The Tales of Beedle the Bard: An Overview

Five tails from the book released by J.K. Rowling, which is mentioned in the course of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

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The first of Beedle the Bard’s tales, The Wizard and the Hopping Pot deals with a topic often touched upon in the Harry Potter stories, and one that Hagrid addressed with Harry in the very first book. Should Wizards use their magical abilities to help Muggles? Or should Wizards hide themselves from the Muggle world, and more importantly, should they hide all magic from Muggles?

The Fountain of Fair Fortune

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The second Beedle the Bard tale, The Fountain of Fair Fortune deals with another topic very important in the world of Harry Potter, that is, the cooperation between and intermarrying of Wizards and Muggles. The characters in the story are healed of their ailments and woes at the end, but not because the fountain did anything magical.

The Warlock’s Hairy Heart

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The third Beedle the Bard tale, The Warlock’s Hairy Heart, about a Warlock who locks his heart away so he can’t be hurt by love, deals with the important lessons of the dangers and unintended consequences of using magic to change yourself or other people, and the tragedy that can happen when magic is taken too far.

Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump

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The fourth Beedle the Bard tale, Babbity Rabitty and her Cackling Stump, while couched in a story of how Wizards can triumph over foolish or opportunistic Muggles, is really story that teaches young Wizards important information about the limitations of magic, specifically, that magic cannot bring back the dead.

The Tale of the Three Brothers

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The final of the Beedle tales, the Tale of the Three Brothers is the crux of the entire final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as it the origin of the legend of the three deathly hallows, the indestructible Invisibilty Cloak, the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand.

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David Haber
David Haber

D.S. Haber (known to his friends as Dave) is a professional muggle computer programmer and web designer and lives in Los Angeles. He is proud of the fact that he is a new-blood wizard with no (apparent) previous magical blood in his family. His favorite Quidditch team is the Falmouth Falcons, who's motto is "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads." He is also a West Ham United (Hammers) fan.

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