Showing posts with label Food and the Fairy Tale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food and the Fairy Tale. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

A German Fairy Tale about the Problem with Bread Shoes



(Another saga about Bread Sin. However gloomy these tales might appear to the modern reader, they do reflect a deep reverance for the food we eat. Perhaps these tales are most fitting to read in the autumn as we approach Thanksgiving, All Souls' Day and Halloween. It is also interesting to read this fairy tale alongside The Shroud, see link at right.)


Grimms’ Saga No. 238: Bread Shoes

A woman from a respectable family had a child who was the apple of her eye. When it died, she did not know how she could express the love and tenderness she felt before the babe was lowered into the earth and she would see it nevermore. And as she washed and dressed the child and placed it in its coffin, it struck her that its little shoes were not fine enough. She took the whitest flour that she had and made a dough and from this she baked soft bread shoes. The child was buried in these shoes. But the child would not give the mother any rest or peace but instead appeared looking mournful until its coffin was dug up again and the little shoes of bread were taken from its feet and replaced with proper shoes. From then on, the child was quiet and returned no more.

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Saturday, October 3, 2009

God is Bread in this German Legend



Although a rather bleak tale, this German legend illustrates the notion of a deity residing within the bread and thus its sacred nature. This belief caused quite a controversy during the Reformation but can actually be traced back to pre-Christian notions about the sanctity of grain. Read this alongside A Walk Through the Forest: a Recipe for Resilience  to explore how food is depicted in the Fairy Tale.

Grimms’ Legend No. 5: God’s Food

There once were two sisters; one of them was childless and rich, the other had five children and was a widow. The widow was so poor that she no longer had bread to feed herself or her children. In her dire need she approached her sister and said “My children and I suffer from the harshest hunger. You are rich, give me some bread.”

But the woman who was stone-rich spoke “But even I have nothing in my house!” And she drove the poor woman away with her evil words. After some time the husband of the rich sister came home and wanted to cut a piece of bread. But when he cut the first slice from the loaf, red blood flowed from within. When the woman saw this, she was terrified and told her husband what had happened. He rushed to the poor sister and wanted to help. But when he entered the chamber of the poor widow, he found her praying. She held the two youngest children in her arms. The three oldest lay on the floor and were dead. He offered her food but she replied “We no longer long for earthly food; God has already satisfied three. He will also hear our pleas.”

The widow had hardly spoken these words, when the two little ones took their last breath. This broke the woman’s heart and she sank to floor dead.

To read more fairy tales click on the link below:

Translation
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Monday, September 28, 2009

Reading Hänsel and Gretel: a Journey of Filial Love and Survival



A Walk Through the Forest: a Recipe for Resilience

The situation is dire indeed in the fairy tale Hänsel and Gretel. We are told in the very first paragraph that “a terrible famine ravaged the land” and it was impossible to find even the most basic sustenance, bread. Without any relief on the horizon, the parents plot to rid themselves of their offspring in the hope that by losing their children in the forest they will somehow save themselves. Fairy tales are filled with examples of such extreme behavior and here the abandonment of children is equivalent to murder by neglect. A natural disaster is at the root of the crisis. The famine has not only ushered in a period of physical hardship but it has introduced widespread spiritual decay as well. This is a time when murder and cannibalism become strategies for survival. This fairy tale might be based on memories of the Great Famine of 1315 – 1322, which caused millions of deaths by starvation in Northern Europe. Catastrophic weather patterns produced greatly diminished yields in crops. The resulting calamity hit all echelons of society and many incidents of child abandonment and cannibalism have been documented by the chroniclers of the times.

Into this grim landscape come the innocent children, who are fully attuned to the gravity of their situation. Stripped of the protection and security offered by a properly functioning family, the children must make their own decisions and define their own survival plans. Hänsel tries to take charge and protect his sister. He comforts the crying Gretel and assures her that God will not abandon them. This might be a reference to the crisis in confidence the Church experienced during and after the Great Famine. Organized religion seemed impotent against the destructive forces that had been unleashed and the authority of the Church and God were called into question. But with the faith of a child, Hänsel insists on holding fast to his past beliefs as a prescription for survival.

Faced with impending death, Hänsel takes action while his sister responds to each new situation by crying, appearing frail and helpless. The gender roles in this fairy tale have often been criticized. But it is Gretel’s quick thinking that ultimately saves the day when she pushes the witch into the oven. And at the conclusion of the tale, Gretel gives her “duck speech” to Hänsel, signaling a new sort of self-reliance and confidence. Injecting a dose of fairy tale realism into the narrative, Gretel gently reminds her brother that the weight of two children on the back of a duck would probably cause them both to drown.

This fairy tale also has older motifs that pre-date the food shortages of the fourteenth century or other medieval famines; they are the bread and food images in the narrative, which are intriguing in and of themselves. Bread is one of the oldest foodstuffs and evidence of leavened bread can be found in the archeological record going back 6000 years. The very earliest references to bread are restricted to small or broken pieces, leading scholars to surmise that the first loaves were similarly small fragments. The fairy tale often mentions such broken bread pieces and they appear here in Hänsel and Gretel as the crumbs left as markers on the path through the woods. In the saga Queen Huett the proud monarch takes soft bread crumbs to clean away mud and in the saga Semmelschuhe the proud princess fashions shoes from little pieces of bread. In the world of the fairy tale, these acts are examples of depravity and sacrilege. Bread, one of the most fundamental necessities for survival, is sacred in these stories. Pre-Christian rites in Europe also reflect the consecrated status of bread. Sir James Frazer describes a custom in France in The Golden Bough . A god or corn-spirit was believed to reside in the last harvested sheaf of grain, which was ritually eaten in the form of a baked dough-man. Frazer cites numerous examples of this ancient custom of ritually eating the god or indwelling spirit of the harvested grain. He concludes that the Christian rite of communion absorbed these earlier pagan practices. The notion of a deity being bodily present within the grain and being harmed by a sacrilegious act is also illustrated in the Grimms' legend God’s Food. Here, the loaf actually gushes blood in response to an evil deed. And although Hänsel and Gretel are starving, they do not begin their feast on the witch’s house of bread and cake until Hänsel blesses their meal.

The period of sorrow and misfortune ends when the two protagonists make their way home. Their journey includes crossing an immense body of water, which is often a metaphor for dying. After walking through a strange and uncertain landscape, they finally reach a place more familiar. Their reunion with their father is joyful. The father hadn’t had a moment’s peace since he left his children in the forest. The children bring back wealth and prosperity in the form of gems and pearls. If only the family had stuck together during the crisis! Sorrows do end, the strong can persevere with their principles still intact and they are often rewarded in the end. Unfortunately, without the journey there is no transformation. One must take up life's challenges however terrifying they might be, because they are indispensable in making us what we are.
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A fairy tale about food, or the lack of it: Hänsel and Gretel

The woodcutter and his family, Veneto, c. 1890.
Fratelli Alinari Museum of the History of Photography, Florence/Italy (Click on picture to enlarge.)

Grimm’s Fairy Tale No. 15: Hänsel and Gretel

A poor woodcutter lived with his wife and two children at the edge of a deep forest. The boy was named Hänsel and the girl Gretel. The man had nothing to eat or drink. Because a terrible famine ravaged the land, he could no longer find his daily bread. As he lay in bed that night thinking, he tossed and turned.

Sighing he said to his wife “What shall become of us? We cannot provide for our poor children because we don’t have anything for ourselves!”

“Listen husband,” the wife replied, “Tomorrow in the very early hours we shall take both children into the woods where the trees are the thickest. We shall light a fire and give them each a piece of bread. Then we shall go to work and leave them alone. They will not be able to find their way home and we shall be rid of them.”

“No wife,” the husband replied. “I won’t do it. How could I bring myself to abandon my own children in the forest? The wild animals would soon come and rip them to shreds.”

“Oh, you fool,” she replied, “Then all four of us must die of hunger; you should start now and mill the boards for our coffins.”

She did not leave him in peace until he consented. But the two children could not fall asleep because of their hunger and had heard everything that their step-mother had said to their father.

Gretel cried bitter tears and said to Hänsel, “Now we’re in trouble!”

“Be still, Gretel. Do not be afraid. I will do something to help us.”

And when the old folks had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his jacket, opened the lower part of the cottage door and slipped through it. The moon shone brightly and the white stones lying in front of the cottage glimmered like pennies. Hänsel knelt down and filled his jacket pockets with has many as he could cram inside. Then he returned home and said to Gretel, “Be comforted, dear sister, and sleep peacefully. God will not abandon us.” And he lay down again in bed.

When day was breaking but before the sun had risen, the woman came and woke both children. “Get up you lazy children. We shall go into the forest and cut wood.” Then she gave them each a piece of bread and said “You have something for your noon day meal, but don’t eat it before then, for you won’t be getting anything more.”

Gretel took the bread and placed it under her apron because Hänsel had the stones in his pocket. Then they all made their way into the forest. When they had walked a short distance, Hänsel stopped and looked back at the cottage again and again.

The father spoke “Hänsel, why are you looking back and staying behind. Pay attention and don’t forget to move your legs.”

“Oh father. I am looking for my white kitten, which is sitting on the roof and wants to say good bye to me.”

The woman spoke “Fool, that is not your kitten. It is the morning sun shining on the chimney.” But Hänsel was not looking for his kitten. Instead, he was dropping one of the smooth pebbles from his pocket onto the path.

When they had arrived in the middle of the forest, the father spoke. “Gather wood, children. I want to make a fire so that you are not cold.” Hänsel and Gretel gathered brushwood and made a small stack.

The fire was ignited and as the flame burned high, the woman said “Now lie down near the fire and rest. We shall go into the forest and cut wood. When we are finished, we shall return for you.”

Hänsel and Gretel sat down by the fire and when noon came, they each ate their little piece of bread. And because they heard the sound of an axe chopping wood, they believed their father was near. But it wasn’t the wood axe it was a branch, which their father had bound to a dead tree. And the wind blew it back and forth and it made a beating sound. Because they had sat still so long, their eyes fell shut in fatigue and they were soon fast asleep. When they finally awoke it was darkest night.

Gretel began to cry and said “How shall we now find our way out of the wood?”.

But Hänsel consoled her: “Wait a bit until the moon has risen. Then we shall find the way.” And when the moon rose, he took his little sister by the hand and followed the trail of pebbles. They lay there glistening like newly minted coins and showed the way. The children walked the entire night and as daylight was breaking, they arrived once more at their father’s house. They knocked on the door and when the woman opened and saw that it was Hänsel and Gretel, she spoke

“You evil children, why did you sleep so long in the forest? We thought you didn’t want to return ever again.” But their father rejoiced when he saw his children, because leaving them all alone had broken his heart.

It was not long after when there was despair in every corner of the house. The children heard how the mother spoke to the father at night in bed “Everything has been eaten. We only have half a loaf of bread. After that, the song is over. The children must go; we shall bring them deeper into the woods so that they cannot find their way out again. Otherwise, nothing can save us.”

The man was sorely troubled and he thought ““It is better to share your last morsel with your children. But the woman would not listen to what he said and scolded him and accused him. And so it was: whoever agrees once, must agree again. Because the woodcutter had given in the first time, he had to give in a second time also.

But the children were awake and had heard their parents’ conversation. Hänsel got up and wanted to gather pebbles again, but when he went to the door, he found the woman had locked it and he could not get out. But he comforted his little sister and said “Do not cry, Gretel, and go to sleep. Sleep peacefully, dear God will help us.”

Early the next morning the woman came and got the children out of bed. They both received their little crust of bread, but it was even smaller than before. On the path, Hänsel broke it into crumbs in his pocket. He often stood still and threw the crumbs on the ground. “Why are you always stopping, Hänsel, and looking around? Go your way,” the father said.

“I am looking for my little dove, which is sitting on the roof and wants to say goodbye,” Hänsel said.

“You fool,” the mother said. “That isn’t a dove, that is the morning sun shining on the chimney.” But Hänsel crumbled all of his bread and threw the crumbs on the path.

The woman led them even deeper into the woods to a place she had never seen in her entire life. Once again an enormous fire was made and the mother said “Stay here children and when you are tired, you may sleep a bit. We will go into the forest and chop wood. In the evening, when we are finished, we shall return and fetch you.”

When it was noon, Gretel shared her bread with Hänsel, who had scattered his pieces over the path. Then they fell asleep and evening came, but no one returned for the poor children. They awoke in the darkest night and Hänsel consoled his sister and said “Wait Gretel until the moon rises. Then we will see the bread crumbs, which I scattered. They will show us the way home.”

When the moon had risen, they started out but they could not find any crumbs. The many thousands of birds, who fly in forest and field, had pecked them all away.

Hänsel said to Gretel “We will find the way.” But they did not find it. They walked an entire night and day from morning until evening, but they never came out of the forest. They were enormously hungry because they only found a few berries lying on the ground. And because they were so tired, they lay down under a tree and went to sleep.

It was now the third morning since they had left their father’s house. They started to walk again but only found themselves deeper and deeper in the wood. If help did not arrive soon, they would soon fade away.

When it was noon, they saw a beautiful, snow-white bird sitting on a branch. It sang so beautifully that they stopped and listened. When it was done, it beat its wings and flew away. They followed until they reached a little house and the bird landed on its roof. When the children came very close, they saw that the cottage was built of bread and covered with cake. But the windows were made of bright sugar.

“Let’s dig in,” Hänsel said, “and have a blessed meal. I will eat a piece of the roof, Gretel you can eat from the window, it’s sweet.” Hänsel reached up and broke off a bit of the roof to try how it tasted. Gretel stood in front of the window and nibbled at the panes. A fine voice called from inside the cottage

“Crunch, crunch, crouse!
Who’s nibbling on my little house?”

The children replied

“It’s the wind,
The wind so wild,
The heavenly child,”

And they continued eating with abandon. Hänsel, who thought the roof tasted very good, tore off a large piece and Gretel pulled out a large, round window pane, sat down and enjoyed the food. At once the door fell open and there stood a woman as old as the hills. She supported herself on a crutch and walked out slowly. Hänsel and Gretel were so afraid that they let their morsels drop from their hands. But the old woman shook her head and said “Dear children, who brought you here? Come inside and stay with me. You shall not be harmed.” She took both by the hand and led them inside her little house. There, a splendid table was prepared with ample food, milk and pancakes with sugar-sweets, apples and nuts. Afterward they were led to two pretty little beds made up in white. Hänsel and Gretel lay down and thought they were in heaven.

The old woman was so cordial but in fact she was a witch who lay in wait for children. She had only built the house of gingerbread to lure them in. When one fell under her power, she killed it, cooked and ate it. And this was her feast day. Witches have red eyes and cannot see far, but they have a keen sense of smell. Like animals, they notice when people approach. When Hänsel and Gretel came close, she laughed scornfully “Now I have you and you shall not escape again.” Early in the morning before the children awoke, she was already up and when she saw them resting so peacefully, with full red cheeks, she murmured to herself “They shall be tasty morsels.” She grabbed Hänsel in her boney hand and put him in a stall and locked him in with a barred door. Cry as he may, it didn’t help him. Then she went to Gretel and shook her awake and called “Get up, you lazy bones! Fetch water and cook a good meal for your brother. He is sitting outside in the stall and will fatten up. When he is plump enough, I shall eat him.” Gretel began to cry bitterly but it was all for naught. She had to do what the evil witch commanded.

Now the best food was prepared for Hänsel, but Gretel got nothing but empty crab shells. Every morning the old woman crept to the little cage and called “Hänsel, stick out your finger so that I can feel whether you shall soon be fat.” But Hänsel extended a little bone and the old woman, who had weak eyes, could not see and thought it was Hänsel’s finger. She was amazed that he was not gaining weight. When four weeks had passed and Hänsel remained lean, impatience overcame the witch and she would not wait any longer. “Now, Gretel,” she called to the maiden, “Be quick and carry water. Hänsel may be fat or lean, but tomorrow I shall slaughter and cook him.”

Ach, how the poor little sister wept and wailed when she carried the water. The tears flowed from her eyes and fell down her cheeks. “Dear God, do help us,” she cried “If only the wild animals had devoured us in the woods, then at least we would have died together.”

“Spare me your blather,” the old woman said “None of it will help you now.”

Early in the morning Gretel had to go out and fill the pot with water and hang it over the fire. “First we shall bake,” the old woman said. “I have already heated the oven and kneaded the dough!” She pushed poor Gretel out to the oven, from which the flames of fire could already be seen lapping the edges. “Creep inside,” the witch said and see whether the oven is hot enough so that we can push the bread inside.” When Gretel was inside, she would shut the oven door and Gretel would roast inside and then she would also eat her. But Gretel noticed what she had in mind and said “I don’t know how I could do that. How will I get inside?”

“Dumb goose,” the old woman said. “The opening is large enough. Don’t you see, I could slip in myself,” and she crawled forward and put her head in the oven. Gretel gave her a shove so that she fell in and closed the iron door and lowered the latch. Hu! She began to scream horribly. But Gretel ran away and the godless witch burned to death miserably.

Now Gretel ran to Hänsel and opened up the little door of his stall and cried “Hänsel we are saved, the old witch is dead!” Hänsel jumped out like a bird free of its cage when the door is opened. How happy they were, hugged each other, jumped around and kissed! And because they no longer needed to fear, they went to the house of the witch and in every corner they found boxes with pearls and beautiful gems.

“These are much better than pebbles,” Hänsel said, and filled his pockets with as many as he could.

Gretel said “I also want to bring something home,” and filled her apron full.

“But now, let us leave,” Hänsel said, “so that we get out of the witch’s forest.” They had only walked a few hours when they reached an enormous body of water. We can’t pass over and there is also no bridge.”

“And no ship sails here,” Gretel answered, “but a white duck is swimming and if I ask, she might help us cross.” They called,

Little duck, little duck,
Hänsel and Gretel stand
Where no plank or bridge land.
So take us on your little white back.”

The duck came and Hänsel sat on its back and then asked his sister to sit beside him. “No,” Gretel replied “It will be too heavy for the duck. He shall bring us over one after another.” And the good animal did just that. When they were happily on the other side and had walked a time, the forest began to seem more familiar to them. Finally they spied from afar the house of their father. They began to run, pushed through the door and rushed inside. There they fell around their father’s neck. The man hadn’t had a happy hour since he left his children in the forest. But his wife had died. Gretel shook out her apron pockets and pearls and bright gems bounced around the room. Then Hänsel threw one handful after another out of his pocket. Their sorrow and misfortune had ended. Now they lived together in pure joy.

My story is over and there runs a mouse. Whoever can catch it, can make a big, big fur cap.


Read more about the fairy tale:

http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2009/09/reading-hansel-and-gretel-journey-of.html


http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2009/09/reading-hansel-and-gretel-stepmother.html

http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2009/10/god-is-bread-in-this-german-legend.html

Translation copyright fairytalechannel.com
Please read, pass on to friends and enjoy!
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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Food and the Fairy Tale: An Aerial Bridge of Stone and a Lord's Godless Daughter



Grimm’s Saga No. 236: Shoes Made from Bread Rolls
In Klatau, a quarter hour from the village of Oberkamenz, there once stood a castle on Hradek Mountain. Today you can still see the ruins of the fortress. In ancient times the lord of the castle had a bridge built all the way to Stankau, which is at least an hour away. They took this bridge whenever they wanted to walk to church. This lord had a young, proud daughter. She was so overcome with pride that she had bread rolls hollowed out and wore the little loaves on her feet instead of shoes. One day when she was wearing these shoes and walking across the bridge to church, she put her foot on the last piece of the bridge. At once, the entire castle sank into the ground. Her foot prints can still be seen in the stone, which made up the last step of this bridge.



To read about the significance of bread in fairy tales:

http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2009/09/reading-hansel-and-gretel-stepmother.html


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Pass on to friends or link to.
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

In this Saga A Powerful Giant Queen in Tyrol Does Not Respect God's Gifts




Grimm’s Saga 234: Lady Huett, Queen of the Giants
In ancient times a powerful giantess lived in Tyrol, Lady Huett. Her home was the high mountains that encircled Innsbruck. Now these rocks are gray and barren but in times of old they were teeming with forests, rich fields and green meadows. One day Queen Huett’s small son came home crying and miserable. He was covered in mud from head to toe and his clothes were blackened like a miner’s garb covered with soot. He had tried to break off a branch from a fir tree to make a riding stick. But because the tree stood at the edge of a marsh and the ground below him was soft, he sank up to his neck in mud. Luckily, he was able to free himself and run home. Queen Huett comforted him and promised him a new shirt. She called her servant and commanded him to bring fresh bread and clean her son’s face and hands with the loaf. The servant had barely begun to do the sinful act with God’s sacred gift when a dark storm blew up, covered the heavens and dreadful thunder could be heard all around. When daylight returned, the rich corn fields, green meadows and forests along with the dwelling of Queen Huett had all vanished. Where once the landscape had been rich and prosperous, the land was now a desert with roughly strewn stones. Not a single blade of grass grew there; all was dry and barren. In the middle of it all stood Queen Huett, the Queen of the Giants, turned to stone. And she shall stand there until Judgment Day.



To read more fairy tales, click on the link:

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Grimm's Saga No. 362: Food from God


Guardian Angel Protects against the Last Fierce Onslaught of Winter

Not far from Zwickau in Vogtland parents once sent their young boy into a deep forest to drive home the oxen, which had wandered off. But when the boy did not return and night fell, the parents became fearful. A heavy snow was falling and the entire mountain would soon be covered with deep snow. The boy could not have returned from the forest if he had desired it. But when he did not return the following day, the parents were not so much worried about the oxen as they were about the boy. They could not go out and look for him because of the deep snow. On the third day, after the snowfall had diminished, they went out to find the boy. They finally found him sitting on a sunny hill, where no snow had fallen. When the boy saw his parents, he laughed. When they asked him why he had not come home, he answered that he decided to wait until evening and was unaware that an entire day had lapsed. No harm had befallen the child and he appeared happy and healthy. When they asked him if he had eaten anything he replied that a man had come to him and offered him fresh cheese and bread. Without doubt this child had been fed and sustained by an angel sent by God.

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

Grimm’s Fairy Tale No. 26 Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red Cap)

Little Red Cap; 
Food and the Fairy Tale; 
Into the Dark, Deep Woods

Translation: Copyright FairyTaleChannel.com
(Please read, enjoy, link to or pass this story on to friends. Please do not plagiarize, copy or pilfer. Thanks!)


There once lived a sweet, young lass. Everyone who put eyes on her loved her but her grandmother loved her most of all and she showered her with gifts. Once she gave her a present, a little hat made of red velvet. Because she looked so pretty in it and the girl didn’t want to wear anything else, she was now called Little Red Riding Hood (or Little Red Cap).

One day her mother said to her: “Come Red Riding Hood. Here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take this to grandmother. She is ill and weak and will gain strength from it. Be on your way now before it get’s too hot. But while you are walking be especially good and do not stray from the path. If you do, you shall break the glass and grandmother shall have nothing at all. And when you arrive in her chamber, don’t forget to say “Good Morning” and don’t let your eyes wander around looking in every nook and cranny.”

“I’ll be good,” Red Riding Hood said to her mother and gave her hand in promise. Now grandmother lived deep in the forest, a half hour’s walk from the village. When Red Riding Hood entered the forest she encountered a wolf. But Red Riding Hood did not know what an evil creature it was and was not frightened.
“Good Day, Red Riding Hood,” the wolf said.
“And good day to you, wolf,” was her reply.
“Where are you going so early in the morning, Red Riding Hood?”
“To grandmother’s.”
“What are you carrying under your apron?”
“Cake and wine. We baked yesterday and now our sick and weak grandmother shall refresh herself and regain her strength.”
“Red Riding Hood, where does your grandmother live?”
“Still a quarter hour’s walk in the forest, under three large oak trees. Her house stands by the hazel hedge row, certainly you know that,” Red Riding Hood replied.

The wolf was thoughtful “This young, sweet thing will be a tasty morsel. She will taste better than the old woman. But I must be cunning so I get both.”

He walked a while beside Red Riding Hood, then he said: “Red Riding Hood, look at the pretty little flowers at the side of the path. Why don’t you take a look around?” I believe you don’t even hear how sweetly the little birds are singing? You walk along so soberly as if you were going to school and it is so merry to be in the forest.”

Red Riding Hood opened her eyes and when she saw how the sun beams filtered through the trees, dancing and flickering back and forth and how the woods were full of beautiful flowers, she thought “If I bring grandmother a fresh bouquet she shall also be happy. It is so early in the day that I shall still arrive in time.” She ran from the path into the woods and looked for flowers. And when she had broken off one stem, she thought a much prettier flower lay ahead. And so she ran and ran and went deeper and deeper into the forest.

But the wolf went straight to the house of the grandmother and knocked on the door. “Who is there?”
“Red Riding Hood who is bringing you cake and wine, open up!”
“Press on the latch,” the grandmother called, “I am too weak and cannot get up.”
The wolf pressed on the latch and the door fell open. Without saying a word, he went straight to the grandmother’s bed and devoured her. Then he put on her clothes, put on her bonnet and lay down in her bed, pulling the curtains all around.

But Red Riding Hood had been picking flowers and when she had so many that she couldn’t carry any more, she remembered her grandmother and continued on her way. She was surprised to see the door open and when she entered the chamber it seemed so strange that she thought “Good gracious, how frightened I am, when usually I enjoy visiting grandmother.” She called out “Good morning,” but heard no reply. She approached the bed and pulled back the curtains. There lay the grandmother, who had pulled her bonnet so deeply over her face, she looked quite odd.


“Grandmother, what big ears you have!”
“The better to hear you with.”
“Grandmother, what big eyes you have!”
“The better to see you with.”
“Grandmother, what big hands you have!”
“The better to grab you with.”
“But grandmother, you have such a horribly large snout!”
“The better to eat you with!”
The wolf had hardly spoken these words when he lunged from bed and devoured poor Red Riding Hood.

When the wolf had stilled his cravings, he lay back down in bed and began to snore loudly. A huntsman was just passing the house and thought to himself
“How loudly the old woman is snoring! Go see if something is the matter.”
He entered the chamber and when he got to the bed he saw the wolf lying there.
“So here I find you, you old sinner,” the huntsman said. “I have searched for you a very long time.”
He wanted to use his rifle but he thought the wolf could have eaten the grandmother and she might still be saved. He didn’t shoot but took scissors and began to cut open the belly of the sleeping wolf. When he had made a few cuts, he saw the bright red cap gleaming; He made a few more cuts and the girl jumped out and called “How frightened I was in the dark belly of the wolf!”
Then the grandmother emerged still alive but could hardly breathe. Little Red Riding Hood immediately brought large stones and they filled the wolf’s belly. When he awoke and wanted to jump away, the stones were so heavy that he immediately sank down and fell over dead.

All three were gay; the huntsman skinned the wolf and went home. The grandmother ate the cake and drank the wine that Red Riding Hood had brought and soon recovered. But Red Riding Hood thought “For as long as I live I shall not stray from the path and go into the forest when mother has forbidden it.”




For further reading:

Wolf mythology and the Christmas wolf: 
http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2008/12/christmas-wolf.html

http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2009/06/fairy-tales-to-read-under-full-moon.html

An analysis of mythological themes in Little Red Riding Hood:
http://www.fairytalechannel.com/2008/11/christmas-goddesses-and-little-red.html

Click on link for more fairy tales:

Translation Copyright FairyTaleChannel.com

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Clever Gretel's Turkey Feast


Bechlboschen or Christmas Bush, Feast Days, the Color Red and Christmas Goddesses
Copyright FairyTaleChannel.org
(Please read, enjoy, link to or pass this story on to friends. Please do not plagiarize, copy or pilfer. Thanks!)

In Salzburg Land, the Bechlboschen is a Christmas bush. The special significance of this bush or why it was tied to Christmas is unclear but it is probably based on a long forgotten pagan belief. A Christmas bush is also traditional in Bavaria in a region near Guenzburg. It was said the bush marked the spot frequented by the dirneweibl (female child) dressed in a bright red cloak, who carried pretty red apples in a basket. She always offered these as gifts to the unsuspecting passerby (probably in the winter season around Christmas time?). Should the person accept her gift, it turned into pure gold. But if the person did not follow her, the dirneweibl retreated into the forest, crying pitifully. The color red for her cloak is significant and marks her as one of the many forgotten pagan goddesses of German mythology. One of the most famous fairytale figures of all is dressed in similar garb and likewise retreats into the forest: Little Red Riding Hood.
In the tale of Clever Gretel (full text below), the protagonist wears shoes with red heels, a similar marker. But Gretel is not the typical Christmas Goddess of times past. Red shoes mark a strong-willed, socially deviant person in fairy tales, who could signal trouble. Still, her cooking is sublime.


It is easy to imagine that Gretel would have liked to cook even bigger birds than mere chickens, given her lusty appetite. Here follows a recipe for an American feast: the Thanksgiving Roast Turkey.
To cut down on roasting time, buy a small turkey (12 – 14 pounds). Butterflying the bird will also reduce the cooking time. That said, you must still begin preparations one day in advance:

One day in advance:
Mix 5 cloves of minced garlic, minced parsley, oregano, rosemary, 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, ¼ cup minced shallots together. Cut the bird along its backbone and split it open, pressing it down to lie as flat as possible. Season with salt and pepper. Rub bird with garlic mixture. Push some of the mixture under the skin and the remaining over the entire surface of the bird. Let it sit in a plastic bag in your refrigerator over night.

Next day:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (or 190 degrees C). Use a pan with a rack. Position turkey in rack with breast side up. Baste with melted butter (1-4 tablespoons melted). Roast until skin is crisp and the thickest part of the thigh away from bone registers 175°F (or 80°C). This should take 2 ¼ to 2/3/4 hours for a 12 – 14 pound bird. Let the turkey rest for 20 minutes before eating it.