Happy Bday Anderson!

Yup... heard on the radio that dear ol' Anderson is now 200 years old, if he was still alive. Yup yup, the dude who wrote all those fairytales that we grew up with. Now I have a qns (inspired by that same radio station)...

Which fairytale left the deepest impression on you? and why? (It can be a good deep impression, or a bad deep impression?)

and to start the ball rolling... I shall answer first.

It's "The Little Mermaid" (Actually, I am not very sure if it was written by Anderson, or Grimms but let's just leave it at fairytales, doesn't have to be Anderson.)

Why? Because, after ALL her sacrifice, after ALL that she has done, the mermaid does not get the prince!!! She doesn't GET HIM!!! I was haunted by it, nay, I was traumatised! This is not supposed to happen in fairytales! Even at a very young age, I understood that between fantasy and reality, there exists the "big divide".

Therefore, in fantasy, everything should end perfect! The girl gets the prince, think - Snow White, Cinderella, even the Golden Goose! How could that POOR girl, who gave up her voice, who gave up her fins to be with her man, not get HIM?

(aside: why didn't she just write out who she was? I mean, just cuz you're dumb doesn't make you dumb right? Used to drive my mum nuts with these qns. OR it could be that people underwater are illiterate. But c'mon, how difficult is it to learn how to mime, or write "I am the mermaid who saved your dumbass?")

In anycase, she loses the prince to some UNKNOWN princess... unknown becuz the author, doesn't write anything about that princess! I KNOW! Cuz I read, and re-read, trying to find some redeeming feature about this princess, trying to find out MORE about this princess that came and cruelly snatched the prince... but nope, nothing at all. It was a MOST traumatising fairytale.

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Years later.... watching "the little mermaid" in the cinemas right? Walt Disney Production... there I was... intoxicated by the beautiful moving visuals... hummable songs... then about 3/4s way through... suddenly sat up in panic! OMIGOD!! What if... what if... this version is the one that I read? Where she doesn't get the man? My heart almost stopped! I couldn't bear it if she doesn't even get her man in the cartoon version!

I waited... with this fear in my heart (it was very real, the fear)... and phew... this version was the one that got her man. I would have cried with relief, except... deep inside, I knew... she actually DIDN'T get the man... but I was glad to be in denial for that movie.

Anyway... what was the author thinking of? how can you mix reality with fantasy? Can you now see the line? why would i want reality intruding into my fantasy world, when reality is staring at me everyday... in the face already?

Anyway... back to the question. Answer it! wahahaha... can leave NICE LONG comments for me to read! :)

Which fairytale left the deepest impression on you? and why?