I'm finding the analysis of the stories fascinating but one of the biggest things to come out of the course so far, at least for me, has been discovering the inspiration of very old folk tales on HCA. HCA appears to have wanted to keep these folk tales alive so did so by writing some of his fairy tales based on these original stories. He, of course, also wrote his own, very original stories and, along with the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, has left a wonderful legacy of fairy tales, most of which are still very well loved now.
I guess it proves the point that all writers build on what has gone before.