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Author
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Comment
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Jessica
Unregistered User
(10/29/02 11:44:53 am)
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Just Curious: Sleeping Beauty, A Question
Hey, all. This question would be slightly "off topic" I suppose, but I'm curious to know what any of you (being interested in fairy tales) would say. Lately, I've been asking friends this question:
If you were one of the fairies invited to Sleeping Beauty's christening - not the final fairy who stays back and softens the curse, and not the evil fairy who curses, but one of the others - what gift would YOU want to give? Not what gifts were given, but... what gift would you choose, if you were a fairy, and could give anything?
So far I have: confidence, eloquence and creativity. (And an "oh man, can't I just give her a bath and body basket that'll change flavors whenever she gets tired of 'em and never run out? Yeah, that.")
*grin* Any thoughts?
--Jessica.
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Jess
Unregistered User
(10/29/02 12:33:38 pm)
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one gift
That's easy - good health.
Jess
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Maria
Cecile
Registered User
(10/29/02 12:42:29 pm)
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Fairy gift
Hmmmmm...common sense.
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Jane Yolen
Unregistered User
(10/29/02 2:13:14 pm)
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My gift
Either imagination or empathy. Neither were often found in the royal classes of Europe.
Jane
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Midori
Unregistered User
(10/29/02 2:52:51 pm)
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my gift
a sense of humor--also not often found in the Royal classes.
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Jess
Unregistered User
(10/29/02 4:14:04 pm)
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Gift
Yes, I thought of compassion too - similar to empathy. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all have 13 gifts to give?
Jessica, I love this question.
Jess
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Meurglys
Registered User
(10/30/02 4:52:42 am)
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Re: Gift
A cute little puppy!
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peijakas
Registered User
(10/30/02 10:05:53 am)
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Re: Just Curious: Sleeping Beauty, A Question
This was an interesting question :) I think my inner fairy would most likely give her benevolence. That, or longevity.
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Terri
Registered User
(10/31/02 1:06:45 am)
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fairy gifts
I'm with Jess. Good health is the gift I would give first.
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Yellow
McMaggie
Registered User
(10/31/02 2:56:31 am)
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Re: fairy gifts
The ability to complete tasks (i.e PhD, novels etc...) stress free! Well.... for a modern Sleeping Beauty of course!
Edited by: Yellow McMaggie at: 10/31/02 2:57:53 am
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Majicou
Registered User
(10/31/02 6:48:33 am)
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...
I'd lighten up that royal inbreeding a bit. (Too often found in royal classes)
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Helen
Registered User
(10/31/02 7:30:39 am)
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McKinley ...
You know, Robin McKinley has a hilarious riff on this idea in her retelling of Sleeping Beauty, _Spindles End_, discussing the enormously useless nature of the gifts given by most fairies. Myself, I'd bestow a thirst for knowledge ... if only the princesses had a bit of academic curiosity about where cloth came from, and just *why* there were no spinning wheels in the kingdom ( as opposed to the formless curiosity that just sent her wandering the halls), she might have saved herself a lot of trouble ...
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Kerrie
Registered User
(10/31/02 7:56:50 am)
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Thirst...
"Myself, I'd bestow a thirst for knowledge ..."
I don't know about that one- I sometimes consider my thirst for
knowledge a curse, never knowing enough, all of those piles of toppling
books, but it's probably just me.
Still thinking on my gift...
Forest frosts,
Kerrie
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Laura
McCaffrey
Registered User
(10/31/02 1:14:37 pm)
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Re: Gifts...
Thought I'd contribute, patience and determination.
Laura Mc
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dorisi
Registered User
(10/31/02 1:31:01 pm)
ezSupporter
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Re: Gifts...
Back in the mists of time, when I was about a eleven, I read a ‘recipe for happiness' that seemed pretty good to me then and still does: ‘Someone to love and be loved by, some satisfying work to do and something to look forward to.' Reading it now, I notice that all of these three aspects depend to an extent on something external. To bring it back to personal qualities that could be gifted to an infant, I guess it becomes the ability to love and be loved, the capacity to be enthusiastic and optimistic and the capacity to be self-motivated and innovative in finding one's life-work. To that, I'd second Midori's choice of a sense of humour and I'd add to that the quality of being ‘lucky'. Fate being what it is, being ‘lucky' would be a hell of an advantage in life, especially in fairytale life!
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dorisi
Registered User
(10/31/02 1:51:04 pm)
ezSupporter
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Re: Gifts...
Just a postscript to my last post. That last phrase about luck in fairytale life set me musing that luck probably plays less of a role in fairytale life than it does in real life. In fairytale life, what happens usually has a meaning that doesn't depend on ‘random' chance, whereas in life, random chance raises its head all the time (whatever random chance may mean - somehow I can never use that phrase without instantly flashing to that vignette of Prince Charles saying to the cameras in his engagement interview ‘whatever love might mean'...). And I'd add to my gift of 'luck', the ability to take advantage of that luck and use it well.
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