3 Fairy Tales I'd Like to See Retold

Now, before you all jump all over me and say, But wait! ________ has been retold, gahhhh!  just hear me out.  I know that some of these (probably all of these) have been retold before.  But I either haven't come across them, haven't had a chance to read them, or just plain haven't liked the retellings I did find...
So.  Feel free to tell me in the comments if you've found a retelling of one of these tales that you love, or just one you know of.
But for now, here are 5 tales I'd like to see, and why...

1. The Rose Elf ~

The Tale: This disturbing little tale is one I don't think I've ever heard another person mention anywhere, ever, but it is one of my absolute favorites.  It comes from Hans Christian Andersen, and like all HCA tales, it's pretty bleak.  It concerns a rose elf who witnesses the courtship of two young lovers, followed by the murder of the boy by the girl's controlling brother, who stabs the young lover, cuts of his head, and then buries him.  The rose elf whispers the story of what happened into the girl's ear while she sleeps, and in the morning, she goes to find her lovers body.  She can't bear to be without him, so she takes his head (it's all she can carry) and plants it in a pot with some jasmine, and waters it with her tears. Until she dies.

image via

Troubled that the brother is getting away with murder, the rose elf and some helper friends break the jasmine pot and the lover's head spills out, alerting the townspeople to the wicked brother's nefarious deeds.
See?  Gloom-city.
What I'd like to see and why I want to see it:  As I said, I love this tale.  In fact, I have retold it myself (in the form of a really long, really convoluted poem for a writing class I took once), and as disturbing as it is, you can't deny it's memorable.
I'd love to see someone really do justice to this tale in full-length form, from the star-crossed and doomed aspect to the bizarre, frantic, righteous little rose elf narrating.  I think there's so much potential to make something really dark and really unique of the tale, and I have half a mind to do it myself.  One of these days...

2. Rapunzel ~

image via

The Tale: Parents bargain away their daughter to a witch for some stolen lettuce; the witch who grew the lettuce names the girl after it and then locks her away in a tower where she grows her hair and sits around doing whatever one does in a tower (one would imagine) until some stranger climbs her mothereffing hair and knocks her up woos her  - only to be thrown from the tower into brambles, where he goes blind, then wonders into a desert (?) until Rapunzel rescues herself, and then him, all while caring for twins.
What I'd like to see and why I want to see it: Remember when I said I know some of these have been retold? Yes, I know this has been retold, and I've even liked some of the retellings, I guess.  But the thing is, none has ever gone where I'd like to see it go.  I mean, there are so many questions in this tale: Why is the witch the bad guy?  I've always sort of figured her for being someone who's just trying to protect a girl who would undoubtedly have been neglected otherwise.  I mean, when you're parents are willing to trade you for a pregnancy craving for lettuce, you're future doesn't seem to sure.  And then with the prince who climbs her hair into her tower - has Rapunzel even seen a man before? I really feel like both women in this story got a raw deal, and that hasn't changed in any of the tellings.
I'd like to see someone really explore the gray area here, and explore the witch's past and Rapunzel's isolated upbringing.  This has the stamp of dark family drama all over it.

3. Jack and the Beanstalk ~

The Tale: A young dolt named Jack trades his family's only means of survival for a handful of "magic" beans that grow into a giant beanstalk, which he proceeds to climb into the sky. Among the clouds, Jack discovers a giant's house, which he proceeds to rob, and when the giant tries to pursue him, Jack cuts down the beanstalk and kills the giant.

image via

What I'd like to see and why I want to see it: This has always been one of my "problem" tales.  It's always been a favorite (because it's really fun as a kid to walk around Fee Fi Fo Fum-ing), but it's never seemed right to me.  I mean, Jack is an idiot, he's a thief, and finally, he's a murderer.  I mean, really!  How is he the hero of this piece?
I'd really like to see a tale that either approaches things from the giant's POV or narrates from Jack's with him being a very clear anti-hero.  I want something to delve into the ickiness and inherent wrongness of the story, and treat it either as a fated tragedy or a murder mystery.


So, do you have any tales you'd love to see retold in a specific way, or little known tales you'd just like to see retold, period?  Let me know in the comments (or create your own post and link it up), and keep an eye out for Part 2 - there are always more tales I'd like to see, after all...

Click the button to be taken to the
Fairy Tale Fortnight Main Page & Schedule
(button image via)