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In fairy tales, a fairy godmother is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies.
The fairy godmother is a"breythartsik" (generous) benefactor.
"Der oysdruk" (the expression) alludes to the stock character in fairy tales such as Cinderella. If you recall, the Fairy Godmother helped Cinderella get to the ball in Disney's 1950 film, Cinderella, and its sequels. The Fairy Godmother is very sweet and "frayndlekh"(kind). She is a motherly-type and loves to make her god-daughter, Cinderella, happy.
Fairy Godmother first appears in the film after the stepsisters tear Cinderella's "kleyd" (gown) to shreds before Prince Charming's ball. She appears in "dos gartn" (the garden) and transforms her appearance for the ball. She also transforms the mice into horses, Bruno, the dog, into a footman, a pumpkin into the carriage, and Major, the horse, into a coachman. The torn dress becomes a beautiful blue dress with glass slippers.
She is voiced by Verna Felton and Russi Taylor.
Today, we also have a "fairy godmother" of love: matchmaker Patti Stanger originally from New Jersey. At age 50, Stanger is Bravo's "The Millionaire Matchmaker." On the show she attempts to find love matches for financially stable men and women. Her real-life matchmaking business, Millionaire's Club, is based in L.A., but attracts those seeking males from around "dos land" (the country).
Stanger says that the hardest "perzon" (person) to set up is a millionairess. "They have unrealistic expectations--they're looking for a guy with a Bill Gates success ("hatslokhe") story and the face ("ponem) of Brad Pitt."
And, Helen Rosenau is your Jewish Fairy Godmother. She answers the following questions via computer:
"Should I Quit [my job] by Email?" and "Is An Office Crush Always a Bad Idea?"
And, finally, my favorite fairy godmother story: In Katie Couric's new book, "The Best Advice I Ever Got - Lessons From Extraordinary Lives," she writes:
"A husband and wife in their early sixties
were celebrating their fortieth wedding
anniversary in a romantic little restaurant.
Suddenly, a tiny, beautiful fairy godmother
appeared on their table. "For being such an exemplary and loving married couple
all these years," she told them, "I will grant
you one wish." The wife answered, "Oh, I
want to travel around the world with my
darling husband." The fairy waved her magic wand and--poof!--two tickets for the
Queen Mary 2 appeared in the wife's hand.
The husband thought for a moment, then
said, "Well, this is all very romantic, but an
opportunity like this will never come again.
I'm sorry, sweetheart, but my wish is to have a wife who's thirty years younger than
me." The wife and the fairy were deeply
disappointed, but a wish is a wish. So the
fairy waved her magic wand and--poof!--
the husband became ninety-two years old.
The moral of this story: Men should
remember that fairy godmothers are female."
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Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe recommends Katie Couric's book, "The Best Advice I Ever Got -
Lessons from Extraordinary Lives." It is
available from Random House Inc., New
York.
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