3 tales in verse:
- Ridiculous wishes
- Donkey Skin
- Griselidis
8 tales in prose:
- Sleeping Beauty
- Little Red Riding Hood
- The blue beard
- Cat or Puss in Boots master
- Fairies
- Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper
- Riquet with the Tuft
- Tom Thumb
We all know the stories of Perrault we were read dozens of times as a child and yet when we read them in their original version is a version feels any different. Some stories seem less impressive when we and others like "Blue Beard" or certain passages of "Tom Thumb" are of extreme cruelty: A man slaughtered his wives in a dark room in his castle, an ogre slaughtered seven girls in their sleep without ceremony etc.
What is striking in retrospect is to see education schemes of the time (XVII) especially for girls. In Perrault's tales, princesses are all alike: they are beautiful, wise, at any point, and obedient educated to virtue. Not a false note will disturb this idyllic landscape.
It includes all the imagination of storytelling with its iconic characters and Accessories: fairies, ogres, seven-league boots, animated animals, old women with mysterious powers.
It would be wrong to want to reduce these tales a few redundant archiconnus scenarios. They scored with their formulas the famous French children's literature. Who does not remember the phrase: "Pull the bobbin, and the latch bobinette." ?
Rereading there are also some nice surprises: A "Donkey Skin" written in verse. The origin of the word in the Cinderella tale is called by the nickname Cucendron by his half-sister who hates her. But Cucendron is similar to "ashy ass." Indeed, after finishing his day's work, the future princess sits in the ashes of the fireplace. This discovery breaks a little the myth.
Finally, I personally discovered and read for the first time tales "Riquet with the Tuft" and "Griselda" also written in verse. All the stories end with a moral, like La Fontaine's Fables.
The Pocket Edition is interesting because it systematically translates the words of the unintelligible time today and those that changed direction (the etymology of certain words is explained).
Also in the middle of the book Tales are decorated with engravings of Gustave Doré (over forty in all). These engravings are related with stories and are also explained. It was also the end of the work, a short biography of Charles Perrault and a lexicon that refers to the work.
The Pocket Edition is undoubtedly the most complete and richest and in addition a low price. So why not use it.
