Runaway Pancakes

Sarah Allison at Writing in Margins had referenced the Runaway Pancake family of tales a while back and I realized, other than the classic "you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man" line, I'm not familiar with these stories at all (although my brother and I did used to love saying the line from Shrek, "Not my buttons! Not my gumdrop buttons!"). I wasn't even sure how the classic tale even ended (a fox caught the Gingerbread boy and ate him). So I went over to the list of Runaway Pancake tales at D. L. Ashliman's site and had myself a virtual pancake brunch (no Saturday morning is complete in the Tales of Faerie Kingdom without pancakes and coffee!).

It seems the story tends to go like this: A pancake escapes its original maker, and as it makes its getaway, encounters lots of other animals who express their desire to eat it. Not surprisingly, the pancake doesn't grant their request and keeps on running. It isn't until an animal, usually a fox (but sometimes a pig), claims that he doesn't want to eat it, that he is able to trick the pancake into getting into its mouth. So it's a strange, depressing tale that seems to encourage deception, unless you look at it as cleverness, depending on if you have sympathy for a talking pancake. It's that strange tension again that exists in the fairy tale world, in which characters have to eat, but even food has the potential for being anthropomorphized and given its own desires. Yet especially in a world where food was more scarce, you might feel less sympathy for a pancake whose sole purpose is to be eaten, as opposed to animal tales (in which a character might be rewarded for compassion for an animal, and yet also eat meat, sometimes of the same animal!) And although most of the breakfast pastries that are consumed, at least on Ashliman's page, are pancakes or loaves of bread, it also makes sense that the American Gingerbread Boy would be seen as sentient, since he is at least modeled after a human.

Some notable exceptions: In the Scottish "Wee Bunnock," the bunnock (small loaf of bread) is caught not because it was tricked, but simply because it became dark and it fell in a fox's hole. And the compassionate "Thick Fat Pancake" from Germany allowed itself to be eaten because it came across three hungry children.

And some slightly less related tales: the English "Dathera Dad" is about a fairy child trapped in a pudding. The Russian "Devil in the Dough-Pan" is a warning about the consequences of failing to bless your food while making it, because otherwise a demon can inhabit it-and if you bless it after the demon is there, he'll be trapped! (Although the woman still lost her loaf, it was the demon who regretted entering the bread in the first place).

Illustrations by Robert Lumley

...is anybody else hungry now?

Fairy Tales for Runners

I typically read fairy tale blogs first thing in the morning, sipping my coffee to help me wake up, and then once I'm feeling semi-human I go for a run. I'm not a super hardcore, long distance runner-no marathons for me (although I've considered the Disney Princess half marathon...the only thing that could ever motivate me to run 13 miles would be the Disney Parks). For me, running has become a time when I often mull over the fairy tale issues I've just read about, and sometimes come up with ideas for new posts. It helps that I usually run through forest preserves, which are as close to nature as Chicago suburbanites like myself ever really get. I know it's not at all the same, but it helps give me a slightly better idea of what it may have been like for the tellers and listeners of stories generations ago. As Sara Maitland's book From the Forest reminds us, just being in that setting can influence how we read and think about fairy tales.

I've shared before how running through somewhat isolated forest preserves can make me feel unnervingly similar to Red Riding Hood (especially when wearing my red hoodie)-hidden paths tend to be places where predators lurk, and there are all too many stories of lone women who were attacked or threatened on trails in this area. Sometimes there's a rustle of an animal nearby, and although it's most likely a deer or squirrel or something completely safe, my heart races and I can only imagine what it would feel like to see a wolf or other dangerous animal there.

Red Riding Hood in the pilot of "Grimm"

But not all connections between running and fairy tales are so somber! The Gingerbread Man is often used as a motivational character for racing:

London Marathon 2010

Shop Fitness (no longer available)

I recently heard of an obstacle race for women called Mudderella. I couldn't find anywhere that directly linked it to the fairy tale Cinderella, which is interesting because the title itself is clearly referencing the story. The motto is "own your strong", and the purpose is to encourage women to celebrate their strength in all forms. It seems to be a very positive way of having modern women relate to Cinderella-being covered in ashes/mud, but out of strength and not victimization. One of the charity sponsors is "Futures Without Violence," which aims to end domestic abuse.

I've shared these workout clothes from WorkItWear before, but they go along perfectly with the theme. I love that they challenge the idea that girls who love fairy tales/Disney Princesses can't also be athletic!

If you like the idea of wearing workout clothes inspired by Disney characters, there's also the fitness looks on Disneybound!

Russia and Ukraine in a Bun Fight over Fairy Tales

A friend shared this link with me-a story about Russia and Ukraine both trying to claim ownership to the same fairy tales: "Russia and Ukraine in a bun fight over Fairy Tales," by Steve Rosenberg.
From the article: "After all, towns and cities which can claim to be the birthplaces of popular fairy tales can expect to attract more tourists and make more money.

"This summer we'll see the first ever Fairy Tale Tours in Russia," predicts Alexei Kozlovsky of the Association of Russian Communities, the organisation which has produced the map.

Russia, of course, is not the first country trying to cash in on folk stories.

The German Tourist Board has put together maps with Fairy Tale Routes that will guide tourists to Rapunzel's tower, Hansel and Gretel's forest and into Hamelin to meet the Pied Piper.
Russia too seems to have realised that fairy tales can be financially rewarding.

This summer a Disneyland-style holiday park is due to open in Ulyanovsk region dedicated to that famous runaway cakeman, Kolobok."