Of cackling stumps and hopping pots....

If hopping pots and tree stumps had stories to tell this would be it. I just completed ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ by J.K Rowling. Being an avid reader of the Harry Potter series, I had to read this one too. Meant to be a book of short stories or fairy tales for young wizards and witches, the book gained immense popularity in the final installment of the Harry Potter series ‘The Deathly Hallows’ as the clue to discovering the secret that would end the most terrible war that the magical world has seen in recent times.

The book is most definitely meant for a young audience, but succeeds in tickling the curiosity of adult readers and book collectors. JKR has weaved her magic in narrating the tales of the bard as if they were translated from the ancient runes by Hermione Granger along with foot notes from Albus Dumbledore convincing the readers that this could probably be a real deal. The characters seem funny and clever as in the case of ‘Babbity Rabbity, a witch moonlighting as a washerwomen (she reminds me of Birbal, the wise and witty advisor to King Akbar) or the ‘hopping pot’ a cauldron with a mind of its own’.

Most of the stories and characters draw similarities to the tales from the ‘Amar Katha’ series or ‘Tinkle’ which was a staple literay diet during our wonder years. Every story conveys a moral or lesson for life. My favorite was of course ‘The Tale of the three brothers’ that drives the point that death is inevitable; it can be postponed but never escaped.

A book that can be appreciated by the Harry Potter audience; borrow and read.

To know more about this book visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tales_of_Beedle_the_Bard