Charles Perrault



Charles Perrault (12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an author of fairy tales. His collection Contes de ma mere l'Oye (Tales of Mother Goose) appeared in 1697 and was translated into English by Robert Sambert in 1727. It is not clear how much of the stories he wrote and how much was just recording folk stories.

Tales of Mother Goose, 1727
Charles Perrault, Tales of Mother Goose, translated by Robert Sambert. Original title in French Contes de ma mere l'Oye, 1697.

"Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper"

 * When she had done her work, she would go over to the chimney corner, and sit among the cinders.


 * Her godmother, who was a fairy, said to her, "You want to go to the ball, don't you?"


 * Go into the garden and get me a pumpkin.


 * She then gave her a pair of slippers made of glass, the prettiest in the world.


 * Charm is the true gift of the Fairies.

"Little Thumb"

 * "Haven't you heard that this house belongs to an ogre who eats little children?"
 * "Fetch me my seven-league boots so I can catch the children."

"The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots"

 * The king was astonished at the vast amount of property owned by the Marquis of Carabas.

"Bluebeard"

 * "...Open anything you want. Go anywhere you wish. But I absolutely forbid you to enter that little room, and if you open it so much as a crack, nothing will protect you from my wrath."


 * These were all the women whom Bluebeard had married, and whose throats he had cut one after the other.


 * But the blood always remained, for the key was enchanted.


 * "Anne, my sister Anne, do you see nothing coming?" "I see nothing but the sun that makes everything dusty, and the grass that grows green."

"Little Red Riding Hood"

 * She said to her, "Grandmother, what great arms you have!" "That's to embrace you the better, my child." "Grandmother, what great legs you have!" "That's to run the better, my child." "Grandmother, what great ears you have!" "That's to hear the better, my child." "Grandmother, what great teeth you have!" "That's for to eat you." And upon saying these words, this naughty Wolf threw himself upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her.