J. K. Rowling - The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition

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Titles available in the Harry Potter series
(in reading order):
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Titles available in the Harry Potter series
(in Latin):
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (in Welsh, Ancient Greek and Irish):
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone Other titles available:
Quidditch Through the Ages
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

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Translated from the original
runes by Hermione Granger
BY
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HIGH LEVEL GROUP
health, education, welfare
BLOOMSBURY

First published in Great Britain in 2008 by the Childrens High Level Group, 45 Great Peter Street, London, SW1P 3LT, in association with Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY
Text and illustrations copyright J. K. Rowling 2007/2008
The Childrens High Level Group and the Childrens High Level Group logo and associated logos are trademarks of the Childrens High Level Group
The Childrens High Level Group (CHLG) is a charity established under English law. Registered charity number 1112575
J. K. Rowling has asserted her moral rights
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher
A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7475 9987 6
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Introduction

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of
stories written for young wizards and witches. They have been popular bedtime reading for centuries, with the result that the Hopping Pot and the Fountain of Fair Fortune are as familiar to many of the students at Hogwarts as
Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are to Muggle (non-magical) children.
Beedles stories resemble our fairy tales in many respects; for instance, virtue is usually rewarded and wickedness punished. However, there is one very obvious difference. In Muggle fairy tales, magic tends to lie at the root of the hero or heroines troubles the wicked witch has poisoned the apple, or put the princess into a xi

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
hundred years sleep, or turned the prince into a hideous beast. In The Tales of Beedle the Bard, on the other hand, we meet heroes and heroines who can perform magic themselves, and yet find it just as hard to solve their problems as we do. Beedles stories have helped generations of wizarding parents to explain this painful fact of life to their young children: that magic causes as much trouble as it cures.
Another notable difference between these fables and their Muggle counterparts is that Beedles witches are much more active in seeking their fortunes than our fairy-tale heroines. Asha, Altheda, Amata and Babbitty Rabbitty are all witches who take their fate into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe. The exception to this rule the unnamed maiden of The xii

Introduction
Warlocks Hairy Heart acts more like our idea of a storybook princess, but there is no happily ever after at the end of her tale.
Beedle the Bard lived in the fifteenth century and much of his life remains shrouded in mystery. We know that he was born in Yorkshire, and the only surviving woodcut shows that he had an exceptionally luxuriant beard. If his stories accu- rately reflect his opinions, he rather liked Muggles, whom he regarded as ignorant rather than malevolent; he mistrusted Dark Magic, and he believed that the worst excesses of wizardkind sprang from the all-too-human traits of cruelty, apathy or arrogant misapplication of their own talents. The heroes and heroines who triumph in his stories are not those with the most powerful magic, but rather those who demonstrate the most kindness, common sense and ingenuity. xiii

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
One modern-day wizard who held very similar views was, of course, Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Order of Merlin (First Class), Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. This similarity of outlook notwithstanding, it was a surprise to discover a set of notes on The Tales of Beedle theBard among the many papers that Dumbledore
left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives. Whether this commentary was written for his own satisfaction, or for future publication, we shall never know; however, we have been graciously granted permission by Professor Minerva McGonagall, now Headmistress of Hogwarts, to print Professor Dumbledores notes here, alongside a brand new translation of the tales by Hermione Granger. We xiv

Introduction
hope that Professor Dumbledores insights, which include observations on wizarding history, per- sonal reminiscences and enlightening information on key elements of each story, will help a new generation of both wizarding and Muggle readers appreciate The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It is the belief of all who knew him personally that Professor Dumbledore would have been delighted to lend his support to this project, given that all royalties are to be donated to the Childrens High Level Group, which works to benefit children in desperate need of a voice.
It seems only right to make one small, addi- tional comment on Professor Dumbledores notes. As far as we can tell, the notes were completed around eighteen months before the tragic events that took place at the top of Hogwarts Astronomy Tower. Those familiar with the history of the most xv

The Tales of Beedle the Bard
recent wizarding war (everyone who has read all seven volumes on the life of Harry Potter, for instance) will be aware that Professor Dumbledore reveals a little less than he knows or suspects about the final story in this book. The reason for any omission lies, perhaps, in what Dumbledore said about truth, many years ago, to his favourite and most famous pupil:
It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should
therefore be treated with great caution.
Whether we agree with him or not, we can perhaps excuse Professor Dumbledore for wishing to protect future readers from the temptations to which he himself had fallen prey, and for which he paid so terrible a price.