The Necklace of Princess Fiorimonde was one of my favourite stories when I was kid. Mostly because I was fascinated by the necklace, like what a thing to dream up! And if you touched a bead would you turn into a bead? Or was it only when you closed your hand around the cord that you became a bead? Also because the princess was evil and the guys who wanted to marry her were all dumb, but good won in the end. Ergo, I liked the story very much.

I've been reading Philip Pullman's anthology of fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm recently, and it struck me how much I really liked the stories. Even if I'd heard them tons of times, I found myself reading them again and I wasn't all that bored.

And then I thought about some of my favourite fairy tales and I figured I'd compile them here:

1. Love Like Salt / Cap O' Rushes (Joseph Jacobs / British)

http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-13.html


2. Rumpelstiltskin


3. The Frog Princess (Russian folk tale)

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12851/12851-h/12851-h.htm

I can't find the version I read but it included the frog princess embroidering a silk shirt and it was the softest and whitest and most beautiful shirt anyone had ever seen. The bit about the bread however, is the part I like best. I used to imagine a loaf of bread with an elaborate pastel-coloured sugar castle perched on top of it and with tiny turrets and all.

In line with the transformation theme, I really really really like the story of the seal wife which is incredibly sad but beautiful and lonely.


4. The old woman and the tramp / nail soup (Swedish / Europe)

http://www.soupsong.com/snail.html

It's fun + those are some pretty good ingredients for soup!


5. Why the sea is salty (Norwegian)

http://oaks.nvg.org/ntales34.html

Because I like the idea of standing in broth / soup and a never-ending supply of food.


6. The Queen Bee (Brothers Grimm)

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/62queenbee.html

"Oh I get by with a little help from my friends" ;)