Histoires ou Contes du temps passé avec des moralités by Charles Perrault
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Okay, let's clear something up first. This isn't a single story. It's the famous 1697 story collection that gave us the classic versions of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, and Bluebeard. Perrault didn't invent them from scratch—he polished up existing folk tales and published them for the fashionable French court.
The Story
There's no overarching plot. Each story is its own little world. A clever cat wins his master a fortune. A girl in a red hood learns not to talk to strangers. A young woman discovers her husband's terrifying secret in a locked room. A persecuted stepdaughter's fortune changes with the help of a fairy godmother. They're short, fast-paced, and often end with those famous rhyming "morals" that spell out the lesson.
Why You Should Read It
Reading these originals is a revelation. They feel fresher and more subversive than many modern retellings. The humor is wicked—Puss in Boots is a hilarious con artist. The warnings are stark—Red Riding Hood gets eaten, full stop. You see the bones of the narratives we've reshaped for centuries. It's fascinating to spot what we've softened (the violence) and what we've kept (the core struggles of cleverness versus power, innocence versus danger).
Final Verdict
Perfect for fairy tale fans, writers looking for source material, or anyone who enjoys a story with bite. It's a short, essential piece of cultural history that's still wildly entertaining. Keep in mind, these are 17th-century stories, so some attitudes (especially in the morals) will feel dated. But that's part of the interest. Read it to meet the versions that started it all.
Legal analysis indicates this work is in the public domain. Access is open to everyone around the world.
Richard Young
1 year agoAfter hearing about this author multiple times, it creates a vivid world that you simply do not want to leave. One of the best books I've read this year.
Mark Ramirez
11 months agoSurprisingly enough, the plot twists are genuinely surprising. I learned so much from this.
Susan Davis
7 months agoWow.
Daniel Nguyen
1 year agoGreat read!