Would you read a bedtime story – say Sleeping Beauty, Snow White or Cinderella – to your toddler if it included gory details of dismemberment, sexual assault and other violence?  Of course not.  But, if you wanted to read the original versions of many children’s fairy tales that’s exactly what you might find.

Many of today’s most beloved fairy tales – and the motion pictures that were made about them – actually were written in ways that would make adults sweat, let alone what they might do to children.  Any numbers of the tales, in fact, were down right “R” or even “X” rated when they first were published.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

An Italian writer originally wrote this story in 1636.  In this version, the king is warned that a splinter will poison his daughter.  Despite his precautions, that’s what happens.  The king leaves his daughter lying in state and orders all his subjects to leave his castle and to abandon the forest in which they all live.  Soon after, a nobleman – who turns out to be not so noble – discovers the abandoned palace and the princess.  But, instead of a kiss and the “happy ever after” ending, the nobleman rapes the princess and leaves.  Even more gruesome, the still sleeping princess gives birth to twins.  Fast-forward several months and the nobleman again visits a now-awake princess.  Together they enjoy a quick weekend tryst – only to have the nobleman admit to the princess that he is married.  He leaves.  And you thought soap operas were made for television!’

The story doesn’t end here however.  The nobleman’s wife learns of her hubby’s night out and to get even has the princess’ children captured and plans a “Sweeney Todd” on the infants by ordering her cook to use them in a stew.  Fortunately the cook defies the order.  Ticked off, the wife grabs the princess and tries to burn her at the stake, only to be thwarted by her husband at the very last visit. 

It’s safe to say that Walt Disney used some creative license in creating his version.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Little Red Riding Hood’s story was always a little frightening given the image of the wolf, but that fear pales in comparison to the story’s original account that made its debut in 1697 in France.  In this version, the wolf eats both Red and her grandmother.  The story was so gruesome for its time, that in 1840 it was re-written by a British author who saved Red by having her father rush to her rescue.  Yet another French version at the same time had a wasp fly in the window, sting the wolf on the nose and a passing hunter, hearing the wolf yelp, kills the wolf in the nick of time.