A novel reason for taking fairy tales seriously. Beyond their charm and imagination, they have an added bonus of reminding us that the universe is jam-packed full of things beyond our ken.  Keeps you humble.

“And don’t you dare to disparage fairy tales. A fairy tale, dear sir, in relating miraculous happenings as though they were the normal events of the day, is a humble acknowledgement of the fact that this universe is a box packed full of mysteries of which we understand absolutely nothing at all; heaven alone knows what’ll pop out of it next.”

This is from another lovely book by the playful, delightful, gentle children’s writer Elizabeth Goudge. See the bestellar review of my favourite. 

For other thoughts on stories, enjoy Arundhati Roy’s comment, and one more from Elizabeth Goudge. Or Jorge Luis Borges on the essence of Turkestan tales, Karen Blixen on stories as therapy and David Boyle on the value of stories as an antidote to the tyranny of numbers.  

Source: Elizabeth Goudge, Henrietta’s House (Radstock: Girls Gone By Publishers, 2013 (1942)), p. 171