The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Synopsis
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione is given The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book containing five fairy tales: ‘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.’ The last one, ‘The Tale of the Three Brothers’ is the story that introduces the Deathly Hallows – three magical objects that will cause the person who has them all to become the “master of death.”

Originally, there were only seven copies of this book made, but in late 2008, it was released to the mass market. This book includes all five fairy tales, as well as commentary on each one by Dumbledore.

Review
I originally read and reviewed this a week ago on my own blog. I wanted to touch on it again here for a few reasons. Firstly, a few people mentioned to me that they hadn’t heard any reviews about it previously. Secondly, parts of this book have really stuck with me this past week.

What’s struck me the most about this book is that, aside from the fact that the main characters are witches and wizards, these tales could easily be included in a book of Grimm’s fairy tales or Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tales. While these stories do not end up “happily ever after” with the fair heroine marrying the handsome prince, each of these stories do carry similar themes and elements to other fairy tales that we very well know.

The more I think on it, the more ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune’ becomes my favourite of all the stories. In it, three witches make a bargain that they will help each other get to the fountain in the middle of an enchanted garden. This fountain is said to give Fair Fortune to anyone who bathes in it. When they set out for this fountain, a foolish knight is accidentally dragged along with them into the garden. Throughout their journeys, the three witches discover that they are no longer in need of the fair fortune they would gain from bathing in the fountain – through their own ingenuity and through the help of their friends, they realize they can create their own good fortune.

This story reminds me a little bit of a number of different fairy tales. For one, Cinderella. That may not seem a likely choice for those who know the more Disnified version, but in the original one, Cinderella must find a way to complete the impossible tasks that her step-mother has put before her. And she can only do that through the help of her friends (mind you, her friends are ants, birds, mice and such). There is also the fact that there were three impossible tasks to overcome – and this is not unusual at all in fairy tales. For example, in the Russian fairy tale, Vasilissa the Beautiful, the heroine is required to do three impossible tasks after she has been given to Baba Yaga. In Rumpelstiltskin, the heroine is not required to do three different tasks, but the same impossible task for three nights in a row. There are many others, as well, in which there are three tasks.

All of the stories in this book are quite charming, and Rowling’s captured the feel and enchantment of the classic fairy tales. It would fit in well with any collection of fairy tales, whether they are solely the classics, or include new classics, such as Susanna Clarke’s The Ladies of Grace Adieu. And this is definitely a volume that any fan of the Harry Potter books should own.