Similar to Part A of the Celtic Fairy Tale unit, Part B is a collection of short stories. While the story I read in Part A was more focused on the supernatural, the story I read in Part B, Beth Gellert, was grounded to realistic events. Overall, the story was quite sad due to the tragic ending of the story. Once the Prince saw that the dog had blood in his mouth, I can have had an inclination that he would blame the dog for supposedly murdering his child. Being a big dog person, this made the ending of the story even more sad to read. Perhaps in a potential retelling of the story I can portray the dog as a hero who is able to be rewarded for his actions of saving the child from the wolf. Researching Gellert on Google has revealed that the story has more significance than realized. There are portraits depicting the dog saving the child, and there is even a grave in the village of Beddgelert, Wales. However, this grave has no historical significance as it was meant more as a tourist attraction. Moreover, the story is even depicted in the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp. However, in this case the dog is rewarded for saving the child, this time from a rat rather than a wolf. The legend of Gellert is seen also in poetry as there are numerous English poems concerning the tragedy of the heroic dog. Moreover, the story of Gellert has also been transferred to other cultures. In Malaysia, there is similar story but with a bear rather than a dog saving the child. Again the bear is killed by the father as he thought the bear had killed the daughter. The story of Gellert is an interesting story, and I think it would be an interesting to retell.
Bibliography: Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1892).
Wikimedia: Gellert saving the child from the wolf
Comments
Post a Comment