Do you wonder about fairy tales being "updated?"

Sometimes tellers feel that they mustn't change an old fairy tale.  Here's an interesting take on that from the book Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked.

"...one important thing...that most scholars failed to acknowledge until recently -- is that fairy tales change.  In fact, fairy tales have remarkable mercurial properties.  They adapt to the weather, to local fashions, and to the mindset of each new teller and audience.

They record regional cuisines and local hairstyles -- and of course, more important things. ... they catalog not only broad elements of human experience but also the particular details of each day and age.  They express our collective truths, even as these truths change beneath our noses.

And part of their magic lies in the fact that as they do they provide not only a glimpse into our present concerns but also a record of our past."

--Catherine Orenstein