Well, hey there again, it's time for another book. As soon as I heard that this issue was The Deathly Hallows themed, an idea came to me. I'd never read The Tales of Beedle the Bard before... until now. I hurried to the library and found a Muggle version. I'm guessing it was for Muggle Studies? I wouldn't go for it normally, but it had notes from Albus Dumbledore. So I took it out to read.
I then realized that it would be a very short entry if I just did the most famous story The Tale of the Three Brothers, so I decided to read through all the stories in this collection of magical fairy tales.
The first story I decided to read (OK, so I read them in the order they are in the book) was The Wizard and the Hopping Pot. This, I felt, was a pro-Muggle story, and I found it interesting that an old wizard would use his magic to help heal the Muggles when they went to him with their problems. I thought this was a very kind thing to do. He didn't say that he was a wizard, and I thought that this was a lovely story.
Then the old wizard died and left his magic cauldron and a slipper to his son. I was like, "OK right, so the son will carry on his father's good work." How wrong I was! The son was the polar opposite to his father, and he sent the Muggles away when they came asking for help! The clever thing was how the pot went from a silent pot to one that annoyed the wizard as it took on all the problems that the wizard wouldn't help with.
The wizard eventually snapped and finally healed everyone and used the slipper on the hopping foot that had appeared after the first refusal to help. I really enjoyed this story and it made me think how the wizarding world could help the Muggle world without them knowing it. Narcissa wouldn't be happy for me to say that, and I'd never do it of course, but I know the Ministry of Magic has the ability to… Maybe something to look into?
The next story was The Fountain of Fair Fortune. The idea that a fountain can bring such luck sounds a little mad, but when does anything not sound like that in this world? On the longest day of the year, one person who is down on their luck goes into a garden where they have to fight their way to a fountain that will bring them luck.
A witch grabs another witch who grabs another witch who grabs... a luckless knight? I found it interesting how they were all against each other and rather cross with each other. Well, I would be if I were suddenly grabbed and then trapped in a garden. They all round on each other and then the poor knight has to help them.
The group move through the garden and I love the way the garden asks them for things along the way. Most stories have an antagonist that has to be fought but, this time, the garden gives them riddles to solve. In the end the knight is the one who gets to bathe in the water. However, the trick was that nobody needed to bathe in the waters because all of their problems and worries were solved along the way. I thought that was a very clever thing to do, and something a little different compared to other stories. The fountain wasn't magic at all in the end; they cast aside anything bothering them as the group worked together to get to the fountain in the first place.
The Warlock's Hairy Heart comes next and I had no idea what to expect with this one. This one, for me, shouldn't be in a book of fairy tales for children. The whole idea starts off reminding me slightly of the Muggle story Cinderella, but ends up something more sinister and with a horrific ending.
The so-called 'hero' in this story is a young, handsome Warlock who appears to have everything he wanted. Money and good looks were his, but he noticed how his friends became foolish when they fell in love. It's part of life… you fall in love and you go into a certain mode. That was when he turned to the Dark Arts, which is not something I'd recommend, readers. Let nature take its course.
Anyway, everyone believed that once the Warlock found a maiden that he would find love. We all have that one witch (or wizard, or wix) who comes along that turns heads and everyone looks at her, except one. That was the Warlock, but the maiden was everything that he desired so he courted her. I liked the way she said he'd be so much better if he had a heart and then he takes her down to the dungeons and reveals that his heart has been trapped in a crystal chest for years and years.I won't give away the ending but it shocked me and, as I said at the start, doesn't feel at home in a childrens' book.
Babbity Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump sounds such an amusing title, and it made me smile when I first saw it. It's the story of a Muggle King who wishes to be the only magical person in the land. He even goes to the point of forming a witch hunter group. This really reminds me of the Salem witch trials, which is a very dark time in history.
I dislike the way that the magician used Babbitty to perform the tricks that the foolish king wanted to perform in front of the kingdom. The plan was ruined when the King tried to bring someone back from the dead. Everyone knows you can never bring someone truly back from the dead. Ever.
This then led the magician to expose Babbitty as a witch, which then led to a wild goose chase around the forests before Babbitty changed into a stump. They tried to cut her down but, unknowingly, released a curse that means all the witches and wizards could live freely in the country because if the people tried to harm the witches and wizards they'd feel like they were being chopped in half. This story also references Animagi, so go and look it up.
Now, finally, The Tale of the Three Brothers. This is the story of the Deathly Hallows and you all know this story thanks to Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. This is my favourite story from the book, and talks about the Master of Death.
The story has a moral: avoiding death is impossible and being powerful and vain does not make you invincible at all. If anything, it makes you more vulnerable. The Three Hallows, I found, were very interesting in how they all granted different things, but two were used in the wrong way.
The Elder Wand was used to defeat an enemy, and that is fine. The thing is, that it gave someone who didn't know how to cope with that power even more power, and that led to his demise. By all means, have a wand like the Elder wand - but don't brag about it. He was already known for being both a great duelist and a combative wizard, so why not just say that your skills have been improved?
The Resurrection Stone is tricky because it can be a comfort to see loved ones again, but it can also send you mad. I think having that power is not a good idea because it doesn't actually give you your loved one back. Then you just make yourself miserable with their shade until you give yourself to death to join the person you "brought back". The only use for the Stone is when you're ready to die, like Harry Potter was, because then you are joining the loved one or ones on your own terms.
The only Hallow that I feel was used correctly was the Invisibility Cloak. This was used to avoid death, and I feel that that is the correct way to use the Cloak. Complete your tasks and then meet death on your own terms. Be humble and kind while living your life to the max, and meet death when you are ready. Don't be vain or longing enough to send yourself crazy with a longing for departed loved ones. They are in your heart, and they'd want you to live your life to the fullest. You'll know when the time is right to greet Death like an old friend.
Anyway, that's enough from me. I would like to read The Tale of the Three Brothers again. I'd highly recommend finding the copy with Dumbledore's notes! Very informative, it is.
Until next time,
Adele xx