The Little Human Bird

In fairy tales, the distinction between man and beast is usually ambiguous - most tales contain animals that can talk or have personalities, while other tales are about humans who transform into animals for various reasons. These transformations are particularly interesting because of the different levels of "humanity" that the transformed retain. In some tales, those transformed lose all humanity and are transformed fully into animals. In others, the "animals" completely retain their human personalities, memories, and traits. The transformation of the son in "The Juniper Tree"falls into the latter category.

Although the son is only transformed into a bird after this death, his actions as a "bird" are very human. He gathers presents for his loving father and sister and a weapon to kill his murderess step-mother, and he demands these items as gifts from those that hear his beautiful singing. He then presents the gifts to his family and kills his step-mother. These actions are highly uncharacteristic of a normal bird, or even the magical beasts that inhabit fairy tales. Typical fairy tale beasts serve as helpers to the hero - the birds in "Cinderella," for example. However, in "The Juniper Tree" it is the hero who is the bird.

Ultimately, the "transformation" into a bird is representative of the magical reincarnation. Birds are generally mystical in tales, helping the heroes - in "Cinderella" they help the heroine, in "Hansel and Gretel" it is a bird that guides the children to the cottage, etc. In "The Juniper Tree," the son is magically transformed into a bird so that he can exact revenge upon his step-mother and ultimately live happily ever after with his father and faithful half-sister. Nonetheless, he retains his humanity for the duration of the tale, even while in the form of a bird.