Villains of fairy tales (part 1)

Big bad wolf

One of the most scariest villains of fairy tales is the Big Bad Wolf. Not only does this creature appear in a number of fairy tales, but in most of them the "big bad wolf" is always motivated by hunger, and this means EATING the main characters. This villain is a stalker and a predator. It isn't even friendly. The Big Bad Wolf is manipulative, in trying to get into the victim's house, and devouring them. Such a character isn't only confined to fairy tales, but is also in Aesop's Fables from ancient Greece. The wolf is a danger. 

The Big Bad Wolf has starred in stories including the most famous or infamous Little Red Riding Hood. The original story is much darker than modern sanitised versions. In the original, the wolf has killed the grandmother, and then he kills Red Riding Hood. This is a story written by the Brothers Grimm, although it's based on an earlier oral folk tale. Another of the Grimm's stories including this wolf is The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids, about seven little goats that are warned by their mother not to let the wolf inside. This is another tense story that results in the wolf tricking the young goats into believing it's safe to let him in, and he eats them all, apart from one, who manages to hide. Later the mother goat rescues her children from the wolf's belly. Another story is "Three Little Pigs" by Joseph Jacobs, when the Big Bad Wolf is determined to get at the three piglets safe inside their house. These stories are pretty scary for small children. 

For more stories and tales about the Big Bad Wolf, go and visit this Wikipedia page on the Big Bad Wolf and read about the different stories that this villain appears in. 

Link:

Big Bad Wolf Wikipedia

I shall post more villains in this new series soon...

She Wolf Night team

Warrior women of fairy tales (part 4)

HAPPY SAMHAIN 

This is the fourth and final post on the second fairy tales topic that I've been doing recently. I will post about villains in fairy tales after this.

Vasilisa

A Russian fairy tale character by Alexander Afanasyev. "Vasilisa" is also called Vasilisa the Brave. A child named Vasilisa was four years old when her mother turned very ill. She gave Vasilisa a wooden doll and said that she must give this dolls some food and drink whenever she wanted any. After the mother died, Vasilisa kept her doll and looked after it as though it were alive. Soon Vasilisa's father married a woman with two daughters. The step mother was cold and cruel to Vasilisa. When Vasilisa was growing, she was forced to do chores. She sought comfort with her doll. Vasilisa's father went away because he was a merchant. During his trip, his wife sent Vasilisa deep into the creepy woods to get light from Baba Yaga, the witch. Vsilisa took the doll with her on the journey. She saw three different horses with riders, until she came to the hut of the witch, with skulls around it. The witch made sure that Vasilisa work to get light or, if not, she'll die. Vasilisa had to do chores, cook and sort through grains, until she grew tired. The doll finished the tasks for her. The following morning, Vasilisa saw three riders pass the hut. She asked the witch about them, and Baba Yaga replied that they were called Day, Sun and Night. The witch gave Vasilisa a skull lantern filled with hot burning coals. When she got home, her step family were dead. She eventually became a weaver of silk and a married a nobleman.  

Beauty and the Beast

This favourite story is by Gabrielle-Suzanne Bardot de Villeneuve. Many different versions have been retold and the story changed over time. What we have now is the basic story of a young woman who has to meet a ferocious beast or her father would be in danger. She finds the Beast repulsive and frightening but she learns to adapt with his looks. She begins to warm to him and grow fond of him. When she returns home to her sickened father, she misses time, and panics when she thinks of how long she's been away from the Beast. She finds the Beast dying, and she's so upset that she cries. She learns that she's in love with him. The spell broke, and instead of a beast, is a handsome young man. This story isn't just a romance but it explains how a courageous woman learns to love a Beast. 

This is all of it now. There are plenty other warriors in fairy tales. Honorary warrior women of fairy tales also include these stories Goose Girl, Little Mermaid, the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Princess and the Goblin, Rapunzel, the Glass Coffin, Iron Stove and the brave Little Match Girl.

She Wolf Night Team