Charles Perrault (January 12, 1628 – May 16, 1703) was a French author who laid foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, and whose best known tales include Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), Le Chat botté (Puss-in-Boots), Cendrillon (Cinderella), Barbe Bleue (Bluebeard), Le Petit Poucet (Hop o' My Thumb), Les Fées (Diamonds and Toads), and Ricquet à la houppe (Ricky of the Tuft). Perrault's most famous stories are still in print today and have been made into operas, plays, films and animated motion pictures by, among others, The Walt Disney Company.
This volume includes several tales attributed to Perrault, including his dramatic "Little Red Riding Hood," without a huntsman coming to the rescue, "Sleeping Beauty," in which the princess doesn't live happily ever after until she has endured bitter trials, the bloody tale of "Bluebeard" and others. |
