The Grimm Conclusion

Being the reader of a dark fairy tale is much like being the hero of one. Our lives are filled with pain, boredom, and fear. We want to venture into the dark wood, to see the oddities and the beauties it holds, and to test ourselves against them. So we pick up a book of fairy tales. The real ones. THe weird ones. The dark ones. We see oddities and beauties galore. We test our courage and our understanding. Finally, we put the book down and return to our lives. And hopefully, just like the hero of the fairy tale, we return stronger, richer, and wiser. In difficult times - of recession and violence and political bitterness - we long for a dark forest to which we can escape; and from which we can return, better than we were before.

Wait!” the prince exclaimed. “After you kill it, can I ride it?

There is a power in children. There is a belief. A strength. A joy that makes just about anything possible.

But Joringel had no chance to answer. For Jorinda ran at her brother and threw her arms around him and held him so tight he could not breathe. Little Jorinda and little Joringel held each other for a long, long time. Neither said a word. At last Joringel withdrew and looked at his sister. "If you won't leave me," he whispered, "I won't leave you

Anger is a weed...It grows up through the soil, choking every other plant. You must stamp it out. Don't let it enter your garden. Stamp out your anger until it never comes back.

And if this seems strange to you—that, under these difficult, frightening, and outlandish circumstances, children might be happy...well, then you don't know all that much about children.

You see, my parents never cut off my head physically...But maybe emotionally...Most parents love their children and try to take care of them the best that they can. But parents mess up, all the time.

(T)hey at last understood that their problems would never have been solved by trying to cover them up or choke them back or pretend they didn't exist. By repression. No, their problems could only be solved by expression. By telling their tales, and by making up new ones, too.

And never cry," she said. "Choke back your tears. Tears are waves on the ocean of sadness. You will drown in them if you're not careful. Believe me. I know.

Well, feelings become words, and words become deeds, Jorinda was not only sneering at compliments, but also at complaints. She was not only jerking her head away to avoid seeing smiles, but also to avoid seeing tears. She frowned not just at those who bowed to her. She frowned at everyone.

Because, you see, in life, every triumph begins with failure.