Happy February! I am so, so pumped about this month because some special things are happening. And it involves FANTASY AND FAIRY TALES. You know, only my most favorite things of ever.

What’s going on?

• Firstly, Jenelle Schmidt is hosting another February is Fantasy Month over on her blog. She’s done this for a few years now and it’s the MOST. FUN. THING. It’s literally just a celebration of fantasy for all the month of February, with hashtag games and blog tags and epic fantasy-inspired posts. And this year she’s got a GIVEAWAY. So definitely check out HER BLOG for all the fun.

• Secondly, and the main point of this post: Over on Fairy Tale Central instead of featuring a specific fairy tale this month like normal, we’re celebrating ALL things fairy tales! We’ve got so many fun posts coming that involves not just one fairy tale, but many! So for all my fellow fairy tale fanatics, do check out the site to see what all goodness we have in store for you this month. (A giveaway may also be involved here too. *wriggles eyebrows*)

Us FTC girls wanted to spread the fairy tale love over to our personal blogs as well. I’ve actually been wanting to do a post listing some of my favorite fairy tales for a while, and at last a perfect opportunity has arrived. And this doubles as celebrating fairy tales and fantasy, so win-win!

BUT WAIT. There’s more! (I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it.)

I’m not just going to be listing my favorite fairy tales, but talking about which ones I’d love to retell AND giving you some retelling recommendations of any fairy tale I mention that I’ve actually, ya know, read a retelling of.

Basically, this’ll be a big ol’ celebration post of my favorite fairy tale things!

SO LET’S DO IT!

I’m going to categorize them between the well-known ones, the sorta known, and the totally obscure. Gonna be real, this got long, so with this setup it’ll be easy for you to skip around to the things that interest you, if you so desire.

MY FAVORITE
FAIRY TALES

THE WELL-KNOWNS

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Is anyone surprised this is my first one to mention? No? No.

As I’m sure most of you know, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale of all time. There is just so much to LOVE about it. The story of a selfless, kindhearted girl showing love to an ugly beast has always been, to me, a picture of Jesus loving us. It’s a story of redemption, of being loved even when you’re unlovable, of how love can heal all things. It is a tale that has resonated with me since I was very, very small, and it only becomes more meaningful the older I get.

Retelling Recommendations:

• The Beast of Talesend by Kyle Robert Shultz – Probably my FAVORITE B&B retelling and one of my favorite books in general. 1920s detective-style story with FAIRY TALES and comedy and feels and yes. Do you need this book? Yes, yes you do. (My full review.)

• The Rose and the Balloon by Kirsten Fichter – A delightful romp of a novella with mischievous twins and snappy dialogue and HOT AIR BALLOONS. Also a hate-to-love ship and just yes. If you want happiness in your life, READ THIS. (My full review.)

• Five Enchanted Roses Anthology – Five novellas by five talented authors, all with a unique spin on the B&B story. Oh my gracious, I loved this anthology WITH ALL MY HEART. It had so much to offer. I adored all the different takes on the fairy tale. And BONUS. My dear Jenelle and Hayden have stories in it, which makes it all that more special. (My full review.)

• Beauty by Robin McKinley – I feel like when people think “Beauty and the Beast retelling”, Beauty is the first book to pop in their heads. And with good reason! This a fantabulous read. Now, it’s been YEEEARS since I’ve read it. But, from what I remember, it was almost like the original story, just expanded. Which I found fascinating. It was like getting a novelized version of a short story. More details, more emotions, but still the original story on the pages. It was engrossing and I absolutely recommend.

My Own Retelling(s):

I think most of you are aware that my novel, Burning Thorns, is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. And the story of my heart. I have never, in my life, spent so much time with a story. I started it in 2014. Yeah. o.o Funny story, it started out as a 20k novella for that Five Enchanted Roses anthology I mentioned. I submitted it in the contest to get into the book and…didn’t win. Now? I’m so glad. Literally the very day I saw I didn’t get a spot in the anthology, I was suddenly plagued with ideas on expanding the story, turning it into a novel.

And here we are. That 20k novella is now a 116k novel (yeah, I don’t know how I managed that either…) and I’m working on querying it.

We’ve come a long, long way, BT and I, and we’ve still got a looong way to go. But I will never regret spending all this time on this story. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairy tale, and Burning Thorns is the story of my heart. Whatever happens with it, it will always be special to me.

TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES

My second favorite fairy tale of all time. This story just has so much I love—an enchanted underground world, dancing, sisters, a clever hero. It’s seriously what fairy tales are made of. I can never get enough of it. If you’ve never read the original tale, I highly recommend it. And if you want to read it with some funny comments on the side, check out our commentary of it on Fairy Tale Central.

Retelling Recommendations:

• Entwined by Heather Dixon – Okay, guys, this is not only my favorite 12DP retelling, but my favorite fairy tale retelling PERIOD. YES. IT’S THAT GOOD. You’ve got humor, you’ve got emotions, you’ve got the most fun batch of sisters and suitors ever. You’ve got the creepiest, most intriguing villain you could ever want. You’ve got super fun magic, gorgeous dance scenes, and just…everything you ever needed in a retelling. (Content Caution: Some of it gets quite eerie, so I wouldn’t recommend it to a real young audience, but I’d say 14 and up would be fine with it.)

• A Branch of Silver, a Branch of Gold by Anne Elisabeth Stengl – I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful and powerful and utterly enthralling this tale is. But what else would you expect from AES? If you want a rich world, real characters, and the most beautiful writing of ever, READ THIS. (My full review.)

• Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George – Cute and cozy with the most lovable hero all set in a Germany-inspired kingdom. A very enjoyable read! (My full review.)

• The Firethorn Crown by Lea Dou – TINY DRAGONS. Need I say more? Okay, but seriously, this was such a fun book. The sister bond was the BEST, the stakes were high, the villain was chilling. And, ya know, THERE WERE TINY DRAGONS. I adored this one. (My full review.)

• The City Beyond the Glass by Suzannah Rowntree – Heart pounding, high stakes, fiery characters. WHEW BOY. This had it all. To be a novella, this story is FULL and will leave you reeling. Oh, and it’s set in a Renaissance Venice. YESSS. It’s a historical fantasy with such a unique plot, full of tough decisions. It left me breathless. Just thinking about this story makes me breathless. I LOVED IT. (My full review.)

My Own Retelling(s):

I did write a 12DP short story you can read HERE.

Aside from that, I’ve not written a retelling of it. BUT. It’s one I’ve been desperately wanting to retell since…erm…early teenage days. Yeah, it’s been like over a decade and I still haven’t done it. #ProcrastinationMuch? I just have SO MANY ideas with this one, and can never decide which direction I want to go. But I will retell this story one day. I WILL.

THE SNOW QUEEN

This story makes it to 3rd place of my favorite fairy tales by a marginal. It and 12DP are almost tied.

I first read this story pretty young, and it actually led me to wanting to devour ALL the fairy tales. I was just so very fascinated by all the enchanting things in this tale. Little Gerda’s adventure across the world to save her best friend from the wicked Snow Queen utterly enraptured me. It has more substance than most fairy tales. A little more logic, a little more depth, and one where you really feel like you were there with Gerda on her adventure.

Again, we have a commentary of the original tale on FTC if you want to give it a read: Part 1 and Part 2.

Retelling Recommendations:

• Heart of Ice by K.M. Shea – A delightful cast of characters that form the found family trope, epic ICE MAGIC, unique battles, and a heroine to truly root for. This was a lot of fun! (My full review.)

Alas, Shea’s duology is the only Snow Queen retelling I’ve ever read. There is a sad lack of any out there and THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED. I crave some epic Snow Queen retellings!

My Own Retelling(s):

I wrote a short story last week inspired by The Snow Queen!

This is another one I’ve been wanting to write a retelling novel of foreverrrr and…never have. Again, there is just so much that can be done with this fairy tale, and pinning down the possibilities to one idea is HARD.

When I do retell it, I know it’s going to be a richly fantasy world, with a super creepy Snow Queen. And I’d make the broken mirror shards that fall into people’s hearts and eyes a huge part of the story. I adore that part of the fairy tale and would love to play it up.

ONE DAY, GUYS. ONE DAY.

CINDERELLA

Is Cinderella overused for things? Maybe. Do I care? NOPE. I have always loved the story of Cinderella and I always will. Despite how many retellings there are out there, I never get tired of it. I delight in reading or watching renditions of this tale over and over again. Cinderella has inspired me since I was very young. The way she clings to her kindness and humility, no matter what life throws at her, is worthy of awe. She is one of my favorite fairy tale protagonists. (In fact, I feel so strongly about it, I wrote a whole post on the subject of why I believe Cinderella is a strong heroine.)

Also THE BALL SCENE. I am heeere for ball scenes. Always. And the rags-to-riches trope is one of my FAVES. So yeah, I love pretty much everything about this story.

Retelling Recommendations:

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer – I mean, you just can’t go wrong with The Lunar Chronicles! A cyborg Cinderella, guys! A delightful sci-fi adventure with the most adorkable characters and such clever twists on fairy tales. One of my favorite series of ALL TIME. (Content Cautions: There’s a tiny bit of language and some gore throughout the books. But as far as books in the secular market go, they’re pretty clean.)

• The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo – Aaaahhhh! This is THE most adorable novella! The protagonist is the fairy godmother. Except it’s a fairy godFATHER. AND he’s a grumpy fairy godfather who just wants to bake and not have to actually, ya know, help people’s dreams come true. It is hilarious and delightful and just makes me happy. (My full review.)

• Five Glass Slipper Anthology – Another Rooglewood Fairy Tale anthology. I love these! If you want a fun collection of Cinderella retelling novellas, you NEED this. (My full review.)

• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – I mean, it’s Ella Enchanted! What more do I even need to say? Every fairy tale lover needs to read this book! It’s like a staple.

My Own Retelling(s):

I mean, DUH. Of course I want to retell this one! And I’ve had some pretty solid Ideas for it for a while. I can’t delve into it too much due to spoilers. But I will tell you: It will take place in the same world as Burning Thorns. Though it will have a new cast of characters, you may see see some cameos of certain other people. *wriggles eyebrows* In fact, one character from BT will play a pretty big role. Buuuut I can’t say much more than that. Hehehehe. SORRY. BUT YES. This idea has been rolling through my head for a few years now, ever since I finished the first draft of BT, really. One day it shall be written!

RAPUNZEL

Rapunzel is one I feel like came more to my attention when I was a little older. I mean, I knew about it, I just never gave it a lot of thought. I’m not sure at what point in life I realized I utterly adored the story. I’m thinking late teens, probably? I can’t even recall what happened to bring the realization on. But one day I realized…I ADORE THIS STORY. It’s just so fascinating. The tower, a girl with yards and yards of hair, a witch who keeps her locked away. It just oozes with fairy tale goodness.

What I especially love about it is, shockingly, the romance. So many other fairy tales are instalove and usually just claim the princess is “more beautiful than [place your chosen simile here]…” But this one is DIFFERENT. There’s a bit more substance to the romance. In fact, I wrote a whole post on the matter. It’s both a sweet and tragic tale (I mean, the prince wandered the desert blind for years!) and one I am very fond of.

Retelling Recommendations:

• With Blossoms Gold by Hayden Wand – It’s set in Renaissance Italy, guys! I loved this novella. It had some great twists on the story of Rapunzel, with dynamic characters, war, internal struggles, and the  sweetest romance. (My full review.)

• The Witch’s Tower by Tamara Grantham – This book was just downright FUN. Firstly, it’s about Mother Gothel! But a blue-haired, teenage, nice Gothel. Yeah. The twist was great! And it was full of the most colorful characters, a romping journey, with some pretty fun twists along the way. (My full review.)

• Golden Braids and Dragon Blades by Melanie Karsak – RAPUNZEL MEETS ARTHURIAN LEGENDS MEETS STEAMPUNK. Yeah. YEAH. Man, I loved this book. The characters were the most adorkable beans, the steampunk setting was a delight, it had Arthurian legend woven through it which is my faaave, annnnd THERE WERE TINY DRAGONS. So. Much. Fun. (Content Caution: There was a smattering of crude language throughout. Not much, but it was there.) (My full review.)

My Own Retelling(s):

I have a short story for this one too!

Aside from that, I actually don’t have many ideas for a retelling for this, shockingly. It’s one I feel like I will retell one day, but I haven’t spent much time gathering up ideas. It’s just one fairy tale (of a looong list) that I hope to retell at some point.

RUMPELSTILTSKIN

This is another one I always liked but never really gave a whole, whole lot of thought to. Honestly, I truly fell in love with it just last April when we featured it on Fairy Tale Central (plus it was our first fairy tale to feature, which makes it all that much more special). But the more I analyzed this tale and read retellings, the more I fell in love. It’s just such a hilarious and illogical story. And the more illogical a fairy tale is, the more I desire to retell it or find retellings of. I just want to FIX it. Lol. I’m terrible!

BUT STILL. I adore this ridiculous story. Basically every character in it is hilariously rotten, and I guess I’m a sucker for mischievous imps, gonna be real. It just makes me giggle. I’ve become quite fond of this absurd little tale.

Retelling Recommendations:

• The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde – This author, too, seemed to find this fairy tale particularly absurd, because she set out to write a set of short stories all trying to put (at least a little bit) of logic to the story. This was a hilarious set of short stories for middle-graders and tells the fairy tale through the point-of-view of a different character in each story. I LOVED it and it totally got me started on this author’s books. Her tongue-in-cheek style is golden (pun totally intended). (My full review.)

• Rumpled by J. Grace Pennington – This is a novella in the Once: Six Historically Inspired Fairy Tales anthology. It’s set in an alternate steampunk Victorian-era America. I KNOW. The setting was sooo unique. And the STORY. It had the most realistic heroine ever, with a plot full of sweet, thoughtful moments and nail-biting ones. Even though it’s a novella, I truly felt like I experienced a long, poignant journey reading this. I haven’t read all the stories in this anthology, but it was worth getting for Rumpled alone. (My full review.)

My Own Retelling(s):

You guessed it, I’ve got a short story of this one as well (and it was the first of my Faylinn short story series!).

This one I hadn’t even thought about doing a retelling of until we featured it on FTC. Now I have some dozen ideas rolling through my head. So yeah. It’s another “maybe one day” one. Probably not in the near future, but it’s definitely in the back of my mind. For some reason, this particular tale totally works in the steampunk genre to me. So if I ever retold it, it maaay be a steampunk story.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Little Mermaid, Little Red Riding Hood, Aladdin, Hansel and Gretel

THE LESSER KNOWNS

THE WILD SWANS/THE SIX SWANS

I say The Snow Queen is my 3rd favorite but…this one might actually be. (Can they tie for 3rd?) This is one of those I’ve been fascinated by since a very young age.

The Wild Swans is Hans Christian Andersen’s take on it, The Six Swans is the Grimm Brothers’. I honestly feel like The Six Swans is more or less an abridged version of The Wild Swans. It’s so similar, just a lot shorter. But I love them both.

It’s about a wicked stepmother (OF COURSE) turning her stepsons (6 in the Grimm’s version, 11 in Andersen’s) into swans, and they can only be human for a little while each day. Their dear lone sister learns she can save them by knitting a shirt out of nettles for each of them. The catch? She can’t say a single word until this task is over or the spell can never be broken. And it takes her years to work on this painful task. To make matters worse, a king falls in love with her and takes her to be his wife, but, of course, she can’t to him. Due to her strange behavior, she is accused of witchcraft and threatened to burn at the stake. Even all through this, the sweet sister just keeps on making shirts out of nettles and stays silent, literally all the way to the stake. Just before she is burned, her swan brothers come and she throws the nettle shirts on them and they become human again. Except she didn’t have time to finish one of the sleeves for the youngest brother, and he is left with a swan wing for an arm. But, now able to speak, she explains everything that happened and, naturally, lives happily ever after with the king and her brothers.

Okay but, THERE IS SO MUCH TO LOVE HERE. Firstly, it’s truly a sibling story. For once, there are no wicked siblings here. The brothers and sister are so for each other, and will literally do anything to save one another. The sister is the most persistent, kindhearted, hardworking fairy tale protagonist you will ever meet. (She’s a lot like Cinderella in that regard.) The king is actually a decent fellow. And the whole thing about being cursed as swans, sewing shirts from nettles, being unable to speak, ALL OF IT, is so fairy tale-ish. I remember reading this for the first time when I was little and my sense of wonder just awakening. Plus, the youngest brother going the rest of his life for a swan wing as an arm??? I’m sorry, but that is epic! Can you imagine?

I can just go on and on about this one, but I know this is getting loooong. If you’ve never read these YOU NEED TO. They’re epic!

Retelling Recommendations:

NONE. *sobs for a million years* I have been wanting some great retellings of this fairy tale FOREVER. But I can’t find any! I read one called Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay which had a FANTASTIC premise: A Sleeping Beauty and Wild Swans crossover. Um. YES. But…bleh. It was literally 400 pages of the two (rather annoying) characters walking and bantering and later lusting over each other. I was SO disappointed. But yeah, that’s the only retelling I’ve ever read. So if you guys have recommendations GIVE THEM TO MEEE. I NEEDS THEM, PRECIOUS.

My Own Retelling(s):

You better believe I’m gonna retell this one day! It’s one of those stories I keep putting off because I want to get it JUST RIGHT. I love the whole concept of this fairy tale SO MUCH. And before I dive into retelling it, I want to know I have a premise I absolutely adore.

For now, I’m just letting ideas forever percolate in the back of my mind.

SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED
 

I feel ashamed to even call myself a fairy tale lover because SOMEHOW this one slipped me by all my life??? I barely even knew about it until Arielle suggested we feature it on FTC. I then proceeded to read it and OH MY GRACIOUS. This is the sweetest, coziest little fairy tale ever!

It’s about Snow-White (not of the seven dwarves variety, just so we’re clear) and Rose-Red, two sisters who live with their mom in a cottage in the woods. This little family lives such a picturesque life in their little cozy cottage. The girls are kind and have a loving, sensible mother. One winter night, a (talking) bear comes to the door and they let him sleep by the fire. It doesn’t take long for the girls to befriend him, and he stays with them until summer, when he then leaves and claims he must go guard his treasure from a dwarf. Well, the girls end up coming upon this mischievous dwarf multiple times and, being the sweet girls they are, get him out of some scraps. But, every time, instead of grateful he’s just a jerk to them. Then, one day, they come across the dwarf again…and their bear bestie. The bear kills the dwarf and transforms into a prince. Apparently, the dwarf had cursed him as a bear, but with the dwarf dead, the bear is at last freed. In good fairy tale fashion, Snow-White marries the prince and Rose-Red marries  his brother and everyone lives happily ever after.

Why do I love this tale? Just the happy, cozy nature of it. I love how kindhearted Snow-White and Rose-Red are. I love how they live such a joyful lifestyle of frolicking through the woods with barely a care in the world. I love the temperamental dwarf and how the sisters aren’t even bothered by his jerkish ways. I love the reveal of the bear being a cursed prince this whole time. It’s not nearly as perilous as so many other fairy tales. It’s just sweet and cozy and has such great sisters (I do love me some sister stories!).

I seriously cannot believe I went so long without being aware of this story. It has definitely become one of my favorites!

Retelling Recommendations:

• A Fair Account of the Traitors Snow White & Rose Red by S.E. Page – I feel like ever since I read this, all I’ve done is gush about it…BUT IMMA DO IT AGAIN. Because this booook! It was so magical and eerie and unique and just AWK. It’s hard to even explain but wowowowow. I was blown. away. It’s officially one of my top favorite books of all time. (My full review.)

• Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin – A somewhat eerie, absolutely GORGEOUS middle-grade read WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. This was just a whimsical, drool-worthy book and I highly recommend it. (My full review.)

My Own Retelling(s):

One more short story to toss at you (and this one is a Snow White and Rose Red AND The Frog Prince crossover story so…there’s that *grins*).

Unlike most of these others, this isn’t one I’ve been thinking of retelling for years. Since, ya know, I’ve only been aware of this story for a few months. But the whole sisterhood in it inspired me SO MUCH. Plus I love the idea of the cursed bear-prince. I think it’d be a delightful one to retell, so I am 100% open to the idea should my muse decide to drop me some fun ideas for it. So far I don’t really have any plot bunnies but…I feel like they may come one day. And I wouldn’t discourage them.

THE GOOSE GIRL
 

I’m not even sure what it is about this one that draws me to it, but I have loved it for years now. I think it may be the whole feel of it. It brings to mind this very specific aesthetic in my head. This whole feel of a summer day with geese running around a field and the tall grass blowing in a cool breeze. I DON’T EVEN KNOW. I guess that is more or less the main setting for the story. But it brings about this very vivid picture in my mind, and it just makes me happy. Which is funny, because the story itself has some gruesome bits in it.

The story follows a princess who is sent out to go meet her bridegroom, and has her maidservant and magical talking horse as company. Well, the maidservant ends up betraying her and threatens her at knife point to switch roles. So the maidservant poses as the princess and the princess must become the maidservant. Once they make it to their destination, the false princess orders the talking horse to be killed, in case he reveals her secret. Meanwhile, the real princess is set to guard the geese. Through a series of events (which involve the horse’s head being nailed to a wall and talking…yeah), the king finds out the truth. The false princess is punished to death in a, erm, rather gruesome way, and the real princess marries the king and, naturally, lives happily ever after.

This is sort of the rags-to-riches trope, but more like…riches-to-rags-to-riches. XD And I love that! For some reason I love stories where royalty is forced into poverty and later gains back their title. So that is probably my other draw to this tale. The setting, the concept, a magical talking horse—it’s got a lot going for it!

Retelling Recommendations:

• The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale – Oh, this was a lovely book. Kind of like Beauty, it’s more or less the original story, but expanded. It took soooo much from the real tale, all while adding depth to it, and a bit more logic. ;D It was a very sweet story, and another one all my fellow fairy tale lovers should absolutely give a read!

Alas, that is the only Goose Girl retelling I’ve read! I’ve heard of another one or two, but I haven’t read them. So if you’ve got recommendations, do share!

My Own Retelling(s):

You know, this is one I’m not sure if I’ll ever retell. I’ve been tempted, for sure, but so many other fairy tales keep vying for my attention. One day an idea may hit that’ll be too strong to resist, but for now no plot bunny has excited me enough to chase.

HONORABLE MENTION: East of the Sun and West of the Moon

THE OBSCURE ONES

So I know this post is already some 20 years long, but I’m going to real quick toss out some super obscure tales for you guys. ‘Cause there are some really good ones out there that don’t get enough love just because Disney didn’t make a movie out of them. XD FOR REALS THO. Obscure fairy tales need more love!

(Somehow ALL these except the last one ended up being a Brothers Grimm story. Whoops. They’re the fairy tales I’m most familiar with. I guess I consumed those the most. I definitely need to read fairy tales outside of Grimm more!)

• A Tale About the Boy Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was (Brothers Grimm #4) – This one is just downright HILARIOUS. It’s literally about a boy who doesn’t understand fear, so goes to a super creepy castle to learn what it is and experiences some insanely nightmare-inducing events but…doesn’t even bat an eye. If you want a good chuckle, I definitely recommend reading this one. It’s so delightfully absurd. XD

• The Twelve Brothers (Brothers Grimm #9) – Very Wild Swans-ish! Although this time the brothers turn to ravens and the sister is born after they leave home, so doesn’t even know of their existence until she’s older. (Which is a pretty fascinating concept. 12 older brothers you don’t even know about? Can you imagine?!)

• The Brave Little Tailor (Brothers Grimm #20) – This is another laugh out loud one, about a little tailor who manages to take down giants, a unicorn, and complete seemingly impossible feats through his wit.

• The Two Brothers (Brothers Grimm #60) – This one is SO good. It is a much more epic, sweeping tale than so many of these. It involves two brothers (who actually like each other, miracle of miracles!), a seven-headed dragon, talking animal friends, a princess, a witch, a brother getting turned to stone, mistaken identities, people dying and getting brought back to life, and all wrapped up with a nice happily ever after. This would honestly be a FANTASTIC retelling!

• Jorinde and Joringel (Brothers Grimm #69) This is one of my TOP favorite obscure ones, and one where the romance is actually, ya know, romantic. It involves a witch turning Jorinde into a nightingale and Joringel going to great lengths to save her. I would adooore some retellings of this one…and maybe retelling it myself one day.

• The Singing, Springing Lark (Brothers Grimm #88) – This one starts out almost exactly like Beauty and the Beast does, except the beast is a LION. Pretty epic, yes. It later derails from the B&B story and involves the girl going on a quest to search out the lion who had turned into a dove. Yeah, it takes some weird turns, but it’s pretty fascinating. There’s also a griffin involved so YES.

• The Gnome (Brothers Grimm #91) – This is another one of my top favorite obscure tales. It has brothers, an underground world, three headed dragons, and a very clever hero. I actually have a story idea loosely inspired by this tale. I may tell you guys about it sometime…

• The Old Woman in the Forest (Brothers Grimm #123) – I just love the concept of this one. A girl down on her luck meets a dove who gives her a key. The key opens up a tree where there is food inside. Later, she is given a key that unlocks a tree with a bed. A witch comes into play, and the girl helps free a prince and his attendants who had been cursed as trees. People cursed as trees and birds fascinate me for some reason??? And this has BOTH. I am down for that!

• The Six Servants (Brothers Grimm #134) – This one is basically superheroes in fairy tales! A prince finds seven men who all have incredible abilities. One has super hearing, one wears a blindfold because anything he looks at splits to pieces, one can stretch his neck super high, etc. The prince uses these men to accomplish impossible tasks in order to win the hand of a princess. It’s SUCH a fun tale.

• Iron Hans (Brothers Grimm #136) – This one is just WEIRD but…in a cool way. (Of course that kind of explains all fairy tales.) It’s about this shaggy man with iron skin named Iron Hans, who at first seemed villainous but ends up helping a prince. And I think that’s why I liked it. Iron Hans was kind of an antihero, and his motives don’t make sense until the end. It’s got a surprise twist that was a lot of fun!

• The Glass Coffin (Brothers Grimm #163) – This is another I’d love to see a retelling of. It starts out really weird and doesn’t make much sense, but unlike some fairy tales, everything is explained and involves enchantments and a woman locked up in a glass chest and all sorts of weird, cool stuff!

• The Moon (Brothers Grimm #175) – This is a totally bizarre story about how the moon came to be in the sky. Just…just read it. I can’t explain this one. XD (And it’s really short, so.)

• The Goose Girl at the Spring (Brothers Grimm #179) – This, in fact, has nothing to do with The Goose Girl. It’s a little Rapunzel-ish, as there is a girl imprisoned by a witch, more or less. It’s got a bit of a mystery and a twist and magic on the side of course. I think this one would be a ton of fun to retell!

• The Nixie in the Millpond (Brothers Grimm #181) – A man accidentally promises his newborn son to a nixie in a pond, but the nixie can’t get the son unless he goes to the pond. He lives on peacefully, grows up to be a hunter, gets happily married, everything seems fine…until one day he goes to freshen up by the millpond. At last, the nixie gets him, and it is up to his wife to save him. This is another one that would be a fabulous retelling. It’s also quite romantic. I like how it’s about a married couple too. That’s pretty rare!

• The Master Thief (Brothers Grimm #192) – This is another pretty funny one, about a man who pulls off really complicated schemes to make all these people believe he’s a master thief. He was basically a con artist and I LOVED it. This guy would make a hilarious character in a novel!

• Old Rinkrank (Brothers Grimm #196) – First of all, this involves a glass mountain which is just way too cool a concept. But it also involves a princess who falls into the mountain and is enslaved by this old man, and the princess herself figures out a way to get free. It’s great!

• Maid Maleen (Brothers Grimm #198) – This starts out Rapunzel-ish also, as a princess is locked away in a tower by her father so she won’t marry the prince she loves. Seven years later, she escapes to find her kingdom has been destroyed and the king long dead. (Pretty eerily epic, right?? Except…it’s never explained WHY the kingdom lays in waste that I can remember. But great fuel for retellings!) The princess goes to her prince’s kingdom only to discover he’s about to marry another princess. But no worries! Through a complicated, illogical string of events, everything turns out all right, in true fairy tale fashion.

• The Bottle Neck (Andersen) – So many of Andersen’s tale are about inanimate objects being, erm, animate, and honestly those stories kinda bore me. BUT. This is a really good one! It’s about a bottle’s life from the moment it was created to its last days and all the people it has seen and places it’s been. You wouldn’t think a story about a broken bottle could be so emotional but IT WAS. This is what short stories are made of!

HONORABLE MENTIONS: The Three Little Gnomes in the Forest, Mother Holle, The Seven Ravens, Sweetheart Roland

WHEW. That got LONG. If you can’t tell, I really like fairy tales. But I did not mean for this to be like three posts in one! Thank you for indulging me in my fairy tale nerdiness. Hopefully you found something here that interested you!

Don’t forget to check out Fairy Tale Central for lots more fairy tale fun!

LET’S TALK!

YOUR TURN! I need to know—what’s your favorite fairy tale? Known, sorta known, obscure? One of each category? I want to hear about it! And what do you think of my list? Any of these stories sound like they’d make for great retellings? Let’s discuss all the fairy tale things!