Once Upon a Time . . .

Lately I have a had a lot of people ask me about the origins of certain legends and fairy tales. I've read (devoured) a great deal of such stories but I can't say I know the origins and details of every bit of folk lore ever told.

I want to though.

And so, I am planning a blog series starting in May (after the impending A-Z Challenge we will all {most} be absorbed in through April)about the origins of fairy tales. I will research what I can about about a new fairy tale each week and post what I find.

This will be fun! Let me know if there are any particular stories you would like me to cover.

I can tell you right now there aren't any actual original version. Not in the way there is an original Peter Pan or an Original Sherlock Holmes. Fairy Tales were originally told in taverns and around fires. Each telling was different. They drew elements from each other (what we might consider today an infringment of coppyrights) and developed with the times and people who told them. Stories traveled from region to region, mixing with each other, and gathering new life with each generation. Even the first written collections were only one man's copy of what he heard in the local villages. The stories had existed in many different versions for years before that depending on where, and by whom, they were told.

I could easily spend years trying to pin-point the origins of a single story but we'll see what I can uncover in a week. I'm looking forward to this! I hope you have a lot of fairy tale questions for me!