It was a time of hardships in the Moors due to a curse that has plagued the lands. It all started when the princess of the land fell into a deep slumber from which no one could wake her. Ever since that day there have been reports of villagers disappearing in the middle of the night without a trace and this also occurred for those who tried to enter the castle that was once known for hosting the royal family while they were still alive and well. Many believe that if you can get past the cursed vines covered in thorns that surround the castle and find the princess inside, you can break the curse by giving her a kiss and you will be rewarded with her hand in marriage. Many brave and strong men have attempted to enter the castle but none have been able to until one day a prince arrived. With precision and speed, he was able to fend off the thorny vines and enter the castle. As the prince entered the castle, something inside began to stir. The prince began to explore the castle at a steady pace but soon realized that he was walking in circles. He began to frantically ascend and descend the stairs to search different rooms but eventually he would always find himself back in the foyer. The prince, frustrated with his lack of progress, stood in the foyer and closed his eyes to think. While his eyes were closed, the prince began to hear a faint song that sounded like a lullaby, but when he opened his eyes he could no longer hear it. The prince decided that the best course of action was to trust his ears instead of his eyes. The prince closed his eyes and began to slowly traverse the castle following the melodic lullaby. Finally, the prince entered a room where the lullaby originated and he opened his eyes. Before him was a bedroom with a canopy bed in the center, and upon that canopy bed lay a woman, who looked to be in a deep sleep. The prince began to slowly approach the bed, afraid that the room might change once again if he was not careful. When the prince reached the bed he began to stare in awe at her beauty. The woman’s skin was as white as freshly fallen snow, her hair was as black as the night and flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall, and she had a shapely figure that was mesmerizing to the prince. The prince soon realized that this was the princess that he had been searching for, so the prince closed his eyes and began to lean over to give her a kiss to break the curse and claim her as his wife. Suddenly, freezing cold hands seized the prince’s head, and he felt something bite his neck. The prince’s eyes flew open in a flash and what he saw before him shocked him to his core. The princess had latched herself upon his neck and he could feel the blood being drained from his body. The prince tried to fight back, for he thought that he would be strong enough to overpower this thin and delicate woman, but to his dismay, he couldn’t move the princess an inch. As his blood was drained from his body the prince realized something; the story of the princess had been passed down from generation to generation but no one questioned it or the fact that the princess was still alive despite there being no magic in this world capable of keeping someone alive for hundreds of years. As the last of the blood left his body, the prince fell upon the bed and looked into the eyes of his killer, the eyes of which were as red as blood. The prince took his last breath and began to pity those who would follow him chasing a false dream. Once the prince had died, the princess held her hands together and said, “Thank you for the meal, you fool.” The princess then disposed of the prince’s body and went back to sleep until the next time her hunger pains strikes.

There she was, walking down the hallway like a goddess, with eyes as green as a jade and a body that was beautiful and lithe; her skin was milky white and she had shoulder length black hair. She was the most popular girl in school, Briar Rose, and I was madly in love with her at first sight. I have been consulting my horoscope and visiting a fortuneteller everyday to find someway to be closer to her and the day finally came when we were put in Class 4 together for History. I now sat next to her in the back of the class and used every chance I got to steal a glance at her. Everyday she would settle into her desk like she belonged there and that she would be in that desk for years to come and would sit through the class with an attentive gaze fixed on the board. But one day, during a long lecture in class, I looked over to see Brair Rose fast asleep at her desk. She sat in her desk unmoving and oblivious to the world around her in a deep sleep and I was mesmerized by her beauty once more and surprised that she could sleep through the chaotic debates and discussion that were taking place in class. I stared at her for the longest time appreciating her beauty and grace, thinking of the future that we could have together and wishing that this moment would never end. As the end of class was approaching, I contemplated the idea of waking her up to see her reation, even if she was angry, in order to learn more about the love of my life but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If only I had been born a Taurus! Finally the end of class arrived and when the ball rang, Brair Rose woke up and began to methodically pack up her stuff like nothing had even happened. As she was leaving I wispered, “Stay safe, Brair Rose, untill we meet again.”

I chose this piece of art because this is one of the first pieces of art that I could find that depicted Little Red Riding Hood as a child that, when compared to the interpretations and recreations of Little Red Riding Hood in today’s society, the majority, if not all, of these depictions present Little Red Riding Hood as a woman in her teens. In the original text of The Story of Grandmother, Little Red Riding Hood is described as a little girl not a woman in her teens. This shows that Little Red Riding Hood is still being sexualized today and in a way that would be considered socially acceptable because no one wants to see a young child be sexualized for the enjoyment of perverted people but instead it has become socially acceptable to sexualize a teenage woman, hence why Little Red Riding Hood has continued to be depicted as such in modern adaptations. This leads me to wonder this: What other fairytales have been sexualized in this way and how did these adaptations become accepted by society?