The classic German fairy tale “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” plus an appropriately clever Sicilian tale “The Cunning Shoemaker”

“The Elves and the Shoemaker”
by the Brothers Grimm, from their collection Kinder und Hausmärchen (1812)
translated by Edgar Taylor and Marian Edwardes (1823)

“The Cunning Shoemaker”
A tale from Sicily
Included in Andrew Lang’s collection The Pink Fairy Book (1897)

Rated AD-G for general audiences
Contains nought but whimsy in the first tale (okay, that and some nakedness), but does contain some death in the second one… but it does happen to bad people and is quite in line with fairy tale karma.

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The iconic French version of a fairy tale which has variants going back centuries in many parts of the world. Don’t worry: this has all the quality step-family shenanigans you’re seeking.

Rated AD-G for general audiences
Contains thoughtless stepsisters and a rather cavalier attitude towards transmogrifying rodentia to be used as servants, but other than that, it’s pretty untroubling.

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The English fairy tale of an enterprising young boy, a castle in the clouds, and some giants. It’s perhaps the best known of a series of “Jack Tales.”

Rated AD-G for general audiences
Contains a cruel and murderous giant, a conspiratorial and duplicitous giantess, and broken necks, which arguably might be the audio theater equivalent of villains falling from a great height.

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Given current events, we wanted to share some thoughts, especially with our friends and neighbors in the DC area. This was originally broadcast on WERA with Through the Looking Glass episode #8, “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

Rated AD-G for general audiences

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The classic German fairy tale of a brother, a sister, and a witch’s house in the deep, dark woods.

Rated AD-G for general audiences
Contains a fearfully evil stepmother, arguably prejudiced ideas about witches and their eyesight, and lots of candy whose cleanliness is debatable since it’s being used as building materials.

Click here for full show notes.