Doug
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I have to contend with your opinion there, though Kalessin.
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You've lost me there, I don't remember stating an opinion. But my personal favourite of those 'Tales from the Perilous Realm' is
Leaf by Niggle, which, while in some ways a more formal story, is a very moving and poignant evocation of grace and humility.
I would consider them tales for children in the same way that Oscar Wilde's wonderful fairy tales are, or even The Little Prince by Saint Exupery. That the narrative is accessible and appealing, and in the tone of a story read out loud. And yet these authors bring both conscious and intuitive depth to the narrative, and for adult readers there is a reflective, wistful quality - a poignancy - that has much resonance. There are metaphors too - if not downright allegory. And of course, we can all enjoy the ingenuity and wit [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img].
Stories like this are a validation of the fairy tale as a form, an evolution of Perrault, Grimm and Andersen among others, and an echo of a far older tradition of storytelling. Not necessarily the vast, formal epic myth of Homer or the Ramayana, but the intimate evocation and inter-twining of the mystical and homely in oral cultures from around the world.
Peace [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
Kalessin