"All children, except one, grow up."

Joel got me this beautiful leather-bound copy of Peter Pan for Christmas, and I love it.  The copy, but also the story.  I learned the "true" story when I was younger and my dad read it to us at bedtime.  I loved it then, and I love it now.  If you've never read it, you should check it out.  J.M. Barrie's writing style is fantastical in a way that seems like it should be real.  It reminds me of other fairytale recorders / writers, like Hans Christian Andersen or Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.  

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John's [Neverland], for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it..., while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it.

fairy tale wisdom part II

Delayed is not forgotten.

"Delaying is not forgetting"

...for no goblet of life is all bitterness; no good man would pour out such a draught for his fellow-man, and how should He do it, Who is love personified?

A Story From the Sand-hills

He, who had been so grievously afflicted, the outcast, thrown upon the world, could not remember his sufferings.  The Lord our Creator is wise and full of loving kindness - who can doubt it?

A Story From the Sand-hills

The storm raged over the town of Skjagen; there had not been such a terrible tempest within the memory of the inhabitants, not such a rough sea.  But Jürgen was in the temple of God, and while the darkness of night reigned outside, a light arose in his soul that was never to depart from it; the heavy weight that pressed on his brain burst asunder.

A Story From the Sand-hills

[This quote reminds me of my dad :D ]

Here, from time immemorial, a screaming swarm of crows and rooks had built their nests; it was a regular bird town, and the birds were the owners, the manor's oldest family.  - the real lordship!  The people below meant nothing to them; they tolerated these crawling creatures...

The Gardener and the Noble Family

Have you really seriously given a fleeting thought to that grave and mighty last hour we shall spend on earth?

On Judgement Day

[On how fables began]:

Wise men of ancient times ingeniously discovered how to tell people the truth without being blunt to their faces.  You see, they held a magic mirror before the people, in which all sorts of animals and various wondrous things appeared, producing amusing as well as instructive pictures.  They called these fables, and whatever wise or foolish deeds the animals performed, the people were to imagine themselves in their places and thereby think, "This fable is intended for you!"  In this way no one's feelings were hurt.

This Fable Is Intended For You

Once Upon A Time

There's not as much respect for marriage as there used to be, but I've been pleasantly surprised a new favorite show!

A year or so ago, we found a show we loved called "Flash Forward."  There was a part that was disappointing, though.  (Quick premise: Everyone in the world saw 2 minutes of their futures.)  One of the characters in the show saw herself having an affair and was shocked and horrified, so she did everything she could to avoid the man in real life because she wanted to be faithful to her husband.  Sadly, the man did not have the same values and tried multiple times to convince her that it wasn't bad because they loved each other.  In the end, her husband did a few things (including giving in a couple of times to alcoholic tendencies) that caused her to decide perhaps the other man was right. As if to say, if your spouse messes up, it's okay to stop being faithful.  Ridiculous.

A couple of months ago, a new show started called "Suburgatory."  It's kind of an odd show, and we were trying to decide if we liked it.  A little while in, they decided to have a married woman develop a crush on a single dad.  He opposes it, which was good, but the worst part was that the woman is pretty likeable + her husband is always out of town and you kind of even forget that she has one because he's never on the show.  I was freaked out when I found myself almost wishing it would work out between the single dad and the married lady, so we stopped watching it. 

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to start watching ABC's "Once Upon A Time."  Premise: A town is comprised of fairy tale characters, but a witch put a curse on them & none of them remember their fairy tale lives.  Snow White (Mary Margaret in the normal world) and Prince Charming (James) were married and had a baby in the fairy tale world before the curse came.  Well, in the real world, James is recovering after being in a coma and MM is the hospital volunteer helping him.  They fall in love and then find out James was married before going in the coma.  He doesn't remember his wife, and part of him remembers Snow White, which is why he loves MM.  He keeps trying to get her to date him.  It's interesting because he is married and should be faithful to his wife, but he was married to MM first!  Later in the show, he leaves his wife because he doesn't love her, and on the way to meeting MM to see if she wants to date, his memories all come back.  When he gets there to meet her, he says, "I still like you a lot, but now I remember loving [my wife], and I have to honor that.  I'm sorry."

During the entire show, MM and her friend emphasize that he is married and it would be wrong for her to interfere.  She firmly decides not to do anything to come between him and his wife, even though she loves him. Anyway, to make a long story a tiny bit shorter, thank you, ABC, for giving proper respect to the sanctity of marriage and the importance of honoring that commitment.  Not many shows or characters do that these days.  I am very impressed.

the wisdom of Hans Christian Andersen

I am lucky enough to be the proud owner of this book:

and have often noticed the little gems of wisdom scattered throughout it. I have always meant to record them somehow, but never have. I didn't want to underline things in the book, in case I found something else cool the next time I read it. So I decided today that I would record them here every once in a while so I can save them and also so that other people can appreciate it them. Enjoy! :)

[Others'] suspicions are nothing when a man is really true, and every one should persevere in acting honestly, for all will be made right in time. 

The Silver Shilling

[on knowing family history stories]: 

Preserve carefully the seed that has been entrusted to thee, that it may grow and thrive. Guard it well. Through thee, my child, shall the obliterated inscription on the old, weather-beaten grave-stone go forth to future generations in clear, golden characters.  The old pair shall again wander through the streets arm-in-arm, or sit with their fresh, healthy cheeks on the bench under the lime-tree, and smile and nod at the rich and poor... The beautiful and the good are never forgotten, they live always in story or in song.

The Old Grave-stone

[on how gossip changes the real story]:
...and there is no doubt about it, one little feather may easily grow into five hens.
"There Is No Doubt About It"


Where honesty leads the way, prosperity is sure to follow.
Everything in the Right Place


"But must we not all here on earth give up our best parts to others, and offer as much as lies in our power?"
The Snail and the Rose-Tree


"A cock can lay an egg! And do you know what's in that egg? A basilisk."
The Farm-yard Cock and the Weather-Cock
**I mostly just included this one because there's a basilisk in Harry Potter and I thought it was cool that there's also one in this HCA fairy tale.**