Wednesday 8 January 2014

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the 'Grimms' Fairy Tales' of the magical world. Just like we muggles (I totally don't want to be included in that group, but let's face it - I haven't got my letter yet!) can reel off Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Hansel and Gretel by-heart, children of the magical world have heard The Tales Of Beedle the Bard a million times over.
There is not really much difference between Muggle fairy tales and Wizards' fairy tales - both emphasise the victory of good and the downfall of evil, both usually have 'happy endings' and both aim to teach little children the values of life through an interesting means.
But a primary difference is that magic is considered a thing of fairy tales (pun not intended) in Muggle stories and it is this magic that tends to be the root of all problems or fixes. In wizard fairy tales, though, the heores and heroines are adept at magic and yet, they face just as many problems as any other person would and it is finally the goodness of their heart that tides them through difficulty.
And remember that you might say fairy tales are full of miracles ad things which would never happen in everyday life, but children from magical backgrounds also find it hard to believe some of the things that happen in their fairy tales. To make things clearer - in The Tale of the Three Brothers, the appearance of Death in the story seems like fantasy even to Ron, who was exposed to magic since his childhood.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a compilation of five famous wizarding stories, "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot", "The Fountain of Fair Fortune", "Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump", "The Warlock's Hairy Heart" and "The Tale of the Three Brothers".
After the Harry Potter series was complete, J.K. Rowling made seven handwritten and self-illustrated copies of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and distributed six to people who were deeply involved with Harry Potter. The seventh was sold, and the money was donated to a charity. And then, the book was released in Standard and Paperback form to the public. The book contains commentary from Dumbledore at the end of each tale and his views on each of them.
These stories are amusing, entertaining and contain a storehouse of information about wizards' practices, especially those of the olden times when wizards were not concealed from the world. Dumbledore's commentary provides a world of insight about how the tales were received by the public in general and children especially.
There are also hints to the truth behind the Deathly Hallows in "The Tale of the Three Brothers", which the readers can relate to if they have read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard may seem like a book meant for a young audience and it probably is, in the wizarding world. Nevertheless, Harry Potter fans will find themselves engrossed while reading the book and of course, need I say it, we all will jump at the chance to read some personal views penned down by Dumbledore himself!

Sources : The Tales of Beedle the Bard
               Wikipedia
                Harry Potter Wiki





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