Text by Anastasia Alexandrova

Translated fairy tales of the peoples of foreign countries introduce the child to a world that is not like the one that Russian fairy tales habitually reproduce with their far-off kingdom, the far-off state, Baba Yaga, Koshchei the immortal, etc. At the same time, like our fairy tales, the fairy tales of foreign countries recreate the world, although fictional, but fundamentally real. The fairy tales of the French writer Charles Perrault are among the best examples of world fairy-tale literature, without acquaintance with which it is impossible to bring up children in a versatile way.

Each of Perrault's fairy tales ends with a moral in verse, which, as it were, brings the fairy tale closer to the fable genre. Many fairy tales end with "unequal" marriages. Patience and diligence, meekness and obedience receive the highest reward from Perrault. Each fairy tale by Charles Perrault shines with its own invention, and the real world is reflected in the fairy tale by one side or the other. Charles Perrault's fairy tales about the Sleeping Beauty, about Bluebeard, about the Boy with a finger and others, more complex in the figurative system, children usually turn to in the first school years.

Sometimes Perrault reveals the darkest sides of his contemporary reality. The woodcutter and his large family live in poverty and starve. Only once did they  manage to have a hearty dinner, when "the seigneur sent ten crowns that he owed them for a long time, and they no longer even hoped to receive them" ("Tom Thumb"). Puss in Boots intimidates peasants with the formidable name of an imaginary feudal lord: "Good people, reapers! If you do not say that all these fields belong to Monsieur the Marquis de Carabas, then you will all be chopped up like a pie filling!" The fairy-tale world of Perrault, for all its apparent naivety, is complex and deep enough to captivate not only the imagination of a child, but also to influence an adult reader. So, the fairy tale "Riquet with a tuft" is distinguished by a psychologically subtle and serious plan. After the release of Perrault's collection, a real fashion for a literary fairy tale was established in France. Perrault had a noticeable influence on the subsequent development of European fairy-tale literature.

Perrault's fairy tales continue to be published in new editions for children of preschool and primary school age in our time. They still excite young readers with their fabulous stories and heroes.