Les Poissonchats

My all time favourite – likely a variant of the French Lusignan cycle (see no 3) – goes like this: A herdsman/cowboy leaves a bowl of cream on the doorstep of his mountain cabin each night for the dragon-fairy who dwells nearby, as was the custom of the old days. One day, quite by accident,… Read more

Do you know the tale of Seven-at-One-Stroke? It begins with a meek little tailor who, one day, cut himself a splendid slice of bread, buttered it generously, and heaped it with jam. Just as he opened his mouth to take a bite, the seven pesky flies that had pestered him all afternoon and wouldn’t let… Read more

Mother used to say we reminded her of Little Red Riding Hood whenever we went to visit Grandfather, for we always carried a basket full of good things to eat for him – thankfully, with no wolf involved.  Not long ago I asked her what his favourite cake had been, the one he’d ask Grandmother… Read more

There’s the tale of Goldmarie, who tumbled down a well into Lady Holle’s land. There she helped around the house, shook the pillows out the window so snow would fall upon the world, tickled the apple tree until it dropped its ripe fruit into her basket, and rescued the loaves that screamed to be taken… Read more

I adored Princess Pea when I was little. I had a picture book of the story, and in it Princess Pea slept on a towering stack of soft, feathery mattresses, exactly the sort of bedtime arrangement that appealed to me. After all, who wouldn’t want to drift off atop a whole tower of mattresses. Of… Read more

Mother says it was lambs lettuce, most definitely lambs lettuce. Lambs lettuce in the garden of the fairy next door except the fairy calls it Rapunzel, but it’s one and the same. Enchanted lambs lettuce for sure for the queen traded her unborn child against it, thinking she’d get away with it, but, alas, this… Read more