Old French Fairy Tales. Comtesse de Ségur

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      Old French Fairy Tales

      by

      Comtesse De Segur

      Copyright © 2013 Read Books Ltd.

      This book is copyright and may not be

      reproduced or copied in any way without

      the express permission of the publisher in writing

      British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      Contents

       Old French Fairy Tales

       A Short History of Fairy Tales

       THE STORY OF BLONDINE, BONNE-BICHE, AND BEAU-MINON

       BLONDINE

       BLONDINE LOST

       THE FOREST OF LILACS

       BLONDINE’S AWAKENING—BEAU-MINON

       BONNE-BICHE

       BLONDINE’S SECOND AWAKENING

       THE PARROT

       REPENTANCE

       THE TORTOISE

       THE JOURNEY AND ARRIVAL

       GOOD LITTLE HENRY.

       THE POOR SICK MOTHER

       THE CROW, THE COCK, AND THE FROG

       THE HARVEST

       THE VINTAGE

       THE CHASE

       THE FISHING

       THE PLANT OF LIFE

       HISTORY OF PRINCESS ROSETTE

       THE FARM

       ROSETTE AT THE COURT OF THE KING HER FATHER

       FAMILY COUNCIL

       SECOND DAY OF THE FESTIVAL

       THIRD AND LAST DAY OF THE FESTIVAL

       THE LITTLE GREY MOUSE

       THE LITTLE HOUSE

       THE FAIRY DETESTABLE

       THE PRINCE GRACIOUS

       THE TREE IN THE ROTUNDA

       THE CASKET

       OURSON

       THE LARK AND THE TOAD

       BIRTH AND INFANCY OF OURSON

       VIOLETTE

       THE DREAM

       THE TOAD AGAIN

       VIOLETTE’S SACRIFICE

       THE WILD BOAR

       THE CONFLAGRATION

       THE WELL

       THE FARM—THE CASTLE—THE FORGE

       THE SACRIFICE

       THE COMBAT

       THE RECOMPENSE

      A Short History of Fairy Tales

      A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features European folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, mermaids, trolls or witches, and usually magic or enchantments to boot! Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicitly moral tales, including fables or those of a religious nature. In cultures where demons and witches are perceived as real, fairy tales may merge into legends, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as being grounded in historical truth. However unlike legends and epics, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, people, and events; they take place ‘once upon a time’ rather than in actual times.

      The history of the fairy tale is particularly difficult to trace because only the literary forms survive. Still, the evidence of literary works at least indicates that fairy tales have existed for thousands of years, although not perhaps recognized as a genre. The name ‘fairy tale’ was first ascribed to them by Madame d’Aulnoy in the late seventeenth century. Many of today’s fairy tales have evolved from centuries-old stories that have appeared, with variations, in multiple cultures around the world. Two theories of origins have attempted to explain the common elements in fairy tales across continents. One is that a single point of origin generated any given