I found this piece of writing by writerKage Baker while mucking about in the archives.
One late evening in the Pub one of the Jacks was asking various folks what their favorite folk or fairy tale was. Kage Baker had a long and detailed answer: ‘Hmmm… When I was a child, it was ‘The Tinderbox’. To analyze why: Starts out with an adventurer wandering the world free– I liked that. Meeting with a supernatural person who sends him off on a treasure hunt– good. Heaps of money encountered, in a way a child can readily appreciate: a heap of pennies! A heap of silver coins (maybe dimes? Or even quarters!) A heap of GOLD (so cool as to be mythical). And a Tinderbox? What was a Tinderbox? I wondered for years. Three immense magical dogs with successively bigger eyes, all of whom can be rendered tame by use of a magic apron. I was scared to death of big dogs, so I liked the idea they could be tamed this way. Plus the recitation of their eye size (‘big as saucers.. big as cartwheels… big as millstones’) in its repetition appealed. Hero uses his money to buy fine clothes, a nice house, and the best food– seemed sensible to me, just what I’d do. Falls in love with a princess who can only be got at through magical means– yay! A love interest! Magic dog outwits spy by running all over town chalking Xs on all the doors– funny image, that. Hero gets caught eventually anyway– oh no! suspense! But sensibly gets a child to fetch his tinderbox. And then the giant dogs, each with their particular eyes, save the day.
On growing up, I have discovered that this was a Hans Christian Andersen story originally– and in the original version the soldier doesn’t get doublecrossed and left in the cave by the witch, as I was told. In the original, she keeps her part of the bargain and pulls him out of the cave, but he gets greedy and kills her to keep the tinderbox for himself. I would have disliked that immensely, had I heard that version. Heroes should play fair. It would have undercut the entire premise of the story if he were actually a bad man. Children love justice.
I also liked Beauty and the Beast, especially once I’d figured out it was the same story as Eros and Psyche, and it’s a bit more profound in terms of life lessons. So that one followed me into adulthood. But when I have to tell a story to a child, I’ll usually start with the Tinderbox.’
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