Traditional Literature

Folktale: Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm is a narrative tale and one can easily read it aloud to children. It is about two siblings whose father is a poor woodcutter and can no longer afford to feed the family. The cruel and selfish mother convinces the woodcutter to abandon the children in the forest, which he sorrowfully does. The children make their way back home the first time because Hansel is clever enough to drop stones as their father takes them into the forest. The stones reflect the moonlight at night and Hansel and his sister follow them home. The mother is furious, however, and so they do it all over again—but this time Hansel uses breadcrumbs, which the animals of the forest eat. So they are left to wander. Eventually they arrive at a witch’s house. She pretends to be friendly but then locks Hansel in a cage and plans to fatten him up to eat him. Gretel tricks the witch into climbing into the oven to see if the fire is hot enough, whereupon the girl slams the door and the witch and she burns up. The siblings raid the witch’s house and carry gold and jewels with them back home. The mother is dead (or gone in some versions) and the father is overjoyed to have his children back.
It is a tale that most people are familiar with because it has been translated and adapted so many times all over the world. It is hard to tell whether the sound or feel of the country of the Grimms is preserved in the tale as it is found in English. The names are certainly German, however. The illustrations match the text and help to tell the story for children, and the style is contemporary so that the pictures are big and colorful. There are no rich flourishes in the telling of the tale—i.e., no epic similes or rhymes—but there is a bit of a stylistic flourish when the two children begin eating the witch’s candy house and she says, “Neeble neeble like a mouse, who is nibbling at my house?” Children do like the dramatic nature of the tale and the vivid ideas in it—such as a witch’s house made of candy.
Myth: Odysseus and the Cyclops
In the story by Homer, the myth of Odysseus and the Cyclops begins with Oedipus arriving at the island where the Cyclops lives with his sheep. Odysseus is there with his men and they hide from the Cyclops in the cave. Since the Cyclops is a man-eater, the men are afraid, but Odysseus blinds the Cyclops with a stick by shoving it in the monster’s only eye. Odysseus then sneaks his men out the cave, which the Cyclops is blocking, by tying them to the underside of the sheep. The Cyclops only feels the top of the sheep as they pass by, and thus everyone gets out.
As Odysseus is escaping with his men, he taunts the Cyclops who is enraged that they are escaping. The Cyclops wants to know the name of the man who blinded him and Odysseus says, “My name is No Man!” And so the Cyclops begins to shout for help, “No man has blinded me! No man has blinded me!” Of course, no help comes because Odysseus has tricked him once more and made the Cyclops to sound ridiculous.
The tale does have a narrative storytelling style to it, which is why it makes for such a good read, but because it is a translation from the original ancient Greek every version is a little different and typically includes some adaptation, especially if it is told for children. The images used to illustrate the text will depict the Cyclops and the men, but the gore and violence is toned down a bit so that it is not too frightening. There is a rich literary style in the original by Homer, but this is toned down as well in children’s adaptations. The original uses epic similes to describe the monster, and magical realism is used to depict the island of the Cyclops. It contains a beginning, middle, end and plot points like all good fiction.
Fable: Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare”
This fable by Aesop is one of the simplest and most well-known. It contains simple imagery but the style in which it is told is some straightforward and engaging that the story stays in the mind of everyone who hears it. The fact that there is a reversal at the end is likely what makes it so memorable—that and the fact that the plot centers on a race between a slow turtle and a fast rabbit. Everyone loves an underdog story and this is one of the original underdog stories.
It begins with the hare boasting about how fast he is and challenging the slow and steady turtle to a race. The turtle accepts the challenge and off goes the hare on down the road as fast as he can, leaving the tortoise in his dust. The tortoise continues to poke along at his average speed. The rabbit seeing that he is so far ahead decides to pull over and take a nap. He oversleeps and by the time he realizes it the turtle has crossed the finish line and the hare has lost.
The tale absolutely reflects a narrative style and definitely sounds like it is being told rather than written. But the tale is so simple and direct that it does not really have the feel of any culture of origin behind it. It feels as though it belongs to every culture, it is so universal. The illustrations of course match the tone of the text but in terms of capturing the essence of the culture it is not really clear at all that this is done. Since Aesop’s fables are very ancient, it would seem strange for any illustration to really capture that essence, as these tales would not have been written down in the first place, as all tales were told—not written thousands of years ago.
The tale does not employ a rich literary style but is rather simple and straightforward. It is not so much the vocabulary that impresses children as it is the idea of a turtle winning a race against a rabbit. The reversal is what surprises them.
Legend: The Legend of Robin Hood
This is a legend that tells about how Robin Hood stole from the rich in England and gave to the poor. It is set during the time of the Crusades when King Richard was off fighting for the Holy Land. Back home in England, things are bad and the poor are suffering. Robin Hood and his Merry Men fight back against the corrupt Prince John. All the while Robin Hood wins the love of Maid Marian and has to save the poor townspeople from a corrupt Sheriff. Eventually King Richard returns to put Prince John in his place and allow Robin Hood to marry Maid Marian.
This is a legend that has been told so many times and in so many different ways over the centuries that no two versions are alike. The 20th century version is the one that includes the adventures described above. It is full of colorful characters that children would love, such as Friar Tuck and Little John. The tale does not really reflect a narrative storytelling style in the sense that one would expect to hear it being told out loud—but one could do so.
The tale does preserve something of the sound and feel of the English culture from which it originates. The names and characters and places and actions are all from a medieval time in England and that comes through clearly in the story. Sherwood Forest is a very English sounding location, for instance, as is Nottingham.
The illustrations match the tone of the text and capture the essence of the culture and the story employs a rich literary style, using assonance and consonance to make the language sound melodic. The vocabulary is also colorful thanks to the English origin.