The Tales of Beedle the Bard By: J.K. RowlingThis compilation of tales is a classic from the world of Harry Potter. In the introduction JKR explains that these stories are much like our Muggle childhood fairy tales, but with one main difference, magic. Magic was usually the cause of all of the problems in our childhood favorites, her examples include, the witch that poisoned the apple, or put the princess to a hundred-year’s sleep. However in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the heroes and heroines can perform magic themselves and still have trouble solving their problems. These tales have helped magical parents all over the world explain to their over eager children that magic can cause as many problems as it can solve to the unworthy witch or wizard.
This book contains 5 tales along with commentary by our own dear Professor Albus Dumbledore. So, if you couldn’t figure out the moral of the story, don’t worry, Dumblydore is always obliged to help. The five stories are: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock’s Hairy Heart, Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump, and the Tale of the Three Brothers. My favorite is The Fountain of Fair Fortune.
This tale was about a Fountain that only one person could bathe in one day in one year. Hundreds of people would come from all around to hopefully be picked to be the one person that could dip in this fountain to receive Fair Fortune forevermore. Three sister witches had a plan to get each other in, it works, but on accident Sir Luckless is also dragged in along with the sisters (with a name like that, we all know who needs the fair fortune). Through their travels they all learn life lessons that in the end none of them need the waters of fortune. Through their struggles they learn important lessons about themselves and each other that lasts the rest of their lives. I guess the moral of the story is that your problems are never so big that you can’t find a solution. Personally, I know this is not a Christian story, but I find my absolute peace and all my answers from Jesus Christ. He is my stronghold and my fountain of fair fortune and my constant help in times of trouble. He can heal the symptoms that no doctor can cure, he has treasures laid up in heaven, and he can mend the broken heart.
All of that to say, when my children are growing up, I think I’m going to read them The Tales of Beedle the Bard instead of the fairy tales that I grew up with. Why??? Because I think that would be awesome for them to talk about these tales like we would talk about Hansel and Gretel, etc. When you think about these stories, verses the stories that we heard as children, are they so different? They all have people who need to learn a life lesson.
So, which tale was your favorite? Did you learn anything from these stories?
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