Ideas about “A Forgotten Tale”

These are my interpretations. You can see another interpretation here. It should be noted that this story is still up in the air and has no true conclusion. It’s heavily metaphorical, so the reader could possibly read into it whatever they want to read into it and it may mean nothing. Or it may mean everything. Until there is another episode and the season starts back up, there will potentially be no resolution and any guesses or theories are valid. It’s all very subjective, honestly.

Anyway. A Forgotten Tale. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you do.

If my calculations are correct, this is a tale told by the Author. However, why he tells a tale such as this is still in question. Who the tale is about is even more mysterious.

But let’s start from the top.

Who is Grembert? What is know is that he is a “Wizard”, he is “nicknameless”, he lost his ear in a deal with a witch, is carrying a purple vial full of something supernatural, he “listens but cannot hear”, and has a ‘dark task’ to complete, which, when finished, “everyone will know what to call him”.

Hearing all this makes me think of Stan, aka the Stan we know as the Grunkle. It also seems like the first half of the story is reminiscent of a moment in Stan’s past, a moment that is defining for his character but hasn’t been revealed to us yet (perhaps next episode?). The second part is Stan in Northwest Mystery Mansion and Not What he Seems; leaving the Shack to gather radioactive waste while everyone is at Pacifica’s party, and then trying to get away to activate the portal. Here is some of my thinking So everyone can follow along:

Part 1.1

This all sounds like a story that happened in Stan’s past. I think this because Alex mentions magic in the Twin’s past, so this entire first part may have something to do with that. Maybe young Stan made a deal with a “witch” or a “wizard” (or a demon?) and it turned out bad for him. Perhaps so bad, he didn’t “learn anything from it,” and therefore it’s a mistake he’s repeating. Either way, this first part may allude to Stan making a deal with someone in his childhood, someone who dabbled in magic and spooky things.

“FOR THE FOOL WHO LISTENS YET CANNOT HEAR A PRICE MOST CRUEL I TAKETH YOUR EAR.”

Okay this is a little bit more of a long shot but hear me out. I think this is referencing to the Stan twins(remember the Author is telling this story), with the Grunk being the one who “cannot hear”. Stan does his best to stay oblivious to the paranormal, or at least act that way. He doesn’t listen to his brother when he says in the journals to NOT open the portal. “I don’t care if it’s dangerous, I don’t care how long it takes…[…] CAN IT Poindexter, I’ve come to far to give up now!” Stan listens, sure, but he doesn’t hear. He can’t hear his brother on the other side of the portal and he’s not heeding his warnings.

“My sister is less charitable than I! She takes hands! And sometimes lesser organs. One ear is a small price to pay for THIS!”

Stan’s story in Little Gift Shop of Horrors features a witch that steals hands. These may or may not be connected to someone he knew or dealt with in the past. Either way, both witches are related, as is Stan and the Author. This may simply be a connection between them and the fact they both tell metaphorical stories.

…“Now sprinkle this into the eyes of the one you deem worthy. But only use it ONCE, or there will be ironic, horrifying consequences, you hear me?!”



Now who does he sprinkle the supernatural potion into the eyes of? My guess is his bro-bro, the Author. But it’s possible he mucked it up somehow, maybe used it more than once? Because horrifying, ironic consequences may have ensued (something regarding the portal? Who knows). Either way, The Author can SEE things and records them as he sees them. We know he’s gifted in the sciences, and has a taste for curiosities and the unknown. There are a few lines from SFTBE that allude to this as well:

A WISE OLD OWL LIVED IN AN OAK THE MORE HE SAW THE LESS HE SPOKE. THE WORLD IS FULL OF MAGIC THINGS, PATIENTLY WAITINM FOR OUR SENSES TO GROW SHARPER



The Author can “see”; but Stan can’t “hear”. Is it because Stan refuses to listen, can’t listen, lost the ability to listen, or all of the above? Alex hinted at Creativa Fest that MAGIC was involved in the Twin’s past, and got them both to where they are. Did Stan do something in the past that ended up with ironic, horrifying consequences? Was the original mystery twin mistake committed long before the portal ever opened?

Moving on.

Part 1.2



Grembert stumbled out of the witches lair into the bright crowded marketplace, dodging three-headed chickens underfoot and massive dragon tongues for sale on hooks overhead. A goat chewed on his boots, and he kicked it away, irritated.

Man, this reminds me of the Mystery Shack. So we stumbled out of the past and into the present day! The Shack is a sort of marketplace; Stan sells all sorts of fake magicky things there. Three-headed chickens? Sounds like a display item. Massive Dragon Tongues? I bet Stan has 50 plastic ones hiding in the back. Goat chewing his boots? Clearly Gompers in this story. The Witches Lair he stumbles out of? Perhaps it’s the basement. We don’t know all of it’s secrets, after all.

His eyes darted about wildly, checking for guards, but it seemed that he had calculated correctly- everyone of any status at all was away at Princess Twendeline’s Sweet 16 Lip-Syncing performance. It was the perfect time to sneak up to the tower and execute his dark task.



Okay, I didn’t think about it at first, since Northwest Mansion Mystery hadn’t aired yet, but this reminds me EXACTLY of what Stan was doing, unseen, during that episode. Guards could easily be the government agents here. “Everyone of any status” - the rich, the poor, even his family, was AT THE NORTHWEST PARTY. He was by himself at the Shack. It was indeed the perfect time for him to sneak up to a government waste facility and steal a bunch of radioactive waste.

It was Deep Rich the Deafening, and trailing behind him like flies were his wizard entourage, Pifflebert the Passive-Agressive, Mirthimere the Easily-Amused, and Dan The-Constantly-Scratching-Himself-In-Inappropriate-Places-But-Dont-Mention-It-Because-His-Cat-Died-Recently-And-He-Could-Use-A-Break.

Now the question remains who THESE characters are. I have tried really hard to suss out who each one is, and I feel they are a mix of characters from the past we haven’t met yet, and characters of today that we know. Things I am guessing on:

Pifflebert = Pine Tree, aka Dipper. Dipper acts incredibly passive-aggressive, especially in situations where he feels betrayed or isn’t sure of himself. Witty sees pifflebert as Fiddleford (name resemblance); I don’t see McGucket as passive-aggressive as I do completely and utterly AVOIDANT. They are different, since passive aggressive is indirect, and avoidance causes people to just simply run away. Erasing memories, skipping town? Fiddleford-the-Avoidant is the nickname I would give him. Dipper on the other hand? HMMM I CAN’T FIGURE THIS OUT, BETTER GO BEHIND PEOPLE’S BACKS, MAKE A MILLION CLONES, AND ACT LIKE NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENED HAHA. *sweatdrop*

Mirthimere the Easily-Amused = Mabel are you kidding me. This is pretty self-explanatory imo.

Deep Rich = allegory for the government agents? Agent Powers has a pretty deep(Ron Swanson people), but not very loud voice. However the government agents have “come calling”, they are men of power (“wizards”), in the show they were followed by Mabel, Soos, and Dipper, and they “know he’s up to something” and try to stop him from accomplishing the task.

Crazier idea….



Deep Rich the Deafening = Grenda? Because Grenda has the deepest, loudest, and easily most deafening voice in the show so far. Either that, or I feel like “Deep Rich” is a person from the Stan’s past and Grenda is either related or reminds Stan/the Author telling the story of him. The reason I think this is one of the things Stan says to Grenda when he meets her:

Grenda: HELLO MISTER PINES!

HELLO MISTER PINES! Stan: Got a cold, honey? Something wrong with your voice there?

Got a cold, honey? Something (it should be noted that Stan looks away when he says this. This has been his tell in the past that he knows more than he’s letting on.)

Grenda: WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?

This is the ONLY TIME Stan and Grenda ever interact in the show and he mentions HER VOICE. It’s also stated in the crossword on the SftBE website that the clue for Grenda is “Manly for Her Age”. In the Gravity Falls Book, when Dipper asks Grenda about the “mysterious ink blot” her answer it “IT LOOKS LIKE A BODY. BUT IT’S CHANGING. WHY IS IT CHANGING?” It’s also good to remember that Grenda has 5 fingers, which may or may not mean anything. She is also “marry rich”, alluding to van Fundhauser but also remember the name of the character in “A Forgotten Tale” is DEEP RICH. These could all be hinting at the fact that Grenda really IS transgender, all poking fun at the fact that Grenda is voiced by dude, or something else we don’t know about Grenda yet. I may be tempted to go with the latter idea.



So yeah. Grenda for Deep Rich? But what does that mean for the rest of this? I think it may be someone from Stan’s past that Grenda reminds him of, and he is being inserted here. Perhaps though, Deep Rich is someone we haven’t met yet, but seriously. Grenda is the only character we know of with so many things in common with the character “Deep Rich.” We’ll have to wait and see though.

Dan = Soos, perhaps? Dan the constantly scratching himself is my second-biggest trip-up but it would make sense. “His cat died” = his dad left him and “he could use a break” = he could use a job and some praise. He doesn’t have a lot of speaking parts to go off of here, so it’s hard to say.



The end of the story is pretty self-explanatory. Stan hides his secrets from the others, no matter who they are, and tries to play it off. The others consider him “nameless”; this alludes to Stan’s many false identities and fake IDs he’s used in the past. “”When tonight is through, you’ll all know what to call me.“ is Stan’s brother returning and the truth of who he is is revealed. Him escaping before the others can stop him = him escaping prison and rushing off to the portal to complete his “dark task”.

"Boy, it would be great if someone wanted to buy me a dragon tongue,” muttered Pifflebert the Passive Agressive, “Not that anyone ever does anything nice for me.” The wizards all groaned and one by one pulled out their wallets.

Alludes to possible future implications of how Dipper handles everything, aka by moping and causing the others to prove their worth to him in his eyes, so that he will finally trust others again. And of course, he will mope about and be angry for a while, and everyone else will tell him to get over himself because it will be so groan-inducingly horrid.

Unanswered questions:



What did Stan do in his past to have the Author comment on it? How does it connect to what he’s doing now?

How long ago in the past did Stan “make a deal with a witch”?



How long has Stan been not been able to “hear” and how long has the Author been able to “see”?



What does Grenda have to do with all of this?



Why would the Author tell a story of 3 potentially different episodes all smashed together into one?



Why is the Tale considered “forgotten”??



These aren’t questions I can answer, and everything is merely speculation. It’s possibly I’m only seeing what I WANT to see, aka Grembert = Grunkle Stan. It’s possible I’m totally off-base and everything is not metaphorical. It could be the entire site was made up to confuse us all! But these aren’t answers I can give because in truth they don’t yet exist. It is but a theory, and a theory it will remain.

