I promised Irish stories this month and today's has some of the familiar fairy tale motifs, including an evil stepmother, a quest and a talking animal. Bryce Milligan, who retells The Prince of Ireland and the Three Magic Stallions, explains in his note that while the story is based on one he was told as a child, this version includes details from other variations on the tale and his version is probably closest to "The Black Thief."
Once upon a time, the King and Queen of Ireland had a son and were quite happy, but then the Queen fell ill and died. Three years later, the King married again and had twin boys with his second wife. For a while, all was good, bu when all the boys were old enough to hunt, the Queen decided that her sons should inherit the throne, not the oldest prince. She gives the Prince of Ireland a geis, a curse or magic spell, telling...
Today's story comes from Switzerland. "The Bear Prince" starts in a similar way to other Bauty and the Beast stories. A father, in this case a wealthy merchant, goes to the market and, at his daughters' request, buys pearls and precious stones for his oldest daughter and a dress for his middle daughter, but can't find a grape for the youngest, his favorite.
On his way home he meets a dwarf who directs him to a nearby vineyard and warns him about the bear who lives there. The bear will growl, but the dwarf advises the man not to be frightened. This is a little different from the other variations. Usually, the father find the flower or whatever on his own, in this case the dwarf sends him, probably knowing what the outcome will be. Definitely not a helpful little man, in my opinion.
So dad gets the grape but the bear states that the man must give him that which greets him first...
"The Small-Tooth Dog" is an English tale, collected by Sydney Oldall Addy in Household Tales and Other Traditional Remains, 1895. It's similar to "Beauty and the Beast," but in this case the father doesn't steal anything from the beast, but does owe him for a service.
"Once upon a time," a merchant was attacked by robbers. They would have killed him and stolen all his money if a large dog hadn't come to his aid. The dog rescued the man and took him to its home until he recovered. The merchant offered to give the dog many marvels in exchange for its help, such as a goose that laid golden eggs or a fish that could speak twelve languages, but the dog said that he wanted only the merchant's daughter. The merchant grieved, but agreed. He went home, and when a week had gone by, the dog came for the daughter. He told her to get on his back, she did, and he carried her to his home.
After she...
Happy Valentine's Day! We actually have plans for this evening, probably the first time we've gone out on Valentine's Day for years. Dinner and then the Wheeling Symphony. I'm looking forward to it.
This month, we're looking at Beauty and the Beast variations. Today's is an Appalachian tale called "The Three Gold Nuts," and the beast in this case is a bear. You can read the whole story at AppLit.
Once again we have a father with three grown daughters. The father is headed to the store and the two oldest ask him to bring back fabric for them to make dresses, while the youngest asks him to stop and pick her some roses if he sees any along the road. The dad picks up the fabric and on his way home passes a grand house that has roses. As he starts picking them, he hears a voice saying, " You pick them and I'll pick you." After this happens again, the voice...
I think it's time to step away from the Grimms' stories for a little while. I've mentioned before that I find it interesting to see how similar stories are told in different cultures, each with their own variations. I was thinking this month it would be fun to look at some of the Beauty and the Beast variations. It always seems a rather romantic story which works well with Valentine's Day, too.
Today's tale, "Zelinda and the Monster," comes from Italy and was retold in Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane, published 1885.
Zelinda is the youngest daughter of a poor man. I like when fairy tale characters have actual names, rather than being referred to as the princess or the youngest. Zelinda is of course lovely and kind and her two older sisters were jealous of her, but of course she is her father's favorite. The father has to go to the market in a neighboring town and offers to...
Today's tale, another from the Grimms, "The Brave Little Tailor" features a man whose cleverness makes up for his lack of strength, a common fairytale theme. He uses his wits to defeat those who are bigger and more powerful than he is. And in the end, he of course marries a princess, completing his quest.
A woman comes past a tailor's home, calling she has jam for sale. The tailor calls her up, but only buys a little. Tailors were usually poor and he had to be frugal with his money. He spread the jam on the bread but sets it aside to continue with his work, although the thought of it waiting keeps him from concentrating and his stitches get larger and larger. some flies start pestering around and when they settle bread, he kills seven of them with one blow. He makes a belt describing the deed, "Seven at one blow". Inspired, he sets out into the world to seek his fortune, taking with him a...
