Earlier this month, my aide took me to visit one of her clients. A young man with severe cerebral palsy (I have moderate CP), who cannot speak independently, and has been virtually homebound since childhood; his mother has been homschooling him -- he can get outside, but his small family is just a bit overprotective (Hence, my aide's desire that they meet me, a woman with CP who is living on her own).

Anyway, the conversation got around to fairytales, and how most of the ones we think we know are actually prettified Victorian versions.

"For example," said I, "in the Grimms' version of 'The Frog Prince,' the princess doesn't kiss the frog, she picks him and throws him against the wall -- hard. Because what was really needed to break the spell was for the prince to get into the princess's bed."

(This kinda shook the mother up a wee bit, but anyway...)

So, naturally, I had to back that up, and tell the story of how that happened. I hadn't actually read it in years; I knew which book it was in, and where on the shelf it was. But, of course, I wasn't home. So I was going to have to tell the whole thing from memory. I started out strong -- a confident "Once upon a time," and all that. But after the frog got the gold ball back, I had to stop and think for a minute about what happened next.

That's when my inner critic kicked in: "You're hemming! You're hawwing! You're not being polished and eloguent!"

Lucky for me, the sane part of my brain shot back: "So what?! I'm not doing a concert recital, here! I'm having a conversation at someone's kitchen table, with a plate of pizza in front of me..."

So I forgot all about clever wording or trying to use "poetic" language. I just made simple, declaritive sentances about What Happened Next. And lo, and behold! I got to the end of the story, and had my audience laughing in places, too.

Yesterday, I got to thinking about the stories that most British and American adults know well enough to tell from memory. And I came up with a list of an even dozen that I'd be surprised if someone didn't know well enough to tell in a conversational manner at someone's kitchen table (hemming and hawwing, shortened, and "Disney" versions all fair game).

They are (in no particular order):

1. The Three Little Pigs
2. Little Red Riding Hood
3. The Tortoise and the Hare
4. The Three Billy Goats Gruff
5. Cinderella
6. Jack and the Beanstalk
7. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
8. The Ants and the Grasshopper
9. Sleeping Beauty
10. The Boy who Cried "Wolf!"
11. The Little Red Hen (though you may have to remind the person that that's the one where the chicken bakes bread.)
12. Chicken Little ("The Sky is Falling!")

Can you think of any more?