Grim. Grimm. Growing up I owned a copy of the complete works of Hans Christian Andersen, and the complete works of the Brothers Grimm. They were both slightly deranged, but the latter moreso. Milca got a book of their tales, similar to this one, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, who’s work is truly awesome. Having their fairytales at my fingertips yet again, I am reminded of how fucked up and twisted those brothers truly were. The stepmother from Cinderella, after cutting off the big toe and heal of her two daughters respectively, she was forced to wear red hot iron shoes and dance until she was dead. Not beheaded. Not a hanging. Oh, no, she gets some proper torture. My personal favorite was one of the last we’ve read to date. The story revolved around this boy and girl, who escape some fucked up death scenario. The end of the story reads, “And they are still alive today, unless they already dead.” What ever happened to “Happily ever after” as a happy ending? Now we’ve got the cynic’s ending.
Hans wasn’t much better. The Little Mermaid felt the tips of daggers on her feet every step she took with her new legs. Her sisters traded their hair for a dagger that Ariel was to use on Eric so that she could return to being a mermaid. She couldn’t bring herself to do it, however, so she jumped from the highest window at the end of the third day, landed in the ocean, and turned into sea foam. My favorite part of this original version is that not only does the main character lose, but her sisters are now all bald headed. The idea of bald mermaids is quite hilarious.