Once upon a loft

Ever since I can remember I’ve always wanted to write a book. The plot had always swayed between “Life at University” and a guide on “How to survive University Life”, but being the university expert that I am- one university and one degree certificate- it had always begged the question where am I going to get my research from?

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I was going through my loft this morning in an attempt to find my 2007 copy of Microsoft Office Home and Student and I came across a book I had stashed away many years ago called “The Faber Book of Favourite Fairy Tales”. This particular book was not to be confused with any Disney Fairy Tales and in all honesty the reason it had been stashed away was because the illustrations terrified me. We’re not talking Brothers Grimm terrifying here, we are talking pictures that were draw by an old spine-chilling widow who loathes children.

One such tale in the book was called “Baba Yaga, the Bony-Legged, the Witch.” Now don’t get me wrong, the title of this book is definitely called “The Faber Book of Favourite Fairy Tales” but having never heard of this allusive “favourite fairy tale” the need to read on was second to none.

Ten minutes later and my knowledge on dodgy-legged Witches, who lived deep in the woods and residing in huts built on chicken legs, had vastly expanded. The only downside was there was no princess or castle insight. Instead you unearthed the moral that opposed every girl will end up satisfied, incredibly rich and unexplainably stunning over night. The message here was simple: a kind heart is all you need.

But is this what the kids of today really need to be told, that if you’re nice to people and have a kind heart others will too? Why not put them all in glass slippers and tell all of them their dreams will come true?

The most valuable thing I’ve learnt from fairy tales is that every time you reread them you notice something new. Perhaps this is a result of my degree and the practice to break literacy down and scavenge for deeper significance, or perhaps I am yet to read a fairy tale that totally captures the imagination.

If the original sources of fairy tales are fables passed down through generations then maybe it’s time some new ones were written…