Thanks Abel. For those interested in seeking out the authentic versions of things we think we know (but in fact don’t), it’s definitely worth finding a copy of Captain Sir Richard Burton’s translation of the Alf Layla Wah Layla (the thousand nights and one night). Not only are the stories rich and complex, but his footnotes are sometimes hilarious. In one story, Burton footnotes that Arab traders of the time forbade their wives to visit the docks when African slaves were being loaded onto ships for transport, lest they be “subject to enormous temptations.”

And closer to home the Brothers Grimm collected the various folk tales of central Europe, all of which are far more interesting and psychologically revealing than the infantile Disney versions most people are familiar with.