Happy New Year of the Dog!

Hans Tegner, from Fairy tales and stories, by Hans Christian Andersen, New York, 1900
(We know we have posted this before as a header, but it's probably our favorite illustration from this tale. We think it has quite the Gustav Doré feel about it.)

Now that kids are back to school and people have returned from their various 'vacationings' (and those who hold on to the Yuletide season until it's uconsidered seemly have finally given in to 'de-Christmas-sy-ing' their houses #guiltybutnotsorry), we are popping in to say:

May this New Year bring change for the better,

as well as joy, comfort, love, health and,

dare I say it, prosperity

(especially by way of friendly saucer-eyed dogs!)

There is a variant of the Tinderbox called The Soldier and the Candle, described as "The Aladdin of the Basque Country". (A condensed text can be found HERE, though you may need the help of Google translate to read it.) It's an interesting way to look at the tale and opens up the edges away from the politic-heavy subtext Andersen deliberately wove into his fairy tale. It would be interesting to see some retellings taking this slant for a spin on a storytellers wheel, especially with some new takes on the sleeping princess issue. (A hint to all fairy tale writers for the year!)

Some more images from this favorite tale filled with delightful, dish-eyed dogs below. All of these are by Hans Tegner as well.

All images above and below are by Hans Tegner,
from Fairy tales and stories, by Hans Christian Andersen, New York, 1900

A quick reminder that much fairy tale news is being tweeted - and retweeted - via our account over on Twitter HERE, along with other folks we have recommended, if you're needing a daily fix of fairy tales (and who isn't?).

A very Happy New Year 2018 to all our readers!