Do your kids know the little mermaid committed suicide?

[OnlyParentsAreReal]

I had I discussion with another mother about a new book I had got my son that had the little mermaid in. It says she "chose to ascend" which I thought was a lovely age appropriate way of putting across the original story. She was horrified and said she would never let her son know any of the true non Disney endings to stories. I think that's awful as the Disney endings send bad messages. What are peoples views on this?

@3Eyedraven I wonder if you're thinking of The Search For Delicious? Involved a mermaid and a stone key which was actually a whistle. It's a lovely story, I still reread it quite regularly!

I’m in my thirties and I had no idea about these other versions.

Huge disney fan.

The little mermaid kills herself? Sleeping beauty is raped?

Mind. Blown.

Seraphina no, that doesn’t ring a bell.
Will still have a look, getting into a bit of a fairy tale phase now!

The one I’m thinking of, I think there were three tasks that had to be completed, and one of them involved diving for a key/s?

I also loved the little march girl.

The selfish giant was another fave.

*match girl

MyDragon, my tongue was firmly in my cheek. Sorry if that wasn't apparent. Clearly most fairy stories present a documentary reality. But actually lots of them see foolish people getting a comeuppance of course, e.g. in this case the silly Queen.

Bertie, how interesting. We definitely had more than one collection with the (BETTER) version in! Anderson had a cloth ear on that one I reckon.

Won’t let your kids play certain computer games but are happy for them to read horror stories before bed...ok then.

I didn't know that about Little Mermaid!

I kept my childhood copy of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales and have read them with my kids too (it was a very old copy when I was a kid). DS1 told me off for reading it to DS2, saying, 'Those stories are too sad and depressing, I can't believe you read them to me when I was younger'.

I remember being a bit upset after reading The Red Shoes, The Little Mermaid and The Little Match girl as a child, but it annoys me when publishers think that kids stories always need to have the saccharine happy ending.

I studied Bettelheim and his theories on fairy tales and childhood psychology and find it fascinating. I loved Angela Carter's versions of classic fairy tales (The Bloody Chamber).

Oh the Angela Carter versions are fab, another recommendation from me.

When I was 5 or 6, The Little Match Girl was on TV on Christmas eve, and i d really upset about it , how she died cold and alone. It's not all kids who like the scary/ tragic versions.
I am a total wus though. Don't like any violence or threat in films.

I'm reading Angela Carter at the moment!

For those looking for a full on version of Grimm, i've got a good one called Grimm's Grimmest (good illustrations too), and for finding out more about the history of the tales Maria Tatar's annotated books are brilliant and beautiful.

Re the little match girl, I've always loved the take in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather:
“But, look, it’s all right, anyway, because she wakes up and it’s all bright and shining and tinkling music and there’s angels, master.”
Death stopped.
AH. THEY TURN UP AT THE LAST MINUTE WITH WARM CLOTHES AND A HOT DRINK?
“Er. No. Not exactly at the last minute, master. Not as such.”
WELL?
“More sort of just after the last minute.” Albert coughed nervously.
YOU MEAN AFTER SHE’S—
“Yes. That’s how the story goes, master, ‘s not my fault.”
WHY NOT TURN UP BEFORE? AN ANGEL HAS QUITE A LARGE CARRYING CAPACITY."
Etc

Thanks for the recommendation Petrichery, Grimm's Grimmest is now winging its way to me.

They seem gruesome to us adults, but young children don't really have a concept of what it means.

I really recommend Old Peter’s Russian tales, for fairytales that are a bit less known (in the UK at least). As a child I loved them, including such beauties as ‘oh my darling little sister, they are going to slaughter me, they are sharpening knives of steel etc’