The Violet Fairy Book
Japanese Fairy Tales Unit, The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
"What a pity we are not bigger...for then we could see both towns from here and tell if it is worth our while going on" The first tale, "Two Frogs" describes the journey of two frogs who lived in separate places but wanted to visit each other's town on the SAME day. The frogs did not know each other and they happened to run into one another while both of them were traveling.
"The sun is mightier than I; oh, if I were only the sun!"
"Your wish is heard, the sun you shall be"
The Stonecutter wishes to be the sun and gets his wish granted
"And because it was more difficult for beautiful women to pass unheeded than for others, she bade her fetch for a wooden helmet out of the next room and put it on her head and pull it low down over her brows so that nearly the whole of her face should lie in its shadow"
This tale is about a man and a wife who had a happy life but they grew apart and the only thing that kept them together was their daughter, who was beautiful. However, the husband eventually passed away and the wife and daughter wept for weeks and weeks.
"The Envious Neighbor" is a tale about a man, woman and a dog who had no children but treated the dog like their child. The dog led the man to a pot of gold underneath the ground. On another day, the dog led the man to a parcel of old bones and the man ended up killing the dog. This tale was one that was full of turns of events that I was not expecting. And a sad one at that.
"The sparrow hopped about as usual, twittering happily, and thinking no evil, and all the while the woman's brow became blacker and blacker and at length her fury broke out"
This tale was told with great imagery, detail and creativity, which are things that I look to include in my writing.
"The wanderers by this time were very hot and tired, and the grass looked very soft and inviting, and the trees cast cool deep shadows..." Another tale with great imagery in their writing.
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