Some of the best-known fairy tales have existed for
hundreds of years. To have remained popular for such long 1.______
they must have a very powerful affect on the imaginations 2.______
of both children and adults. However, many ancient parents 3.______
feel uncomfortable telling certain fairy tales to their children 4.______
because they feel they are too cruel and frightened. Parents
may also feel that some of the ideas or values taught in fairy
tales are not appropriate for young children.
The problem can be seen by looking to a story such as
“Hansel and Gretel”. In this story a cruel stepmother convinces
her weak husband that they could abandon their children in 5.______
the forest and leave them die because they are so poor there is 6.______
not enough for them all to eat. Against his wished, the father
takes his young children, Hansel and Gretel, into the forest
and leaves them. Alone, frightened, and hungry, the children
wander about the forest unless they discover a wonderful house. 7.______
And they immediately begin to eat parts of the houses. While
they are eating, an old woman came out and asks them to 8.______
come into the house. As she seems friendly, the children gladly
enter, but the old woman turns to be a wicked witch. She 9.______
puts Hansel in a cage and tries to fatten him so that she can
eat him. The woman comes to visit Hansel every day to see
if he is fat enough, but he is able to fool the nearsighted old
woman by sticking at a bone, instead of his finger, out of the 10.______
cage for her to feel.