The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of children’s stories from the wizarding world of Harry Potter. It was first made famous in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for being the book left to Hermione Granger by Professor Dumbledore in his will. One story in particular, "The Tale of Three Brothers", helped Harry and his friends discover the existence of the Deathly Hallows.
JK Rowling Introduces the Tales of Beedle the Bard
The book contains only five stories: "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot", "The Fountain of Fair Fortune", "The Warlock’s Hairy Heart", "Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump" and"The Tale of the Three Brothers".
"The Wizard and the Hopping Pot" is famous for being pro-Muggle, making it unpopular to many pureblood families, but teaches the importance of service to young wizards and Muggles alike. "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" has also been criticized in the wizarding community for depicting pro-Muggle sentiments, but delivers a powerful message about overcoming trials.
"The Warlock’s Hairy Heart" is perhaps the most disturbing, being notable for not following the style of Muggle fairy tales, which end happily ever after, and instead concludes tragically. "Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump" has been praised for being the most 'magically accurate' of all Beedle’s tales, it tells a story of the true ignorance of Muggles to the true laws of magic.
The Tale of Three Brothers and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
While all are fun and interesting, transporting readers to Harry’s world (if only for a short while), the only story truly relevant to the Harry Potter universe is "The Tale of Three Brothers," which has long been held to tell the story of the Deathly Hallows. The tale itself can be found in the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but Tales of Beedle the Bard adds a little more information to the tale, as well as the other stories in the compilation, through the addition of Dumbledore’snotes.
Dumbledore’s Notes on Beedle the Bard’s Tales
Much like the little scratched notes of Harry and his friends in Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, Dumbledore’s notes help unite the tales of Beedle the Bard with the world of Harry Potter. Without his notes the tales would have felt a little bit strange an unrelated, but Dumbledore helps tie in the ideas from the tales with ideas and characters from Harry Potter’s world, giving us new insights that are interesting, if not entirely relevant to understanding Harry Potter and his fight with You-Know-Who.
Conclusion
Overall the book is extremely short, despite the extra commentaries, much like the other two published books from Harry Potter’s world: Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages. All three are not necessary to understand the plot of the Harry Potter novels, but Tales of Beedle the Bard is a must for any fan who wants to discover more interesting facts about the wizarding world.
Publication Information
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: December 2008
ISBN: 978-0545128285
Vasu Chetty - I gained a passion for reading and writing at a young age, my mother inculcated in me the value of manipulating English prose into a ...
