Reflection: "Once Upon a Time"

   In her collection of fairy tales Angela Carter says that "the content of the fairy tale may record the real lives of the anonymous poor with sometimes uncomfortable fidelity - the poverty, the hunger, the shaky family relationships, the all-pervasive cruelty and also, sometimes, the good humour, the vigour, the straightforward consolations of a warm fire and a full belly" and that "for most of human history, 'literature', both fiction and poetry, has been narrated, not written - heard, not read. So fairy tales, folk tales, stories from the oral tradition, are all of them the most vital connection we have with the imaginations of the ordinary men and women whose labour created our world". Fairy tales not only connect us with the people who helped create the stories but also with times and experiences throughout our own lives, whether it be a memory of listening to a story as a small child or watching a Disney animated adaptation of famous fairy tales. The countless film and book adaptations of fairy tales surely shows that fairy tales speak to something inside us, something that connects us with people and places of many times.      

         Once upon a time there was a beautiful lake, shielded from the world by a copse of trees; and on this lake there lived two birds who were the best of friends despite being very different. One bird was very brave and dreamt of flying away from all he knew to have adventures and learn about the world outside the lake. His friend wished for nothing more than a quiet and safe life beside the lake. 
          One sunny day the brave bird said farewell to his friend and flew off into the trees that shielded the lake from the unknown. He flew for hours, searching for another lake, but all he saw were tall buildings; he looked for a friendly face, but all other animals he saw were hungry and tired. He searched for so long that by the time the sun went down he had forgotten the way home. He missed his friend and wished he had never left the lake. 
         Months passed and the brave bird became cold, tired and hungry, like those he had seen on his first day away from the lake. He spent every day searching for his lost home and lost friend; he never gave up hope of one day flying through the trees and finding the beautiful lake waiting, exactly as he remembered, to welcome him home. 






Source:

Carter, Angela. Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales. London: Virago Press, 2010.

Images: 

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1215912

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1336944