Showing results by author "The Sisters Siren" in All Categories

The origins of Beowulf are not always clear, but there is agreement that it is a fine story. It is known as the oldest poem about a hero in the German language and arrived in Britain with the "winged hats". These people were believed to have sailed the North Sea to battle and conquer the inhabitants of a place now known as Britain. Once the tale arrived here, those of the country used their familiar landscape as the scenery for the tale. It was therefore set on the rugged cliffs of the Yorkshire coast, rather than the island of Saeland, where Copenhagen is now found.

Originally collected by the Brothers Grimm, and first published around 1812, The Wolf and the 7 Little Kids resembles other stories, such as Little Red Cap and The Three Little Pigs. The morale of this story is thought to be something along this line: If you are bad to others, bad will happen to you.

Rumpelstiltskin, originating from Germany, is also known as Rumpelstilzchen. The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 collection, Children and Household Tales.

The story of Little Red Cap. A modern version of the original. A big bad wolf does naughty things, and Little Red Cap learns a valuable lesson.

Hansel and Gretel is set in medieval Germany. There appears to be some confusion around whether the wicked stepmother is actually the children's biological mother. There is also synergy between the stepmother and the witch—they both die at the same time and could be "related" metaphorically. It was commonplace, back in those darker times, to abandon offspring if there were too many mouths to feed. So a bit strange for our modern understanding, but perfectly acceptable back then! And as we all know, stepmothers are always "evil", speaking as one myself.