There is this story, The Headless Princess, that I was disturbed by but actually admired too. I like how brave the priest's son was in how he handled the witch princess. He stood with strong resolve even when she was conjuring horrible things all around him. He was brave even at such a young age. I'm glad in the end the king believed the priest's son when he told him what his deceased daughter was capable of doing. It worried me at first that he might not believe that his daughter was capable of such things.
I am noticing throughout all the readings in this second half, there is a lot of stories where the dead come alive in the night to torture the living in one way or another. It always comes down to one person being more clever or more brave than the deceased person. Horrifying but very interesting to think because that is one of the biggest things I'm afraid of. When you have to encounter and evil that is dead or not human, how do you hurt it?
The Fox-Physician made me feel bad for the poor old man. He was trying to be helpful throughout the story and just kept running into issues. When he realized that the cabbage lead to henna where there was abundant food and drink he just wanted to share his discovery with the old woman. Just like in other stories and genres, the fox plays the cunning character as he fools the old man into letting the fox be alone with the old woman so he can eat her. What would have happened if he had opened the door and caught the fox as he was cooking the woman and preparing to eat her? Something to consider.
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| Russian Fairy Tale |
Bibliography: Russian Fairy Tales by W. R. S. Ralston (1887).
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