I'm in an upper level Spanish conversation and composition class this semester, and today, in addition to forming dirty and entertaining Spanish sentences using Conversation Hearts--which they do make in Spanish, in case you were not aware--much to the dismay of our poor profesora, we talked about Fairy Tales. Yes, your traditional Fairy Tales: Cinderella (Cenicienta), Little Red Riding Hood (Caperucita roja), The Three Little Pigs (Los tres cerditos), Goldilocks (Ricitos de oro), Snow White (Blanca Nieves), etc. The point of the lesson was to retell the stories using preterit and imperfect tenses (el pasado) and to make sure we still knew the differences (yes, I know those of you who don't take Spanish are falling asleep at this point). The lesson was pretty fun, especially when groups added their own personal points of view to the story. But it got me thinking: In addition to these classics, (thank you, Disney and the Brother Grimm) what fairy tales did I remember. Immediately, two books came to mind.
1. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
2. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Maybe these two books just show the type of sense of humor my parents had, but I'm so glad that's what they got me to read. I still LOVE these books. I read them over and over again, despite the fact that I'm 20 years old and in college. They are absolutely hilarious. If you don't have them, go get them. I mean it. Quit reading. If you read the next line then it won't tell you anything!
See? Told ya. (For those of you who are now thinking, holy crap, she's finally lost it, it's a part from The Stinky Cheese Man....yeah)
So what are these books about, exactly? Well, I'll put it like this. If you would like to laugh hysterically and you have a sense of humor, read what I'm about to write, and then go buy them, steal them off the Internet, rob a bookstore, check them out from your local library, download them to your Kindle, Nook, Sony, eReader, etc, or however you usually obtain sources of literature. If you do not have a sense of humor, or you've decided "I hate Valentine's Day and I'm going to be a grump for the rest of the day" or you have the personality of a pissed off rock, then you should probably quit reading.
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Okay, so this book is by far one of my favorites. Not only do you get to revisit old friends (maybe slightly modified) such as The Little Red Hen, Jack (from the beanstalk, also the narrator of the book), Chicken Little, The Frog Prince, you also meet new ones, like The Stinky Cheese Man. The stories are all ridiculous (or, as the title implies, fairly stupid) and entertaining, and illustrations are fantastic. If you want to see what it's like, try Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOXKCwUmZyU&feature=related
Come on, you know you want to read it...this book has a Surgeon General's Warning...
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Now this one is a traditional story, but from a different point of view. This is from the view of the Wolf, the one who was FRAMED (as per the story). According to the Wolf, Alexander T. Wolf (but you can call him Al) it was just a huge misunderstanding involving a Sneeze and Cup of Sugar. But that's all I can tell you because telling you any more would give it away. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcsUfYBHhm4&feature=related
As you can probably tell, these are both written by the same people, and the illustrations and story lines are absolutely fantastic. I am so glad they were a part of my childhood, and my adulthood (adulthood...scary thought) and if I ever have kids, I will most certainly pass these on to them as well.
Run, run, run, as fast you can, you can't catch me I'm the Stinky Cheese Man!
As always,
-Lex
