Twice this week I’ve written
the same entry on "Jack and the Beanstalk", only to have my computer eat it
before I could save it. It will write itself again. Mentioning devils who still
live with their mothers last week kind of behooves me to dig into that story
this week.
“The Devil’s Three Golden Hairs”
is another fairy-tale-less-traveled that I love. The rhythm lends itself to
telling aloud—preferably around a smoky fire with a bunch of snickering friends—and
the plot takes some nice, unexpected turns. The archetypes in this one are
different from what is usually found in fairy tales. This is almost another “soldier
of fortune” fairy tale—but the youth of our hero fudges that line. There are
actually several similar Russian fairy tales (a culture, like the Celts, with
murky ties to age), but the German one is the most appropriate for this week.
Unlikely though it might seem
if you’ve never read this story before, many of the motifs are common
denominators in modern fiction. Aside from it being an entirely likeable story
with easily drawn characters, the story has certain values that are universal.
Given your background, you
might find rooting for the underdog the most familiar. Or the rags-to-riches
aspect. What I’ll be focusing on this week is why most readers find the ending
so satisfying.
What do you think…?
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