that have lived rent-free in our minds since childhood and will continue to do so, happily ever after.

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Three Billy Goats Gruff

There are so many delightful fairy tales that I remember from my childhood that it’s hard to narrow it down to one. There were those that were so “romantic” like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, which now are criticized for portraying women waiting for a man to save them; there were some that were a bit scary, if we’re honest, like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood (with that big bad wolf!); and some that were just funny like The Emperor’s New Clothes (that one always made me laugh). 

One in particular, though, really stands out for me … Three Billy Goats Gruff (originally a Norwegian fairy tale). One of my earliest memories is of being read this book over and over again by my parents and my two big sisters, everyone taking a turn since I wanted it read so often! I got such joy from this story, for some reason, and it became a family “legend” how I couldn’t say the title correctly. I was only a toddler, after all, and called it, “Ree Billy Go Rup!” My sister recently teased me about it again just a few months ago! Those are the kinds of memories that stay with you forever and give you warm fuzzies so many years later.

— Barbara Wilkov

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The Bremen Town Musicians

A surprisingly happy story recorded by the Brothers Grimm, The Bremen Town Musicians tells the tale of four aging farm animals who run away to form a music band. With the cat on the violin, the donkey on cello, the dog on the drums and the rooster on vocals, the musicians believe that they have what it takes to make it big.

On their way to perform in the German town of Bremen, they come across a group of thieves robbing a cottage and decide to intervene. After scaring the robbers off, the animals take shelter in the now-empty cabin — but soon, the robbers return. One sneaks in to take a look around and the animals manage to catch him unaware. What happens next rivals Kevin McAllister’s home security in Home Alone. This kooky story of hijinks and hilarity always gave me a laugh when I was little.

— Cameron Kimball

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Sleeping Beauty

While I’ve always loved fairy tales (especially the ones that are grim and dark and not at all like their Disney counterparts), Sleeping Beauty holds deep personal significance to me. I’m fascinated with the liminal state somewhere between illness and death that Briar Rose (aka Aurora) falls into, not to mention her miraculous recovery/resurrection through the power of love. I find it an apt metaphor for one of the most transformative experiences of my life: my time in hospice. 

In my mid-thirties I was diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer and underwent treatment and extensive surgery. Things did not go well. In a follow-up surgery, my doctors judged that the cancer was spreading, and it was time to switch to “palliative care” as further treatment was unlikely to make much difference. It was a devastating time for my family and friends. I was in shock. I didn’t feel like I was dying, yet I was told I would … within a matter of months, if not weeks. I was checked into Connecticut Hospice. And I began my goodbyes, receiving visitors every day: friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, people I hadn’t seen in decades and even near-strangers. 

As the weeks wore on in my hospice room, I found myself in the same limbo as Briar Rose: ill but well, dying yet still alive. It was a strange place to be. Even stranger was my eventual recovery and release from hospice. The outpouring of love I received throughout the experience, though, is something I’ll never forget. Later on, I wrote a song about that strange state of limbo I had been in. Here is an excerpt: “So cold, clammy stone cell. / Grow old, but never get well. / All the stars conspired in their spires, / I suppose. / Pinned me to my bed among the briars / So long ago. / All my senses leave me; / Something seems familiar.”

— Cynthia Conrad

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“The Bear” from The Grey Fairy Book

My chosen fairytale is Andrew Lang’s “The Bear” from The Grey Fairy Book. While it’s not to be confused with Disney Pixar’s Brave, this story’s princess is just as cheeky and clever. From an overprotective king, a witch who sympathizes with the princess’ confinement, a magical transforming bearskin rug, and a handsome (but slightly dim-witted) prince from a neighboring kingdom, this 1900’s story is delightfully silly.

— Kendall Farris

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Rapunzel

I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but I have always found Rapunzel delightfully bizarre. The title character is literally named after the salad greens that her mother craved during pregnancy and convinced her husband to steal from the witch who lived next door (not a very smart move). As a kid, the fact that a woman wanted lettuce, of all things, enough to risk magical harm bewildered me. Then, there’s the sorceress who kidnaps the couple’s child as retribution for the loss of said greens, which I thought was a bit extreme. Then again, having tried and failed to keep plants alive as an adult, I can understand feeling enraged that someone would dare to rip up a garden you’d been cultivating for years. (And as a polite child, I reminded my own mother that Rapunzel’s father should have asked first.)

Finally, we have Rapunzel herself with that legendary, tower-length hair of hers. My sister always wanted hair like Rapunzel’s, and while she certainly won’t be hoisting any witches into any towers, she has amassed a mane that many envy. (I guess dreams do come true!) I, on the other hand, was one of those children that despised having her hair brushed, so I agonized over the thought of maintaining Rapunzel’s locks about as much as I fantasized about what I might hide within them. Speaking of that mythical mane, why don’t more illustrators depict Rapunzel with the appropriate muscle definition in her upper body? (I’m looking at you Tangled!) You’re telling me this woman has been lifting her captor into this infamously tall tower every day for years, but she still has noodle arms? Absolutely not. She should be the buffest maiden in the land, but I digress…

Whether or not this is the “best” fairy tale or even my favorite remains to be seen, but it is one that has stuck with me for over two decades. Was this childhood fascination the reason that I worked so hard to land the part of The Witch in a production of Into the Woods … who’s to say? (But it, I can say with the utmost certainty, is my favorite role to date.)

— Chelsea Ciccone

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The Little Prince

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery may not be classified as a fairy tale, but I can’t think of another story with more wonder. There must be a reason this story is one of the most translated of all time! 

The Little Prince is a simple yet profound classic about a pilot who crash-lands in the desert and meets a boy who is far from home. The boy’s home is on a distant asteroid where he lived alone with a single rose. The Little Prince tells the pilot all about the animals and people he has met on his journey, each with a valuable lesson. I have read this story multiple times throughout my life, and each time, I find a new level of meaning. In every phase of life you will come upon obstacles; it is important that we don’t forget who we’ve been or want to become. Growing up has never been the problem; forgetting is. This beloved tale has something for all ages, reminding us to accept the mysteries of life and to cherish our imaginations.

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

— Kelsey Hall

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The Odyssey 

I’m cheating a little, I admit. This barely counts as a fairy tale: it’s actually an epic poem, and actually a myth, but within that myth appears bits and pieces of so many stories that we know as fairy tales. Rather than choosing a single tale, I’m going with this compilation of gods and goddesses, heroes and antiheroes, monsters galore, magic and more. 

I can’t recall a time when I didn’t know the basic trajectory of Odysseus on his crazy journey. And, now that I’m older and a self-professed Word Nerd, I love that some ancient dude’s name eventually won Merriam-Webster’s stamp of approval and became a verified word for all affiliated arduous schleps. Even the car I grew up in was a Honda Odyssey. Anyway, the Greek myths have captivated me all along; my childhood imagination was populated by winged horses à la Pegasus and contemplating the gift I’d grab were I given Paris’ choice between power, wisdom and love (wisdom, duh.)

When you really think about it, it’s incredible how many fairy tale themes and figures are in The Odyssey. Consider the quintessential Little Mermaid: Odysseus was the original sailor encountering sirens and hearing their haunting songs. He also faces a witch that puts Snow White’s to shame in Circe, the goddess who enjoys venting her anger by turning humans into animals. Even Snow White’s poison apple can be traced back to that golden apple of discord, strewn among the goddesses and leading to the massacre of an entire city (RIP Troy). And all monsters wish they were as fearsome as the eponymous Cyclops. I’m no literary historian, but in my humble opinion, when it comes to fairy tales … Homer did it first. 

— Judy Moreno

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