A couple weeks ago, I shared some exciting news with friends and family: Andy and I are expecting our first baby! In light of this development, all things baby have pretty much taken over my life for several months. My days are now filled with maternity clothes and registries, comparison shopping for strollers and taking prenatal vitamins, choosing nursery decor and planning out the summer leading up to my due date. Also trying not to lose my sanity as I’m preparing for every aspect of my life to change. In the midst of all this baby chaos, I was pondering what to write about this week and settled on a fitting topic: fairy tales with babies.
Back Then, Babies Were a Big Deal Too
In fact, I’d argue that babies were a bigger deal in women’s lives than they are today. In the olden times when people married young and birth control didn’t exist, adulthood was synonymous with pregnancy and giving birth. Most women fell pregnant immediately after tying the knot and gave birth many times throughout their lives. This was also a time when maternal and infant mortality rate was tragically high.
We can see the importance of all of this in ancient fairy tales. When you read the classics, you’ll notice that a staggering number of them start with a childless mother longing to be pregnant. Or with a royal couple welcoming a long-awaited child to the kingdom. Mothers also disappear quickly in many stories because historical cultures were all too familiar with how fragile women’s lives could be. And the very real dangers of giving birth. With so much uncertainty baked into the childbearing process, these cultures prized children highly. It’s no wonder that a healthy baby arriving at last is often the catalyst that starts many good stories.
So what are some of the best fairy tales with babies in them? I don’t just mean tales that mention a baby who grows up in one sentence. I’m talking about tales where the baby plays some kind of role in the plot. There are some really good ones out there, so let me share ten I managed to collect . . .
10 Memorable Fairy Tales with Babies
1. Sleeping Beauty
Because OBVIOUSLY. Little Sleeping Beauty is perhaps the most famous baby princess of all. And one of the coolest plot points of her story occurs when she’s still a babe in arms. Her royal parents invite a gaggle of fairies to a feast celebrating the new baby—but they forgot to invite one person. Of course the jilted fairy shows up anyway to curse the baby girl to prick her finger on a spindle and die. And so her adventure begins! There are many versions of Sleeping Beauty, and some of them also feature the main heroine having babies of her own before the story ends. Those same babies almost get eaten by their evil grandma, but you’ll just have to read the original yourself.
2. The Stolen Bairn
“Bairn” is a Scottish word for a baby, and that’s exactly what this fairy tale is about. The Stolen Bairn is a fantastic example of the many changeling stories from the British Isles. Wicked fae are known for stealing new babies from their mothers. In this particular tale, two fairies kidnap a baby from under a bush while his mother is fetching water. To get her child back, the young lady must travel far and wide, seek magical advice from an old gypsy, and create an incredible white cloak and golden harp to trade for her bairn. This story wins all the points for its atmospheric tone and epic quest.
3. Peter Pan
Speaking of lost babies, one of the most famous fairy tales with babies is the classic play written by J. M. Barrie about a young boy who never grows up. Although the famous Disney version of Peter Pan doesn’t feature any babies, the original play and novel provide some backstory of the famous Lost Boys. Apparently these boys were lost in infancy because they fell out of their prams when their nurses were looking the other way, a fate that afflicts only boys apparently. Girls would never commit such a mistake. As delightful as the Peter Pan character is, I should note that there are many dark undertones in this story and more than a few disturbing theories about its creator.
4. The Water Babies
I loved this book as a kid, and it definitely belongs on this list of fairy tales with babies in my humble opinion. Written by English novelist Charles Kingsley, The Water Babies tells the story of Tom, a young chimneysweep. After falling into a river, Tom magically transforms into a water baby, a kind of underwater sprite with gills. In his journey to become a boy again, he encounters faeries, aquatic creatures, and other water babies like him—and learns some good old-fashioned Victorian morals along the way. This book is a fun combination of quiet adventure and witty satire if you’d like to read it on Project Gutenberg. Though I don’t recommend the extremely weird 1978 animated film. Nope.
5. Tatterhood
I analyzed this story just recently, and it certainly makes the list of fairy tales with babies who do more than simply show up and grow up. This Norwegian tale has perhaps the most dramatic birth scene in all fairy tale lore. Tatterhood doesn’t just enter the world squalling. Oh no. She blasts onto the scene riding straight out of her mother’s womb on a goat whilst brandishing a wooden spoon. And no, that isn’t a metaphor. Thankfully, her beautiful, mild-mannered twin is born next in a far less traumatic way, and from birth, the two girls are completely inseparable. It’s a weird story, but it’s also lovely in its own way.
6. The Ugly Duckling
This one is probably a stretch, but hey, baby ducklings are still babies in a sense, right? This classic from Danish author Hans Christian Andersen is all about a little duckling who from birth just does not seem to fit in with the rest of his brood. The little guy has a rough go of it until he finally grows up a bit and learns that he wasn’t a duck at all. In the end, this is a hopeful story about even lifelong misfits finding their place in the world, a journey that apparently Andersen himself personally related to.
7. Prince Ivan, the Witch Baby, and the Little Sister of the Sun
This Russian tale is both creepy and fascinating. In it, young Prince Ivan is a child who cannot speak. When his parents spurn him and conceive another baby to replace their less-than-ideal son, Karma punishes them in the strangest way possible. A wise old groom in the stables warns Ivan that his baby sister will be a witch with iron teeth. She will grow “like a seed of corn,” and just six weeks after her birth, she will gobble up both of her parents and her brother too unless he flees for his life. Thankfully, Ivan escapes on the fastest horse in the kingdom and goes on many harrowing adventures to escape his witch baby sister. It’s quite a good read if you’re interested in trying it.
8. Rapunzel
Because of course! Of all the fairy tales with babies, this one is iconic for featuring a long-awaited baby who instantly becomes a stolen baby. We all know the story: a man and his wife have wanted a child for so long. When they finally get pregnant, a pesky pregnancy craving for the greens in a witch’s garden unravels it all. Turns out that the witch wants a child too. See how many fairy tale characters are in the market for a baby? Although Rapunzel’s role as a baby is mostly in-utero, she also becomes pregnant herself and gives birth to twins while in exile. You’ll notice that twins are an incredibly common archetype in both literature and fairy tales.
9. Kowhai Blossom—a.k.a. The Bush Babies
This is a tale from New Zealand that I’d never heard before, but it came up in my research. This one is all about Bush Babies, magical creatures that come from kowhai flowers. These darlings are sort of a cross between actual babies and cute little gnomes with golden caps. In the fairy tale, a bush baby goes on an adventure with her friend, an Aboriginal child. They encounter perils and a sweet treat before the end of the story. It’s a very quiet, cozy little romp.
10. Rumpelstiltskin
Last but certainly not least, how could I ever forget Rumpelstiltskin? Yet another story of a mother entering a bad deal with a magical being who almost steals her baby straight from his cradle. Babies truly are the prize of all prizes in fairy tales. Thankfully the miller’s daughter defeats Rumpelstiltskin by saying his name, another fun fairy tale archetype that I enjoy. So the heir to the throne gets to stay in his mother’s loving arms. There are some interesting (and hair-raising) theories about why exactly Rumpelstiltskin wanted the baby in the first place, but you’ll have to read my deep dive into that particular tale . . .
So There You Have It!
There are babies everywhere in fairy tales, so you’re sure to see more baby content coming soon. I’m not sure how much personal content I’m interested in sharing about my pregnancy, but we’ll see. When you’re a writer going through a huge life change like this one, writing about it is probably inevitable. ❧
