Ahhhh… if I could magically make true one wish, it would be to be able to read every language in the world, including dead languages, of course! How wonderful it would be to be able to read every fairy tale, every legend, every myth, and folktale in its original language!

How about reading the Panchatantra, one of the oldest collection of fables in the world from India, in Sanskrit? Or read the beautiful Russian fairy tale The Frog Princess in Russian?

I’ve always wanted to read Andersen’s tales in Danish and be able to appreciate the little quirks and nuances of the language…   Yes, I read translations, and there certainly are excellent translations, but they remain mediated texts between their original culture and audience and the new language and new culture.

Yes. That is my wish, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to read and enjoy tales epic and humble, big and small in the languages that I know. There are countless stories out there waiting for me to be discovered; here I come!