I don’t know if anyone of you have seen the BBCseries Merlin, but for those of you who have, you should see the inbetween quest the two main actors Colin Morgan & Bradley James did, where they go a search for the real Merlin and Arthur ledgends. Anyone who has seen the series, knows it is not true to the tales that are out there. But they soon find out that the ledgends themselves are written and changed over centuries before finally being written down. They were adapted to the times they were written in, and they were embelish. Messages changed to suit the teller. And so we don’t have to feel guilty if we do that now. if anything we enrich the story, make it better and suited to the time we live in.
If this is true for Arthurian tales, it certainly is for fairy tales, that have many incarnations. Just put Beauty & the Beast next to Hans the Hedgehog, they are similar tale, yet seen as two different tales. Cinderella has so many german versions that it can make you head spin. The importance of a fairy tale is that it has morals,and a lesson to learn us. And so far I think the writers have done fine with that.