Christmas Fairy Tale of Iceland: The Yule Lads

A big portion of my Christmas decorations consists of Santa Clauses. I have a very strong connection to the country of the Santa Clauses in the Fairy Tale Dimension and that explains why I am such a big fan of the red and white clad figures. I am not the only fan of this country. Thousands of movies, books and songs about Santas attest to the love for this fairy tale country. The Santa country is one of the biggest and most divers fairy tale countries in the Fairy Tale Dimension. Hundreds of different Santa Claus stories are played there.

The Christian Santa Claus

A lot of different pagan rituals and stories around the winter solstice were absorbed by Christianity over the centuries. The Christian Santa figure got his name from Saint Nicholas. He lived in the Roman Empire in the fourth century and he was a bishop who was famous for his miracles. Originally from a wealthy family he distributed his wealth to the poor. He set an example and sharing and helping have been a big part of our Christian Christmas traditions ever since.

The Santas living in the Fairy Tale Dimension are not always the benevolent present distributors I am so fond of. Today I want to introduce you to some pretty scary Santas who are trolls. They are part of the Iceland Christmas traditions.

Life in Iceland used to be very hard

Until the twentieth century life in Iceland was very harsh and the people were very poor. The hundreds of years old Icelandic sagas mirror the adverse environment in which Icelanders had to fight hard for their survival. Only a limited variety of food grew in the cold climate and people relied mainly on fish and sheep to sustain them. Hunger was common.

Perhaps because of this history Iceland has the most hair-raising Christmas creatures I have heard of: The Icelandic Santa Claus family: The Yule Lads (jólasveinar in Icelandic) and their parents.

The 13 Icelandic Santas are living in a family

According to different legends The Icelandic Yule Lads live either in the highlands in the middle of Iceland or in the Dimmuborgir region in the north near lake Mývatn with their troll parents Grýla and Leppalúði and their pet-beast the Christmas Cat. There are historical records of up to 70 Yule Lads, but only 13 Yule lads have survived until today. Even though they are not as bad as their parents, they have very bad manners. Considering who raised them this is no wonder.

The parents of the Icelandic Yule Lads

Grýla – the mother – is a big troll. She looks rather intimidating and is reported to have a tail and multiple heads. As trolls are often cannibals she likes human meat and hunts for misbehaving children during the Christmas season, whom she cooks in a large pot.

Leppalúði is Gryla´s third husband and the father of the 13 Yule lads. He is said to be a useless chap. This dumb skinny troll does whatever Grýla commands him to do. He helps her to catch naughty kids for her stew and carries them home in his big sack.

The Christmas Cat

As if the parents are not frightful enough, there is also the scary Christmas Cat (Jólakötturinn) to evade during the Christmas season. This giant black cat shares Grýla´s taste for humans. She is rumoured to devour everybody who does not receive a new piece of clothing before Christmas. So if you don’t want your loved ones to be eaten by a giant troll cat, you better give them at least a pair of new socks. 

In 1932 Jóhannes úr Kötlum wrote the still popular poetry book about the Yule Lads. There he gives descriptions of each of the 13 Christmas trolls and describes their comings and goings. Some Icelanders still know it by heart. Hallberg Hallmundsson translated this long poem in English.

The Christmas Season in Iceland

The Icelandic Christmas season lasts for 26 days, from the 11^th of December until the 6^th of January. It starts when the first Yule Lad arrives 13 days before Christmas Eve and finishes when the last one of them leaves on the 6^th of January. They arrive singly until Christmas Eve and then leave in the same order starting on Christmas Day one by one to head home again not to be seen until next season.

The 13 Yule Lads of Iceland

The Icelandic troll Santa Clauses get their peculiar names after their individual characteristics. They are skinny because they are always hungry. Their mother  does not seem to feed them well. These guys are troublemakers who steal food and play tricks on people. This is why the Icelanders have to look well after their food during the Christmas season.

Besides being a nuisance and stealing food the Yule Lads are also very ugly and stupid. Here are the descriptions of each Yule Lad in order of the night he visits:

Illustration by Hugleikur Dagsson

1. Sheep-Cote Clod (Stekkjarstaur)

He has two wooden legs, which make him slow to move. He likes to harass the sheep that have been brought in for the winter. In Icelandic farms the barn used to be part of the house so that the sheep running around in panic could easily be heard.

2. Gully-Gawk (Giljagaur)

He hides in gullies looking for a chance to steal milk from the cows when the farmers do not pay attention.

3. Stubby (Stúfur)

As his name suggests he is very short. He tries to steal pans that have food dried on them because he loves to eat the crusts.

4. Spoon-Licker (Þvörusleikir)

He is abnormally tall and thin as a rake because he is only eating by licking spoons clean. He prefers the long-handled ones that are used for stirring in big pots.

5. Pot-Scraper (Pottaskefill)

Steals pots to eat the leftovers. To get to the pots he likes to trick children. He makes them think that someone is at the door and when they run to see who it is he sneaks in and snatches the pots.

6. Bowl-Licker (Askasleikir)

When the Bowl-Licker is in the house you can find him lurking under the bed. There he waits until somebody puts a bowl with food on the floor, which was happening a lot in the old days because beds were also used as chairs and there were often no tables. Then he reaches out from under the bed, steals the bowl and eats everything in it.

7. Door-Slammer (Hurðaskellir)

Is a really annoying lad. True to his name he likes slamming doors loudly, preferably at night. When you have just drifted off to sleep he wakes you up with slamming another door.

8. Skyr-Gobbler (Skyrgármur)

When he has been visiting you can easily tell because he leaves his finger marks all over the skyr. He is also a very messy eater so that you have to clean up a lot after him. Skyr is a delicious Icelandic dairy product. Everybody tries to copy it nowadays but in my opinion nobody succeeds in making it taste as good as the Icelanders do.

9. Sausage –Swiper (Bjúgnakrækir)

He hides in the rafts under the roof and raids food from sitting up on a crossbeam. At the first chance he gets he snatches and gobbles up every sausage he can find.

10. Window-Peeper (Gluggagægir)

He is one of the more creepy Yule lads. With his enormous eyes he peers through the windows and steals everything he can see and get his hands on. This makes him perhaps the worst thief of the group.

11. Doorway-Sniffer (Gáttaþefur)

With his huge nose he can make out delicious Christmas treats from far away. He sneaks around outside of Icelandic houses and hopes that someone forgets to close the door so he can get inside to steal the food.

12. Meet-Hook (Ketkrókur)

This Yule lad steals meat by lowering a hook through the chimney. He uses the hook to grab smoked meat that is hanging from the rafts. Luckily his hook is often too short to reach everything.

13. Candle-Stealer (Kertasníkir)

He sneaks up on the children who run around the farm at night with their tallow lights to steal them. These candles were made of fat and he did not want them because of their light but to eat them.

When Christmas is finally there

The Icelanders have a lot of their food stolen gy the Yule lads. They are also tired from waking up several times a night, spooked because of strange sounds coming from the doors, sheep pens, the roof or the stables. They wonder why they cannot find any candles. Still they are lucky not to have been eaten by either Grýla or her cat.

You see that the Christmas season in Iceland is a very scary part of the year. The sun only manages to creep over the horizon for about 4 hours and people imagined all kinds of ghosts lurking outside.

Only ghosts were said to knock on doors at night. In the old days if a visitor came in the dark he went to the window and said: Here is God (Hér sé guð) to distinguish himself from the possibly dangerous beings lurking outside.

The Icelandic Santa Clauses today

The fairy tale of the 13 Icelandic Yule lads, their parents and pet makes me glad that I grew up with stories of benevolent fat red clad Santa Clauses. I feel sorry for the Icelandic children who have been raised with tales of these intimidating dangerous creatures over the centuries.

The old stories are still very much alive today in Iceland and you can meet Icelandic Yule Lads at Christmas parties and schools. Nowadays these lads have softened up though. The Icelandic Santas have even started to leave presents for children in their shoes.

How is your relationship with Santa Claus?

Pictures: private and by Hugleikur Dagsson

© Inge Schumacher

The Zombie-Virus Fairy Tale

I had a very frightening dream a year ago. It was so vivid and that I still recall it easily. What gives me the creeps is that the dream is more science fact than science fiction.

To understand the story better I give you some background information about my husband and me.

We are a family with special talents

My husband and I both work with energy. He is fond of exploring unusual avenues. He experiments with something he calls Magitec for example. That is a new kind of magic energy that fits to our dimension.

I use energy work to heal and support people on their individual paths.

When we met I studied business and he was training to become a physician. We never thought that we would work closely together one day. This is what exploring life as a couple for over 30 years can do to you when you are lucky.

We talk to channelled entities

For over ten years we have been conversing with Elias, Ayla and Tompkin. They are channelled entities. Channels are popular at the moment because we need all the insights we can get to handle the changes we are facing.

The Shift in Consciousness  

Over hundred years ago this dimension decided to set into motion a Shift in Consciousness. This Shift has started in 2000 and will be completed by 2075. The aim of this shift is to remove the veils that separate us from the pure consciousness we are.

We are here because we need bodies to make experiences we cannot make as energy beings. The moment we arrive here as infants we forget where we are coming from.

Becoming more aware is the goal of the Shift

To get rid of the veils we have to be conscious of what we are and what we do. We have to really get to know ourselves.

Are you aware of the Shift that is happening?

• Do you have the feeling that a lot is changing?
• Do you see the growing uncertainties?
• Things seem to be happening much more sudden nowadays. Plans become obsolete fast.
• Do you see old institutions – like the US presidency – fail?
• Climate Change can be seen everywhere

Permafrost is thawing

Arctic permafrost has been thawing due to climate change for the past decades. Scientists are aware that unknown bacteria and viruses are lurking there. Our bodies do not have any immune response to them because they are new to us. Many unexplainable gastrointestinal and lung sicknesses could be caused by these yet undiscovered microorganisms.

The Zombie-Virus Fairy Tale

My dream started with Elias giving alarm in November 2019: A catastrophe in the permafrost region of our planet was imminent. A virus that has been frozen since the age of the dinosaurs (244 until 66 million years ago) was threatening to go viral. It would kill billions if it could not be stopped fast.

The Zombie-Virus kills higher brain functions

In my dream I saw disturbing pictures of aggressive people killing each other. The virus was spreading fast all over the globe. I felt helpless.

The virus changes us into aggressive animals

Only the cerebellum, the brain stem, the oldest part of our brain, remains functioning when this virus infects us. Its job is to keep us alive. We can eat, sleep, have sex and move, nothing more.

• We can only react automatically to instincts and emotions like hunger or anger
• We cannot think any more
• We cannot speak any longer

There are no more morals or empathy. We are reduced to a raging mass of wild animals killing one another when food is scarce. Which happens soon after the outbreak.

All higher life forms that evolved after the dinosaur age can be infected: Wild mammals, cattle and pets.

The Zombie-Virus did not kill the dinosaurs

The dinosaur predators only got a bit more violent when infected with the virus thus spreading the disease more effectively. They got immune eventually. This explains why the virus can be found everywhere in the permafrost.

The Zombie-Virus is spread by air and can survive in sweet water. This makes it very infectious. It would spread in six weeks round the planet destroying our civilisation fast. There would not be enough time to work on vaccinations.

How to save humanity?

Of course our greater consciousness could help, the one we forgot about in order to experience life here. But it has agreed not to interfere. I call this the Prime Directive.

The problem with the Prime Directive

This expression comes from the Star Trek Universe: Starfleet agreed with this non-interference directive to honour the natural development of civilisations.

Greater Consciousness had already stretched the Prime Directive to braking point when alerting us: It tried containing the virus in cold stasis.

Humans were unaware

Elias told my husband about the virus. Humans were not aware of the danger. And it would be much too late when they finally realized what was happening.

Why him? My husband was the only one who could find a solution to the virus problem because of the Magitec he was experimenting with. Would he be able to? We did not know. We were totally terrified.

A horrific Christmas

Only we knew about the Damocles Sword that hung over everybody. In my dream I saw my family sitting by the Christmas tree wondering whether this would be the last Christmas of civilisation.

It was hard for us to cope with normal life while my husband was figuring out what he could do.

Killing the Zombie-Virus was not the best option

Our first instinct was to destroy the virus. We thought about all kinds of avenues to do just that.

In discussions with Elias we learned that the energy of extinguishing life, even a dangerous virus, has detrimental consequences for all of consciousness: This destruction would hurt every being everywhere. Of course we did not want to cause that kind of pain.

Magitec did the trick

My husband needed an efficient instrument to affect the virus. His experiments with Magitec paid off.

First he refroze the permafrost and put a safety bubble around the thawing sites to give us more time.

Then he came up with the idea to inhibit the reproduction of the virus. Viruses are harmless when they are not able to reproduce. So even if a virus would find a mammal host it could do no harm.

Don´t ask me how he did it, because I can´t comprehend it. But he managed to save our civilisation just in time – without going on a killing spree.

Seeing the possibility of losing everything almost drove me crazy during the time it took to find a solution.

Civilisation would have had to start fresh

Had he not succeeded only people who were naturally immune, 40 millions, would have survived. Because of food shortages, disease and turmoil probably only 25 million humans of 8 billion would have survived the first year after the outbreak.

I got a new understanding of the value of life and interconnectedness

This experience made me understand that we humans still don´t hold life in high value. In the last decades we came a long way. But we do not treat our planet with the respect it deserves and we are suffering the consequences.

The apocalypse of the Zombie-Virus is a theme

In the last decades hundreds of movies were made about viruses that turn humans into senseless monsters. Perhaps this was my inspiration for this dream.

The Corona virus brings massive change

At the same time I dreamed this, the Corona virus started spreading. It was harmless compared to the Zombie-Virus. But it started a pandemic just like the Zombie-Virus could have.

The Corona virus caused the most changes we had in our world without any war. It forced all of us into new ways.

The Corona-Virus helps us to learn

• Self-structuring
• Self-directing
• Differences

A lot of my clients suffer from anxiety and the uncertainties the pandemic brings. As bad as it is, the changes caused by the virus give us the chance to learn a lot about ourselves. Hopefully it makes us more open for the changes we have to embrace to save our planet.

I hope we will never have to cope with a real Zombie apocalypse.

I hope I will never have another Nightmare like this!

Pictures: Pixabay

© Inge Schumacher

The Beautiful Palace East of the Sun and North of the Earth

This Norwegian fairy tale involves many typical aspects of fairy tales. It is a great example of the way fairy tales work.

The story of the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth

Three doves

A farmer was wondering who kept trampling the grass of his favourite meadow at night.

He sent his three sons to investigate and keep watch. The two older sons fell asleep and could not find out anything. The youngest saw three white doves landing, shedding their plumage and turning into lovely maidens. While they danced he stole their plumages.  Watching them dance he fell in love with one of the girls, who turned out to be a Princess.

The girls kept dancing until dawn and then searched frantically for their means of transportation. When they discovered him the lad enquired where they came from. They told him that they lived out of reach of humans in the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth and were a Princess and her attendants. He only gave their plumages back to them when a date for the wedding with the Princess was set.

He went back home but did not admit to having solved the puzzle. When the date for the marriage approached he asked his father for permission to host a big feast.

The wedding

On the day of the feast a golden carriage pulled up in front of the farmhouse at midnight and the three beautiful maidens got out. After the ceremony and before dawn the three girls were eager to leave. The new bride explained that they were kept hostage by evil trolls and only rarely had the chance to get out.

Before they left the Princess gave the groom a golden ring to remember her by and her two attendants added two golden apples.

Soon after that the young lad left home to search for the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth where his beloved was kept hostage.

A long journey began

Three giants and three magic items

On his journey he first met two giants who were quarrelling over an heirloom of their father´s: A pair of 100-mile-boots. As they could not come to an understanding he convinced them that it was wise to give the boots to him.

Soon after that he stumbled over two more giants fighting over an inheritance of their father´s. This time he was rewarded with an invisible cloak.

The third time he met two quarrelling giants he acquired a magic sword: If you touch somebody with its tip he dies and if you touch him with the hilt he comes back to life.

He met three women who commanded the animal kingdom

With these three precious objects he reached a vast desert and met an ancient woman. He asked her nicely for shelter. She answered that he could stay because she has seen 12 oak forests wither and in all this time nobody treated her as kindly as he did. He inquired of the whereabouts of the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth. And she asked the animals of the earth that she commanded for information.

Sadly the animals couldn´t help and the woman sent him on to her older sister who ruled the fish. But the fish could not help either. This sister then sent him on to the third even older sister who was the ruler of the birds in the sky.

At first the birds also couldn´t help. But the phoenix arrived late and was totally exhausted from his long journey from the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth.

The last leg of his journey to the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth

The old woman commanded the phoenix to take the young man there. They flew a long time and three times the bird asked its passenger what he saw. At first he could only make out a blue cloud on the horizon, then a small speck inside the cloud and finally he could see the palace itself.

Three times proof to gain entrance

At midnight when the trolls were soundly asleep the prince knocked on the gates of the castle. First one of the Princess´ attendants came to see who was knocking. He gave her a golden apple as proof, then the second attendant came to whom he gave the second apple and finally the Princess herself came looking who could not believe that her new husband managed to find her. He gave her back the ring.

Overjoyed she let him in. When the sun was rising he told him to leave because the trolls would kill him if they found him.

Saving his bride and the whole kingdom

He left and put on his boots and cloak and waited at the gate with his sword in hand. As the trolls approached he killed them one by one before they could even get aware of him.

After freeing his bride he resurrected her father and the other relatives who had been killed by the trolls with the hilt of his magic sword. After this he and his wife happily ruled over the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth.

Rich imagery in the beautiful palace east of the sun and north of the earth

I am enchanted by this elaborate fairy tale. It has all the important ingredients of a good story: Adventure, evil, love, daring and success. It features a lot of the unique qualities the Fairy Tale Dimension offers:

1. The number three

The mystical number three is everywhere in this fairy tale: Three brothers, three maidens, three gifts, three pairs of giants, three magical objects, three old women, three sightings of the castle, three times proof until he is let in.

Three is a magical mythological number. We use it a lot because things that are counted in threes feel complete to us.

• We consider the third time we do something lucky
• In Christianity the holy trinity plays a big role
• Western music uses triads as base elements

The three stands for connection, integration and harmony

• The connection of body, soul and spirit
• Faith, love and hope
• liberty, equality and fraternity

Three is also the number of time

• Beginning, middle and end
• Birth, life and death
• Past, future and present

Three insignias of the ring bearer appear in this fairy tale

a. The ring

The young man carries a ring that opens the door to the castle for him. The ring bearer can open the doors for evolution of the Fairy Tale Dimension with her ring that enables her to change the blueprint.

b. The 100-mile-boots

are also part of the ring bearer´s gear, enabling her to get everywhere fast.

c. The cloak of invisibility

Is very helpful because the ring bearer is otherwise easily recognised; even when using disguises. The cloak shields all her energy and the ring bearer can wander around unseen.

2. Getting information:

In this fairy tale three groups of animals have their eyes and ears, fins and tales everywhere. In the Fairy Tale Dimension this is the role of the Shadows:

When they are not needed by their owners the Shadows have their own life: When they don´t cast a shadow they are free to roam. They are loyal to the ring bearer whose job is to make sure that the Fairy Tale Dimension keeps functioning well. Since the shadows are everywhere they know everything that is going on.

When there are feuds between countries or other upheavals it is very handy to have an intelligence organisation at one´s disposal.

3. Resurrection

In this tale resurrection from death is easily achieved with the help of the magic sword.

Death is not permanent in the Fairy Tale Dimension. Just by willing yourself to wake up again you can resurrect yourself as well as healing wounds instantly.

Graves therefore are only needed for playing. I imagine the Princess´s family in this tale were bored by having to lie in a tomb until they were allowed to play again.

4. Going on quests and achieving the impossible

Is an all time favourite in the Fairy Tale Dimension. The young farmer´s son on his quest is lucky to meet the right people. He is nice and unpretentious. He seems to feel secure in his own skin and determined not to give up no matter what. He starts his journey and has faith in himself because the alternative is sitting at home being sad. His assets are his considerable intelligence and his positive nature.

What can this fairy tale tell us today?

The young lad manages to achieve the impossible. We too face challenges that are beyond anything we are accustomed to: We have no idea how to cope with this climate change yet. In this situation it does not help to stay where we are and weep. We need intelligent creative people who are willing to do something about it.

We are not going to manage these challenges as individuals. We need to support each other as shown in this fairy tale by the connection of the number three. Many talents are needed. There is so much strength in connecting with others, trusting ourselves, trying new solutions, failing and trying again.

 

Thank you for making me aware of this wonderful fairy tale, Hans-Jürgen.

Do you have a favourite fairy tale that I have not featured yet? Write me in the comments, send me an e-mail or join my facebook group.

Here you can read the long version of the fairy tale.

I have not found much about this tale in my usual sources. There is another Norwegian fairy tale however where a young woman saves a prince from a wicked stepmother called East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

My reader Julia knew that the fairy tale inspired the Norwegian band A-HA for their album East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Thank you for the tip.

Pictures: Pixabay

© Inge Schumacher

Behind the Scenes of the Fairy Tale Rapunzel

The Grimm brothers made Rapunzel famous. But its origin goes back to the 17^th century to Petrosinella by Giambattista Basile, which was published in 1634. Its plot has been used and parodied in many media and its best-known line “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair” has become legendary.

The heroine of this fairy tale got her name Rapunzel from a plant. Rapunzel is the German word for a kind of small green salad. I had to look it up. It looks a lot like lambs lettuce. Perhaps Rapunzel was more common in people´s gardens when the fairy tale was written. The English translation for Rapunzel is rampion. You can see some pictures of rampion here: It seems to be popular in Italy and Spain.

The fairy tale of Rapunzel

Some people like to make things complicated: Rapunzel´s mother had a hard time getting pregnant. When she finally was pregnant she developed an insatiable craving for rampion. She would eat nothing else thus endangering her life and the life of her child.

The cravings of pregnant women are legendary. To this day soon-to-be fathers can be seen searching everywhere for the strange foods their beloved mates crave. In this fairy tale the husband steals the rampion for his wife in the neighbouring garden which – tough luck – belongs to an evil witch. Of course he gets caught and the witch agrees to share her salad with the couple in exchange for the baby.

That is a very extreme demand but the husband seemed to be so terrified that he would have agreed to anything. When the child was born the witch got it and the parents are never talked about again.

Rapunzel was very beautiful and she had wonderful long blond hair. When she was 12 years old the old Witch shut her in a tower without stairs or doors. When she visited she called to a window:

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair.”

When she heard the Witch’s voice Rapunzel let her braids fall 5 metres down out of the window and the Witch climbed up.

After a few years a Prince on his horse passed by Rapunzel´s tower. As he came near he heard someone singing so sweetly that he stopped to listen. The Prince longed to see the owner of the voice, but he sought in vain for a door in the tower. Nevertheless he returned to listen often. One day, when he was standing behind a tree, he saw the Witch approach and heard her call:

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair.”

Rapunzel let down her plaits and the Witch climbed up.”So that is the staircase”, said the Prince. ” I can use it, too.” At dusk on the following day he went to the tower and called:

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair.”

This way the Prince finally met Rapunzel. At first Rapunzel was frightened when she saw him because she had never seen a man before. (Really??) But the Prince was a friendly guy.  He convinced her that his heart had been so touched by her singing that he just had to meet her. Rapunzel overcame her fear, and when he asked her to marry him she agreed. Her sensible reasoning was that she would be much happier with the Prince than with the evil Witch who held her captive. She put her hand in his and said:

“Yes, I would like to go with you, but how do I get out of this tower? Every time you come to see me please bring a skein of silk and I will make a ladder. When it is ready I can climb down and you can take me away.”

Because the old woman was with her during the day the Prince visited her every evening and brought her silk. The old Witch had no idea what was going on. Sadly one day Rapunzel gave herself away when she asked the Witch: Why are you so much harder to pull up than my Prince?

“You disobedient child”, cried the Witch. “I thought I had hidden you safely from the world but you have deceived me.”

In her wrath she seized Rapunzel’s beautiful hair, took a pair of scissors and cut it off: The beautiful plaits fell to the ground. Afterwards  she took Rapunzel to a desert far away and left her there.

On the evening of the day Rapunzel got exiled the Witch fastened the plaits on a hook near the window. When the Prince came and called:

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair,” she let the Rapunzel´s braid down and the Prince climbed up. But instead of Rapunzel he encountered the evil Witch.

” You wanted to meet your love, but she is gone for good, Prince. You will never see her again.” she said.

In his despair and in spite of the height the Prince jumped straight down from the tower. He fell into thorns that hurt his eyes and blinded him. After this he wandered blindly through the world, lonely and lamenting the loss of his Rapunzel.

He wandered around for years and at last he came to the desert where Rapunzel was living. He recognised her beautiful voice singing. He walked in the direction of the sound, and when he came close, Rapunzel recognised him, ran into his arms and wept. When her tears touched his eyes a miracle happened and he could see again. He led her to his kingdom, where they lived happily ever after.

Versions

There are plenty versions of the Rapunzel story. In some versions Rapunzel is exiled to other remote places, being pregnant (with twins) or not. But the two lovers always find each other in the end. What happens with the witch is not clear.

This fairy tale is puzzling to me

Eating rampion during pregnancy does not seem to make the child smart. Or is it the hair colour? The disaster unfolds when Rapunzel gives herself away. Why on earth do they make it so complicated to escape and deicide to fabricate a ladder of silk? She could have cut her own hair off, too.

Did they never hear of rope ladders? Even a rope with a few knots would have done the trick. The two protagonists are young and agile after all.

Why would his people leave the Prince alone and not search for him? Is a blind prince not fit to rule? Is there discrimination involved?

Well, after all these complications hardships, and endurance follow and the happy end due to magic healing gives us all peace.

Hardships were seen as a way to heaven

When the fairy tale was originally written life was very hard. The clergy and gentry had a great interest in ruling obedient people. The people were taught, also by fairy tales, to endure their hardships quietly here on earth. They were promised a reward for this later in heaven.

Behind the Scenes of the Fairy Tale Country of Rapunzel

Great Hair Magic

This country is popular for its hair magic In the Fairy Tale Dimension. The magicians and hairdressers who live here have a very long tradition of growing and grooming hair for humans and other species.

There are potions that make any hair grow fast and in all kinds of colours and textures. The hairdressers are able to fabricate all kinds of crazy hair- and beard-styles that would not be possible without a generous dose of magic.

The hair-magicians are very popular and often invited for festivities in other fairy tale countries. Their creations are status symbols for vain kings and queens.

The lay of Rapunzel land

The countryside is characterised by dense woods, small villages and most importantly many many towers. Some towers are hundreds of metres up, some are under water, some levitate or change place randomly.

They are also in deserts and high mountains. People live by hunting and farm for their food. They generally lead quiet and peaceful lives.

For a few weeks every year however they celebrate a big festival. People from far away visit to take part in get-togethers and parties. They try their luck in contests  climbing the various towers and freeing the people who are incarcerated there.

These festivities are great occasions to meet people and find a mate. This is why the festival is so popular with young people. You can compare it to a music festival in our dimension: There you can meet people from all over who share a similar interest in music.

Role-play is an all time favourite in the Fairy Tale Dimension

A. Some people try to get up and into the towers

So besides crazy hairdos the race to the top of a tower to free the favourite boy or girl is the goal of the game. When you succeed you get to spend time as a twosome in the towersuite with meals served and other amenities before you decide to come back down.

Using magic potions to levitate up the towers is frowned upon as cheating. So people are creative constructing wings, swinging lassos or building ladders.

Some have tried using magic beans to speed their ascent up. But you never know how potent your beans are. When you are unlucky you get thrown over the clouds only to fight with the giants waiting for youin the bean country up above. Or the roots destroy the tower in the process of growing thus ending the game prematurely.

Like so often in the Fairy Tale Dimension the cunning and intelligent people will win the prize.

B. Some people like to play up in the towers

The people in the towers either help the intruders up – with or without employing their hair. Or they fight off unwanted suitors and try to keep them away from the tower by every means they can think of.

It is no surprise that people get hurt and die all the time during the festivities. But remember, in the Fairy Tale Dimension this is not permanent and can be easily remedied – and the game can go on.

Would you like to play in this fairy tale country? What would be your favourite role?

One member of my facebook group requested this behind the scenes look of her favourite fairy tale. If you are interested in how the country of your favourite fairy tale looks like tell me in the comments, write an email or join my facebook group.

You can read a nice version of Rapunzel here.

Pictures: Pixabay

© Inge Schumacher

 

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes of Sleeping Beauty

I was surprised to find out that the fairy tale I grew up with does have another chapter that was totally new to me.

The earliest known versions of Sleeping Beauty are found in the 14^th century in the long Arthurian book Perceforest. I grew up with the Grimm´s version which is based on Perrault 1628-1703 and is the most popular today.

(Charles Perrault was one oft he first Europeans to put together popular fairy tales and he inspired many for example the Grimm brothers who lived in the middle of the 19^th century. )

The story of Sleeping Beauty I am familiar with

At the christening of a king and queen’s long-wished-for child, seven good fairies are invited to be godmothers to the infant Princess. The fairies attend the banquet at the palace. Each fairy is presented with a golden plate and drinking cups adorned with jewels. Soon after, an old fairy enters the palace and is seated with a plate of fine china and a crystal drinking glass. This old fairy was overlooked because she has been within a tower for many years and everyone had believed her to be deceased. Six of the other seven fairies offer their gifts of beauty, wit, grace, dance, song, and goodness to the infant princess. The old fairy is very angry about having been forgotten, and as her gift, enchants the infant Princess so that she will one day prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and die. The seventh fairy, who hasn’t yet given her gift, attempts to reverse the evil fairy’s curse. However, she can only do so partially. Instead of dying, the Princess will fall into a deep sleep for 100 years and be awakened by a kiss from a king’s son.

The King orders every spindle and spinning wheel in the kingdom to be destroyed, to try to save his daughter from the terrible curse. Fifteen or sixteen years pass and one day, when the king and queen are away, the Princess wanders through the palace rooms and comes upon an old woman, spinning with her spindle. The princess, who has never seen anyone spin before, asks the old woman if she can try the spinning wheel. The curse is fulfilled as the princess pricks her finger on the spindle and instantly falls into a deep sleep. The king has the Princess carried to the finest room in the palace and placed upon a bed of gold and silver embroidered fabric. The king and queen kiss their daughter goodbye and depart, proclaiming the entrance to be forbidden. The good fairy who altered the evil prophecy is summoned. Having great powers of foresight, the fairy sees that the Princess will awaken to distress when she finds herself alone, so the fairy puts everyone in the castle to sleep. The fairy also summons a forest of trees, brambles and thorns that spring up around the castle, shielding it from the outside world.

A hundred years pass and a Prince finds the hidden castle during a hunting expedition. An old man recounts the story: Within the castle lies a beautiful Princess who is doomed to sleep for a hundred years until a king’s son comes and awakens her. The prince then braves the brambles and thorns and enters the castle. He passes the sleeping castle folk and reaches the chamber where the Princess lies asleep on the bed. Struck by the radiant beauty before him, he falls on his knees before her. The enchantment comes to an end by a kiss and the princess awakens and converses with the prince for a long time. Meanwhile, the rest of the castle awakens and go about their business. The Prince and Princess are married by the chaplain.

Disney and all other popular narratives end with this scene.

The part of Sleeping Beauty that was new to me

After the secret wedding the Princess bears two children, Aurore (Dawn) and Jour (Day), unbeknown to his mother, who is of an ogre lineage. When the time comes for the Prince to ascend the throne, he brings his wife and children.

The Ogress Queen Mother sends the young Queen and the children to a house secluded in the woods and directs her cook to prepare the boy for dinner. The kind-hearted cook substitutes a lamb for the boy, which satisfies the Queen Mother. She then demands the girl and the cook this time substitutes a young goat, which also satisfies the Queen Mother. When the Ogress demands that he serve up the young Queen, the latter offers to slit her throat so that she may join the children that she imagines are dead. While the Queen Mother is satisfied with a hind in place of the young Queen, there is a tearful secret reunion of the Queen and her children. However, the Queen Mother soon discovers the cook’s trick and she prepares a tub in the courtyard filled with vipers and other noxious creatures. The King returns and the Ogress, her true nature having been exposed, throws herself into the tub and is fully consumed. The King, young Queen, and children then live happily ever after.

(from Wikipedia)

There are many modern adaptions of the Grimm story: movies, ballets and operas:

• The Sleeping Beauty (1890), a ballet by Tchaikovsky.
• Dornröschen (1902), an opera by Engelbert Humperdinck.

 

Here are two contemporary examples:

1. The animated movies featuring Shrek by Dreamworks are very funny: They play with appearances of the protagonists of this Sleeping Beauty story. An ogre rescues Princess Fiona who turns out to be an ogre herself.

2. The book Reckless The Petrified Flesh

is the first of a three-piece-series called Mirrorworld by Cornelia Funke. She is a multiple award-winning German illustrator and storyteller, who writes fantasy.
Ever since Jacob Reckless was a child, he has been escaping to a hidden world through a mirror that is a portal in his father’s abandoned study.

In these books Funke mixes up all kinds of fairy tales. People go on quests and discover treasure. What intrigued me was that the protagonist discovered a Sleeping Beauty who had died sleeping in her castle. Nobody had managed to save her in time. She had lain in her perpetual sleep for hundreds of years while hundreds of potential saviours were killed. Perhaps the good fairy´s magic was sloppy?

 

Behind the Scenes information on Sleeping Beauty

Discovering the last part of Sleeping Beauty I now understand why this fairy tale is popular in the Fairy Tale Dimension. The sleeping part is boring because it only offers little adventure. The fairies can bring some variety with all kinds of wishes: flying, dancing, magic. The really interesting play starts with the evil mother-in-law trying to eat her son´s family.

Death is not final in the Fairy Tale Dimension

To end your stay in the Fairy Tale Dimension you have to engage the Grim Reaper to escort you out. Inside of the dimension you can die as many times as you want only to reappear in an instant.

This explains why you will find people getting cooked in pots all the time reappearing instantly. You can picture this like wild hot tub parties. Giants even host big cooking events in swimming pool-sized pots.

In the Fairy Tale Dimension you can also jump a hundred times off a steep cliff and be smashed to bits and just stand up the next moment all healthy and restored ready for another round.

There is no pain

I have been cooked myself plenty of times while visiting the Fairy Tale Dimension with friends in dreams and we laughed our heads off while in the pots. We did not feel any pain. In our reality being cooked is cruel. In their reality it is not. This is why fairy tales often seem so cruel to us.

Flexibility

This makes people in the Fairy Tale Dimension very flexible. Something that we can profit from when we visit. There are not many rules scientific or otherwise and the use of magic enables even a bigger variety of outcomes of any fairy tale.

In Sleeping Beauty sometimes the evil stepmother gets to eat her prey and sometimes she is cooked herself.

The part of the evil stepmothers is a very popular character.

Wolves from Little Red Riding Hood like to play it as well as other animals, monsters, humans or trees.

Sleeping beauty is not always an innocent naïve creature.

I especially enjoy the Ninja version of Sleeping Beauty. She is a martial arts expert and enjoys fighting very much. The prince has to be her equal in battle to be accepted as a partner. Imagine the princess being woken up and doing Taekwondo moves! She can definitely take care of herself. This makes her a great adversary for her mother in law, too.

The children

Can play a very important role in the story and many young ones like to take part in the play rescuing their parents or plotting with their evil grandmother. There is an endless possibility of outcomes.

Were you aware of the evil mother-in-law ending of Sleeping Beauty and how do you like this end?

 

Links

Surla lune fairy tale blog has a very comprehensive list of books, which feature Sleeping Beauty. So many people tap into this fairy tale, it is amazing.

Images by Gypsy Thornton from Onceuponablog Sleeping Beauty Pinterest Board

 

Pictures: Open source by Wikipedia

© Inge Schumacher