In this collaboration between creator of Scaffolding Magic, Donna Lee Fields and myself, we’ll be doing a monthly deep dive into a fairy tale of your choice! Be sure and cast your vote on our Facebook Community Group.
These are February 2024 options for Fairy Tale Flip
Water of Life
Summary:
In this Brothers Grimm fairy tale titled “The Water of Life,” a king is gravely ill, and his three sons embark on a quest to find the water of life to cure him. The two eldest sons, eager for the throne, one after the other, but are arrogant and haughty. A dwarf captures the two eldest brothers and helps the youngest son, the only kind-hearted, by providing a magical wand and bread, guiding him to an enchanted castle where the water of life is found. Inside he finds a princess who says to return in one year so they can marry. The prince leaves with a cup of the water, but insists for the dwarf to release his brothers. The dwarf warns that the hearts of his elder brothers are black. The three brothers return to their kingdom together but as the dwarf predicted, his jealous brothers deceive him by replacing the water with salt sea-water and then gives the king the stolen water. The king, now cured, believes the youngest son tried to poison him and orders his execution. However, the huntsman spares him, and when the truth is revealed, the king welcomes his son back. The youngest son marries the princess from the enchanted castle after following down the golden path to her home and becomes a hero, while his deceitful brothers are never seen again.
Donkey Skin
Summary:
“Donkey Skin” by Charles Perrault is a French fairy tale published in 1695 that revolves around a king who promises his dying queen to only marry a woman as beautiful as her. In his grief, he goes mad and mistakes his own daughter as his queen before they were married and insists that they marry one another. The princess, horrified by this proposal, seeks the advice of a magical godmother who suggests she request impossible dresses be made before the wedding, one to resemble weather, another the sun, another and another the moon. Eventually she requests the skin of her father’s beloved donkey who gives him riches daily. A request she was sure he’d refuse.
When the king fulfills each of these impossible requests the princesses fairy godmother suggests she run away wearing the donkey skin as a disguise. The princess escapes to a distant kingdom, where she takes on the identity of “Donkey Skin” and works in a farm kitchen.
The tale unfolds with elements of magic, disguise, and self-discovery as Donkey Skin captures the heart of the prince where she now resides. The Prince heartsick insists that he must have a cake made my Donkey skin. While making the cake, the princesses, known as Donkey skin drops her ring into the batter. Upon finding the ring, he has ever maiden in the land try on the ring. It only fits Donkey Skin, and they are married.
The Flowering Tree
In a town, a king has two daughters and a son. An old woman’s younger daughter can transform into a flowering tree. The prince marries her. Jealous, the king’s daughter convinces the wife to show the transformation to her friends. They mess it up, leaving the wife with half a body. She ends up in a town, cared for by palace maids.
The prince, devastated, becomes a wandering ascetic. Eventually, he reaches his sister’s palace, recognized but silent. Trying to arouse him, maids place the half-bodied wife on his bed, and he recognizes her. With care, she becomes whole again.
Revealing their identities, the queen celebrates their reunion. The king punishes his youngest daughter. The story reflects on the consequences of wrong actions.
Click here for full-length Water of Life story
Which story do you prefer? Vote on the Facebook Group here.
Click to watch the videos: The Water of Life, Donkey Skin, The Flowering Tree.
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