The Tales of Beedle the Bard

This article is for the in-universe book. You may be looking for the real-world book written by J. K. Rowling..

The Tales of Beedle the Bard are a collection of short stories written by Beedle the Bard for young witches and wizards. They are popular bedtime stories that are very familiar in the wizarding world like the fairytales Cinderella or Snow White are in the Muggle world. The book appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Overview[]

Impact[]

Beedle the Bard's stories have a significant impact on the wizarding world. Young witches and wizards who grow up in the wizarding world hear these fairy tales throughout their childhood, helping generations of parents teach their children important life lessons, including that magic can cause trouble as much as it can cure. They resemble Muggle fairy tales with these lessons - virtue is rewarded, wickedness is punished.^[2]

However, one obvious difference is their approach to magic. Muggle fairy tales treat magic like it is the root of the problem for its hero or heroine. For example, the princess is cursed to sleep for a hundred years or the wicked witch poisons the apple. In the wizarding fairy tales, magic is also the solution to the problem although it is still difficult to resolve. Also in Muggle fairy tales, the princesses are more likely to await a prince to save them from their misfortune. However, in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the witches take their fates into their own hands and more actively search for their fortunes.^[2]

History[]

The Tales of Beedle the Bard was written sometime during the fifteenth century. It was originally written in ancient runes.^[2] A few centuries later, Beatrix Bloxam rewrote the stories after she was traumatised by The Warlock's Hairy Heart as a child. She decided to adapt the classic stories into more delicate versions to prevent an "unhealthy preoccupation with the most horrid subjects". She reworked every tale except for The Warlock's Hairy Heart because she couldn't figure out a way to tone it down. Her work was published in a series of books called The Toadstool Tales. Changes included turning The Wizard and the Hopping Pot into the story of Wee Willykins. These stories were universally loathed by children and induced nausea and vomiting.^[3]

In 2008, Minerva McGonagall agreed to the publication of a new edition, translated from ancient runes by Hermione Granger, which featured notes by Albus Dumbledore. The book was also published in the Muggle world with a cover story that it is fictional and written for charity. These copies include an introduction by J. K. Rowling and are a revised version for the Muggle audience, similiar to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Dumbledore's notes are written for a wizarding audience so Rowling inserts explanations for terms or facts when clarifications are needed.^[2]

Stories[]

The only story told in its entirety in the Harry Potter book series itself is The Tale of the Three Brothers. This is also unchanged in the Muggle edition of the book. The other fairy tales were first revealed in the real-world edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard.