Written by J. K. Rowling after its crucial role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a lovely little collection of fairy tales and fables that are, to wizards and witches, what tales such as Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast are to non-magic folk or “muggles”.
The Wizard and the Hopping Pot tells the tale of the son of a great wizard who used his magic to help his muggle neighbours. When his father dies, the son refuses to help his neighbours and is then tormented by his father’s cooking pot, which vividly illustrates all the suffering that the son has refused to ease with his magic.
The Fountain of Fair Fortune tells the tale of three unfortunate witches who work together to make it to a fabled fountain that, when bathed in, will grant the bather fair fortune.
The Warlock’s Hairy Heart tells the tale of a warlock who has vowed never to fall in love and has locked his heart away in a chest.
Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump tells the tale of a foolish King who wishes to learn magic, but proclaims to have all witches and wizards burned. A charlatan tricks the King, but then gets into trouble when the washerwoman, a real witch called Babbity, discovers the truth.
The Tale of the Three Brothers tells the tale of three brothers who, being learned in the magical arts, manage to evade death. Death then cunningly tricks the brothers by presenting them with gifts, which will only lead the brothers to ruin and Death.
Essentially, these are just a collection of fables that would be popular bedtime stories in the magical community, but it’s still great for older readers to read them because they are very much like the fables and fairy tales that we have all been brought up on. Stories that take five minutes read and have very strong morals and messages about generosity, humbleness, and wisdom.
In a few of the tales we can even recognise elements from our own traditional bedtime stories e.g. The Warlock’s Hairy Heart has smacks of Beauty and the Beast and the tale of Davy Jones in it. And the foolish King in Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump is not that dissimilar to the emperor in The Emperor’s New Clothes.
The stories can get a little grim, not unlike the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen, but that’s the point of fables isn’t it; to convey a moral message and scare children into behaving.
Filled with magic, wonderful characters, and morals, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a wonderful little read. Very easy and broken up by notes by Albus Dumbledore and J. K. Rowling, it’s a great little book.
No comments:
Post a Comment