童结【“童”心结】

　　Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. ―C. S. Lewis 　　
　　I do not remember the first fairy tale I ever heard, but I do, however, remember the first one I saw: Disney’s Cinderella. I was mesmerized, entranced. There were songs, laughs, talking animals, happy endings―everything to make a young girl happy. Then in middle school I was given The Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales. What a horrifying change from the 2D-Disney utopia! Feet got chopped off, eyes got pecked out―it was terrifying, but it was also eye-opening. These stories weren’t just pretty and light-hearted, they had messages.
　　This month we’ll be focusing on the many different dimensions that fairytale can encompass, and the diverse effects it can have on a reader. Of course, this can be both negative and positive. In Educating Our New Cinderellas we learn a little about the adverse psychological effects of fairy tales, while How Fairy Tales Shape Our Life tells about the positive influence that these stories can give. However, it’s not always the same for everyone.
　　One girl remembers, in Hansel and Gretel: a Tale on the Run, how a fairy tale shaped her life―both positively and negatively, but mostly humorously. Arguably, the reason that fairy tales may be able to affect us so differently could be that they themselves change so frequently. The Evolution of Riding Hood demonstrates how a fairy tale can evolve with culture, eventually becoming a reflection of both history and values.
　　For most of us, the word “fairytale” holds a special meaning. Whether it’s a book, a movie, or an effect, is up to the individual. But understanding that there is more than just our one impression, our individual experience, is a lesson that fairytale is willing to offer all of us―and we can all live happily ever after.