User:KHR FolkMyth/sandbox

• И. П. Минаев [I. P. Minaev]. Индейские сказки и легенды собранные в Камаоне в 1875 [Indian Tales and Legends collected in Kumaon in 1875]. 1877.

• Kecskeméti, István; Paunonen, Heikki (1974). "Die Märchentypen in den Publikationen der Finnisch-ugrischen Gesellschaft". Journal de la Société Finno-ougrienne (in German). 73: 205–265. ISSN 0355-0214.

[23] Pigen fra Havet (Maiden from the Sea/Das Mädchen aus dem Meere): guy steals maiden's clothes, her sisters dive into the sea; man marries girl and hides her clothing; they have a son, the son discovers the hidden box and tells his mother; sea-maiden steals back the clothes and submerges. A wise man named Giedde-ga/es-galggo says she will come back for three nights to cradle the baby, and the man must ready himself to capture her again. He gets her on the third night and hides the garment with the wise man. They live like humans for the rest of their lives.

Linguistic Human Rights Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination Edited by: Tove Skutnabb-Kangas and Robert Phillipson (1994)

Language Diversity Endangered. Edited by: Matthias Brenzinger 2007 [24]

• Sabitov, S. S. "Сюжеты марийских волшебных сказок". In: "Вопросы марийского фольклора и искусства". Vol. 7. 1989. pp. 20-45.

Reue / Reve / Reo (Lusitanian)

bull's sacrifice to the deity, which, in the comparativist Indo-European context, is more in line to warrior deities.

[25] [26] [27]

Anatolian Vocabulary in comparison to PIE

• Kinship in Anatolian

• Wine and Mead in Anatolian

[28]

• [29]

[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

Blavor (Orel)

Orel, Vladimir (1981). "К этимологии серб. блӑвор, рум. balaur, алб. bullar". ВМГУ (in Russian) (2): 72–6.

Celto-Germanic isoglosses

Hengst/Horsa in Celto-Germanic

Celticist John T. Koch connects Proto-Germanic *hangistaz/ *hanhistaz 'horse, stallion' to Proto-Celtic *kanχsikā < *kank-s-ikā 'horse, mare', implying an importance of the horse in these languages.

• hangistaz is the antecedent to hero Hengst.

Mees, Bernard. "Early Germanic *hanha- 'horse' and *hanhistaz / *hangistaz 'stallion'". Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik. 80 (3): 243–254. doi:10.1163/18756719-12340184.

Thomas Markey argues that Celtic *kanxsto (*kanxst-ikā ‘a female belonging to a stallion) was loaned into Germanic. On the other hand, per Ranko Matasovic's Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, unattested *kanxst-ikā 'she belonging to the stallion' could have been a borrowing from Germanic into Celtic. A third possibility is that the Celtic and Germanic words are isoglosses, with a cognate in Lithuanian šankìnti 'to make a horse jump', which would indicate an inherited lexicon from Proto-Indo-European language.

The Celtic comparanda for the reconstruction are Gaulish personal names Cassicius and Cassicia, Middle Welsh cassec and Breton kazeg ‘mare’.

Deity Brigantia

Celticist John T. Koch interprets as "People of the High Goddess" the Proto-Germanic ethnonym *Burgunþaz and Proto-Celtic *Brigantes ~ *Brigantioi, both from *bherg 'high, hill, elevated'.

Per Koch's interpretation, this would connect Briton Brigantes, Germanic Burgundians, Gallic Brigantii,

Celtic-Germanic deity

"A word for ‘divinely inspired madness’ is shared uniquely by Celtic and Germanic, Old Norse óðr ‘frantic, furious’ whence the god’s name Óðinn, Old Irish fáth and Old Welsh guaut ‘prophesy’, is reflected unambiguously only once, in a Celtic theonym from Belgica, VATUMAR-"

Illyrian/ Balkan

[37] [38]

Servian ATU 301 / Atanasie Nikolic

[39]

Mongolian ATU 301?

In a Mongolian tale translated by folklorist Erika Taube with the title Das schwarze Pferd ("The Black Horse"), an old woman has an old mare and prays to God to have a son, but she thinks her prayers are not answered. The old mare becomes pregnant and gives birth to a lump of flesh the old woman discards. However, some children notice the lump of flesh is moving, and call for the old woman. She rips open the lump and finds a boy she adopts as her own son.

ATU 516

• Odile Uhlmann-Faliu. L'Être changé en pierre : se taire/parler, mourir/renaître, un chemin de transformation pour le conte merveilleux "Le Fidèle compagnon" (T. 516+). Littératures. Université Paris Cité, 2021. Français. Doctor's Thesis. https://theses.hal.science/tel-04368942

Iranian ATU 301

"On Two Types of AT301 in Iranian Folktales"

Azerbaijani "Golden-Headed Fish"

Azerbaijani Elihman Ahundov collected a tale titled Rum Padşahı ("Padishah of Rome") and a tale titled Balıglar Padşahı ("Padishah of Baliglar"): hero fishes the fish to cure his father, releases the fish, meets companion and both disenchant a princess; hero's companion reveals he is the fish.

Bosnian "Golden-Headed Fish"

In a tale collected from a Islamic source named Alibeg Arnaut, in Travnik, Bosnia, with the title Rahman i Šahbas ("Rahman and Shahbas"),

ATU 470

• ATU 470, "Friends in Life and Death". [40]

Persian ATU 550?

[41]

Belarussian ATU 301

[42]

Irish ATU 551

Author Seumas MacManus, in his work The well o' the world's end, published two Irish variants of type ATU 551, "Water of Life":

• The Well O' The World's End - the queen feigns illness and sends her sons and step-son Conor to fetch water from the titular Well O' The World's End, uttering a geasa on her step-son. Conor, wisely, forces a geasa on his father that the four of them will depart together, and return together. After fetching three bottles with the water, Conor kisses the sleeping Queen of the Castle in the Land O' The World's End, then takes half of her ring as a keepsake. After the Queen awakes, she notices her ring is broken in two and decides to go after the man who stole the ring to marry him.
• The Princess of the Garden of Eden - the king of Ireland is dying, and a Druid prescribes as cure the Apple of Life from a tree in the Garden of Eden. Fergal, the third and youngest son, goes to the Garden of Eden and fetches the Apple, but misses the journey back on the Three Swans and is stranded in the Garden. The princess comforts him and marries Fergal, bearing him a son. Fergal remembers the reason for his quest and leaves his wife and son, promising to return within a year. After bring tricked by his elder brothers and almost executed, the princess of the Garden of Eden goes after him to find her husband.

[43]

Swan maiden

Dáithí Ó hÓgáin: "A distinctive legend found in some western European literary sources in the Middle Ages, [is] that of the swan-children ... This legend seems to have developed in the Netherlands before the Middle Ages, and to have spread to France, Britain, and Ireland, where it is now best known as the story of the Children of Lir."

George Henderson (scholar): "The inferior personage who loses the superior in this widespread myth [marriage to a supernatural or enchanted spouse] always needs some locomotive aid to arrive at the other place. [146] ... In the oldest known form of the myth, the woman was an airmaid who came from the sky to marry a mortal. [147]"

[44]

• d’Huy, Julien. "Le récit de la Femme-Oiseau. In: Cosmogonies. La Préhistoire des mythes. Sous la direction de d’Huy Julien. La Découverte, 2020. pp. 243-272. [45]

South Asian ATU 400

• The Faithful Prince - Prince Bahrâmgor and Fairy Princess Shâhpasand
• Histoire du Châh Behrâme Goûr et Bânoû Housn
• King Bahram Gur and Husn Banu
• Kissa i Shah-zadah Bahram Gor o pari Husn Banu
• Prince Bahram and the Emerald Mountain

Mari people

Hassan of Basra among the Mari people: [46] 392-408

Armenian dove-maidens (Armenian: ałunik-ałjik)

Adyghe ATU 400

Tale type 400, "Муж ищет исчезнувшую жену" ("Man searching for his lost wife"), the protagonist finds the dove maiden, hides her plumage and marries her. Later, she discovers the stolen garments, puts them on and flies away with her and the protagonist's daughter. The protagonist goes after her.

Yemeni ATU 936* + ATU 400 (Hassan of Basra)

Author Werner Daum collected a tale from a Yemeni source named Ḥādsch Ḥamūd al-Baydahi, and translated it to German. In this tale, titled Die vierzehn Königstöchter ("The King's Fourteen Daughters"), a man has two wives, the first Arab, and a concubine, two sons from each official wife and the third from the concubine. To determine the definitive proof of the better son, he hangs a sword over the throne, which the preferred son must hold. The concubine's son grabs the sword, unlike his half-brothers. The Arab woman tries to poison her stepsons' food, but a bird and a dog eat it in thei place and die, alerting him of the danger. He decides to leave home accompanied by his non-Arab half-brother. After some adventures where they rescue princesses and kill an Afrit, the concubine's son goes to a coffee house and is approached by a Indian man with a business proposition: to go to India and become rich. The concubine's son and the Indian man reach a giant mountain, and the man tells the youth to kill a camel, skin it, enter its skin so he can be carried up the mountain by the birds, and once he is up there he is to throw some firewood to him. It happens thus, and he carried up the birds. Once there, the youth finds some corpses and a dying man, who warns him the same fate will befall the concubine's son. Despite the warning, the youth tosses the firewood to the Indian man, who abandons his companion to die on the mountain. Trapped on the mountain top and with the ocean around him, he prays to Allah to protect him and jumps in the water. After two days holding onto a barrel, he reaches an island with an extravagant palace that belongs to the seven daughters of the king of the Jinns of the West. The girls welcome him and adopt him as a brother. Some time later, the jinn princesses go on a journey and leave the youth alone, with a warning not to open the gate to their yard. The concubine's son ignores the warning and goes to the garden: there, he sights seven white doves alight near a pond and taking off their wings to become human maidens (whom the story explains are the daughters of the king of the Jinns of the East). The youth steals the wings of the youngest, to keep her in human form. The other princesses fly back to the skies as doves and abandon her sister. The jinn girl marries the human youth convinced by his adoptive jinn sisters, and the couple live in their palace. The youth then begin to miss home and is carried by one o his jinn sisters to his half-brother, who greets him and gives some slaves. The youth then returns to his homeland to avenge himself on his father and stepmother, but finds out both passed away in his absence, so he lives with his mother. Time passes, and the couple have two children. One day, the youth gives his mother his jinn wife's wings, asking her to hide it in a chest, and goes to visit his adoptive jinn sisters. After he leaves, a wedding is happening at the local king's palace and the monarch wants to invite the beautiful foreign woman to the celebration, so he sends some slaves to bring the jinn woman and her mother-in-law by force to the wedding. The jinn princess says she can dance if her mother-in-law brings her her feather dress. The mother-in-law denies any knowledge of such a garment, but the king forces her to produce it. The jinn princess puts it on, grabs her children, tells her mother-in-law her husband can find his family in the islands of Wāq Al Wāq, then flies off. There, the jinn princess is punished by the Jinn Queen. Back to the concubine's son, he goes back home and finds three graves for his wife and children, which are empty. His mother then reveals she flew off back to her insular homeland, and he decides to go after her. After four days, he meets two brothers, sons of an Afrit, who are fighting over three magical objects: a staff that summons a cadre of genies, a sword that helps in battle, and a Kūfīa that makes the wearer invisible. The concubine's son tricks the Afrit brothers and runs away with the objects. At a distance, he uses the staff to summon the genies and orders them to carry him to Wāq Al Wāq. Once he is on the island, he meets an old Jinn woman with large breasts, which he suckles on as a demonstration of trust. The Jinn elder suggests he writes to the Jinn Queen about his lost wife. It happens thus: the queen gathers all women of Wāq Al Wāq invites the concubine's son to indentify his wife. He cannot do so, for his wife is not among the assembled ladies, but he takes a good look at the queen and recognizes his wife's features. The queen then discovers the stranger is her human brother-in-law, and orders him to be thrown in prison. In the dungeon, he escapes his cell by making himself invisible and goes to look for his wife, who is also a prisoner. He releases his wife from some hooks and takes his sons with them. The Jinn Queen orders her army to take them back, but the concubine's son uses the staff again to command the genies to defeat the army and to take his family back to his adoptive jinn sisters. The princess scolds their adoptive brother's wife, but everything is resolved: he burns his wife's wings, kills the treacherous Indian man, and moves out to the island of Al Dahlak. In his commentaries to the tale, Daum recognized that the story was an "adaptation" of the tale of Hassan of Basra, albeit with a "local [Yemeni] colour".

Algerian ATU 936* + ATU 400 (Hassan of Basra)

In an Algerian tale published by Algerian author Rabah Belamri in French with the title La fée colombe ("The Fairy Dove"),

[47]

The Seven Angels, from Sulu Archipelago (pp. 112-116 (footnote nr. 35))

Turkic ATU 408

Uzbek ATU 408

Uzbek author Mikhail I. Sheverdin translated and published an Uzbek tale with the title "Сын бедняка" ("The Poor Man's Son"). In the first part of the tale, a poor old man earns his living by gathering and selling bushes. One day, he goes on an outing with two neighbours and happens to find some sacks of gold. His greedy neighbours kill him and take the gold, but, as last mercy given on him, lie to his old widow he departed and told her to name their unborn son "Dod". Seven years later, Dod wants to play with other children, but her mother puts a mask on him to hide his face. Eventyally, the mother and son go to gather bushes to sell, but go astray. A padishah finds the boy and inquires him the reason for his mask; he takes it off and shows his face to the padishah, who decides to adopt him as his son. Later, mother and son find each other, and the padishah helps them solve the mystery of the boy's father's murder. After seven more years, Dod settles his widowed mother in more comfortable circumstances, and goes to the padishah's palace as his adoptive son. One day, he goes for a walk in the royal gardens and stops to rest. He then has a dream about a beautiful pari coming down from Mount Kuhikaf with a stick of kebab in one hand and a cup of wine in the other; he wakes up and decides to search for his dream maiden. He takes a tulpar horse from the stables and reaches Mount Kuhikaf, then rides into the steppe until he stops next to a river. An old man appears and warns him from the other margin at the devs live by the river, but he will help the prince: he teleports the prince to the other side of the river, bids him approach a hut under a tree, enter it and steal the vegetable in the middle of three pumpkins. It happens thus, and the prince returns with the pumpkin; the old man explains contains the pari he saw in his dream, but which he must not open anywhere save at home, and transports him next to his kingdom with a spell. Nearly back home, the prince is riding his horse, when he slices open the pumpkin, sighting a girl inside so beautiful he faints. The pari comes out of the pumpkin and revives him with water, but admonishes him for not opening the gourd at home. Still, he leaves her next to a hut while he goes back the palace to bring a chariot and a retinue to welcome her. After he leaves, the sorceress who lives in the hut spots the pari and questions the reason for her presence: the pari reveals - and demonstrates - her powers of transformation (into a snake, a dove, and even an old woman), and goes to fetch water for the sorceress. However, the sorceress shoves the pari inside the well, puts on her clothes and pretends to the pari for the prince to find. On seeing her, he doubts she is the pari, but the false bride threatens to turn into a dove and fly back to Kuhikaf. Suddenly, a black horse emerges out of the well and gallops around Dod. The prince takes a liking to the horse and brings both it and the false bride home. The false pari rushes the wedding and wants the horse dead and its meat made into a dish: some butchers try to kill it, but the horse turns into the real pari and stops their actions with her powers. The false bride herself takes an axe and kills the animal; three drops of blood spill on the ground and three poplar trees sprout.

After nine months, the false pari gives birth to a son, and orders the poplars to be felled down and made into a cradle. It happens thus. However, the true pumpkin pari, as the cradle, shrinks itself and crushes the false pari's son to death. Dod laments for the death of his son. A qalandar comes to the palace and asks for some of the remaining splinters he can use as fuel for the fire. When he tries to fetch them, the splinters fly off to his hut and turn into a magnificent palace. The qalandar enters the palace and a pari appears with two div servants, who explains the palace is his, and bids him invite the padishah and his son Dod for dinner. The next day, prince Dod goes to the newly built palace and is acquainted with the qalandar's pari companion, who is the pari from the pumpkin. The pari admonishes him for falling for the sorceress's tricks and killing the pari time and time again. Dod returns to the palace, executes the false pari, and takes the pumpkin pari as his true bride back to his father's palace. In a review of Sheverdin's book, scholar Heda Jason classified the tale as type ATU 408.

Turkish Cypriot ATU 408

In a Turkish Cypriot tale published by Saim Sakaoglu with the title Hıyarcı Kızı ("The Cucumber Girl"), a padishah has no children, so his wife asks a neighbour how they can have one. The neighbour tells the queen to make a vow with God, which the queen does: she will build fountains of oil and honey. In time, a son is born to them. One night, the queen has a dream: a voice tells her to fulfill her vow. The queen then orders the building of two canals, one with oil and another with honey. People flock to fetch oil and honey for themselves, including the neighbour lady. The old woman fetches some oil and honey with eggshells, but the prince tosses a stone at her and breaks her recipients. Enraged, the old woman curses the prince to suffer for the Cucumber Girl. Some time later, the prince decides to search for the cucumber Girl, and departs. He meets a man on the road who directs him to a cucumber patch, and advises him to pluck three cucumbers, one white, another yellow, and the third green, cut each open and shout for the "cucumber girl". The prince goes to the cucumber patch and fetches the vegetables; he opens the first one and finds nothing inside. The same thing happens to the second one. After he cuts open the third one and calls out for the cucumber girl, a maiden appears to him. He places her on his horse and both ride away. They reach a stream where he leaves the cucumber girl, while he goes to hunt some birds. The cucumber girl climbs up a tree. A servant from a nearby house comes to draw water from the stream and sees the girl's reflection in the water, mistaking it for her own, so she returns to her master's house to refuse to work anymore. The master expels the servant and she goes back to the stream, where she spots the girl atop the tree. She convinces the girl to come down and sticks a magic pin on her head, turning her into a dove, then takes her place. The prince returns and sees the servant, who lies that the sun darkened her skin and made her lips grow. Still, the prince takes the servant back home and marries her. As for the true cucumber girl, she, as a dove, flies to the palace and asks the king what the prince and the servant are doing, then blesses his sleep and curses the servant's, then wishes for the trees in the garden to dry up. In time, the prince notices the trees in the garden are drying up and learns of the strange bird that flies in. The prince captures the bird and locks it up in a cage. The servant realizes the bird will reveal the secret and bribes a doctor to prescribe the bird's meat as cure for a feigned illness. The bird is killed and cooked, its body thrown in the sea, but a drop of the bird's blood survives and falls to the ground, where a crypress tree sprouts. The servant orders the tree to be burnt down. An old woman comes and asks for the cypress splinters as firewood, which she brings home. She tries to cut the branch, when a voice comes from inside it. The old man cuts open the firewood and releases the cucumber maiden, whom she adopts. Later, the prince arranges for the marriage with the servant, and the cucumber girl attends. The false bride (the servant) cannot string a pearl necklace, and the cucumber girl does with ease, while recounting her story. The false bride realizes the newcomer is the real cucumber girl and expels her. The prince sends a messenger to the old woman's house and learns of the whole story, marrying the true cucumber girl. He returns to the palace and asks the servant whcih she prefers: a sword or a horse? The false servant chooses the horse; the prince places her on a horse and banishes her.

Israeli ATU 408 (Jewish Moroccan)

In a Jewish-Moroccan tale titled "בת עץ האתרוג" ("Daughter of the Etrog Tree"), archived in the Israeli Folktale Archive as number IFA 14876, an old woman curses the prince to find the daughter of the etrog (citron) tree.

Mayan ATU 408 / Central America ATU 408

According to professor Fernando Peñalosa, type 408 is known in Mayan sources as 408, Las tres toronjas or The Three Grapefruit: a prince opens a grapefruit and releases a maiden; a black woman sticks a pin in the grapefruit maiden's head and turns her to a dove, but the prince restores her.

ATU 550 Flemish

[48]

[49]

[50]

Bangladesh ATU 707 (?)

Mainamati [51]

[52]

Chinese ATU 465 (The Dragon King's Daughter from the Marine Palace)

In the first catalogue of Chinese folktales (devised by Eberhard in 1937), Wolfram Eberhard abstracted a similar opening, indexed as number 39, Der Drachenkönig erfüllt einen Wunsch ("The Dragon King fulfills a wish"): the protagonist rescues the Dragon King's child (his son or his daughter), who appears in the shape of a carp (or in one case, a mussel); in gratitude, the protagonist is taken to the underwater palace and is offered a present; following a servant's advice, the protagonist chooses the gift, and gains either a wife (the Dragon King's daughter) or an object that grants him riches. He dated some of the Chinese variants to the time of the Sung dynasty, and others to the time of the Tang dynasty.

• The Pig that warms the Ocean
• The Hot Pig and the Dragon Princess

Southeast Asian ATU 575

In a tale attested in the compilation Paññāsa Jātaka, with the title Suwannahong, Suvannahong or The Golden Swan, the prince jumps on an artificial large golden swan and flies to another land, where he meets a princess.

Sang Thong (Indo-China)

J. Leyden and Captain James Low mentioned the existence of an Indo-Chinese (Siamese) tale titled "Hǒi-sang" ("The Prince in a Conch Shell"), wherein the protagonist is a prince born in a chank-shell, abandoned in the forest and rescued by the Nāgas, given a golden ship by the Thewaldas and Devas, and goes on adventures. According to Leyden, the story figured among "most popular [Cheritras] among the T'hay", containing "the same stories and incidents" current among the Rukhéng, Barma and Malayu peoples.

According to Ghulam Sarwar Yousof, the tale of Sang Thong ("The Prince of the Golden Shell"), among others, is shared between Malaysia and Thailand, having becoming part of the mak yong repertoire. The story, and its continuation Batak Halimunan ("The Invisible Aborigene"), derived from Thai popular and classical literature. The Shell Prince story is indicated to ultimately derive from an oral source, since it does not appear neither in the Southern Pali canon, nor in the Northern Sanskrit one.

The Story of Sang Thong is attested at least in two sorces: the Pannyasa Jataka and King Rama II's royal play. "People in the North [North of Thailand?] believe the tale to be a true story". "the royal chapel of Wat Phra Mahathart there were found murals done by the Ayudhya artisans, indicating the story was popular in that period". In the Pannyasa Jataka Sang Thong's name appears as Suwanna Sangkha ("Golden Conch").

Bengali Sang Thong ?

In a Bengali tale translated into German with the title Der Muschelprinz ("The Mussel Prince"), a prince is born in a conchshell named Sankha-Kumar

In another Bengali tale translated to German with the title Die Geschichte von der Göttin der Gefahr ("The Story of the Goddess of Danger"), a king has three queens, but no child. A Sannyasi appears and begs for alms, and the king tries to give some, but the Sannyasi refuses after he learns the monarch is childless. Still, the Sannyasi gives the king a magic root to be grinded and given to the queens, so they are able to bear sons. Months pass, and the three queens become pregnant, and, nine months later. they begin to feel labour pains. The first queen listens to the story of Sankata Mangalbar, prays to the deity, and gives birth to a seashell, while the other two bear sons. However, there is actually a boy inside the seashell, with lotus symbols on his palms and soles, and with a crescent moon on the front. The boy lives in the shell by day and leaves it by night to stay with his mother. The Sannyasi returns after twelve years and inquires the king on his children. The king says the the two queens gave birth to sons, but the Sannyasi knows it is a lie, and shouts for the eldest prince, named Prince Sankhadhar, the Seashell Prince, to come with him. The young prince obeys and goes with the Sannyasi. Along with them, goddess Mangalchandi comes. The Sannyasi takes the boy out of the shell and bathes him in oil and ginger, then sacrifices him. Goddess Mangalchandi turns into a fly, licks Sankhadhar's blood, and is eaten by a cow, in whose entrails she lives with the boy. The Sannyasi discovers this and kills the cow, but its entrails are snateched by a red kite and dropped around a princess's neck who was taking a bath in a ghat. The Sannyasi orders the princess to deliver the necklace, and she throws it in a field, which becomes mustard seeds. Goddess Mangalchandi turns into a dove and orders someone to sprinkle water on the seeds. The boy is restored to human form. The goddess warns the boy the Sannyasi will behead him, but he has to pretend to not know how to make a bow and ask for the man to show him, then decapitate him. It happens thus, and the prince is freed from the Sannyasi's threat. The princess's father marries his daughter to Sankhadhar, and he returns with his wife to his home kingdom, where he cures his parents' blindness.

In a West Bengal folktale titled The Wicked Mendicant, collected by Ashutosh Bhattacharya, who heard it in 1930. In this tale, a king has seven queens, but they are infertile. A passing beggar (Sannyasi) appears and suggests the king finds a certain root, grind it and give for the queens to eat, which will cure their barrenness. In exchange, the king is to give the mendicant the best of the newborn sons. It happens thus and the queens become pregnant, but the sis elder wives give birth to half-deformed sons, while the youngest gives birth to a mere conch shell. The king banishes his seventh wife with the conch shell to the forest, where the woman lives in a hut. Some time later, the disgraced queen begins to have dreams about a boy that comes at night to suckle on her breast. One day, she discovers a boy comes out of the conch shell, and she grabs him before he returns to his disguise. The boy, however, complains to his mother that he used the shell as concealment against the mendicant, who wishes to have him. Despite this, the queen returns with the boy to the palace, and the king welcomes them with open arms, now that his son is a normal human. When the young prince is twelve years old, the mendicant returns and demands the boy be delivered to him. Fearing for her son, the queen is advised to pray to goddess Sankata Mangal Chandi. Back to the mendicant, he takes the boy with him and they reach his house, which is a Kali temple, of which he was a devotee. The mendicant then orders the prince to take his baths in the temple tank, and never look to the south direction. The prince obeys, but, after a while, the boy looks towards the south and finds a pile of skulls laughing at him. The prince approaches the pile of skulls, which say that another victim will soon join them, for they were previous victims of the mendicant. The skulls, however, tell him he can destroy the mendicant, save himself, and restore the victims: when both the mendicant and the prince make their bows in front of Kali's stuate, the prince is to pretend to not know how to bow and ask the beggar to teach him, then he is to decapitate the man and sprinkle his blood on the skulls. It happens thus, and the prince restores the previous victims back to life.

A similar tale is attested as a Sankata brata: a hermit blesses a childless king, and the man promises to return in twelve years' time. The king's wife gives birth to a son in the shape of a conchshell, thus he is called Sankha-Kumar (the conch prince). The hermit makes good on his promise, appears in court and takes the boy with him to his armitage. The prince finds some decapitated heads in the armitage, which warn him they are the hermit's previous victims, and like them the boy will be sacrificed to the hermit's patron goddess, but he can save himself by feigning ignorance and asking the hermit to teach the prince how to bow. Following the heads' advice, the prince tricks the hermit and cuts off his head. The prince sprinkles the hermit's blood on the heads and restores the victims to life. Then he returns home and learns he was protected by his mother, who performed the Sankata brata in his favour.

Seychellois Sang Thong ?

In a Seychellois tale titled Prens Lansiv, a king has seven wives, but no child, thus he decides to distribute goods for the people of his realm. However, a man refuses his gifts, to whom the king asks the resaon why. The man, called Bonnomn Sarbon, says his religion does not allow him to receive such gifts, and asks why the king does not do it with his son. The king laments the fact he is childless and the man promises to help him, and brings the following day seven herbs to be given to the seven queens. In exchange, the man makes the king promise to deliver him whaterver he asks for as payment. The king agrees to a deal and takes the herbs.

The queens eat the herbs and become pregnant. After eight months, a son is born to the first six queens, and a conch to the last one. The king decides to keep the conch a secret between himself, the queen, the doctor and her nurse, and raise him in secret. Some time later, Bonnonm Sarbon comes to the kingdom and demands the son of the seventh queen, the conch. The king questions the stranger how he knows about the conch, and he simply answers he knows all. The king asks Bonnonm Sarbon to look after the prince, and the man assures the prince will returns one day to his homeland, then produces a red velvet kerchief and wraps the conch in it, and leaves.

After a long walk, he takes out the kerchief and a little prince appears, whom he takes with him to a patio filled with stones, which Bonnonm Sarbon explains are people which the young prince will help in the future. Bonnonm Sarbon raises and educates the prince, and the story explains he is a king with special powers. One day, prince Lansiv asks his adoptive father if he is a king, why the Bonnonm Sarbon charade, and he answers that, as a king, he finds much hipocrisy, but as the beggar, he can truly see good actions. Later, the prince tells him he wants to hunt, and Bonnonm Sarbon gives him a magic whip. Prince Lansiv hunts in the forest, then meets two prince who wish to make him their slave, but he turns the tables on the prince and marks them with the whip, releasing them soon afer.

At last, Prince Lansiv reaches another kingdom and offers his services as a gardener to the local king. He also goes to live in a hut in the corner of the garden. The local king has three daughters, still unmarried, the youngest of which takes an interest in the gardener and brings him food. She senses he is a good man, and one day discovers a diamond ring on him, then realizes he must be of noble stock, and chooses him as her spouse. Later, the gardener goes to talk to the king himself about his prospective marriage with the third princess, who agrees to his proposal. She is mocked by her elder sisters, who married princes, and moves out to the lowly gardener's hut.

The next day, the king wakes up and notices a large castle has appeared overnight, and goes to visit the new neighbour. He finds his youngest daughter there and questions her about her presence there. The princess explains her husband is indeed the gardener, but he is in fact a prince. The prince Lansiv himself appears to his father-in-law and asks to be delivered his two slaves, who have a mark of ownership on their bodies. Prince Lansiv points to his brothers-in-law, the elder princesses' husbands, who show the king the marks. Out of his respect for his daughters, the king scolds them for lying to him.

Prince Lansiv takes his wife and pays a visit to his adoptive father, Bonnonm Sarbon, and uses the magical whip on the stones he saw years ago. The stones are restored to life, and promise their loyalty to Prince Lansiv. The prince returns to his homeland with his wife and his army, and reunites with his father and mother.

Dheghom (Serbo-Croatian reflexes)

Мајка / Мајчица / Матер Земља

Aarne-Thompson-Uther ATU 425 Search for the Lost Husband / Animal as Bridegroom

• [53]
• [54]
• The Polish Folktale Catalogue (Vol. 1)

German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther, in the German Folktale Catalogue (German: Deutscher Märchenkatalog), classifies type ATU 425B as Der Sohn der Hexe (Amor und Psyche).

Motifs of ATU 425B (A in Swahn)

Swahn recognizes the separation of heroine and husband according to a taboo in his type A:

• Looking taboo - commonest
• Gossip taboo - heroine reveals secret during a celebration. Turkey and neighbouring regions.
• Name taboo - in India
• Burning the animal skin in type A - e.g., Persia

Analysis of Italian cycle of the Search for the Lost Husband (ATU 425 and AaTh 428)

• Aprile, Renato (2000). Indice delle fiabe popolari italiane di magia (in Italian). Vol. 2. Leo S. Olschki. pp. 664-779 (AT 425 Amor e Psiche), 780-783 (AT 428 Il lupo). ISBN 9788822248558.

Lost Irish/British Island variant of type ATU 425

Mythologist Thomas Keightley, in his 1834 book Tales and Popular Fictions, mentioned a tale titled The Fair Norah na Vodha and the White Bear of Worroway, which he recalled it being a "Beauty-and-Beast kind of story" he heard from a man named Johnny Stykes. The tale is possibly a variant of The Brown Bear of Norway, from Patrick Kennedy's collection.

Irish ATU 425 (A?)

In a tale published by author Seumas MacManus with the title The Three Golden Eggs, princess Maeve meets the King of Greece. During the tale, the King is turned into a linnet, while Maeve waits for him by the tower, but, since he never appears at the appointed hour, she decides to look for him. She wanders through hills and dales, until she finds an old woman in whom she confides her troubles. The old woman gives her three eggs that can help her. Maeve enters her lover's kingdom and learns he is to be married in three days' time with Sorcha, her step-sister. The princess breaks the eggs, each egg on each day, and produces marvellous objects she uses to trade with Sorcha for an hour in the king's quarters: a little silver spinning wheel that spins golden thread one the first day; two little weavers with two golden looms weaving cloths of gold and silver on the second day, and finally a little golden carriage fully manned with coachmen and footmen and black horses with harnesses of gold and silver.

Canadian ATU 425

[55] - the inventory of Folklore of Acadie lists 3 as the more general type 425, 2 as 425B "Witch's Tasks", 1 as 425N "Bird Husband" (p. 22)

Judeo-Spanish ATU 425E (AaTh 425L)

In a Judeo-Spanish tale collected in Skoplje with the title Le cadenadico ("The Little Padlock"),

Anna Angelopoulous stated that the tale was a "regional Balkanic version" of Cupid and Psyche, and the type also exists in North Africa.

Syrian ATU 425?

• Langone, Angela Daiana (2012). Kan ya ma kan. Racconti popolari di Damasco. Trascrizione, traduzione e analisi. Ediz. italiana e araba (in Italian). Edizioni Q. ISBN 9788897831006.

Korean ATU 425 (Baemsillang)

In a Korean tale titled The Rat-Snake Scholar, an old woman gives birth to a rat snake son who she raises in a corner. One day, three sisters who live near them visit the old woman and see the little animal: the elder two mock him, but the youngest show pity. Due to this, the rat snake asks his mother to let him marry the third sister. The old woman goes next door and propose marriage: just like before, the elder two refuse, save for the youngest, who marries the rat snake. After they marry, on the wedding night, the rat snake takes off the snake skin and becomes a handsome scholar, to the delight of his wife. Some time later, the now human scholar tells his wife to look after his snakeskin, for, if something happens to it, he will not return, and departs to take the civil service exam. While he is away, her sisters discover their brother-in-law is handsome under the snakeskin, and grow envious. They pay their sister a visit and ask what she keeps in her pocket. The girl refuses to show them the snakeskin, which they take by force and burn in a fire. The girl notices that her husband does not appear for months on end, and even years, and decides to search for him. She passes by a bunch of crows, which ask her to wash some bugs in the stream until they become white. Next, the girl passes by a boar and helps it by lifting a kudzu root and peeling it. Lastly, she reaches an old lady who gives her black clothes to wash them white and some white clothes to wash them black, rinse and dry them. The girl fulfills the chores and is given a rice bowl and some chopsticks for her to sail to the place where her husband is. As she reaches the location of her husband, the snake scholar goes out his house to sing some verses to the moon, wondering if his wife is watching the same moon. At the same time, the girl is singing the same song, he listens to his wife's voice and they reunite.

In another Korean variant titled Kurongdongdong Sinsŏnbi, or The Snake Scholar, the heroine goes in search of her husband and has to perform tasks for people and animals she meets on the way: wash worms for crow, wash laundry, dig up roots for boars, and farm wide expanses of land and store the crops. Finally, she comes across a boy who is working for her husband, and asks to spend the night. That night, the moon shines on the couple, the Snake Scholar looks at the moon and sighs for his wife, just as his wife is sighing over him nearby. They meet again, but the Snake Scholar has married another woman. Thus, in order to choose which woman will stay as his wife, he sets them tasks: cut firewood, fetch water without spilling any drop, walk with very tall shoes and fetch tiger whisks. The first wife prevails and they reunite.

Japanese ATU 425

Japanese scholar Hiroko Ikeda, in her index of Japanese folktales based on the international Aarne-Thompson Index, catologue the animal bridegroom tales as type 425A, "The Mud-Snail Son", where in an animal son is born to human parents. In a variant from Amami Oshima, a snake is found by an elder lady and she woos the lord's daughter on his behalf. According to Ikeda, the Amami Oshima tale follows "a Korean tale" about a snake bridegroom that marries a human maiden who betrays his trust and has to search for him.

"奄美大島昔話集", 1954. p. 20. 蛇婚 譚 [Snake marriage story] (大奄美史)。[Oamami History]

In a Japanese tale translated to Russian as "Волопас и ткачиха" ("Bootes and Weaver"),

Indonesian Animal as Bridegroom

• Vom Schlangenkönig Lembayung ("About Snake King Lembayung")
• Der Himmelsbräutigam ("The Celestial Bridegroom")
• Der Prinz mit dem Schlangenleib ("The Prince with the body of a snake")

According to J. A. T. Schwarcz, the princess's tasks in the Tontemboan tale Verhaal van den Koningszoon in den hemel en de Koningsdochter op de aarde (counting mustards, which she does with the ants' help, and drawing water in a sieve, which the eels help her do) are also mentioned "in a series of Torajan tales".

• Bion Gansaļangi Dĕduan Donan Sampakang (A in Swahn) - Sangirese (spoken in North Sulawesi)
• Verhaal van den Koningszoon in den hemel en de Koningsdochter op de aarde (A in Swahn) - Tontemboan (spoken in North Sulawesi)
• ? - Torajan (spoken in Sulawesi) [56] Vol. 45, 52

Colombian ATU 425(B?)

In a Colombian tale collected in Ataquéz by professors Gerardo and Alicia Reichel-Dolmatoff with the title La Hija del Pescador or The Fisherman's Daughter, a poor fisherman earns his living by catching and selling fishes. One day on a less fortunate outing, he goes home and passes by a well on the way. A voice from the well tells him to give the voice the first thing that greets him back home in exchange for netfuls of fish. The voice asks the man to throw the net and it is filled with fishes, proving its claims. When the man returns home, his daughter greets him, to his great concern. The man tells his wife about the voice in the well, and his wife tells him to fulfill its request. After mourning for three days, he takes his daughter to the well. The voice inside it tells the man to take the girl to a hut near the river. The fisherman does and leaves her there. The girl makes the bed and sleeps and, the following morning, finds the table set with food. She also hears a voice requesting her to see his "caspitas". On the second turn, she feels a wooly texture. Later, the voice prepares a horse and tells her to visit her parents. She pays them some visits and returns on the voice's house back to the hut. The third time she touches his skin, she senses something scaly. Next, the man allows her to return home, but warns her not to bring anything from there. The girl returns home, eats, drinks and smokes a bit, then asks her mother for some matches and a candle, since she wants to discover who is her companion. The girl returns to the hut and light a candle at night: her companion is half-human, half-fish. The creature admonishes her for bringing the items from home and tells her she must find work elsewhere with the king, wearing a sombrero, a machete and abarcas. The girl leaves and goes to a king's castle. The king takes her in and asks her to find a "hebra" from the mother of all the animals in the world. The girl meets an old woman who can help her, in exchange for a drink of water. She fulfills the woman's request, and is told to reach a mountain where the mother lives and plucks some hairs form her covers. The gilr does as instructed and brings back the hebra, receiving a handsome payment for it. She then leaves the king's service at meets another old woman, who gives her a magic wand so she can teleport back home. The girl waves the wand and returns home to her parents.

Czech ATU 425A (Klodzko/Kladzke)

žena hledá muže

• Chlupatej syn
• Petr z Petrohradu

In a Czechoslovakian tale titled Twelve Iron Sandals, a king has three daughters, the elder two already married, but the youngest still single. Despite her beauty and intelligence, no suitor catches her attention. One day, a knight of mysterious origin comes to the kingdom to court her. The princess agrees to his courtship and they arrange their marriage. Before the ceremony, the knight reveals he is under a spell by refusing to marry a magician's daughter, thus he can only spend the days with her, but not the evenings. The princess sympathizes with his situation and promises to endure the spell. They marry. The princess and her husband spend the days together, but he retires for the evenings. At first, she endures for his sake, but, being married to him, wishes to spend the nights with him. One day, she spies on him after he goes to his chambers, and sees him putting on a scaly skin on himself, becoming a lizard and sleeping in front of the fireplace. This goes on until one afternoon, after an game of chess, the princess walks ahead of him to his chambers and tosses the snakeskin into the fireplace to burn it. Her husband sighs for her rash action, and tells her he must return to the magician's kingdom and marry his daughter, but the princess can find him again if she wears down twelve iron sandals, walk with twelve iron staves and eat twelve iron loaves of bread. With this, he vanishes without a trace. The princess then dons the iron garments and begins her long quest, until she reaches a kingdom whose queen rules with an iron first. The princess takes off her own jewelry (a golden necklace, two crystal-gem earrings, and a diamond) - given by her husband, the king -, and uses them to bribe the queen for three nights in the king's chambers, one item for each night. To her surprise, the king's body is lying on a bed and pierced with several needles, which she beings to take one by one. She cannot complete the task on the first night, nor on the second one (for the quantity of needles is doubled), but gains enough strength from the last iron bread in her mouth to pull all of the needles on the third one. When the princess is nearly completing the task and pulling a needle on the prince's eyelid, the queen enters the room and orders the guard to seize her. By doing so, the princess pull the last needle and the king wakes up. The king then commands the guards to seize the queen, who was the magician's daughter, whom they burn at the stake. Having saved her husband, the princess and the king live in happiness.

Slovak ATU 425A

In a Slovak tale titled O Hadogašparovi ("About Hadogašparov"),

Slovenian ATU 425A

Journalist Andrej Gabršček collected a Slovenian tale from Kobarid with the title Volk-ženin ("Wolf-Bridegroom"). In this tale, a father has three daughters of marriageable age. One day, he finds a wolf under a tree in his garden. The wolf begins to talk and demands one of the man's daughters as his bride, otherwise the animal will kill him. The man goes back home and tells his elder sister to go with the wolf. The next day, the wolf returns and says the elder daughter hates him, so he demands the middle daughter as replacement. The next day, the wolf appears again, dissatistified with his second choice. The man's youngest daughter tells her father to deliver the wolf a message: she will marry the wolf, unafraid of him. The man goes to talk with the wolf, and says his third daughter agreed to marry him, and the animal is content with the outcome. The wolf and the girl have supper, say their prayers, and go to bed. The wolf then removes his wolfskin and reveals himself to be a handsome youth underneath it, explaining his evil stepmother cursed him into lupine form. The girl then asks how she can break the spell, and he answers: heat up an oven and toss the wolfskin into the fire at midnight, for only then he will be saved. The girl does as asked and destroys the animalskin. Despite the reversal of the curse, the now human wolf husband warns his wife to always close the door to their chambers, so as to not let her sisters take a peek into their room.

Croatian ATU 425A

[57] pp. 109-111

Russian ATU 425A

In a Russian tale titled "", collected by Onchukov and translated as Annushka Who Would Not Laugh, ATU 559, "The Princess Who Would not Smile" + ATU 425A, "The monster (animal) as bridegroom", with man in dog form.

Polish ATU 425A

In a Polish tale collected by Lucjan Malinowski from Silesia with the title O dziewczynie i o królewiczu w krowiej skórze ("About the girl and the prince in cow's skin"), a father has three daughters. One day, he falls ill and only the water from the well outside the village can restore his health. The elder daughter goes to the well to draw water, but she hears a voice asking her to become his wife in exchange for the water. The elder one returns empty-handed. The same thing happens to the middle daughter. The youngest goes to the well, hears the voice's proposal, and agrees to be its, then takes the water to her father. At night, a creature knocks on the door: a man in cow's skin, who sings in verse to be let in, just like the girl promised him. The girl lets the creature in and gives it some food. It enters her room and takes off the cow skin and becomes a handsome youth, then dons the cowskin at midnight again. On the second night, he takes off the cow skin and reveals the girl he is an enchanted prince, whom she can save from his enchantment by not telling everyone about it. However, the girl tells her mother about hit secret. On the third night, while everyone is asleep, the girl's mother steals the prince's cow skin to burn it. The next morning, the prince realizes he does not have his disguise with him, then goes to look for it: it has shriveled due to the burning. He then tells the girl he will depart to the Red Sea, and she will only find him again by wearing out iron shoes, walking with an iron cane and filling an iron jug with her tears. With these words, he vanishes. She dons the iron apparel and begins her journey, passing by the houses of the Moon and his wife, then the Moon's brother, the Sun, and his wife, and finally by the house of the Wind and his wife. Neither the Moon, nor the Sun knows where the prince is, but they give her a nut. When she reaches the house of the Wind, the Wind knows where he is, and his wife advises the girl to pocket some bones from her dish, for it may help her. The Wind gives the girl a third nut, and says the prince is in a castle, living with another woman. The Wind takes the girl to the castle, where she gives the bones to the guard dogs. She hires herself as a goose herder and works in the castle. At night, she cracks open the first nut, producing a silver dress which she trades with the lady of the castle for a night with the prince. On the first night, she fails to wake him up, for the prince has drunk a sleeping potion. The girl cracks open the second nut, producing a golden dress which she trades for a second night, and finally the last nut, releasing clothes made of diamonds, which she trades for the last night. The prince avoids drinking the potion and talks to the girl in the last night, recognizing her. He then marries the girl and reduces the lady of the castle to their goose herder. The tale was classified by Pawol Nedo as a combination of types 440 and 425.

Swedish ATU 425B

In a Swedish tale collected from Göteborg, Bohuslan, with the title Vide Vallkongsbjön, a lord has three daughters. Before he goes on a journey, his youngest asks him to bring her a garland of flowers. The man can only find the garland atop a tree, when a bear ("bjön") appears to him and demands the first thing that greets the man when he returns with the garland, then the bear will send a retinue to take them. The man returns home and his youngest greets him when he returns, fulfilling the bear's conditions of the deal. However, the man tries to avoid giving up his daughter and sends the elder two in her place, but the bear discovers the ruse and takes his intended with him. Both live together, and the girl bears him three sons in the following years.

Vide Vallkongsbjön ("White ValKingBear") - has the tasks, visit to second witch, hide food (sausage?) in clothes.

Danish AT 425B (AaTh 428?)

In a Danish tale titled Brudesmykket på Hekkenfeldt ("The Bridal Jewels in Hekkenfeldt"), a pair of shepherd, girl Maren and boy Kresten, herd in the forest. They love each other. However, one day, a mountainwoman ("bjergkonen") grabs Kresten and takes him downhill to marry her own daughter. Maren cries for the loss of her friend, but has a dream about where to find him. She goes to the woods and wanders until she sights an illuminated hut in the distance. She enters the hut and finds a woman with a large nose working on a spinning wheel made of stone, then explains she got lost. The woman lets her spend the night there. The next morning, Maren tells the woman she is looking for Kresten, and the woman uses her accute vision to help the girl: since she can see 700 miles in the distance, the woman locates a large farm and tells Maren to go there and offer her services. Maren reaches the large farm and the owner hires the girl, but orders her to sweep the pigpen, which have not been cleaned in a hundred years, lest she beheads Maren by nightfall. Maren goes to clean the manure, but cannot lift the instrument and cries. Suddenly, Kresten appears to her, whom she cannot recognize, and offers his help, in exchange for being called "her dearest". Maren refuses to call the stranger as such, for she has a beloved whom she misses dearly. Still, Kresten fulfills the task for her. Next, the mountainwoman orders Maren to wash a black wool white, under penalty of death. Maren goes to wash the black wool, but can only make it darker, and cries for the impossibility. Kresten appears again to help her, but she denies his request, and still he helps her fulfill the second task. Maren delivers the white wool to the mountain woman, who now requests that Maren goes to Hekkenfeldt to buy some bridal jewels for her daughter's wedding. Maren is at a lost at what direction to go, and cries. Kresten appears to help her with the same proposition, which she denies, and tells her how to proceed: walk until she finds a tumbled gate which she is to place in its hinges; give bread to two ferocious dogs; give some sticks to two girls stirring a pot with their own arms for a hundred years; meet two men heating up an oven, to whom she is to let rest for a while, as she heats the fire for them; reach the Devil's grandmother and refuse any food she offers Maren, get the box with jewels and not look into it. Maren does as instructed and reaches the Devil's grandmother, who welcomes her and gives her a calf's foot, which Maren tries to hide elsewhere to trick the creature: first, she tosses it on a shelf; then she puts it on her breast. The grandmother delivers the box and Maren escapes, but the creature goes after her and orders her servants (the men at the oven, the girls, the dogs and the gates) to stop Maren, to no avail. The gate lets Maren pass out of Hekkenfeldt, and closes itself on the Devil's grandmother. On the road to the mountain woman's farm, Maren is seized by a great curiosity and decides to peer into the box: she opens the box and the jewel flies away back to Hekkenfeldt, and she begins to cry. Kresten appears to help her with the same proposition, and helps her even after she denies him: he takes the Devil's grandmother's calf's foot ("kalvefod"), taps it on the box, and the jewels return to the box. Maren delivers the box to the mountain woman. The next day, the mountain woman marries her daughter to Kresten, and orders Maren to hold a candle in her hands near the wedding couple during the night, and utters a command: "You hold the candle, the candle holds you, until both you and the candle burn to ashes". Maren holds the candle near the bed; as the wax beings to melt and burn her fingers, she cries for the stranger's help, calling him "her dearest friend" ("allerkæreste ven"). Kresten comes out of the bed and asks the mountain woman's daughter to trade places with Maren. After the bride does so, Kresten recites the same spell to glue the bride's finger to the candle, so that she burns instead of Maren. Maren goes to bed with Kresten and recognizes him, while the bride burns to ashes, leaving only her bones. The next day, the mountain woman goes to check on the couple and finds the bones on the floor, thinking they are Maren's, but Maren replies to her from the bed. The mountain woman, defeated and furious, jumps onto the rock and dies. Maren and Kresten marry and establish themselves on the mountain woman's farm.

Danish AT 425

In a Danish tale titled Hvid Hund, Kongens Son, [58]

Danish AT 425B

In a Danish tale titled Pigen og hunden ("Girl and Dog"), collected from a teller named Ane Dorotea Jensdatter, the heroine works for a dwarf, who forces her on three hard and difficult tasks, including going to the dwarf's wife. The heroine does by walking through a "green road".

Russian SUS 432

Russian language tales from Pomor sources in Karelia:

• A father bring his daughter the feather of Pilvist; Pilvist, as a falcon, enters the heroine's window and becomes a prince; her sisters place blades by the window and hurt him. The heroine goes after him to cure him.

Komi ATU 425

In a Komi tale titled "Муж, обращенный в собаку" ("Man transformed into a dog"), collected in 1912, a couple has a dog for a son who assumes canine shape by day and human form at night. One day, the dog son asks his mother to court the king's daughter on his behalf. The king agrees to a marriage, but sets suitor's tasks first: first, to build an iron bridge between the king's castle and the couple's house. The dog son gathers the people to build the bridge overnight. Next, the king requests a garden in front of the castle to be built overnight, with birds to sing on its trees. The dog son also arranges for it. Lastly, the king orders for a church to be built with icons, which the dog suitor also accomplishes. The king then relents and delivers the princess to be married to the couple's dog son. The princess goes to bed with the dog bridegroom, while the queen spies on the couple: she sees her daughter with a handsome youth. The next morning, the queen asks her daughter with whom she spent the night, and the princess answers: with a dog. The princess repeats the answer for the next two days, when the queen expels the dog son-in-la, who flees for nine lands until he reaches Babeyaga. The princess is desolate, but consults a "healer", who gives advice and directions to the prince: she is to take some meat to throw to bears at a desert place, some peas to a flock of magpies, traverse a steppe of needles with iron pieces, and douse a fiery steppe with water. The princess does as she was instructed, walking by a long journey, until she reaches Baba Yaga's hut. The princess finds the witch spinning some flax on a wheel, and asks to spend a night with the dog bridegroom. Baba Yaga agrees, but gives the now human dog some soporific drink to both of them, so they fall asleep. However, the dog husband has dropped the beverage every time. The princess tries to talk to him for three times, but on the third time, when Baba Yaga is outside fetching water, the dog husband wakes his wife and both escape through the same path she traversed before. Baba Yaga returns home and, on not finding the couple, tries to chase after them, to no avail. The princess and her husband live happily.

Franco-German ATU 425A

In a German language tale collected by folklorist Angelika Merkelbach-Pinck with the title Der Wolf und die Prinzessin ("The Wolf and the Princess"),

Ukrainian ATU 425A

In an Ukrainian tale collected by Petro Lintur with the title "Казка про Герумію" ("Tale about Gerumiya"),

"Наречений-жаба" ("Frog Bridegroom") - Zinchuk classified the tale as a combination of types: SUS 440 and SUS 433B.

Romanian ATU 425A

Romanian historian Nicolae Iorga collected a tale from a Romanian informant in Jassy (Iași), which he translated to French with the title Le prince à tête de cochon ("The Prince with the Pig Head").

although in his version, the heroine passes by the houses of Sainte Lundi (Holy Monday), Sainte Vendredi (Holy Friday), Saint Soleil (Holy Sun) and Saint Vent (Holy Wind) on her way to her husband.

Ukrainian ATU 707

In an Ukrainian tale collected by ethnographer Volodymyr Hnatiuk from teller Imri Farkas with the title "Брат із місяцем, сестра зі звіздами на грудях і Тіндер-Сейп-Ілона" ("Brother with the Moon, Sister with Stars on their breasts, and Tinder-Szép Ilona")

In a Ukrainian tale from Bukovina with the title "Хлопчики з золотими кучерями" ("Boys with Golden Locks"),

In a Ukrainian tale from Transcarpathia with the title "Брати-близнюки Іван і Йосиф" ("Twin Brothers Ivan and Iosif"), a woodcutter has many sons. After the elders leave, the youngest takes care of him until his death, then grows up and marries a woman who bears him a daughter. After the woman dies, the man remarries, but his second wife is cruel to her stepdaughter and spoils her own daughter. Suitors flock to their house, but only pay attention to the girl, named Mariyka. The man's second wife gives an ultimatum to her husband: either he gets rid of his daughter, or she will leave him. The man decides to obey his second wife and tricks Mariyka into going in the woods for firewood, while she waits by a hunting lodge in the middle of the woods. The man abandons his daughter there in the woods. Later at night, Mariyka hears a scratching a the door and opens it: a little mouse begs her for food. The girl gives the animal some food and it reveals that, at eleven o'clock, devils disguised as youths will appear and invite her to dance with them, but she is to delay them by asking for garments to wear, since their dance will tear her to pieces. At the appointed time, the devils appear, and Mariyka tricks the devils into giving her nice garments: silk dress, new boots, silk shirt, golden earrings, and a silver horseshoe. The devils are tricked into staying until the roosters crow, announcing the dawn. Mariyka returns home adorned with splendid clothes, to her stepmother's surprise, who demands her husband takes her daughter to the same spot in the forest. The next day, Mariyka's stepsister stays at the hunting in the middle of the forest, when the little mouse comes to beg for food. The girl shoos it away, then asks the devils for gifts when they come and dances herself to death with them. Noticing her daughter's delay, the woman asks her husband to take her to see her daughter and finds her dead in the hut. As for Mariyka, news of her beauty spread and a king's son comes to woo her. They marry, and she takes her parents to live with her in the palace. The prince, later, king rules with fairness and justice, prioritizing the poor people, since his wife came from that social class, to the nobles' distrust. Eventually, the nobles take up arms against their king and he departs to war, leaving a pregnant Mariyka alone with her stepmother. Mariyka gives birth to twin boys with golden hair, and ties a silk ribbon on the eldest's arm to identify him. However, the stepmother takes the children and buries them in the garden, then places two kittens next to the queen. She deceives her stepdaughter that she gave birth to kittens, then falsifies a latter with a false command to take her to the forest and kill her. As for the children, they go through a cycle of reincarnations: they become golden sycamore trees which the stepmother orders to be felled down; two splinters remain which turn into two eagles. As for Mariyka, the minister takes her to the forest to carry out the false order, but she reads the letter and agrees to let the minister cut off ring finger as proof of the deed. The queen then reaches a shore and, wishing she could swim, becomes a fish and dives in the sea. As for the king, he returns home and learns of the false letter and his missing wife, then goes to look for her. He wanders the world until he stops to rest udner a sycamore, and an iron wolf appears and begs for food. The king shares his food with the wolf, and it says it can take him to Father Know-All, who may have the answers. The Iron Wolf takes the king up a mountain and they are greeted by Father Know-All, who explains the whole situation: the eagles meet up with their mother near a cliff, and the king must bring a flag so he can be recognized. Iron Wolf takes the king back to the sycamore tree and they part ways. The king then takes a flag to the cliff and sticks it on the ground. The eagle-twins descend and approach the flag, but they reject their father for his order of killing the queen. The king explains the stepmother did everything and has been executed. Mariyka returns to human form and the family reunites. Years later, the golden-haired twins, named Ivan and Iosif, look for brides that are golden-haired twins like themselves.

Latvian ATU 425A/C

The Latvian Folktale Catalogue also registers tale type ATU 425A in Latvia, with the same numbering. In the Latvian type, a man promises his daughter to an animal (wolf, dog or bear) as a payment for showing him the way; the animal goes to cash in on the prize, but the man tries to trick him twice, only surrendering his daughter on the third time; the animal becomes a man at night and they live together; the girl visits her parents and tells about her husband, prompting his disappearance; she goes after him and passes by the houses of helpers who gift her with wonderful objects; at the end of the journey, she finds her husband at the mercy of a second spouse, whom she bribes for three nights with him with the wonderful objects she gained.

Also, in the Latvian Catalogue, in tale type ATU 425C, Meita un zvērs ("The Girl and the Animal"), the heroine's father is asked to bring presents to his daughters when he returns from a journey, and the heroine requests a simple gift (e.g., a red rose, a golden leaf) that belongs to a prince in animal form (a wolf or a bear); the prince agrees to a trade (the gift for the man's youngest daughter), and the tale continues as tale type ATU 425A.

Lithuania ATU 425A/C

Lithuanian folklorist Jonas Balys, in his analysis of Lithuanian folktales (published in 1936), identified two Lithuanian tales related to the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom. In the first one, indexed as 425A, Baidyklė (gyvulys) per vyrą (Amūras ir Psyche) ("The Scarecrow (Animal) as Husband (Amor and Psyche)" ), with 12 variants reported until then. In this type, the heroine (or her father) promises herself to an animal (bear, wolf, snake) who becomes a man at night; she betrays his trust or breaks a taboo and he vanishes; the heroine journeys after him; guided by the Wind and the stars, and gaining objects from an old woman, she reaches her husband's location, up a glass mountain.

In the second type Balys abstracted, indexed as 425C, Mergaitė lokįo žmona ("The Girl as the Bear's Wife"), with 30 variants, the heroine asks her father for a return gift (a rose or a bird) from his journey, which belongs to a bear; the girl is delivered as a wife to the bear (who is a prince in cursed form), betrays her husband and goes after him, like in type 425A.

However, in a later revision of the Lithuanian catalogue, professor Bronislava Kerbelytė remodelled Balys's tale types into a single one, type 425A, Vyras – baidyklė / gyvūnas ("Husband - Scarecrow/Animal"), with 44 entries. In Kerbelytė's indexing, the heroine is promised to the animal groom on many sitations: either her father promised her in exchange for a gift from the wolf, or she offers herself in marriage as payment for a favour (filling a bucket of water), or her father is rescued by the snake and promises his daughter as payment. At any rate, the heroine's family tries to trick the animal groom, who takes the girl to his lair. Some time later, the heroine disobeys her husband's prohibition (not lighting a candle or not staying too long at her family's) and loses him, prompting a quest for him. In one sequence, she journeys with iron garments and meets the sun and the moon (or an old woman), gains magical objects and reaches her husband's location, where she is to trade the objects with the false bride for three nights with her husband. In another sequence, the heroine still meets the Sun and the Moon, but reaches a steep glass mountain where her husband is.

In a Lithuanian tale collected from a source in Ožkabaliai and titled Apie užkeiktą karaliūną levų ("About the cursed lion king"), a man has three daughters. Before a journey, he asks his three daughters which presents he can bring them: the elder two ask for material possessions, while the youngest for a jumping and singing bird. The man buys presents for the first two, but cannot find the bird for the youngest. On the way home, the man passes by a haunted mansion and sights the bird on a tree, so he sends a servant to capture it, but a lion suddenly appears and menaces the man. The animal agrees to trade the bird, but demands in exchange the first thing that greets the man on his way back. The man returns home with the bird and explains the situation to his youngest daughter. The girl agrees to the lion's terms and goes to live with him. Theirs is a happy marriage, for the lion is a man by night and animal by day. One day, the girl's elder sister is getting married, and the lion allows his wife to attend, accompanied by his lions. She also attends her middle sister's marriage. One night, however, she lights a candle on her bed and accidentally burns the lion's hair, making him turn into a white dog and flee. The girl then goes after him, passing by the Sun, the Moon and the four Winds in her search, and only the North Wind takes her to her husband's location. When she finds him again, he has turned back into a lion and was fighting another lion near a sea. The tale ends at this part.

Moroccan AaTh 425K

The Kaftan of Love, Spotted with Passion (Arabic/Moroccan from Fez) - English translation incomplete; the original had the heroine continue on her journey (Le caftan d'amour tacheté de passion).

North African/Kabylian/Berber ATU 425B

• Plantade, Emmanuel (2023). Le conte de Psyché et Cupidon, témoin du folklore d’Afrique du nord: essai sur la poétique transculturelle d’Apulée. Hildesheim Zürich New York: Georg Olms Verlag. ISBN 9783487164137. (Northern African variants)

Palestinian Jrefiyye ATU 425 + Artificial Husband

In a Palestinian Jrefiyye titled ḥikāya Lü'lü ("The Tale of Lü'lü"), translated to Spanish as Lü'lü, a king goes on a pilgrimage. While he is away, his only daughter, princess Sa'ada, ransacks his storage, snatches some pearls and fashions a male statue with them. The princess begins to pray for God to grant life to the statue, and she is joined by 50 maidservants. After some time, their collective prayers are heard, and the statue comes to life, whom the princess takes as her lover. The king learns the princess found a fiancé while he was away, then goes back home to obtain some explanations. The princess points her father to the empty closet, and explains she fashioned a lover out of the pearls. Upon learning the truth, the king approves of his daughter's marriage.

Serbian ATU 425

мужа - животње (Animal Bridegroom) АТ 425 Купидон и Психа (Cupidon and Psikha)

[59]

In a Serbian tale from Leskovac with the title Дете змија ("Snake-Child"), a couple have a snake for a son, who enters a hole and only shows his head for his mother to breastfeed him for three years. When he is eighteen years old, the snake son comes out of the hole and asks his mother to find him a bride, since he is male, and has set his sights on the tsar's daughter. The snake's father goes to talk to the tsar and explains his son wishes to marry the princess, and already knows her. The tsar consults with the tsaritsa, and they agree to a marriage between their children. A wedding is arranges and the snake groom arrives coiled around the horse's neck, marries the princess, and both retire to their chambers. Their parents wonder about the girl during the wedding night, and the tsaritsa spies on them: the snake removes his snakeskin and becomes a handsome youth. The tsaritsa steals the skin and burns it; the human snake groom cries in pain and dies. The girl blames her mother-in-law for this.

Хаџиница и љезин воле (The Hadjnitsa and the Ox) - hadjinitsa prays to God for a son, even if he is a four-legged ox, thus one is born to her. The ox grows up and marries the heroine, removes the ox's hide and becomes a human youth. The heroine burns the animal skin; in retaliation, he places iron hoops around her body and curses her not to give birth to their son until he touches her again. The heroine journeys to his location and begs him to touch her; he does, and she gives birth to golden-tressed sons.

Serbian ATU 441 + 425A

[60] - The collector noted that the snake bridegroom is more common in Serbia.

Folktales by Vuk Vrchevic

[61] [62]

Estonian ATU 441

In an Estonian tale titled Siilist poeg ("Hedgehog Son"),

Hungarian ATU 425A

In a Hungarian tale collected in the Ukrainian Carpathians with the title A béka a kútban ("The Frog in the Well"), the heroine loses her husband and journeys far and wide, gaining a "aranyorsót" from the elements.

Hungarian folklorist Ősz János published a Székely tale in the journal Erdélyi Helikon with the title A békakirályné ("The Frog Queen"). In this tale, a man has three beautiful daughters. One day, feeling thirst, the elder goes to a fountain to draw some water, when a frog appears and stops her, unless she agrees to marry the frog. The elder girl despises the frog and goes back home. The middle sister tries her luck and she also denies the frog's request. The youngest sister goes to the fountain and invites the frog to come for a visit in her bedroom, then goes back home with a bucket of water. Some time later, the frog comes to their house to fulfill the girl's promise, and goes to her room. The girl places some pillows for the frog and the amphibian removes his frogskin, becoming a handsome youth clad in a vest with shining diamond buttons. She falls in love with him and they spend the nights together. Eventually, three brothers come to court the three sisters: the elder two agree to marry the eldest brothers, while the youngest says she will only marry the frog. For this, her father banishes her to a pigsty with the frog; the girl cries, but the frog comforts her, telling her not to complain about her situation. That same night, the frog husband turns the pigsty into a diamond palace for them. They keep living as husband and wife, with him taking off the frogskin at night. However, on one occasion, the girl, unaware the frog is under a curse, decides to burn the frogskin by placing some coals under the bed. The now human frog senses a burning smell, then finds his frogskin burnt down. The tale then explains the frog is in fact the son of the king of Burkus, cursed into amphibian form by his stepfather. For her betrayal, the prince places two metal rings around his wife, curses her not to give birth until he places his two arms around her again, then turn a hundred metal sticks into a "boskor" and another hundred into a staff, then departs to the seventh kingdom. As for the girl, she begins a journey and passes by a herd of golden pigs, which a shepherd explains belongs to the "rakkirály" ("crab-prince"), then directs her to Holy Monday. Holy Monday does not know of her husband's location, gives her a lump of golden hemp and directs her to her brother, Holy Tuesday. Holy Tuesday does not know of the crab-prince, either, but gives her a golden distaff and directs her to Saint Sreda (Holy Wednesday). The girl gains other golden objects: from Holy Wednesday, a golden spindle; from Holy Thursday a golden "motollál", from Holy Friday a golden hen with chicks, and from Holy Saturday a bushel of golden millet. Finally, the girl reaches the house of Holy Sunday, who guides her to the location of the crab-prince. The girl, heavily pregnant, sits by the door of the castle and takes out the golden objects to draw the attention of the local queen, using the golden hemp with the golden distaff. The local Old Queen sights the newcomer, whom the tale calls "Frog Queen", and wishes to have the golden apparatuses, which the girl agrees to trade for a night in the crab-prince's chambers. She cannot wake him up, for he is fast asleep with a soporific wine. The next day, the girl draws out the spindle and the "motollál" as the next bribe, and trades them for a second night with the crab-prince. Again, she cannot wake him up. For the last night, the girl feeds the golden hen with chicks with the golden millet, and trades them for a last night in the prince's chambers. On the last night, the prince avoids drinking the wine, for a servant ("hamujutkája", in the original) informed him about the girl that came in his room, and warns he should not drink the wine. The Frog Queen enters the prince's chambers, then begs him to wake up and touch her belly, for her to be released from the metal rings. The prince wakes up and embraces his wife, releasing her from the rings and allowing her to give birth to their children, a pair of golden-haired boys with the Sun on their fronts and stars on their breasts. The prince reconciles with his wife.

Surinamese ATU 425A

In a Surinamese tale collected by Melville J. Herskovits with the title The Rose that Talked: Secret Name: Jealous Sisters, a man has three daughters. Before he leaves on a journey, he asks his daughters what he can bring them: the youngest asks for a rose, while the others ask for a dakfanfelia (which Herskovits explains is a rose-like purple flower) and a sunflower. The man leaves for the journey and finds the dakfanfelia and sunflower, but not the rose, until he spots a rose bush behind a broken fence. When the man goes to fetch the flower, he hears a voice telling him that whoever the rose goes to, they must come with a bottle of water and sprinkle the garden to waken the prince. The man brings back the flowers to his daughters and tells his youngest daughter (whom he loves the most) about the voice. The girl promises to go to the place where her father found the rose, and brings a bottle of water. She does as instructed and awakens the prince, whom she marries, and they live in the village that sprang up. Some weeks later, the girl wishes to visit her family, and the prince allows it, providing her with his horses, but warns her to keep quiet about telling her sisters the prince's name (which is Süt' Wilyam, or Sweet William), for, if she does it, he will forget about her. The girl then goes back home, dines with her parents, and prepares herself to leave, when her elder sisters, one armed with an axe and the other with a cutlass, threaten the girl and force her to reveal the prince's name: Sweet William. On doing this, the prince's horses trot away in fear, and abandon the girl in the bush. The girl then wanders off until she reaches another village, where she hides in an old witch's house. In the witch's house, she does chores in the morning and hides away at night. The old witch discovers her and is told about the girl's story with Sweet William. The witch tells the girl she will pick her some oranges which the girl is to take before the prince's house in the village and sell it only for the right to have a night in the prince's room. Thus, the girl rents a house before the prince's house, and draws out the oranges on a tray. The prince's second wife buys the oranges, and places opium in the prince's tea. The girl goes to talk to him, but he cannot nudge. The next day, the woman does not douses his tea with opium, and the girl goes again to the prince's room. She calls out his name, Sweet William ("Swüt' Wilyam"), and he wakes up after the second call. Sweet William recognizes his wife, but reminds him of his previous warning. Still, he remarries his first wife.

ATU 425 B? (not one)

Macedonian 425B: "Classification typologique des contes populaires ou recueil Lavrov-Polivka" - Uther says nr. 12 (Приказна број 12: Царскиот син и ламјината ќерка Црнодраха/Црнодреха, Emperor's Son and Lamia's Daughter Tsernodrakha) - lacks heroine, lacks tasks, male protagonist

Arab ATU 425

Ursula Nowak "Beitrage zur Typologie des arabischen Volksmarchen". Ph.D. dissertation Freiburg. 1969. analysis of her Typ 94 (around p. 110); Typ 173 (around p. 177); Typ 244, Typ 245, Typ 250, and Typ 251 (around p. 236ff).

Spanish/Latin American 425B

• Añapa, Juan Bautista Añapa (2003). Chachi: Lala´ cha´kuinda, naa na chumu juhua ju´bain naa chaibain. Indio Hilfe. pp. 299-303 (Spanish translation). (Tale titled "Inecita (Inés)").

Ecuadorian tale in the Chachi language

Checking a preview of the book in googlebooks, the tale makes reference to motifs that appear in other Latin American variants of tale type ATU 425B, "Son of the Witch" ("The Witch's Tasks"), in regards to the heroine's tasks.

Calabrese?: Rossi, Pasquale. Le "rumanze" ed il folk-lore in Calabria. 1903 edition. pp. 102-106 (tale nr. 8), according to Walter Anderson Bibliography, Comments on "Il Cavolo".

Armenian ATU 425B

• Seklemian, A. G. Armenian folk-tales. The snake child. In: Armenia. New York, 1911. 4o. v. 5, pp. 15–19 (first part), 48–53 (second part).

In an Armenian tale published by author A. G. Seklemian with the title The Snake-Child, a poor old couple live in a certain city, the man gathers firewood to sell and earns their living like this. One day, he sees a duck fly out of a trunk and finds three eggs, which he takes home for his wife to cook. For two days, she cooks him the eggs. On the third day, however, a snake hatches out of the third egg. The couple think of getting rid of the reptile, but the snake begins to talk, declares himself to be the couple’s son and promises them great things. Then, the snake asks the old man to ask for the hand of princess Violet, King Aslan’s youngest daughter. The poor man sits on a stone reserved for suitors. Twice the king is offended, and orders his decapitation. It happens thus, but the snake restores the old man, who is sent a third time to court the princess on the snake's behalf.

After the third time, the king relents and orders the old man’s snake son to build a palace larger then the king’s. The old man reports to the snake-child, who advises him to go back to the trunk where he found the eggs and ask for a “little lady” that the “little master“ wants the palace. The old man does as instructed and finds a large palace in place of his humble hovel. Next, the king orders him to bring 40 camel-loads of diamonds, pearls, emeralds, topazes, sapphires, jaspers and other stones, driven by a man with the height of a span and a seven-span beard; thirdly, to have a park filled with rare trees and flowers (to which the man adds warbling birds); and lastly, for a unique wedding gown (to which the man adds an invisible band of musicians).

Seeing that the old man and his snake son filled the tasks, King Aslan agrees to a marriage between his daughter, beautiful princess Violet, and the snake-child. They marry in a church, then are guided to the new palace. On the wedding night, the snake-child asks for Violet to step on his tail with her right foot and push his head with her right head. It happens thus, and a handsome youth appears out of the snakeskin. The youth reveals the princess broke the spell, but he will alternate between snake shape in the morning and human at night, and Violet cannot say anything. She agrees to his terms, and marital life is a happy one, despite a suggestion from her sisters to kill the snake.

Weeks later, the king decides to hold a tournament, and invites his daughter. Each time, the snake husband tells Violet he will join in the games, but she cannot tell anything. Violet goes to the king's games, and is mocked by her sisters for her choice of husband. Meanwhile, a mysterious rider, who is the snake husband, takes part in the games: first, as a white rider on a gray horse; on the second day, as a red knight on a red horse, and on the third day, as a black rider on a horse.

The snake husband appreciates that Violet kept his secret, for the time of the breaking of the curse is almost at hand. During the third tournament, the black rider defeats the elder princesses’ husbands, feats that they admire, while mocking their cadette's husband. However, fed with their mocking, the princess tells them the three riders are one and the same: her husband, Snake-child. On hearing this, the rider flees from the competition.

Later, Violet asks her father where is her husband, and king Aslan tells her Snake-Child said for her to look for him in iron sandals and with a steel rod, and walk to the end of the world if she wants to find him again. Learning of her husband's whereabouts, Violet asks the blacksmith named Varbed-Markar for the metal garments, and begins a long quest as a monk. Her journey takes her through forests and deserts, plains and mountains, until she reaches a spring, where she notices her shoes are worn out, which means she is near. Suddenly, she sees three maidens come to fetch water by the spring. Violet asks for some water to drink, but the elder two refuse and enter a nearby house. The youngest maiden is more helpful and gives her some water, then explains they are fetching water for their cousin Snake-child, who is “burning with love” for his human lover, the princess who betrayed him.

Secretly, Violet drops her ring inside the jug, and the third maiden brings the water to her cousin. As the water washes his body, the ring falls from the jug, which Snake-child recognizes and says he is cured from his fever. His aunt, a witch, orders the monk to be brought inside, and she recognizes him as Violet, the one responsible for Snake-child’s torment for the past three years.

Snake-child tries to intervene on his wife’s behalf, and his aunt, out of love for him, decides to impose a task on her: while she and her daughters are out in the fields picking vegetables, Violet is to fill a churn with her tears. As the women depart, Violet tries to fill the churn with her weeping, and Snake-child advises her to fill the churn with water and drop some salt in it.

The aunt sees that the task is fulfilled, and orders the princess to go to the aunt’s sister, who lives in a cave, to fetch a sieve for baking bread. Snake-child tells his aunt’s sister is an ogress, and gives instructions on how to proceed: drink some water from a dirty stream and compliment it, smell the thorns and thistles of a brush thicket and say they are flowers; exchange the fodder for two animals (hay for the ram, a leg of mutton for the wolf); open a closed door and close an open one, greet the ogress, take the sieve and run back. Violet does as instructed and takes the sieve to the witch, as the ogress commands her servants to stop her, to no avail.

At last, Snake-child’s aunt, enraged, takes her daughters to fetch wood for burning the princess in a pyre, but Snake-child takes the princess on his gray horse (which he alternates with the others during the escape) and both escape in a Magic Flight sequence by metamorphosing into objects to trick their pursuers: first, they change into a basket of White grapes (the gray horse), a basket of red grapes (the princess) and a grape seller (Snake-child); two millstones (the gray horse and the princess) and a miller (Snake-child); a watermelon (his bay horse), a muskmelon (the princess) and a seller (Snake-child); lastly, a black bush (his black horse), a rose-shoot (the princess) and a serpente coiled Around the shoot (Snake-Child). At last, his aunt appears to their last transformation with a hatchet and menaces them both, wanting Snake-child to surrender the princess to her. Snake-child refuses to do so and keeps protecting his human wife. Realizing she may hurt one or the other, she ceases her threat, gives her blessings to the pair and leaves them be.

Snake-child and the princess go to the trunk and enter a gate opened by Little Lady, who tells them that an enemy army, led by King Arzuman, invaded the country and besieged King Aslan’s cities, save for one. Snake-child then rides into battle to save his father-in-law’s kingdom, cures his brothers-in-law, and goes to live with his adoptive parents and his wife, princess Violet.

Greek ATU 425B (425A in the Greek Catalogue)

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MacGillivray Dawkins also provided the summary of a Pontic Greek variant from Trebizond. In this tale, a frog is adopted by an old man, who courts the princess on his behalf, but the king demands he fulfills some suitor's tasks first. The frog does and marries the princess, then reveals he is a youth named Melezíris, but his wife must not reveal his name nor destroy his frogskin. The princess does that, loses her husband and goes to search for him in iron shoes, until she finds him again, at his withc mother's house. During their time of separation, Melezíris's mother prepared his wedding to another witch's daughter, and now that the princess is there, she is forced to fulfill tasks for the upcoming ceremony: first, to fill bolsters with feathers; next, to fill seven jars with tears; thirdly, to wash and not to wash; to sweep and not sweep the house. Lastly, the witch mother orders the princess to go to her sister and fetch from there a sieve. At last, Melezíris marries the false bride, but he gets rid of her and returns to his true wife, the human princess.

Dawkins provided the summary of another Pontic variant from Tripoli: the supernatural husband is a shapeshifting person and takes the form of a snake. He is adopted by an old woman, and marries the princess. The princess betrays him, he turns into a bird and she goes after him in iron shoes, until she reaches the house of her parents-in-law. The snake husband's mother forces the heroine to perform difficult tasks: first, to fill pillows with feathers; next, to fill jars with her tears. Finally, she is to go to the mother-in-law's sister's house and fetch from there a tambourine. The princess's husband offers her advice to treat his aunt's servants on the way there and get the tambourine, then rush back. The princess does as instructed and steals the tambourine, the aunt chasing after her. At the end of the tale, the supernatural husband takes his wife back to her parents, and faces his own mother in a transformation battle.

Greek ATU 425B (Faure / Sitias)

French philologist Paul Faure collected a tale from a 70-year-old informant in Khokhlakes (Sitias). In his tale, a girl wants to marry a Triomate [Cyclops?], but the Triomate warns his mother, a Triomatissa, may devour her. Still, she decides to face the future mother-in-law, who orders her on three difficult tasks: to clean the house, but sweep and not sweep; fill the house with everything that can and cannot be cooked, and separate sesame grains mixed with sand. The girl summons the help of the "fairies" (Moiras, in the original text), then her personal fairy godmother, and finally a colony of ants to fulfill each task for her. Satisfied, the Triomatissa consents to the girl's marriage to her son.

Italic ATU 425B

Mariuzza (425E + 425B?)

Letterio Di Francia collected a Calabrese tale titled Mariuzza: a man has a daughter named Mariuzza, who is advised by her female teacher to kill her mother when she is occupied fetching figs from a box. It happens thus, and Mariuzza's teacher marries the girl's father, despite the latter's warnings about the woman. Mariuzza's former teacher begins to pester and hate her stepdaughter, and sends her to work for the king and queen, who have for a long time wished for a child. The girl goes to church and cries on her mother's grave. Her mother's spirit appears to her and tells her what to do: she is to spread some types of cereals on their bed, and they shall have a son who will be named Marcavallu, whom they will wish to marry to Mariuzza. It happens thus: a prince named Marvallu is born to the royal couple, and he alternates between equine shape at night and horse shape by night. At night, Marcavallu asks the girl what time it is; she, instructed by her mother's spirit, gives the correct answer and dines with him, her eating only a portion. In time, Mariuzza becomes pregnant, but a draga "pulls by his feet" Marcavallu. He comes at night and sings a song to Mariuzza. The king's prisoners also listen to the prince's song and report to the king, who promises to set them free if they capture the horse. The prisoners catch Marcavallu one night, and he reveals the way to disenchant him: they are to place all of the chickens and roosters inside a cauldron and let them boil for three days and three nights. The king carries out the orders, but an old woman hides her rooster in a chest. Losing one of the roosters, the king places Marcavallu inside the cauldron. However, after three days and three nights, the old woman's rooster crows, and Marcavallu disappears from the cauldron. Mariuzza, however, hears his voice in the distance, teling her to wear down eight pairs of steel shoes and eight hats if she wants to see him again. Mariuzza follows his orders and wanders off until she wears down every last pair of steel shoes until she arrives at a house in the woods. Marcavallu sights his wife and brings her in, but the house belongs to a draga, who he makes promise not to eat his human wife. The draga swears not to eat her, but only in pretense, and forces the girl to become her servant. Marcavallu helps his human wife in all of the chores. Eventually, the draga sends Mariuzza to the draga's sister to get a thing, but this is a trap so she can be devoured by the draga's sister. Mariuzza walks the path to the house, and tells a loose gate she would fix it with hammer and nails, drinks water from a river filled with mud and blood and compliments it; gives bread to two birds, and reaches the draga's sister's house. The girl is told to hold the draga's baby nephew, but she tosses the baby in the furnace and escapes back to the draga's house. When the draga sees that the girl is back safe and sound, she makes the same road she did, but the gates block her, until they let her pass, and she drowns in the dirty river. Marcavallu's curse is lifted and he becomes fully human.

Boncavallu (ATU 425B)

In an Italian tale collected from Reggio Calabria with the title Boncavallu, or La maga e Buoncavallo ("The Sorceress and Buoncavallo"), king and queen have a son that is cursed to be a horse by day and human by night. One day, he tells his parents he wants to be married, and his mother arranges him a beautiful bride from a family. That night, the horse prince kills the girl for he did not like her. His mother finds him another bride, whom he also kills. The queen finds him a third bride from a noble family and brings her to the prince. At midnight, the prince changes from horse to man and explains his situation to his third bride: his curse is the doing of a sorceress (maga), and the girl must wear down seven pairs of iron shoes in pursuit of him, then disappears. The girl puts on the seven pairs and begins to wear down one by one, until she reaches the house of the maga. Boncavallu (the prince's name) sights the girl, Rosina, and tells the sorceress he wants to marry her. The sorceress consents, and, days later, noticing their connection, orders the girl to bring bundles of golden firewood. Boncavallu (whom the sorceress calls her son Peppinu) offers his help for a kiss, but Rosina refuses it, saying she would rather be devoured by the sorceress. Despite her refusal, Boncavallu helps her: with a wand and a spell, he provides the golden firewood, and warns Rosina to deny she had any help. It happens thus. Next, the sorceress orders her to separate two tomoli of chickpeas and beans into two separate baskets. Once again, Rosina refuses Boncavallu's help, but he fulfills it for her with the wand and a magical command. Third, Rosina is ordered to wash, dry and iron two basketfuls of clothes in under five minutes. Fourth, the sorceress orders the girl to wash six mattresses and fill them with bird feathers. For both tasks, Boncavallu uses the same wand of command to help her. Lastly, the sorceress decidest to send Rosina to her sister with a scatula ('box') with a letter and a opium bottle inside that would make her sleep if she opened the box. Boncavallu intercepts Rosina, warns her that this task is a trap, for the maga's sister will devour Rosina, and advises her on how to proceed: she is not to open the box; she will pass by two trees on the path, one that gushes fire, to which she must say she would warm herself with it, another that throws worm-filled apples, to which she is to say she would eat its fruits; and finally by a river of dirty water to which she is to say she would drink its water; at last, she is to give the box to the sorceress's sister and flees back home. Rosina follows Boncavallu's advice to the letter and reaches the maga's sister's house. The other sorceress welcomes her and goes to another room to sharpen her teeth, but Rosina leaves there the box and rushes back. The girl returns safely to the sorceress's house, and the maga complains to her son Peppinu that she sent the girl to her sister to be devoured, and Peppinu's interference saved her. The maga's son pretends to drop dead and falls to the ground, and his mother, on seeing it, dies of a fulminant heartbreak. Peppinu, or Boncavallu, takes the sorceress's body and throws it down the river in a box, then lives happily with Rosina. In a review of Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn's work of Cupid and Psyche and related "animal bridegroom" tales, folklorist Walter Anderson followed Swahn's classification and indexed the tale as subtype A of type AaTh 425.

Bellubeldomine e Donna Dubbana Manna (ATU 425B)

In a Sardinian tale titled Bellubeldomine e Donna Dubbana Manna, Bellubeldomine is the son of Donna Dubbana Manna, a rich woman who is "half-sorceress, half-witch". One day, a girl named Mariedda comes into her service, and Donna Dubbana Manna gives her a basket of clothes and orders her to wash them with no water and dry them without sunlight. The girl then meets Bellubeldomine, who offers his help in exchange for a kiss. Mariedda refuses his kiss, but he helps her at any rate: they sit for a picnic, she falls asleep, and he fulfills the task for her. The youth warns her that, if his mother suspects something, Mariedda is to answer she never saw him. The girl brings the basket to Donna, who, just as her son predicted, suspects her servant had help, but Mariedda pretends she never saw Bellubeldomine. The story then explains Bellubeldomine is set to be married to another girl in the upcoming days. Thus, Donna Dubbana Manna orders the girl to go to the garden and fill a mattress and two pillows with bird feathers. Mariedda complains that such a task would take a month, but her employer wants it done by morning. The girl goes to the garden to try and catch some birds, but they fly away. Bellubeldomine approaches her with the same help offer. She refuses his advances, but he helps her: they sit for a picnic, and he tells her she has to pretend he is dead and shout that Bellubeldomine is dead, for all the birds in the world will come and give their feathers. It happens thus.

Mariedda marries Bellubeldomine, but his mother places her hand on her womb, cursing her not to give birth to her grandson. In order to help his wife, Bellubeldomine convinces a group of boys to cause a ruckus shouting that his mother's palace is on fire. The boys do as instructed and, in the confusion, Donna Dubbana Manna unclasps her hands, allowing her daughter-in-law to finally give birth. Realizing she has been tricked, she returns to her palace and dies in a fit of rage. Mariedda and Bellubeldomine are free to live their lives.

Cristina e Il Mostro

In an Italian tale first collected by Ciro Marzocchi in 1879 with the title Cristina e il Mostro,

Israeli ATU 425B (Persian Kurdistan)

In a Jewish tale sourced from Persian Kurdistan, archived in the Israeli Folktale Archive (IFA) with the number IFA 6010, titled "שירין ופרהד" ("Shirin and Farhad"), a princess marries a beggar man who reveals he is a handsome man underneath the disguise, but taking off his mask and shabby clothes. The princess betrays him and reveals his secret. She then dons iron shoes and an iron cane, and walks with them until they are worn out. She reaches a spring where a maidservant is drawing water with a golden jug. The princess reunites with her husband, but learns he is to be married to another woman. The princess is then forced to perform tasks for the upcoming wedding: fill cushions with bird feathers and wash a black felt white to use it as curtain for the wedding - both tasks accomplished with her husband's magic powers. As for the third task, the princess is sent to fetch the "orchestra" for the wedding with a letter. Her husband intercepts her and reads the contents of the letter: it has a command to kill the bearer of the letter (the princess).

Israeli ATU 425D

Professor Rafael Talmon reports a tale in a dialectal Galilean Arabic tale titled Rās li-Ḥmār (Hebrew: "ראש החמור", English: "The Donkey's Head"), registered in the IFA Archives under nr. 19.507, told by one Ğubrān Ğubrān. In this tale, a talking donkey's head lives with an old woman as his adoptive mother, and turns into a youth at sunset. The donkey's head provides the old woman with food and a palace, and eventually asks her to ask for the princess's hand. The donkey's head sends the old woman to the market, who buys gems and gifts them to the the king and queen. The princess and the donkey's head marry and she discovers he becomes a youth. The donkey's head warns the old lady, first, then the princess, about not revealing his secret. Later, the human donkey's head fights in a war to protect his father-in-law's kingdom as a mysterious knight, first in white, then in red, lastly in green garments. The human donkey's head is injured in the hand and the princess betrays his secret. In return, he says she will never find him, and disappears. Some time later, an old woman pays a visit to the princess and tells her that a hen and a cock invite people to come to the land of the jinn. Thus, the princess journeys to the "land of the jinn" (or land of demons), where she sees birds turning into youths. She sights her husband and he takes her to his wedding ceremony to a female ginn (or demoness). The princess is told to dance at the ceremony, but burns the demons and escapes to her father's kingdom with her husband's help.

Israeli ATU 425D + 425B

In an Israeli tale archived in the Israeli Folktale Archives (IFA) with the number 12744 with the title הגמל שהפך לבחור - נסיך ("The Camel That Became a Boy - a Prince"), translated as The Camel Prince, a camel appears to a poor woman, who discovers the animal produces gold and silver. One day, the camel begins to talk and asks the woman to court the king's youngest daughter on its behalf. The old woman goes there and tells about the camel's proposal, which the princess agrees. On the wedding night, the camel reveals he is a handsome youth under the camel skin, and lives with the princess. This happens every night. Some time later, war breaks out, and the camel prince joins in the fray, obtaining victories. The youngest princess's elder sister mock her endlessly for her marriage to the camel, and she reveals her husband's identity: the camel is the knight. Betrayed, the camel prince disappears. The princess then sets up a bathhouse, where people can take a bath in exchange for telling stories. One day, a woman comes to the bathhouse and tells the princess about a most strange situation she witnessed one night: noblemen, ladies and princess prepare a table for a feast and they make merry; a despondent prince appears and is told to forget about a lover, then everything disappears. The princess asks the woman to be taken there to the location of the event. The camel prince appears in human form, and his wife, the princess, shows herself. The camel prince tells his wife he is living in the "land of wizards", and takes her there. One she reaches the sorceress's house, the witch forces the girl on tasks: first, she is to go to another house and bring a sieve; then, she is to go back there and get a music box containing an orchestra. On the second task, the princess opens up the box and the musicians escape from it, but the camel prince locks them back into the box. Lastly, the princess is to dance holding candles during the camel prince's wedding to another bride, but she throws the candles at the false bride and escapes with her husband in a Magic Flight sequence: first, they shapeshift into a plow and groud, then into an oven and a baker, and lastly into a minaret and a muezzin. The sorceress chases after them and, failing to catch them, explodes in defeat. The princess and the camel prince return safely to her parents.

Persian / Iranian ATU 425D (Heda Jason 425Q*) + ATU 425B

In a Jewish-Iranian tale archived at the IFA (Israeli Folktale Archives) archives with the number IFA 8126 and titled "הנסיך בעור הנחש" ("The Prince in Snakeskin"), a boy is advised by his dying father never to wander near the Black Mountain. After his father dies, the boy goes near the Black Mountain and finds a snake, that forces him to court the local princess for him. The boy goes to court the princess on the snake's behalf, but the king asks him to perform some suitor's tasks first: to build a golden palace, then to provide 40 camels with pearls and 40 slaves. The snake fulfills the tasks and marries the princess. On the wedding night, the snake removes the snakeskin to become a human youth and warns the princess not to reveal the secret, lest she has to search for him with 7 iron canes and wearing out 7 pairs of iron shoes. Later, during a war, the human snake prince goes to fight in the war, and the princess is mocked for her husband, but blabs about the secret and he disappears. Some time later, the princess goes after him and after seven years, builds a cottage next to a river and welcomes two wanderers, who come one night. The wanderers both say they followed a herd of sheep near a river, when a man appears to take a bath and cuts an apple, offering the slices to himself and his wife. The princess asks to be taken to the river and meets her husband. They reunite, but the snake prince warns he is a prisoner of a witch who wishes to marry him to her daughter. The princess is passed off as a new maidservant and made to perform tasks for the upcoming wedding: first, to wash black wool into white, then wash it black again, and sew a dress with bird feathers. The snake prince kills the witch's daughter and escapes with his human wife. The witch goes after him, and they shapeshift to trick her: first into a garden keeper and a garden, and a mill and a miller. Then, the pair throw behind them a comb (which becomes a thorny forest), a knife (which becomes a field of blades) and some soap (which becomes a salty sea). Finally, the couple turn into doves and fly away to the princess's kingdom, the witch after them. As a last resort, they shapeshift into a pomegranate, which the king hides from the pursuing witch.

Middle Eastern ATU 425D

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Author Fadwa K. Naser wrote down a tale she heard from her childhood titled The Rooster: a kind and pious king named Jarir has a daughter named Joy, and a prize stallion hidden in a certain room in a castle he built in the woods. He is interested in jousting against other kings, and trusts in his horse. One day, when he has to go on a pilgrimage for 30 days, and asks his daughter to busy herself in his absence by opening the doors to the rooms in their castle, save for the 30th one. After he leaves, the princess opens every door, seeing great thing inside everyone, and saves the 30th door for last. She opens the door and finds the horse. Surprisingly, the horse turns his head to see the princess, lets out a neigh and falls on the ground near a pool. Princess Joy is scared at the scene, and waits for her father to return. King Jarir returns from the pilgrimage and goes to check on the horse, and finds him downtrodden, realizing his daughter disobeyed him. He also noted that the horse fell in love with the princess, and asks her to repeat her actions she did the first time. After the king defeats his opponents, he places his daughter inside the horse's room; after a while, the horse shakes his body and becomes a human youth he introduces himself as Prince Amer, and asked her not to spill the secret. The next day, King Jarir rides the horse to the tournament, and princess Joy is endlessly mocked for her husband. While her father is on the horse, she tells the mocking women the horse is a human prince. Suddenly, Jarir falls off the horse and it disappears. After the horse's disappearance, Joy puts on some clothes and begins her wanderings looking for information on the horse prince, to no avail. Losing faith, she is taken in by an old lady who owns an inn, and she promises to pay a nice reward to anyone with information on his whereabouts. Meanwhile, an old woman and her grandson buy a rooster they intend to give princess Joy. On the road, the grandson has to pee and takes the rooster with him. However, the rooster is let loose and runs away, the boy goes after him. His grandmother follows him and they enter into an old building through a hole in the fence. Inside, they see a coffee table and twelve chairs, the prince on a large chair and twelve companions. The old woman and the boy leave their rooster there, and goes to the inn to tell the princess about their findings. The princess asks to be taken there to the building. Inside, they see the twelve men and prince Robin (the horse's name) having a meal. After the twelve men leave, Robin prepares to join them, but the princess nudges his feet, and he sees her. The princess and prince reunite.

Danish AaTh 428

In a manuscript tale collected by Svend Grundtvig in 1877 with the title Pigen, der skulde hente 'Ildkar' i Helvede ("The Girl who went to Hell to get a ildkar"), a man works for some trolls. Some time later, they hire another servant, a girl. The girl is forced by the troll employers to card white wool black, then to white again. The trolls' male servant helps her in both tasks. Next, the girl is ordered to go to Hell and fetch from there an "ildkar" (a brazier, in Swahn's translation). The man gives her advice on how to proceed: she is to lift a door back to its hinge (otherwise it would squeeze her), give some pork meat to a guard dog and help people she meets in the way (a "Skoldkage" to people next to an oven, a sewing ring to sewing people). Lastly, when she reaches the house of "Oldemo'r", she starts to feel hot, and adjusts a cap she put on her head to create a cool breeze; further ahead she turns the cap to create a warm sensation. She meets the Oldemo'r, who welcomes her and gives her some sausage as food. Following the male servant's advice, the girl throws the sausage under a bench to avoid eating it. The Oldemo'r asks where the sausage is, the food answers, and she places it back on the girl's plate. After she leaves again, the girl hides the food in her clothes next to her belly to trick the Oldemo'r. She gets the "ildkar"/"ilden", then hurries out of Hell. The Oldemo'r orders her lackeys to stop her, but they refuse. Back to her troll masters, the girl shows them the brazier. On seeing the girl's success, the troll master explodes in anger, creating flints. The male servant kills the remaining trolls and marries the girl.

Danish ATU 432

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Slovenian ATU 432

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Lebanon ATU 432

In a Lebanese tale titled Ward und starker Pfeffer ("Rose and Strong Pepper") or Lady Rose and Hot Pepper,

Sudanese ATU 432

In a Sudanese tale translated into German with the title Achdar Azaz im Glas ("Achdar Azaz in the Glass"), Fatima is a beautiful girl that lives with her father and stepfamily. Whenever her father goes on trips, her stepsisters alway ask for gifts, while she does not and wishes for his safe return. One day, her stepsisters, suspecting their father dotes on Fatima, talk to her about asking him to bring "Achdar Azaz in the Glass", which she does not know anything about. Still, the next time her father goes on a journey, the girl asks her father to bring Achdar Azaz in the Glass. The man goes on a journey and cannot find Achdar Azaz, until he meets an old woman by a tree and tells her he is looking for this item. The old woman explains that Achdar Azaz is an Emir, son of seven man-eating mother named Silah; if he wants to meet hi, he has to avoid them. Fatima's father goes to meet Achdar Azaz and tells him about going to meet his beautiful daughter Fatima, which he cannot do, but gives the man a package and summons a magic horse named Dervish to take the man home. It happens thus and the man teleports home. He gives a servant the package, with orders to be delivered to Fatima. The servant, curious, opens the package and finds a mirror which reflects Achdad Azaz from the other side. The Emir summons Fatima's father again and asks him about the person in the mirror, which the man says is a servant, not his daughter. Achdar Azaz goes with the man to meet Fatima and marvels with her beauty. The pair spend time together and he gives her a golden necklace before leaving. One day, one day Fatima's stepsister, who always makes her bed, finds the necklace and shows it to her mother, and the women steals the golden presents whenever she makes the bed. Achdar Azaz tells Fatima about the gifts he leaves and asks her to make her bed herself, thus she keeps his gifts. Her stepfamily begins to plan to ruin her happiness and suggests she asks the prince how he can be hurt. Achdar Azaz explains that his seven mothers are Silah, but he is not supernatural, and they all be hurt by shards of glass in their bed. The next time Achdar Azaz lies on the bed, his body is badly hurt by the glass and, believing Fatima did this to hurt him, vows to kill her and returns to his mothers. Meanwhile, Fatima dons male garments and flees from home, while also looking for her lover around the world. At one time, she stops to rest by a tree and overhears the conversation between two birds which talk about Achdar Azaz's injuries and the way to cure him: the livers of both birds. Fatima stones the birds to death and takes their livers, then keeps walking until she meets the same old woman her father met. The old woman warns her about the seven man-eating Silah mothers, and their son's situation: it was prophecized that Achdar Azaz was to be hurt by glass, and only the livers of the magical djinn birds Abu Najir and Abu Najira can cure him, but these birds are only released from their cages once every hundred years. Fatima, disguised as a fakir, says she has the cure, then goes to meet the seven Silah, who want the fakir to cure their son, unless he is devoured. Fatima applies the lotion she produced from the birds' livers on Achdar Azaz's body and heals his injuries. In return, she makes the Silahs promise not to devour any more people, and asks for Achdar Azaz's amulet and sword as payment, and makes him promise not to hurt the person who shouts "in the name of the Fakir that cured him". Fatima then teleports back home and places his amulet and sword on the wall. Achdar Azaz appears to kill her, but sees his belongings on the wall, and asks if the fakir was there. Fatima then shouts to be spared "in the name of the fakir that cured him", and still Achdar Azaz does not realize anything. Fatima reveals the whole story, and the Emir summons his horse to turn his step-relatives-in-law to dust. Fatima's father appears and accepts the fate of his wife and stepsister, but is happy for his daughter.

Spanish literary ATU 432 (Luís Coloma)

In a Spanish literary tale written by Luis Coloma and translated as Green Bird,

Mayan ATU 432 / Central America ATU 432

According to professor Fernando Peñalosa, type 432 is known in Mayan sources as 432, El príncipe de pájaro or The Prince as Bird: a prince turns into a hummingbird, flies to a girl's window and both elope.

Malagasy ATU 432

Per Lee Haring's Malagasy Tale Index, tale type ATU 432 is known locally as with the same numbering, but a different title: 4.432, Rejected suitor wounds husband, wife cures him (Type 432, The Prince As Bird).

Hausa ATU 432

In a Hausa tale translated by missionary Adam Mischlich into German as Der Königssohn Nasamu ("Prince Nasamu"), the heroine asks for her father to buy "Nasamu" for her. Her father discovers "Nasamu" is the name of a prince, who meets the man and says he will visit his daughter by Friday by alighting on their roof. Nasamu visits his beloved at night, and leaves by morning, spitting some gold from his mouth in an empty pot. This goes on for some time, until the heroine's stepmother discovers the hidden coins and buys some needles to be placed on the roof. The next time Nasamu flies in, he is hurt badly by the needles, and hurries back to his home. As for the heroine, sensing her lover's disappearance, she leaves home in male's garments and carrying a calabash, and stops to rest by a tree. Suddenly, she begins to hear the conversation between many man-eating birds about Nasamu's injuries and the way to cure them: their excrement mixed with some water. The heroine fetches the birds' excrement, dowses it in water, and goes to Nasamu's kingdom to cure him. Posing as a doctor, she applies the cure on his body and asks for his ring as payment. She then returns home and waits for Nasamu. The prince flies in again, intent on killing his lover, thinking she betrayed him, but she shows him the ring. They reconcile, and Nasamu marries his saviour.

In a Hausa tale published by Tremearne with the title The Son of the King of Agaddez,

Mexican ATU 425E

In a Mexican tale adapted by author Emilio Carballido with the title Los Zapatos de Hierro ("The Iron Shoes'), a poor couple lives with his three daughters, the youngest named María, and they send the girls to fetch herbs for their soups. One day, while the elder is taking a bath in the river, she sights a little lettuce floating in the river which she tries to grab, but fails. The middle daughter tries the same and also fails. María goes herself and fetches the little lettuce, which becomes a prince. The youth explains he was cursed to become a lettuce, but, since the girl disenchanted him, she must go with him to his country, and not tell her family about it. María accompanies the prince to his realm and live in luxury, while she knits the clothes for her unborn baby. However, one day, she has a dream about her family and wishes to see them again. She is told her family is dead, save for her mother, and she must not cry over them, since the prince's curse is still occurring. She visits her family's graves and mourns for them, then returns home to the prince, who has turned back into a lettuce and floated down the river. Now alone, she decides to have the baby alone. One night, the prince returns in human form to rock his son, and sings a song about he could stay with the baby if the roosters did not crow, the dogs did not bark, and the bells did not ring midnight. He disappears by morning light, but returns in the next two nights. The king overhears the prince's verses, then orders the killing of the roosters and dogs, and the silencing of the bells, allowing the prince to stay with them. After a period of happiness, María notices the prince has a thin belt on his waist, which he never removes. The girl comments about it with the prince, who, annoyed, orders her never to mention it again. Despite the warning, María loosens his belt at night and finds a world inside an opening on her husband's body: houses, forests and people. The prince wakes up, admonishes María and tells her he will go to the castle of Irás Y No Volverás, and must seek him out in iron shoes. The prince disappears and María goes after him in iron shoes, passing by the houses of Brisa (the Breeze), the South Wind and the North Wind and their mothers, but they do not know of its location. She finally reaches a beach where the Pajarero (the Birdkeeper) lives with several species of birds and birdcages. An old vulture appears last and says it can carry María there.

Hausa ATU 425(B?) (A in Swahn)

In a Hausa tale translated by missionary Adam Mischlich into German as Das verwandelte Pferd ("The Transformed Horse"), a prince is changed into a horse and rides to another town. A man finds his equine form and brings it home to his two daughters. When he is ready to leave, the man orders his two daughters to give water and food to the horse: the elder refuses, but the youngest obeys, and the horse, in gratitude, provides golden coins in a calabash. The man then decides to marry one of his daughters to the horse: the elder refuses, but the youngest agrees, and the horse changes back into a prince. The now human horse prince suggests they visit the prince's homeland, and his wife agrees to join him. On the way there, the prince warns the girl his mother is a man-eating witch, and this is why he shapeshifted into a horse: so he could escape his mother's grasp and marry. The girl meets her mother-in-law, who gives her a single rice grain for her to cook. The girl asks her husband how she can cook a whole meal with it, and the prince says she just has to place it in the pot. The girl prepares the meal for themselves and makes a dish for the mother-in-law. The prince then tells his wife how they can destroy his mother and be left in peace: while he fetches some firewood, the girl is to bring the food to his mother. The girl sets the food before her and returns to the house, and the mother-in-law goes after her. Meanwhile, the prince has set a fire and his mother falls into it, burning to death. Freed from his mother, the prince and his wife live in happiness and wealth. Later, the girl's elder sister learns of her cadette's situation, and decides to pay her a visit. However, the prince warns his wife that, when he was in the form of a horse, she mistreated him, so he will expel his sister-in-law. When the elder sister-in-law actually arrives, the prince abandons his wife, leaving her with her sister. After a while, the pair grow bored and return to their father's homeland, but the younger sister, missing her husband, looks for him and finds him in a city. They go back home and the tale ends. May Augusta Klipple listed the tale, sourced from Western Sudan, as a variant of The Search for the Lost Husband. She also pointed out that, despite the differences from the international tale type, she considered it "essentially" the same type.

Khmer ATU 425 (Reach Kol/Rajá Kul)

Réach Kol = Rājakul. also page 170.

Abbey J. Guesdon translated a Khmer poem named Reach Kol. In this work, a king named Préaş bat réachéa and his queen, Chăn méaléa, in the kingdom of Kosể, have three daughters, Réach kshatrei, Srei kshatra, and Pou. In the same kingdom, a poor couple, Tûphi and Mihn Tûphot, are childless and live in misery, save for two sleng. The poor couple decide to invest their meagre economies in rice seeds, so they can have a plantation. Up in Heaven, god Indra watches the poor couple's diligence, and marvels at their effort. Indra goes to the kingdom of Kélassa, to talk to the roayl family, king Utŏmpor, queen Suvan méaléa, and their son, prince Réach Kol. Indra convinces Réach Kol to go down to earth as another stage in his path to Buddhahood. The prince says his goodbyes to his parents, then assumes an equine shape and destroys the old couple's rice harvest. The couple is at first distraught, but, on seeing the fine horse, decide to take it to their hut. News of the fine beast spread among the populace, who gossip that the couple stole it, and the couple themselves suppose the horse belongs to their king. Thus, they take the horse to the king's palace, the monarch buys the animal and gives a hefty sum to the couple. The poor couple return home and live in happiness, since their rice crops have been restored. Back to the king, he summons the royal astrologers, who divine the horse's name, Réach Kol, and the fact that it wants a bride. The king tries to arrange a mating between the horse and one of the mares, but the horse wants one of the princesses. The king then asks his daughters which one will accept the proposal: the elder two refuse, save for Pou. The youngest princess marries Réach Kol, but her elder sister, driven by rage at her cadette marrying a horse, tries to poison it, but her mother, the queen, dissuades her, for fear of retaliation on the king's part. Meanwhile, Réach Kol takes off the equine disguise and goes to sleep next to Pou in human form, and dons the skin in the morning. For the next two nights, Réach Kol takes off the skin to sleep at night, and is discovered on the third night. The king's court learns of this and Pou's father decides to hold an event to celebrate, and embraces Réach Kol, in human form, as his son-in-law. Later, Réach Kol begins to miss his parents, and Indra allows for a visit: Indra himself descends to Earth and blesses the couple, and Pusnaka, the celestial architect, orders the "angels" to create a palace connecting both palaces. Pou's elder sisters begin to nurture jealousy towards her cadette, and the elder tries to flirt with her brother-in-law, who does not respond to her advances. Then, Réach kshatrei gives Pou a resin that is fit for a heavenly being (in reality, a poisonous one) for her to anoint Réach Kol's body. The oil does not kill Réach Kol, but paints him with a gold countenance and perfumes his body. Eventually, Réach Kol begins to distrust his wife, and decides to return to heaven, but gives her a ring as remainder. Pou awakes, and cannot find her husband, so decides to go after him: she goes to Hembaupean and meets the king of the lions, the king of the tigers, the king of the elephants, and the king of the rhinos, through which Réach Kol has passed. Then, Pou passes by the yêak and the kénâ, then by the dead and the revenants, through a scorching desert, a land of perpetual snow, until she reaches an untraversable sea. A crocodile and a snake help her to cross the water bodies, and finally an eagle takes the princess up Mount Kélassa in a caravanserai. Meanwhile, Réach Kol's father rejoices in having his son back, and arranges a wedding between him and another heavenly being. A servant goes to the caravanserai to fetch water to Réach Kol's ablutions, and Pou secretly drops her ring in a jug. The servant takes the jug to Réach Kol, who recognizes the ring and faints, but regains his bearings and asks for the servant to bring Pou in. Reach Kol's father and the heavenly kingdom are irritated due to the presence of a mortal, and the king hatches a plan: he gives a soporific drink to everyone, making them fall asleep, and orders some servants to kidnap Pou and take her to a distant cave.

In his analysis, Guesdon stated that the tale was extracted from a Pali source, and the tale was very popular, especially in north Cambodia. According to Guesdon, the story of Réach Kol mirrors other Satras wherein a heavenly being on way to Buddhahood incarnates on Earth in the shape of an animal, marries a princess, regains human form, both go through a period of separation and later reunite.

The tale was also translated as Der Pferdeprinz by Hans Nevermann. In a review of the book, Heinz Wilhelm Haase classified the tale as belonging to tale type ATU 425, "The Search for the Lost Husband". In his review of the book, scholar Walter Anderson also classified the tale as types 433 and 425.

Judith M. Jacobs dated the tale to 18th-19th centuries, by an author named Varapañña.

Zaonezh'ya ATU 425 (A?)

In a tale from Zaonezh'ya titled by the compiler as "Чудесный супруг" ("The Enchanted Husband"), three orphan brothers rock their little sister on her cradle, the elder promising to buy her a hat, the middle one a feresok, and the youngest that she will marry a person named Polka. Years later, when she is a young woman, she asks her brothers to fulfill their promises. About the youngest's, a man named Polka appears by their house and demands the girl as his wife. After three days of their refusal, the brothers relent and surrender their sister to Polka. Polka takes the girl with him to a large house where they both live. When night comes, Polka gives the girl a sleeping potion and she falls asleep, never able to see his true face. On the third night, the girl lights a match in the room and finally sees his countenance: arms of gold, legs of silver and pearls in his hair. A spark falls on his hair and burns it; he vanishes to parts unknown. The girl waits some days to see if he returns, but he does not. The girl then goes to a hut in the back of the garden to talk to an old woman. The old woman tells the girl Polka has vanished to another kingdom and married the daughter of witch named Gigibibikha; she gives the girl a silver loom, a silver fuse and a golden ball, the latter she is to throw and follow it to the old woman's sister's house. The girl casts the golden ball and reaches another hut on chicken legs; she is welcomed by an old woman that says she is Polka's aunt, and gives her a golden spindle with a silver thread, and sends her to her elder sister. The elder sister, another of Polka's aunts, is sewing on a golden circle with a silver needle, and tells the girl to go to Gigibibikha and sell the golden objects for one night with Polka, one object for each night. The girl goes to Gigibibikha and trades the objects for three nights: she tries to wake Polka on the first two, but fails, due to Polka being given a sleeping draught by the witch's daughter. Polka wakes up on the third night and arranges with his human wife a way to get rid of the witch and her daughter for good. Polka gives her a basket with a bar, a comb, some fishes, resin, some ribbons, and meat, and advises her to give the meat to the dogs, the fishes to the cat, smear the resin on the door latches, and tie a ribbon around the birch trees, and escape. The girl follows Polka's intructions and leaves the cat to pretend to weave on a loom to distract Gigibibikha, while the pair makes their escape. Gigibibikha notices the ruse and commands the cat, the dogs, the doors and the birches to stop them, to no avail. She then rushes after them, but Polka and his wife throw objects to delay her: a comb turns into a wasteland, a whetstone becomes a rocky road, and a silk scarf becomes a river of fire that burns Gigibibikha. Polka punishes the witch's daughter and lives with his wife.

Flanders ATU 425A

In a Flemish tale published in 1895 with the title De Koopman en zijne drie Dochters ("The Merchant and his three daughters"), a merchant prepares to go on a journey, and asks his daughters what presents he can bring on his return: the elder wants a sun-coloured dress, the middle one a moon-coloured dress and the youngest a single rose. The merchant buys the dresses, but cannot find the rose. He reaches a castle and spends the night there, a bodiless voice inviting him in. The next morning, the merchant goes to the castle's garden and plucks a rose. Suddenly, a serpent appears to him with a menacing voice and demands the merchant's youngest daughter in exchange. The merchant agrees to the deal and convinces his third daughter to go with the serpent. The animal assuages the girl's fears and reveals he is an enchanted prince, and must live with a maiden for a determinate amount of time in order to break his curse: they shall talk for an hour every day for the first month, and so on and so forth, until they talk for 12 hours for every day of the the twelfth month. The girl agrees to live with him and they eventually break his curse, the only leftover the snakeskin. They celebrate their victory, but the prince warns her that they must live peacefully for another seven years and seven months, as the last condition of his curse. The prince, now human, and the girl go to visit her family. Seeing their cadette's luck, the envious elder sisters burn the prince's leftover snakeskin and he disappears. The girl, then, fashions seven pairs of iron shoes, seven pairs of leather shoes, and seven pairs of glass shoes, and goes to look for him. After a long and strenuous journey, she wears out the iron shoes, breaks the glass shoes and walks in the leather pairs. She stops to rest near a river, where old ladies are talking. The girl tells the old women the reason for her journey, and they reveal the prince is living in a nearby castle with another spouse, and give her three boxes, for her to use should the need arise. The girl employs herself as a maid in the false bride's castle, and opens the boxes: splendid dresses come out, the first of silver, the second of gold and the third made of encrusted gems. The merchant's daughter uses the dresses to bribe the false bride for three nights with her husband. Belgian folklorist Maurits De Meyer, in his Flemish Folktale Catalogue, classified the tale as type 425C, La fille épouse de l'ours (lion) ("The Bear (Lion)'s Wife").

Venezuelan ATU 425A

Venezuelan poet and folklorist Rafael Olivares Figueroa published a tale sourced from Camaguán, Guarico. In this tale, titled Cuento de las Montañas de Humo, an old woman gives birth to a long snake. Whe he is fifteen years old, he falls in love with the king's youngest daughter, but she refuses him. The king's middle daughter also rejects him, save for the eldest princess, who agrees to marry him. On the wedding night, the snake, named Culebrón, takes off the snakeskin and becomes a handsome prince, to her delight. Príncipe Culebrón warns his wife to keep this a secret between them and not tell anyone, lest he will depart forever. This goes on for some time, until one day the princess decides to show her husband to her father, the king, when the prince is asleep. Suddenly, the prince wakes up, realizes he has been betrayed, and departs to the Montañas del Humo. The princess decides to go after him and, donning twelve pairs of iron shoes, goes after him. She passes by the house of the Sun and his mother (where she is given a golden comb), the Wind and his mother (where she is given a golden peineta), and the house of the Moon and his mother (where she is given a golden thimble), in search of information about her husband's whereabouts, but the Sun, the Wind and the Sun do not know anything. Finally, she reaches the house of the Zamuro ('vulture') and his mother. Still, the Zamuro does not know, but suggests the princess reaches the house of the Eagle's mother, and his own mother gives the princess another pair of iron shoes for the road, and a golden bird as gift. She goes to the house of the Eagle's mother, who welcomes her in and asks the reason for her journey: the princess tells her she has been searching for her husband for seven years. The Eagle's mother explains her son can take the princess to the Montañas del Humo, if she kills an ox as provision for the journey. The Eagle comes and is told about the princess's mission, then begins her aerial journey. The princess feeds the Eagle the ox, but the journey is too long, and the princess cuts off slices of each leg to feed the bird. At last, she reaches the Montañas del Humo, and the Eagle restores her legs but spitting out the cut off flesh. The Eagle explains the prince is there, and flies off. The princess asks for shelter and is welcomed into the stables. The story then explains the snake prince is now married to an old witch, and takes out the golden comb the Moon's mother gave her. The witch's servant, a black woman, sights the princess with the extravagant princess and reports to her mistress. The witch wishes to have the comb, and the princess trades it for a night in the prince's chambers. The princess tries to wake him up, but the prince has drunk some chocolate with a potion and falls asleep. The princess then trades the peineta, the thimble and the golden bird for the following nights, in hopes of waking her husband up, but he remains deep in slumber due to the witch's concoction. Due to this, the princess gives up and goes back home. The tale ends.

In a Venezuelan tale titled Las Montañas del Humo, a girl wanders off until she reaches a house where she spends the night. There, she finds everything she wishes for and feels that someone sleeps beside her in bed, but cannot see them, since she is forbidden from lighting any candle. Time passes, and the girl asks the person to visit their family. The person allows it and she goes back to her parents' house. Her mother gives her a matchbox and a candle, and she goes back. At night, she lights up the candle and finds a handsome man beside her. The youth wakes up and admonishes her, saying that she will never find him again, save after much effort, then disappears. The girl then begins her journey: she passes by the house of the Moon and his mother, where she asks the location of the Montañas del Humo, where the youth has vanished to. The Moon does not know, but gives her a totuma (a fruit). The girl then passes by the house of the Sun and his mother (where she gains a golden sheet), the house of the Wind (Viento) and his mother (where she gains a yarn) and finally the house of the Águila Real (Royal Eagle) and his mother. There, the girl is told the Eagle can take her to the Montañas del Humo, provided she finds an ox for the journey so he can be fed with it. The Eagle's mother also gives her a necklace, and the bird takes the girl on a aerial journey. On reaching the Montañas del Humo, the girl trades the objects she gained from her helpers and finds her beloved again.

Asiatic Animal Bridegroom + ATU 403 (heroine's reincarnation)

"Contes javanais" par G. A. J. Hazeu (1902) - pp. 22-24: "repandue" in Java; a widow wishes for a son, even if he is an animal (Djaka Deleg; iguana, Djaka Selira; lizard Kadal kentjana; dongeng, Kloentoeng Waloeh) or an object, like a rice cooker, Djaka kendil, or a gourd, Kloentoeng waloeh. He then asks his mother to court a king's daughters: elders refuse, youngest agrees; before, he has to provide grandiose wedding gifts requested by the king, which he does with the help of the bidadaris or from the gods; the animal son marries the princess. Later, there is a tournament in town, which the animal prince attends without his disguise; the princess discovers the disguise, destroys it, and introduces her husband as a fine youth. The elder princesses, on seeing their handsome brother-in-law, lament the fact they rejected him.

In a tale collected by Antony Landes from "Tjames" (Champa, or Cham people), Noix de Coco ("The Coconut"), also translated into Russian as "Царский зять Кокосовый Орех" ("The King's Son-in-Law, The Coconut)", the heroine marries a man in coconut shell, breaks his plant disguise and reveals he is a handsome man underneath it. Her elder sisters, envious of her cadette's lucky marriage, have a row with her on a boat and accidentally throw her overboard, then return home to cry crocodile tears to their brother-in-law. Meanwhile, the heroine survives and turns into a clam shell that is found by a poor couple, and acts as their mysterious housekeeper, coming out of the shell then returning to it. [Was compared to Thai/Tai tale "История Кокхо" ("The Tale of the Head"): a widow gives brith to a bodiless head named Kokhko, who has magical powers. When he is older, he wants to marry, and the widow courts one of the princesses on his behalf. He marries the youngest/seventh daughter, who knows the truth of his identity. Later, the king has a dream about Sakiya ordering him to go to his land. The seventh princess asks her husband to go there in order to spare her father, and he returns, not as a head, but as a handsome man. The elder princesses notice his beauty, but their cadette mocks them for refusing to marry him when he showed himself as a single head.]

In a tale from the Toto people translated as The Sweet Pumpkin and the Princess (Toto language: Pagrusheko Mengchaei or Pāgruśeko Meṅgchei), the youngest princess marries a person in pumpkin form, who cracks open his pumpkin husk and becomes a handsome man. The elder princess, jealous of her cadette's fortune, tosses her in the river and puts on her clothes to deceive her brother-in-law and nephew.

In a Nepalese tale sourced to a Kirati teller and translated to German with the title Der Schlangenkönig ("The Snake King")

Central Asian tale

Author Amina Shah published a Central Asian tale titled The Princess and the Donkey. In this tale, a king in Ispahan has a beautiful daughter named Noor-Chusham. Despite her comfortable station, she feels unhappy, for she wants something she is not allowed to have: a donkey as a pet. The king does not allow her to have one, so she begs to her aunt, Lady Lalla-Ruk, to see if she convinces the king. After three days, princess Noor-Chusham goes to see her, adn finds her in the middle of preparing a spell. The story then explains Lady Lalla-Ruk is a female Div who has marries the king's brother, and likes humans, but still connections to the Divs. She summons one and orders him to let hordes of animals loos in the palace: mice in the harems, bats in the throne room, wild cats near the windows, and parrots by the king's ears. It happens thus, and the palace falls into a ruckus. The king meets his sister-in-law and suspects the situation was the product of magic, and Lady Lalla-Ruk promises to investigate the matter, and she shall deliver the answer in three hours' time. Lady Lalla-Ruk goes to the bazaar, buys a donkey, and brings it to the palace with her. Later, the king assembles his court, and Lady Lalla-Ruk presents princess Noor-Chesham mounted on the donkey. Lady Lalla-Ruk explains the girl should have the donkey, and the animal problems in the palace shall vanish. Just as she says this, the animals disappear. Suddenly, the donkey begins to bray loudly, until it stops and falls to the ground, inert. The princess goes to cry over the downed animal, then a young prince rises out of the donkey's skin. The prince then explains the princess delivered him from a spell that cursed him into that form.

Seychellois ATU 425A?

In a Seychellois tale titled Krab Lor ("The Golden Crab"),

Heroine on the fatal swing (King Iguana)

In a Torajan tale translated to Russian with the title "Капиту" ("Kapitu"),

Puteri Rambang Rambunut (= Indonesian King Iguana)

In a Malaysian tale from Sabah titled Puteri Rambang Rambunut, in the kingdom of Dundangan, a king has seven daughters, the seventh and youngest the most beautiful and their father's most loved, to the others' jealousy. One day, a prince comes to court princesses, and lets the king have the last say in the matter. Each of the princess makes the case for themselves, save for Puteri Bongsu. On seeing the sisters' reaction, the king rejects his courtship to avoid more conflicts between the girls. Some time later, the girls go to take a bath in a river to calm down, when they spot a large rambunut fruit floating nearby. The fruit floats nearby each of the princess, who throws it to the next one out of fear of touching it, save for the last, Puteri Bongsu, who is brave enough to fetch it. For this, her sisters give her the mocking name "Puteri Rambang Rambunut".

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In a tale from the Chin people translated to "Сестра-злодейка" ("Evil Sisters"),

In a Viet tale translated to Russian with the title "Заколдованный муж" ("Enchanted Husband"),

East Timorese "King Iguana"

Samodo

In an East Timorese tale titled Samodo, a woman named Cassa-Láqui gives birth to a samodo, which is a venomous green serpent. Cassa-Láqui thinks about killing the animal, but she spares him and raises the cobra as her son. Years later, the samodo son asks his mother to court the seven sisters of a distant maternal uncle, by giving a rich dowry to the prospective bride: the sisters each reject the proposal for his snake form, save for the youngest, Soce-Bere, who agrees to the marriage. The samodo son then sends his wife and his mother on celebration, while he takes off the serpent skin to become a handsome youth and attend the festival for a while week. Soce-Bere notice the stranger, while her sisters go to their samodo brother-in-law's house and discover a discarded snakeskin, which they hide. Samodo reappears in human shape to them and demands the snakeskin back, which is to hang on a fountain. Soce-Bere's marriage with Samodo is a happy and fortunate one, to her sisters' intense jealousy. While Samodo is away, Soce-Bere is invited by the sisters to go play on a swing by the sea. After she sits on the swing, the girls shove the swing with such strength Soce-Bere is flung away into the sea to drown. Soce-Bere survives and clings to the back of a crocodile, where she gives birth to Samodo's son. Samodo himself comes back on a ship and rescues his wife, then lands and punishes his sisters-in-law.

Legend of the Snake-Man

In a Timorese tale collected in Viqueque with the Portuguese title A Lenda do Homem-Cobra ("Legend of the Snake-Man"), an old man named Leki lives with his seven daughters and is neighbours with an old woman named Hare. Hare lives alone, takes care of her crops and goes to fetch firewood in the forest. One day, she notices she is carrying a particularly heavy bundle with herself, and finds a snake inside it. The woman fears for the snake, but the animal talks to her and asks to be taken to her house, where it can rest. The woman agrees and lets the animal live with her, placing the reptile inside a basket. Some time later, the reptile turns into a man, who helps Hare in her domestic chores. One day, the snake passes by Leki's house and sights the seven beautiful daughters, wishing to marry one of them, so he asks Hare to court one of the girls on his behalf. Hare goes to visit Leki with fruits and corn, but the man's daughters reject her proposal due to her poverty. She keeps insisting so much that Leki's youngest daughter's, Bui Iku, curiosity is piqued, and she goes to check on their neighbour, who they know lives alone. Bui Iku finds the handsome snake man inside Hare's house and wants to marry him. The snake-man and Hare are very happy with Bui Iku's answer, and the snake-man moves out to a larger house which he buys with his work. One year later, Bui Iku is pregnant, and her snake husband goes on a trip overseas to buy clothes and other provisions for his firstborn. While he is away, Bui Iku's sisters decide to visit their cadette to learn more about the snake husband, since he has become a respected member of the local communities, despite coming from a lineage of snakes that can shapeshift into human beings. Bui Iku's sisters try to destroy her marriage out of pure jealousy, and one of them, Kassa, decides to invite Bui Iku for a bath in the sea, intending to drown her there. All the while, both woman converse about the snake husband, with Kassa trying to convince Bui Iku the snake will eventually kill her due to hsis serpentine nature, but Bui Iku has none of it and believes in her husband's reputation. Defeated, Kassa drowns Bui Iku and leaves her for dead, returning to her sisters. However, Bui Iku survives, for the waves wash her ashore a secluded island with a coconut tree and a rooster. Spending her days there on the island, Bui Iku laments her fate, her cries echoing to reach her husband's ship, which is just returning from a journey. The snake hears his wife's voice growing louder, finds her on the island, and takes her back with him. When his ship docks, Kassa comes to see her brother-in-law and finds Bui Iku has been rescued. Enraged, she enters their house to destroy the snake-man's gifts from the journey, but Bui Iku discovers her and kills her with a knife. She and her husband bury her in the yard, and an eggplant sprouts from her grave, its thorny leaves prickling anyone who dares touch it. In time, the snake man's son (Mane Mesak) is born, and when he, as a child, goes to see the plant, Kassa's voice orders her to stay away. Mane Mesak tells the incident to his parents and they decide to burn the plant. The tale then segues into Mane Mesak's youth.

Goldener ATU 530/AaTh 532/ATU 314

Karel Horálek states that types 314, 502 and 532 are closely connected. Similarly, according to German scholar Kurt Ranke, ""

Claude Lévi-Strauss, in his book The Story of the Lynx, stated that a local Amerindian narrative named "The Story of Lynx" already existed in the continent by the 16th century, and showed immense parallels to the European/Old World tale of "Le Teigneux", a hero of lowly apperance that belies a noble countenance. However, he rejected the idea that the Amerindian tale is an European borrowing, and argued as a parallel an Aztec tale supposedly borrowed from the Toltec people: the deity Tezcatlipoca wants to destroy the Toltec, so he takes on a human disguise (Titlacauan) with a lowly appearance and dresses in rags, then goes to sell peppers in the marketplace; the daughter of the Toltec king, Huemac, spots Titlacauan's endowment under the rags, and falls in love with him.

Birth of Prince and Foal (mythological undercurrent of the Goldener Tale?)

p. 75 by Georg Hüsing

Wendy Doniger indicates that the simultaneous birth of prince by the queen and colt by the (royal) mare is a motif of an Indo-European mythological narrative. In an earlier book, Doniger supposes that, in the Urtext of the story, there is a single mother (both human and mare), and "the boy and a single colt must have been twins.".

Similarly, according to Bulgarian scholar Ivan Marazov, "This reveals the importance of the horse in the mythology and epos of the Indo-European peoples: the stallion usually represents the hypomorphous half of the gemini, he is born simultaneously with the hero whom he is to serve later. ... Horse and rider form an invincible whole and the heroic deeds are performed by both of them. ... the hero ... is born simultaneously with the horse with which he is to perform heroic deeds marking his initiation trials."

According to Bulgarian folklorist Lyubomira Parpulova, in Bulgarian tales, a tree in the garden has a magical fruit that is eaten by a woman and a mare, and both, respectively, give birth to a son and a foal at the same time.

Non-Iranian incidence of birth of horse and foal

A Southeast Asian story of Buddhist origin has the birth of a prince and a winged horse: queen Kesani eats a jujube and gives birth to prince Sudhana/Suthana (or Sattadhanu), while a mare eats the stone of the fruit and foal a horse named Manikakkha ('Jewel Eyes'). Prince and horse develops a friendship and, later, decide to fly off to another kingdom.

Linguist Samuel Ethan Fox published a tale in the Jilu dialect of Neo-Aramaic. In this tale, a king and queen have no children. One day, magicians visit his kingdom and offer a solution: one produces two apples, one to be eaten by the royal couple and another to be given to his horse and mare. They follow the magicians' instructions and, nine months later, a son is born to the queen and a foal to the mare. The king banishes any references to hunting in the palace. Despite this, years later, the prince is being tutored by a teacher, who shows him the picture of a gazelle. This piques his curiosity, and later the prince rides his horse in the wilderness until they come across a gazelle. The prince chases after the animal, but loses his way.

German linguist Bernard Schmidt collected a Greek tale from Zakynthos with the title Τὸ φίδι τὸ ᾽φτακέφαλο, which he translated as Die siebenköpfige Schlange ("The Seven-Headed Serpent"). In this tale, a kingdom is menaced by a large seven-headed serpent, to which youths are delivered as sacrifice. This goes on for years, until one day the local king is old enough and sighs that he has no son, and so does the queen. Suddenly, an old woman appears to her with an apple, which she says was an inheritance from her mother. The old woman says the fruit can grant the royal couple their wish. The queen buys it from the old woman, eats it and throws away the peels. A mare passes by the garden and eats the peels. Nine months later, the queen gives birth to a son, while the mare foals a colt. The boy and the little horse grow up together and love each other "like brothers". When the prince is 19 years old, after the queen and the king dies, the horse begins to talk and tells him they should go to the underground monastery the old woman belongs to, if he wishes to save his country from the serpent.

Appearance of the horse

According to scholar David Hunt, a "recurring motif" from North Caucasus, in their legends and fairy tales, is the hero finding his horse companion from the sea.

Turkologist Ignác Kúnos noted the existence of helpful magical horses in Turkish folklore: the Kamer Tay (Камӓр Таі) and the Sea-Horse (аіҕыр). The Kamar Tay is born from the same apple a Dervish gives to a childless padishah, when a mare eats the apple peels. As for the Sea-Horse, it lives in water, but can emerge and return to it; it comes at night to the surface to drink water and can be tamed if one places iron soles on its hooves. Sometimes the Sea-Horses are identified as children of a Wind Dev. The magical horse drinks rosewater and eats almonds.

"King Vikramaditya and his Wife" - Indian ATU 314 (lacks horse, has svayamvara and gardener part)

According to Annemarie Schimmel, the Meer-Pferd, or samūnḑī gbōrā (ghoṛā? Horse in Urdu), appears in "these types of [Pakistani?] tales": it lives near the seashore, and can only be tamed by a hero.

In a tale from the Assyrian people published by Russo-Assyrian author Konstantin P. (Bar-Mattai) Matveev with the title "Сын бедняка" ("The Poor Man's Son"), a poor man named Gzirai has a wife, who gives birth to a son. The woman sews him a fine garment that can protect him from evil, and keeps it in a chest until her son is 17 years old. Time passes, the boy grows up in leaps and bounds, and wears the fine garments on one occasion. One day, he tells his mother he wishes to leave home and return when he is stronger. He says his goodbyes, and walks near the shore. Suddenly, the waves crash at the beach: a sea horse comes to the shore, gives birth to a foal, then goes back into the water. The newborn foal is defenseless against a nearby ant colony, which wish to kill and devour the animal in retaliation for its mother destroying their anthills. Gzirai's son rushes to the foal's aid and carries it to the water, so it can be washed and gain strength. After doing so, the ants disperse and the sea horse appears again. The animal thanks the youth for saving its colt and allows him to have it as a companion, then teachs him to breath on the foal to turn it into a needle, allowing Gzirai's son to carry it anywhere. After the sea horse departs, Gzirai's son does as instructed and the foal, whom he names Ispert, turns into a needle he pins on his clothes. The youth then reaches a kingdom where he finds work as a gooseherd, and lives in a shabby hut. Some time later, the local king's daughters come of age and the monarch summons a gathering of suitors, for the princesses to choose their husbands by throwing an apple to them from the palace balcony. The next day, suitors assemble in the maidan in front of the palace, and Gzirai's son herds his geese nearby. The elder princesses throw their apples to the sons of the royal viziers. The youngest princess throws her apples and it hits the gooseherd's head. The king thinks his daughter made a mistake, then orders the gooseherd to be driven away from the maidan, while the princess retries twice. On the second attempt, the princess's apple hits Gzirai's son yet again. The princess resigns to her fate, while the king banishes her to live in poverty with the gooseherd. Some time later, the king convenes with his Majlis, and asks them how the realm can sell their products, since the mountains surround them like a kingdom. The viziers and elders suggest the king sends his sons-in-law to scurry the mountains for an alternate trade route, which the king does. The gooseherd learns of this and decides to join them: he blows on the needle and summons his foal Ispert, then rides to a random place in the mountains. He lets Ispert graze nearby, while the youth goes to open up a path by moving some rocks out of the way. A second sea horse appears to help Gzirai's son, and both clear the way for caravans to pass through. The sea horse then advises the youth to put on his fine garments, and says the coming caravan is bringing a gift for his wife.

Next, the king laments that the realm lies on infertile soil of sand and stone, and orders them to turn it into fertile land for harvest.

The Svayamvara

"ترنـج زریـن" - golden bergamot indicated princess's choice of husband

In a 1948 article, Waldemar Liungman traced the appearance of "The Goldener" narrative to the period of 700 a.C.-300 a.C., more specifically, the golden apple motif, a mark of the princess's self-choice of husband. Lastly, the story existed in both Macedonia and in Persia, and in the latter molded into the "Goldener" tale. In a 1961 book, he traced the Goldener story back to Persia, and noted its popularity among the Arabs.

Author Amina Shah published a Central Asian tale titled Gushtasp and the Princess of Roum: Iranian prince Gushtasp goes to the land of Roum, and falls in love with its princess, Katayun. The princess wants to be married, and the king holds an assembly, as it was custom in that land, for the princesses to choose husbands by giving them bouquets of flowers, indicating their choices. In the gathering of suitors, princess Katayun circles around the men, sights Gushtasp, gives him her bouquet, then leaves with her sisters.

The Embroidered Ball Tossing in China

Professor Michael Saso writes thus about the practice in China: "The 7/7 festival is also the day on which a woman can propose to a man. In traditional China women climbed atop a tower in the evening and threw an embroidered ball to the man they loved".

John Macgowan: "It may here be explained that it was a custom in the early days of the history of China to allow any young maiden who was reluctant to have her husband chosen for her by her parents, to make use of what was called "The throwing of the embroidered ball" in order to discover the man whom the gods intended her to marry. This ball was made of some soft material, wrapped round with a piece of red silk which was covered with variegated figures, worked by the damsel's own hands and emblematic of the love by which the hearts of husband and wife are bound indissolubly to each other. It was firmly believed by every maiden of this romantic type that the man who was struck by the ball from her fair hands was the one whom Heaven had selected as her husband; and no parent would ever dream of refusing to accept a choice made in this way."

"In a poem entitled "Kuan Ku Fan so-ts'ang Sung ssu chin-shih ssu-pien ko", Kao Ch'i (1336-1374) describes, among other things, an embroidered ball falling from a high gate-tower, indicating that this is a scene in which a husband is being chosen. [...] Ku (pp. 113-114) is more certain that the theme of the tossing of the embroidered ball in drama was an adaptation from the custom of the minority tribes in south-western China. § Whatever the case may be, the more immediate source of the episode of Meng-cheng's marriage probably comes from a yuan-pen, "P'ao hsiu-ch'iu". [...] In any case, the tossing of an embroidered ball from a ts'ai-lou as a means to choose a husband had become by the Yuan a very popular theme since it was built into the plot of quite a few tsa-chü plays."

Motif of the quest for the remedy

In addition, Germanist Gunter Dammann, in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, noted that the motif of the quest for the remedy appeared "with relative frequency" in over half of the variants that start with the Subtype 2 opening (stepmother's persecution of hero and horse).

Native American ATU 314

According to Stith Thompson, tale type ATU 314, "Goldener", is reported in more than 15 variants among Native American populations.

In a tale collected from a Maliseet source titled Louis and the Grey Horse,

Wotjak ATU 314

[68]

Volksbräuche und Volksdichtung der Wotjaken. = Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne 102 by D. R. Fuchs, Bernhard Munkácsi. Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, 1952. pp. 215-219 (tale nr. 87)

Azeri ATU 314 (= Iranian "The Black Colt")

A fekete ló ("The Black Horse")

Fiú a fehér lovon ("The Boy and the White Horse")

Romanian AaTh 532

In a Romanian tale collected from teller Mihai Purdi with the title Nuştiule ("I Don't Know"),

Serbian ATU 314

Ћела - Chela (starts with the suitor selection; hero already gardener); still 314

Estonian SUS 532 (?) / ATU 314

Estonian folklorist Ello Kirss Säärits from Seto teller Ul'ga Ridala with the Seto title Valgõtsirk, translated to Estonian with the title Valge lind ("White Bird"), a couple has no children, and the man goes to the town and meets a person who gives him an apple, to be sliced in half, each half to be given to his wife and their horse. It happens thus and a son is born to the couple and a foal to the horse. Years later, the boy is made to look after his father's shop while he goes on a journey, and his mother takes up a lover. The woman tries to kill her son: for the first two days, she tries to poison his food, but the horse shows the boy its bloodied hooves and warns the boy not to touch the food; on the third day, the woman dips the plates in poison, which will kill the boy if he but touches it, and again the foal warns him to avoid touching them. The woman discovers who has been protecting her son, and calls him for dinner again, but the boy goes to meet the foal. The foal tells the boy to jump on its back, for their killers are at the stable doors. The horse gallops away and takes the boy to another kingdom, near a king's apple orchard. The boy dimisses the horse and goes to sleep near the orchard. Many people come to wake up the boy, and the king even whips him to make him utter a sound, to no avail. The monarch moves him out to a nearby hut, and sends the princesses to deliver him food. The boy does not interact with the elder two princesses, but reveals his name is "Valge lind" ("White Bird") to the youngest. Some time later, the king sends his daughters to be sacrificed to the monsters near the beach. Each time, the princess says she has to say goodbye to White Bird in the gardens, then goes to the beach. White Bird summons his horse and goes to the beach, as an one-headed monster comes out of the water. The White Bird tosses some powder inside the monster's mouth and saves the princess, who invites her saviour to eat some salty bread in her father's castle. He denies her request, saying his name is Ivan Kaupmees, and is already full of the king's three whippings. The middle princess goes to the beach as the next sacrifice, and White Bird, under the Ivan Kaupmees's identity, kills the two-headed monster and saves the princess. The third time, the youngest princess is promised as a sacrifice, and a three-headed monster rises out of the sea to devour her. White Bird rides his loyal horse to the beach and, after a hard battle, defeats the monster, but is injured in his hand. The youngest princess wraps her handkerchief around the knight's hand, and he departs. Back to the kingdom, the monarch wishes to learn the true identity of their saviour and summons everyone in the kingdom, but no one has the handkerchief. The youngest princess remembers the boy White Bird in the gardens, and goes to bring him in. White Bird is shown as their saviour, and he marries the youngest princess. At the end of the tale, White Bird summons his horse to return to his homeland and meets his father herding pigs at home. The man does not recognize his son, and tells him his wife has transformed into a devil. White Bird kills his mother, then takes his father to his wife's kingdom to live with them.

Lithuanian AaTh 314A

In a Lithuanian tale collected from an Ožkabaliai source in 1896 and titled Apė vieną karalių ir jo sūnų ("About the king and his son"), an old king wishes to remarry, and chooses a young lady as his wife, who marries the old king out of familial duty. They marry and she has a son with him, but the young queen hates her husband, and consorts with another monarch. The young queen conspires with her lover to get rid of the old husband, and he cuts off his head in the forest during a travel. The lovers marry, and the old king's son visits his father's grave. The prince's father's spirit appears and gives him a silver saddle, with which the young prince can summon a silver horse equipped with silver armour. The prince visits his father's grave for two more nights, gaining a golden saddle to summon a golden horse with golden armour, and a diamond saddle that can summon a diamond horse with diamond armour. Back to the new royal couple, when the prince is fourteen years old, the new king has a dream where he cut off his stepson's head, and in the morning the queen, on hearing this, joins with her husband in trying to kill her son by poisoning him. Thus, the king orders a maidservant to bake a cake with poison in it and give it to the prince. The maidservant, in tears, brings the poisoned food to the prince, and he asks her the reason for her tears: she reveals the food is poisoned, the prince gives it to the cat and decides to flee to another kingdom. The young prince then finds work as a squire in the next kingdom, but one of the king's daughters notice him and suggests he should be hired as the gardener's assistant. Some time later, when people are at church, the young prince, in his lowly disguise as the gardener's assistant, summons each of the horses with the saddles for a ride around the garden - events witnessed by the princess, who was left at home. When the king returns from church, the princess tells her father she wants to marry the gardener's assistant; the king agrees to her decision, but in retaliation, orders her to leave his sight. The princess marries him, and she goes to live with him in a humble house. Some time later, war breaks out, and the king decides to get rid of his lowborn son-in-law, by giving him a lame mount and sending him to be killed in the battlefield. However, out of sight, the prince summons the silver horse, defeats the enemies, then returns to his gardener's assistant's disguise. War breaks out twice more, and the prince summons the golden horse to battle in the second conflict, and the diamond horse to fight in the third one. During the third war, the prince is injured in the leg, which the king bandages with a kerchief. The prince then returns to his humble home to rest. After the wars, the king marries one of the other princesses, and is convinced to invite his disgraced daughter and her husband to the celebration. The prince, still in his lowly appearance, attends the feast and pretends to be drunk, and positions himself so as to keep his leg injury visible. When the king sights him, he notices the injury and the bandage, thus confirming the gardener's assistant was the knight at the battlefield. The king apologizes for his treatment and names him as his successor.

Lithuanian ATU 314

In a Lithuanian tale collected from a Gražiškiai source with the title Apė vienturtį karaliaus sūnų ir jojo žirgą ("About the son of the king and his horse"), a queen is barren, and an old woman advises the king to catch a certain fish in a lagoon, cook it and serve it to the queen. The fishermen catch the fish, the cook prepare it and serve it to the queen. The fish's guts are thrown out, and a mare and a she-dog eat it and each gives birth to a golden-maned foal and a golden-furred puppy, while the queen gives birth to a son with the sun on the front and the moon on the back of his head. The young prince plays with the animals and travels alongside his father, the king, which causes the queen, his mother, to feel envy towards her own son. One day, the prince goes to meet the foal, which warns him that they will bake him cakes laced with poison, and he should give them to the puppy. Following the foal's warning, the prince gets the cakes and throws it to his puppy, which eats it and dies. The prince soon suspects his mother of doing so, but she apologizes and the matter is settled. However, on another occasion, the queen sees her son riding around with the king's sword and spins a story the prince wants to kill his own father. The king believes his wife's false story and decrees the prince is to die in three days' time. The prince confides in his horse, which plans with the boy a means to escape: he is to ask the king for money, and the horse will provide him a bagpipe. On the appointed time, the prince is guided to his execution, but asks for a ride on his pet foal. The king grants his last wish, but soldiers surround him. He blows on the bagpipe and the soldiers fall to the ground, allowing the boy to escape to another kingdom. On the road, the prince trades clothes with a beggar, and finds work as a pigkeeper to a king, while he hides his horse in the garden. One day, the third and youngest princess spies on him out of his beggar disguise, and falls in love with him. She then announces she wishes to marry the pigkeeper, to which the king agrees, but moves her out to a humble hut. Later, war breaks out, and the prince joins in the battle to protect his father-in-law's kingdom. He summons his horse, rides into the battlefield as a knight (whom the king does not recognize) and blows on the bagpipe, killing the enemy army and their king. As a reward, his father-in-law presents him with the royal sword, and he rides back to the humble hut. After the war, the king hold a celebratory feast, and invites his daughter and her husband. The king goes to their hut and finds the royal sword in his possession, then kneels in front of the pigkeeper. The pigkeeper doffs his disguise, summons his loyal horse and rides around as the prince he is. On seeing the prince's true appearance, the king gives him the kingdom.

Austrian ATU 502 + AaTh 532

Ignaz and Josef Zingerle collected an Austrian tale titled Werweiss, where the young prince is captured by a wild man, then is advised to always answer "Werweiss".

Alfred Cammann/West Prussian ATU 314 (?)

Professor Alfred Cammann collected a West Prussian tale titled Prinz Jochen ("Prince Jochen"). In this tale, prince Johann's father marries another woman, who has her own son. She begins to hate her stepson for being the first heir, and wishes to make her son the king's heir, so she resorts to trying to get rid of Johann: she poisons his favourite dish, but a female friend of Johann warns him. After he gives the currants to a dog to calm him down, the animal eats it and dies, thus warning Johann of the danger. He decides to escape in the dark of the night and wanders to another kingdom, where he finds work as a stable boy and takes care of the local princess's untamed brown horse.

Hausa ATU 314 (= Iranian "Black Colt")

In a Hausa tale translated by missionary Adam Mischlich into German as Der Wunderpferd ("The Wonderful Horse"),

Iranian ATU 314 (= Iranian "Black Colt")

• Chanom, Maschdi Galin; Elwell-Sutton, Laurence Paul; Marzolph, Ulrich; Amirhosseini-Nithammer, Azar (1994). Die Erzählungen der Mašdi Galin Ḫānom: Text. Reichert. ISBN 9783882266214. Tales nr. 1 and 2.

• Chanom, Maschdi Galin; Elwell-Sutton, Laurence Paul; Marzolph, Ulrich; Amirhosseini-Nithammer, Azar (1994). Die Erzählungen der Mašdi Galin Ḫānom: Text. Vol. 2. Reichert. p. 48 (tales nr. 1 and 2). ISBN 9783882266276.

Malek Jamshid and the Wind Colt

Iranian author Ahmad Shamlou published an Iranian tale in his work The Book of Alley. In this tale, titled "ملک جمشید و کره بادی" ("Malek Jamshid and the Wind Colt"), prince Malek Jamshid has a magical horse as his companion, the titular Wind Colt. His stepmother, the second queen, hates him and tries to kill him, but the Wind Colt warns him everytime. Finally, the stepmother decides to kill the horse itself, but Malek Jamshid mounts on the horse and both fly away to another kingdom. Once they land, the Wind Colt gives him some of its hairs to be summoned. The horse also helps its human companion to get married to the princess of this kingdom.

Iranian/Bakhtiari ATU 314 (= "The Black Colt")

In an Iranian tale from Bakhtiari, the soldiers capture a black colt and bring it to the prince, Ali Mishza (علی میشه زا; English: "Ali Sheep-Born") or Alimishehza (علیمیشهزا), as a gift. He becomes friends with the colt, and goes to the stables to feed him chickpeas and raisins whenever he comes back from school. The shah remarries and spends time with his son, then goes to meet his wife, to the latter's great jealousy. Thus, she decides to kill her stepson: first, she bakes a shirmal bread with poison and places it on a platter. When Ali Misheza comes back from school, the black colt begins to talk to him from its stall and warns him about the poisoned bread.

in the stables, but one day, the colt's life is at stake when the queen demands its blood to cure her.

Iranian/Khorasan ATU 314 (= "The Black Colt")

In a Khorasani tale from Jolgeh Sankhvast, titled "شــاهزاده ابراهیــم" ("Shahzadeh Ebrahim" or "Prince Ebrahim"), the king's three daughters send three melons of varying ripeness to their father, the king, as analogy to their marriageability. The king interprets this daughters' intention correctly: it is past time they were married.

Iranian Qaradaghi ATU 314 (= Iranian "Black Colt")

In an Iranian tale collected in Qaradagh, East Azerbaijan, with the title "داستان پادشاه ذشوار و ابراهیم" ("King Deshwar and Prince Ibrahim"), King Deshwar has a son named Ibrahim. One day, while walking on the beach, king and prince find some aquatic horses coming out of the sea with their black-coated foal in tow. Prince Ibrahim spots the black foal and wants to have it, to which the king consents. Ibrahim and the black foal become good friends, and they grow up together. The king is also a widower, and married a second queen that hates her stepson. Her grudge grows in time, until she tells the king she wants the prince killed. The king disagrees with the idea, but the queen says she will do the deed herself. First, she digs up a well near the entrance to the palace and covers it with a carpet, as a trap for the prince to fall into. When the prince returns from school, he goes to meet the black foal, which warns him about the well. Thus, Ibrahim escapes by jumping over the carpet. The queen orders the hole to be filled with earth, and moves to another attempt: poisoning his food. The black horse warns the prince again: the prince feeds a pet cat with some of the food and avoids eating the dish.

The king and queen set their sights on the black horse. The next day, prince Ibrahim meets his equine friend and finds him in tears, since, this time, it is its life that is at stake.

Ibrahim flees his home kingdom and goes to another country. Some time later, war erupts, and he summons his loyal horse, requesting the animal to provide him with a powerful blade, then rides to the battlefield.

The Green Horse Colt (Hormozgan)

In an Iranian tale from Hormozgan titled "کره اسب سبز" ("The Green Horse Colt"), a boy is friends with a colt of green colour, which can speak. The animal warns him of the boy's stepmother's plans to kill him, and both escape when she sets her sights on the horse. Boy and horse flee to another kingdom, where a king lives with his seven daughters. The colt gives some of its hairs for the boy to summon it. The king's daughters throw oranges to their suitors of choice.

The Arab Colt

In an Iranian tale titled "کره عربی" ("The Arab Colt"),

Qiqbad and Bahri

In an Kurdish-Iranian tale titled "کیقباد و بحری" ("Qiqbad and Bahri" or "Kighbad and Bahri"),

Qiqbad is sent on a hunt for bird meat as remedy for the king.

Jewish ATU 314

In a Jewish-Persian tale collected in Iran with the title הבחור והסוס הפלאי ("The Boy/The Youth and the Horse of Miracle/Wonder"), archived in the Israeli Folktale Archive with the number IFA 9684, a king has two wives and a son. The prince's mother dies and he gains a pet foal from the horses. His stepmother tries to kill the boy to have the king's affection to herself: first, by poisoning his water; next, digs up a pit and covers it with a carpet for him to fall; thirdly, places poison on his mattress. With the foal's warnins, the prince survives. The queen then sets her sights on the horse, feigns illness and asks for the foal's blood as remedy. The prince asks for a last ride on the horse, and rides to another land, leaving a note to his father explaining his motives. The foal gives the prince some of the hairs from its mane in case he needs any help, and the prince enters the city under a diguise to work in the king's orchards. At one time, the prince summons the horse for a ride around the garden, which is seen the local king's youngest princess, who falls in love with him. The third princess then convinces her elder sisters to arrange for their weddings by sending melons to varying ripeness to the king as analogy for their marriageability. Thus, the king gathers elligible suitors for the princesses to throw pomegranates to their husbands to choice. The youngest princess throws her to the gardener three times, to her father's disgust, who banishes her to the barn. The princess asks the gardener about the time he rode on the horse, but denies it. Some time later, the prince-gardener joins to fight in the war, is eventually hurt and his wife bandages his wound, but, when he returns to the lowly disguise, he denies everything. Next, the king falls ill, and only a dish made of deer head can cure him. The brothers-in-law join for a hunt, but cannot find anything, until they find the prince, who is the gardener brother-in-law, whom they do not recognize, and ask for some deer meat, in exchange for branding their backs as slaves. At the end of the tale, the prince appears in his normal form for a meal with his father-in-law and demands his two slaves, the brothers-in-law he branded during the hunt.

ATU 314 and Magic Flight

Hilda-Gudrun (Friedrich Panzer)

The Magical Flight on Goldener Marchentype by Antti Aarne

Webster, Wentworth. Basque legends. London: Griffith and Farran. 1879. pp. 111ff --> "Ezkabi-Fidel" - Basque ATU 314: boy works with Devil in disguise for almost seven years, which he feels as almost seven months; white mare alerts him and they flee, the mare creating the obstacles by trotting the ground; boy works as gardener with a cap on head; third princess marries gardener; war sequence, quest for remedy for the king (brothers-in-law trade golden apples as payment).

Croatian ATU 314

In a Croatian tale titled Zlatne jabuke ("Golden Apples"), published by author Jelica Belović Bernadzikowska, (ATU 314 Croatian according to Maja Boskovich-Stulli)

Connections

"Népmese-tanulmány" - http://real-j.mtak.hu/17292/ (277-286). Solymossy argues that Cinderella (510A), Allerleirauh (510B), Nemtudonka/Goldener (314, 502, 532) and Hamupipöke/Ashlad (530) are four variations of the same cycle.

He argues that Nemtudonka is spread over three tale types: after he pretends to be a silly person, he works in the garden and wins the affections of the princess by showing his golden hair, or by giving her gifts. They marry and are still despised, but he gains the upper hand on his brothers-in-law during a hunt; or takes part in a war and is recognized by a battle wound. (p. 278).

Solymossy suggested that the supposed Nemtodunka original archetype has the humiliation of the brothers-in-law (by exchanging a betrothal gift, branding their backs or cutting off their little fingers) and/or the earning the father-in-law's favour by taking part in the war. This, to him, is evidence that Tuhkimo's archetype does not continue as neither, ending at the knight's recognition after the Glass Mountain challenge.(pp. 284-285).

Ralston explictly says: [69]: The tales of Goldenlocks and of Cinderella - Catskins are evidently twin forms of the same narrative, brother and sister developments of the same historical or mythological germ

[70] [71] = [72] [73] [74] = [75]

[76]

[77] Horse in Serbian folktales [78] plus 36, 37 - Croatian Neznanko - 532

[79][80] - Czech 314 by Bozena Nemcova (lacks stepmother's persecution, horse is hero's mother's returned, main gardener part intact)

Sámi ATU 314

Sami: Jetanas ja bardnekus, Norwegian: Jætten og Veslegutten; German: Der Riese und der kleine Junge - ATU 314 from Hammerfest: boy works as giant's servant; finds horse and both escape in a magic flight sequence; boy hides hair under cap and falls in love with princess, later sent to hunt partridges for the king and humiliates brothers-in-law; beheads horse, which becomes princess's brother.

In a Sámi tale collected by Just Qvigstad from a source in Lyngen and titled Gutten i tjeneste hos Risen, flykter med en hest, blir kongens svigersonn (English: "A boy in the service of a Giant, escapes with a horse and becomes a king's son-in-law"), a giant hires a boy in the woods to work with him in the forest. They have a small contest: the giant cuts down a tree, while the boy simply ties a rope to the top of the tree; the giant gives two buckets (which are barrels) to the boy to fetch water, and the latter says he wishes to fetch the nearby river itself, but the giant opposes. The giant then takes the boy to his farm to look after the horse, and forbids him to go to a certain house. One day, the horse tells the boy to enter the house, kill a heifer and hide its heart in his clothes. The boy does as ordered, then enters the giant's room and squeezes the heifer's heart, killing the giant. The horse then tells the boy to have a sip from a drinking horn so he could gain strength to lift a satchel. The boy does and steals the satchel, a saddle, a drinking horn and three suits (one like the stars, another like the moon and the third like the sun). The duo then traverse three forests (the first of copper, the second of silver and the third of gold), where they fight their multi-headed guardians. The boy then meets the father of the forest guardians and kills him with the end of a cane that can kill people. At last, the boy reaches a royal kingdom, where he leaves the talking horse in a blacksmith's and goes to the king to offer his services. The king hires him to pick up stones from meadows and fields. Later, the boy goes on a hunt with the husbands of two of the princesses, and takes his satchel to the hunt. He kills many grouses, and offers them to the princesses' husbands in exchange for the princesses' earrings. The boy himself shoots some crows and gives them to the third princess. Next, he also hunts some birds, which he gives to the princesses' husbands in exchange for their golden chains. The boy also hunts an eagle and gifts it to the third princess, along with the earrings and chains. Some time later, war breaks out, and the boy asks for a fine horse to fight in the war. The boy is mockingly given a bull to ride on, but he ditches the animal and goes to his horse; he puts on the suits of armor, then uses the human-killing cane to kill the enemy army. This happens three times. On the third battle, the boy is shot in the buttocks, then rushes to the king's lands to return to his lowly disguise. The king notices the servant boy is limping and sends for a doctor to check on him: the boy has a bullet with the king's name lodged in his buttocks, proving he was the knight at the battlefield. The third princess then marries the boy. At the end of the tale, the talking horse asks the boy to cut off its head. The boy does and the horse changes back into the king's son, who was taken by the giants during the war.

Kazakh AaTh 532 / SUS 532

In a Kazakh tale titled Hanşa men Balası, translated to Turkish as Padişah ile Çocuğu ("The Padishah and his Son"), a padishah has a young son. One day, one of the padishah's horses is missing, and the prince goes to look for it, finding the animal near a lake.

Hero's mother tries to kill him, but the magic horse, a tulpar, warns him everytime. The queen feigns illness and asks for the meat of the tulpar, tricking the padishah for it, but the prince escapes to another land. The tulpar horse gives some of its hairs to the prince and gallops away. The prince enters another kingdom and assumes the identity of Bilmeymin ("I don't know"), for the only answer he gives to people.

Belarusian SUS 532

In a Belarussian tale titled "Іван і кусюлька" ("Ivan and Kusyulka"), hero finds horse, horse warns about stepmother, both escape, on horse's words always answer "Zyalenaya, zyalenaya" ("green, green").

• Иван и кусюлька - horse protects hero, stepmother's persecution, hero to answer "зялёная, зялёная", works in garden.

Belarus SUS 707

• Іван Іванавіч — царэвіч
• Баранчыкі-панічыкі
• Пра цудоўнага сына

Ural Cossacks SUS 532

Neznaika (tale nr. 191)

[81]

Romani Kelderari SUS 532

Neznamka

Uyghur SUS 532?

[82]

Russian SUS 532

In a Russian tale from White Sea teller Matvei M. Korguev with the title "Незнайко" ("I Don't Know"), .

Russian SUS 532 from Transbaikal

In a Russian tale collected from Transbaikal with the title "Незнаюшка" ("Neznayushka"), king Kartaus, who is childless strolls through the garden and plucks an apple from a tree. Suddenly, an old man with iron legs appears and threatens the king into giving what he does not know at home. The king agrees to his deal and returns home, only to discovers his son has been born in the meantime. Seventeen years later, prince Ivan takes is sitting by the window, when a piece of paper flies in through the window: it is a message from the old man with iron legs. The prince asks his father about it and he explains about the deal he made years ago. The prince then takes a horse and walks the path to meet the old man. A crow perched on a branch warns Ivan and advises him the old man will take him through many gates: in the first, a golden dust will fall on the boy, which he is to feign ignorance and say it is only yellow sand; in the next, a white powder will fall on him, which he is describe as white sand; finally, the old man will take Ivan next to a cauldron filled with worms, toads and snakes, which the boy is to say it contains dark earth, then shove the old man by the legs into the cauldron. Prince Ivan greets the old man up the mountain and does as the crow instructed. He then takes a

[83] - SUS 532 + 300

Ukrainian ATU 314

In a Ukrainian tale collected by folklorist Mykola Zinchuk with the title "Про чарівного коника і трирічну покуту"

Russian SUS 532 from Bashkortorstan

In a Russian tale collected in Bashkortostan with the title "Про юношу-богатыря и его мать-злодейку" ("About the young bogatyr and his evil mother"), a knyaz has a lame son who cannot walk, not move his legs and arms. One day, he says he has to pay a visit to the king, and leaves on a long horse ride. While is away, his wife and a janitor begin an affair and decide to kill the boy by locking him in his room and letting him starve. However, a black cat enters the boy's window, turns into an old man and helps the boy regain his movements. The eight-year-old boy begins to walk, to his mother's astonishment. He then finds a bay horse in a meadow and brings it home to groom and feed it. The boy's mother still wants to kill her son, and gives him some porridge laced with poison. The horse whinnies in the stables and the boy goes to check on it, only to find the animal bleeding. The horse warns the boy his mother prepared some food with poison, and he is not to eat it. The boy throws it out the window, some dogs eat it and die. The next time, the woman gives him some cakes with poison, which the horse warns him about. The boy throws the cakes to some cats, which eat it and die. The janitor spies on the exchange and alerts his lover, and the knyaz's wife waits for her husband to come back. The boy visits the horse in the stable and finds it bleeding again: this time, the animal warns that the knyaz will want to sacrifice it, but the boy is to ask his father to prepare his grandfather's armour and let him take a last ride on the horse, for they will seize the opportunity to escape. The knyaz come home and finds his son doing good, and his wife in a sorry state. The woman asks her husband to find a witch who will prescribe the best remedy. After he leaves, he meets a witch (who is his wife in disguise), who advises him the meat of the boy's horse is the best remedy. The next year, the witch advises the same thing, and so does in the third year. Thus, the knyaz decides to sacrifice the horse for his wife's sake. The boy learns of this and asks his father for one last ride on the horse. The knyaz agrees: his son takes the horse for three rides around the yard, then gallops away. They reach the lands of a man named Pavel-Bogatyr, which the horse advises the boy to defeat, but spare Pavel's mount. The boy fights Pavel, who, unfortunately, decapitates his horse. Pavel's horse, however, begins to talk and says it has been waiting for the knyaz's son. The animal then advises the boy to bury Pavel's head under an oak tree, and the remaining parts in three other places. While living in Pavel's house, he meets a kind old woman who gives him two orioles and a whistle. One day, he returns home and finds his mother was banished by the knyaz. Feeling sorry for her, he takes her to Pavel's house, and goes to live in another kingdom as a poor shoemaker.

Other tales

• Невнавушко or [84]- SUS 532 Russian
• Лысенькiй-плѣшивенькiй - 331-340; hero repeats expression on horse's advice
• Конь-Лось, from Krasnoyarsk Krai (Siberia) - [85] horse bought by Vanya's father, stepmother hates Vanya and tries to kill him, horse protects, escape, assumes identity of "Мало - рожоно".

African 314?

The Horse With the Golden Horn

Saami ATU 425

• Anderson, Walter. Kleinere Arbeiten zur Volkskunde. Chinese Association for Folklore, 1973 pp. 13-27 (chapter "Eine neue monographie über Amor und Psyche").

[270,%22panX%22:0.444,%22panY%22:0.789,%22view%22:%22thumbnails%22,%22zoom%22:1.03}] Bibliography [163,%22panX%22:0.503,%22panY%22:1.156,%22view%22:%22thumbnails%22,%22zoom%22:1.03}] Variants for Croatian type 425

Swedish 428

Liungman - det spelande skrinet eller uppdraget hos häxans syster (pp. 84)

[86]

[87]

ATU 408

[88] [89]

[90]

Iranian ATU 408, Daughter of Naranj and Toronj = "دختر" "نارنج⁩" "ترنج⁩"

Kiranmala / Kironmala Bengali/Indian ATU 707

http://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/11515 [91]

[92] Georgian folktales

African (Senegal) 425M?

• Diop, Birago. Les Contes d'Amadou Koumba (in French). Khary-Gaye - serpentine prince de la Grand Fleuve curses wife and sons to become dove, snake and spurge-tree.
• Beebyeebyee and the Water God (Cameroon) - heroine declares she will find her own husband, meets water god by the river margin and marries him. Water God teaches her spell in form of a song to call for fish, heroine fishes too much fish and accidentally draws the attention of people; people discover the secret song, draw Water God by pretending to be Beebyeebyee and kill him; Water God's brother promises revenge: spares his sister-in-law's house and floods the village.

Paiwan AaTh 433F (Princess Balem)

Die Häuptlingstochter <<Balem>> heiratet eine Schlange ("The Chief's Daughter Balem marries a Snake")

Chinese/Asian 433D (Ting)

[93]

(South)East Asian variant of Chinese 433D

In a tale titled Snake Brother, a man is forced to deliver his youngest daughter, Fahm, to a being named Snake Brother. The youngest daughter, Fahm, is given to Snake Brother as its bride, then they begin to walk towards a river. The girl sees in the river a golden powder, which is actually her husband's snakeskin he doffed to become a handsome youth. The youth takes his wife on his back to their home. He tells her to close her eyes, for they will pass by a big wave. They pass by three waves, until they reach his land, where his snake family (in serpentine form) surrounds them. Snake brother asks his family to turn into humans so as to not terrify his wife, and Fahm enters their house.

To her relief, the Snake Brother becomes a man. In time, they have a son. Nai, Fahm's elder sister, seeing her cadette's life of luxury, decides to get rid of her: while they walk back home, Nai convinces Fahm to climb a tree to pick fruits, and leaves her son with Nai. After Fahm climbs up the tree, Nai pinches the baby and says the boy wants his mother's earrings and garments. Fahm gives her sisters her clothes, and is shoved down the tree in the river. Then, Nai puts on Fahm's clothes and takes her place as Snake Brother's wife. When they go to sleep, Snake Brother notices that his wife's hair no longer acts as his pillow. As for Fahm, she comes back as a songbird that sings a mocking song in her sister's ear.

Fahm regains human form and returns home, more beautiful than ever, which Nai notices. Nai then asks now her cadette has become so beautiful, and Fahm replies she was cooked over. Nai wants to try the procedure: Fahm tells her to prepare boiling rice water, wait in the bathtub and close her eyes. Nai goes through with it and Fahm pours the scalding water on her sister's head. Nai dies and becomes a brown sparrow, while Fahm is free to live with her husband, snake brother, and their son in peace.

Taungyo people AaTh 433C?

In a tale from the Taungyo people translated into Russian with the title "Заколдованный принц" ("Enchanted Prince"), a widow goes to fetch mangoes for her seven daughters, when she finds a boa snake in the tree.

Burmese AaTh 433C?

Author Ruskin Bond published a tale titled Bitter Gooseberries, a woman goes to fetch gooseberries for her daughters from a gooseberry bush where a snake lived. The woman makes an offer to the snake: one of her daughters for gooseberries. The snake agrees on the mention on the woman's youngest daughter, and allows her to have every fruit.

Samoan "Animal as Bridegroom"

In a Samoan tale titled The Snake, three daughters, Mele, Felila and Sina offer to marry a snake, only Sina lives with the snake.

ATU 567

• Khmer: Varavaṅs Sūravaṅs: two hens that, eaten, make one a king in seven years and the other a king in seven months.
• South Asian/ Indian Sit Basant - [94]; [95] (Dissertation)

Azeri ATU 550

In an Azeri tale titled "Соловей Хазарандастана" (Azeri: "һазарандастан бұлбүлү", "Hazarandastan bülbülü"; English: "The Nightingale of Khazarandastan"), a padishah has a beautiful garden. One day, however, some visitors compliment the garden, but say it lacks Bili-Bilgeis Khanum, a rose of Khazarandastan and the nightingale of Khazarandastan, and the horse Suleimani-ereb. Hearing their conversation, the padishah decides to send his three sons to quest for the objects. The elder princes fail and end up in heavy debts in two cities, while the youngest prince finds the rose and the nightingale, tames the horse by uttering the name of prophet Solomon, and defeats Bili-Bilgeis Khanum in battle to win her over. The young prince takes the four objects with him and pays his brothers' debts. In gratitude, the elder brothers do not want to deal with their father, since they failed the quest, and decide to steal the credit: they tie his brother's feet and arms and throw him in a well, then take the rose, the nightingale and the Khanum with them, and leave the horse behind, since it recognizes the younger brother as its master.

The King's Son and Messeria

The King's Son and Messeria (Swedish: Konunga-Sonen och Messeria; German: Der Königssohn und Messeria) is a Swedish folktale collected by folklorists Hylten and Cavallius in the mid-19th century, from South Smaland.

It is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight", to which also belongs the Norwegian tale The Master Maid.

Summary

A king and queen are childless. One day, the queen is sailing on a boat, when her vessel is stopped dead on its journey. A voice in the sea then demands whatever the queen is under her girth, but promises to return the boat to normal. The queen throws a set of keys she has on her belt in the sea and the boat regains its motion.

Later, the queen discovers she is pregnant, to the king's contentment and her consternation, since she fears she promised their unborn child to the Mermaid, but the king assures the creature will not have the prince. The boy is born and, when he is twelve years old, the king's brother and two nephews come for a visit. The royal cousins play together and ride near the beach. When the prince's horse but touches the sea, it runs off into the sea, carrying its rider with him underwater. The royal couple mourn for their missing child.

Back to the prince, he notices he is under the ocean, and rides a green path to a large underwater palace that belongs to the Mermaid, ruler of the waves and the winds. He arrives at her palace and is greeted by the creature, who introduces herself as his new mistress.

One day, the Mermaid sends for him for his first task: she gives the prince a yarn of black wool he must wash white and a white yarn he must wash black. After the Mermaid leaves, the prince tries to perform the task, to no avail, when a fair damsel appears to him and promises to help him if he makes a vow to be faithful to her. He agrees to her terms, and the maiden, a princess named Messeria, summons a troop of creatures named Pysslings, in name of "her Lady Mother". The pysslings appear and perform the task for him.

The Mermaid questions the prince if he got in touch with any of her daughters, but he feigns ignorance. Next, the woman orders him to separate a mixed heap of barley and wheat. After separating but a small portion, Messeria appears to him and makes the same offer. The prince reiterates his words and the damsel summons the Pysslings to fulfill the task for him.

Thirdly, the Mermaid points him to her stalls that house her oxen and have not been cleaned in 20 years, which must be done by morning. Messeria and the prince exchange vows of faithfulness towards each other, and the girl again summons the pysslings to fulfill the task. After doing so, she explains the Mermaid will set a test for him:

The Mermaid orders the prince to go to her sister and fetch a box. Before he goes, Messeria intercepts the prince, since her powers cannot reach him once he is there, but she can give him help in another way: she gives the prince some grease (to smear on the hinges of a door), two iron axes (to be given to two woodcutters who are using wooden axes), two flails (to be given to two people threshing grains), and pieces of meat (to be thrown to two eagles). The prince journeys to the house of the Mermaid's sisters and applies the advice Messeria taught him. At last, he arrives at the latter's house and steals the box, then runs away. The Mermaid's sister commands her servants to stop him, but they remain still.

Now at a distance, the prince decides to open the box and a cascade of sparkles escapes from it. The prince then uses a magic spell to summon a troop of pyskilings, Messeria's helpers, which bring the sparkles back into the box.

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight": a father promises his son, the hero, to a supernatural being; years later, the hero, old enough, is brought or willingly goes to the supernatural being's lair and works for him, performing difficult tasks which he accomplishes with the help of the being's female servant or their daughter. At the end of the tale, the hero, helped by his female companion, escapes from the being by shapeshifting into objects to trick their pursuers.

In the second revision of the international index, published in 1961, American folklorist Stith Thompson separated tale type 313, then titled "The Girl as Helper in the Hero's Flight", into three subtypes: AaTh 313A; AaTh 313B, differing in the "Forbidden Box" introduction; and AaTh 313C, concluding with the episode of "The Forgotten Fiancée". However, German folklorist Hans-Jörg Uther, in his revision of the index, published in 2004, subsumed the three subtypes under a new one, indexed as ATU 313, "The Magic Flight", establishing as its main parts the "Magic Flight" and "The Forgotten Fiancée" episodes.

Motifs

The motif of the journey to the second witch and her offer of food (in this case, a sausage) appears in Scandinavian variants of another tale type, AaTh 428, "The Wolf", related to the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which is classified as tale type ATU 425B, "Son of the Witch".

According to Walter Puchner, in The Forgotten Fiancée subtype, the heroine uses the pair of birds (hen and rooster) to jog the prince's memory in Scandinavian variants.

The heroine's name

Swedish literary historian Axel Ahlström noted that in some Swedish variants of the same tale, the heroine may be named Miserimej, Anesidej, Anne Diver, Mester Mimer (which would be comparable to Norwegian "Mestermo"), Singorra, Santaura, and Santara. Swedish scholar Waldemar Liungman suggested that the heroine's name in some Swedish variants, like "Messeria" and "Singorra", derives from an Italian written source, since Messeria would correspond to Italian messére ('master') and Singorra to signora ('lady').

The heroes' magic flight

In the international index, tale type ATU 313 is characterized by the heroes' escape from the antagonist's lair in a "Magical Flight" sequence: the pair shapeshifts into objects or other persons to fool their pursuers. They may also escape by throwing objects behind them to create magic obstacles ("obstacle flight"). According to Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn, in Nordic variants of tale type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight", it is a "rule" for the hero and the heroine to elude their pursuers by shapeshifting into other objects ("transformation flight").

Variants

Sweden

The King's Son and Princess Singorra

In this tale from Skane, a king makes a deal with a marine entity named Mermaid: the first thing he meets when he comes ashore in exchange for his ship regaining movement in the sea. The king then goes home and meets his beloved son, the fifteen-year-old prince. The king tries to trick the Mermaid by setting his sights on a log and a goose and delivering them to the creature, but the sea returns his "offerings", and the Mermaid herself comes to the surface to fetch the prince for herself while the boy is playing with some children. Down in the underwater palace, the king's son meets a princess named Singorra, one of the Mermaid's attendants, with whom he falls in love. The Mermaid notices the closeness between Singorra and her latest captive, and agrees to marry them to each other, but he first has to perform three tasks for her (one after the other): to mow a meadow of sea-grass, then plant each blade of grass again, by evening at sunset; next, to clean up her horse stables, which have not been cleaned "within the memory of men", and finally to the clean a mountain of filth in her pigsty. After the mermaid retires each time, the prince tries to perform the task, but it is impossible to do so, until Singorra appears to him and offers her help, if he promises to always stay true to her. The prince makes a vow to Singorra, and the girl helps him with her magic powers. After his successes, which enrages his captor, the Mermaid agrees to marry the prince to Singorra, but after he visits the Mermaid's sister with a box and get from there necessaries for his wedding. Before he goes to the Mermaid's sister, Singorra intercepts him and gives him two iron knives, two iron axes, two wollen caps, two cakes, and a cushion, then explains he is to use them on the road there, and warns him to only sit on the black chair at the other's house, and to place the cushion under a serpent at the sister's house, and to not eat anything there. The prince follows Singorra's instructions to the letter: on the road, he sees two men cutting and carving, each with a single wooden knife, and gives them the iron knives; next, he meets two woodcutters, to whom he gives the iron axes, and finally two men by a mill to whom he gives the wollen caps, then tosses the cakes to a bear and a wolf at the Troll-queen's gates, then goes to greet her. Following Singorra's instructions, he sits only on the black chair. The Troll-queen also gives him a sausage to eat, and orders her serpent to watch him. After she retires, the prince places the cushion under the serpent and tosses the food away twice to avoid eating it, then hides it in his clothes to trick the Troll-queen. Finally, she comes back and gives him the box filled with the wedding preparations, seeing him out. The sausage under the prince's clothes transforms into a flying dragon, and the prince makes a run back to Singorra. To deter him, the Troll-queen commands her servants and the animals to attack him, but they refuse to to so. The prince returns with the box to the Mermaid's house and, later, Singorra warns they must escape: they take a pair of black horses in the stables, while she places three dolls to answers for them in her room. It happens thus: the next morning, the Mermaid goes to check on Singorra and falls for the dolls' trick, but returns later and notices she has fled with the prince. The Mermaid then sends a servant after the pair, but they metamorphose into a pair of rats, then a pair of birds, and lastly into a pair of rootless trees to fool the servant.

At last, they reach the boundary of the Mermaid's realm and escape her domains back to land, then make their way to the prince's kingdom. The prince tells Singorra he wishes to see his parents, and, Singorra, with her powers, foresees his decision will lead to trouble, so she asks him to avoid talking to anyone at his father's castle. The prince promises and returns to his father's castle, to his family's surprise and relief. He remains silent, still, as part of the promise he made to Singorra, but, one time, the royal dogs jump on him and he tries to shoo them away, uttering a command to them. Thus, he forgets his adventure with Singorra.

Back to Singorra, she is standing by the fountain, waiting for the prince, but he does not come. She cries for her fears were realized, when a girl comes with a pitcher to fetch water at the fountain, sees Singorra's reflection in the water. Mistaking the other's visage for her own, she utters she will no longer serve her own blind father, and runs off. Singorra sees the pitcher and goes to the blind man's hut to live with him as his daughter.

Some time later, people beign to notice Singorra's beauty and some courtiers decide to court her. A man goes to the blind man's house oe night, and Singorra, to dissuade him, tricks him into shutting the roof shutter-bar for her and utters a magic spell to force him on the task for the whole night. The second night, another man tries to court her, and Singorra forces him to hold a door for the whole night. Lastly, a third man comes to woo her, and the maiden asks him to shut the calf in. The man goes to fulfill her request, and Singorra commands the man to attach himself to the calf, and the calf to run onver hill and dale for the whole night.

Back to the prince, he is engaged to be married to a foreign princess. One day, the prince is riding on a carriage with the princess and the three courtiers, when they pass by the blind man's hut where Singorra lived, and the horses bolt from the carriage, breaking the pole. The three courtiers realize where they are and decide to ask Singorra for help in fixing the broken carriage parts. Singorra lends then the shutter-bar, the door and calf, but asks to be invited to the prince's wedding as payment. They accept her terms, and returns to the palace.

On the wedding day, Singorra wears a splendid dress and attends the ceremony. During the feast, she draws out a box with three little birds and three grains of corn. She opens the lid and the birds fly to the prince's table to eat the grains: two of them hold the grains in their beaks, but not the third. The two birds then say the third bird forgot to eat, just like the prince forgot about Singorra. On hearing this, the prince regains his memories of Singorra and marries her, and sends the foreign princess to her father.

Prince Andrea and Princess Meseria

In a Swedish tale translated as Prince Andrea and Princess Meseria,

Prince Wilhelm

The tale is classified as type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight", under subtype AaTh 313C, "The Forgotten Fiancée". Commenting on the tale, Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn noted that the last episode, the heroine's bargaining for three nights, appears in tale type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom". According to Swahn, this is the only Swedish variant that borrows this sequence into tale type ATU 313.

Other tales

In a tale from South Småland, a king and a queen have no children. The king then consults with a fortune-teller that predicts any son of his is destined to the Mermaid, but the queen is indeed pregnant, so the boy is to be kept away from any water before he is twelve years old. The king follows the fortune-teller's instructions to protect the prince, called Anesidei, but the boy is indeed captured by the mermaid when he is twelve years old and brought to her domain. There he meets the Mermaid's servant, Meserimei, who helps him in the Mermaid's tasks, which also including going to the Mermaid's sister and fetch from there things for the wedding. Later, Meserimei and Anesidei flee from the Mermaid. The Mermaid goes after them and changes the land before her into sea, but Meserimei changes it back to land and they reach land, to the prince's kingdom. Eventually, the girl is forgotten by the prince, until she goes to the prince's wedding to another princess and restores his memory of her.

Denmark

In a Danish tale titled Prince Vildering and Maid Miseri

See also

• Lady Featherflight
• King Kojata
• Nix Nought Nothing
• Prunella (fairy tale)
• The Battle of the Birds
• The Grateful Prince
• The Master Maid
• The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise

Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Swedish fairy tales

Muchie-Lal

Muchie-Lal is an Indian folktale published by author Mary Frere, who collected it from her maid Anna Liberata de Souza. It is part of the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom, in that a human maiden marries a prince cursed into animal form (in this case, a giant fish).

Source

Mary Frere collected the tale from her Indian maid Anna Liberata de Souza, and published it originally in 1868. Stith Thompson and Jonas Balys's Oral Tales of India sourced the tale from Mysore.

Publications

The tale was republished as The Fish Prince, and translated into German as Muchie Lal.

Summary

A Rajah and a Ranee suffer for not having children, and pray to be given a son, to no avail. One day, fishes are brought to the kitchen to be cooked, and one of the maidservants notices there is a single living among them. She places the little animal in a basin, which the Ranee sights one day and decides to adopt it as her pet, calling it "Muchie-Rajah" ('Fish-Prince'). As the fish grows up, the queen replaces his basin for increasingly larger recipients, until the fish is large enough to occupy a tank. The story then explains the fish was no ordinary animal, but a prince transformed into a fish due to the gods' anger.

Some time later, the fish begins to talk and asks the Ranee to search for a wife for him, since he is lonely. The Ranee then sends messengers to search for a maiden to be the fish's wife, the Muchie-Ranee, but many families refuse to give up their daughters to the fish prince for feart of it devouing them. The Ranee then offers a lac of gold mohurs as compensation for the daughter of any family to come marry the fish. People still refuse to accept the Ranee's proposal, even the beggars. Eventually, the messengers reach a village where a widowed Fakeer lives with his biological daughter, a second wife and his stepdaughter. The Fakeer's second wife hates the man's daughter and wishes to get rid of her for fear of overshadowing her own daughter, so, when the Fakeer is out one day and the messengers inform of the Ranee's search, the woman accepts the lac and gives her stepdaughter as wife to the fish, believing the animal will devour her.

The woman orders her stepdaughter, the Fakeer's daughter, to wash her saree in the river and prepare to go with the messenger and marry the fish prince. The girl cries for her fate, and her tears fall down a seven-headed cobra's den. The girl confides in the cobra her problems, and the reptile advises her to take three pebbles with her; she will go to live in a room next to the fish's tank, and she is to cast a pebble each time the fish comes up the surface, to stop him from eating her and to revert his transformation back to human form.

With the cobra's advice, the girl accompanies the messengers back to the Ranee's palace, and is directed to her quarters near the fish's tank. After she settles in her new accomodations, she sees the fish coming up for air and casts the three pebbles against the fish: the first two times, he sinks to the bottom of the tank; on the third time, the fish resumes his normal human appearance, and explains the girl released him from the spell, then asks if she wants to become the Muchie-Ranee.

The next morning, people come to see if the giant fish devoured the girl, but find a prince instead. The now human prince and the Fakeer's daughter are introduced to the Rajah and the Ranee, who celebrate they gained a son and a daughter-in-law, and marries the couple. The couple live together in happiness for a while. However, back to the Fakeer's second wife, when she learns her stepdaughter found a successful match,

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is part of the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom, wherein the heroine marries a wild animal that she disenchants into human form. Stith Thompson and Warren Roberts approximated the Indian tale to tale type AaTh 433B, "King Lindworm", of the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index.

Motifs

The tale contains the motif B603, "Marriage to fish (whale)".

Variants

"ಏಡಿಕುಮಾರ" - Kannada Crab Prince

• Edirāja ("The Crab King") from Karnataka

• The Fish Prince (same as above?)
• India - Little Ruby Fish

The Fish Prince (East India)

In a tale sourced to East India with the title The Fish Prince, a king and queen have two sons, one one-eyed and dwarf in size, and the other tall and handsome. The king favours the other son instead of the one-eyed prince, named Deesa, who is outraged by this and complains to his wife Mitna. Mitna has sorcerous powers and plots with Deesa to get rid of the other prince. She climbs a balcony and drops a powder on the other prince, turning him into a fish which swims away from his father's kingdom, until he is caught by a group of fishermen and brought to another king's palace to be cooked. However, one of the servants decides to spare the fish and presents it to the queen. The childless queen decides to adopt the fish and take care of it as a son, which she calls Athon-Rajah, the Fish Prince. The Fish Prince grows up and eventually is moves out to a tank large enough to house him. One day, the queen asks the fish, and he answers he would like to find a wife. The queen agrees to find him a wife, orders the building of a room for her next to the tank, then sends messengers to find a maiden for the prince, offering a bag of gold as dowry. However, rumors spread that the Fish Prince wants a wife to devour her, and many families refuse to give up their daughters. Eventually, a poor fakir decides to send his daughter by his first wife to be married to the prince, a decision also agreed upon by her stepmother and the fakir's second wife. The fakir is paid the bag of gold and directs the queen's messengers to the river margin, where the girl, named Maya, is. Maya learns of the proposal and, in tears, is guided to the queen for wedding preparations. Before she is married to the prince, Maya asks the queen for a last favour: to visit her old friend by the river, a seven-headed cobra she has known since childhood. The queen allows Maya a visit and the girl meets the cobra. The girl explains the situation and the seven-headed cobra tells her to pick up three pebbles near its hole and throw each of the pebbles against the fish prince if he emerges from its tank in order to restore him to human form, for he is an enchanted prince. Maya returns to the palace and is placed in the room adjacent to the fish's tank. The Fish Prince approaches her with an open mouth, and Maya casts the first pebble into his mouth, causing him to sink to the bottom of the tank. He recovers his bearings and goes near the girl, who casts the second pebble against his head, then the third pebble against his fin. This turns the fish back into the human form. The now human prince marries Maya and they live in happiness.

The Fish Prince (Betta Kurumba)

In a tale from the Betta Kurumba language, translated as The Fish Prince, there live a prince and a minister, the minister with a child and the prince childless. The prince worries for his lineage, and his wife cries for not having children. One time, she drinks water directly from a tank, and becomes pregnant, although she only senses her pregnancy as it approaches labour. She gives birth to a fish as her son, which was granted by Narayan (the Betta Kurumba word for 'God'). The fish son grows up and lives in a water tank, having to change tanks as it grows older, until his parents place him in a separate house. One day, the fish prince asks his parents to find him a wife, although the royal parents worry that no maiden will want to marry one. Their concerns are founded, as they search high and low in many cities for a bride, and are told by families they will not give their daughters to a fish. Eventually, they find a stepmother with two stepdaughters, one thin, which they bring to the fish. The girl is groomed and bathed before going to meet her husband, and cries. Narayan (Shiva) and his wife pass by and ask the girl what is the matter. The girl confides in the divine couple she will become the fish prince's bride, and Narayan gives her three pills to be thrown at the fish: one at the mouth, the second at the body, and the third at the tail. The girl gets the pills and goes to meet the fish. However, she is swallowed overnight by the fish. The next day, the fish prince asks his parents to find him another bride, and they go to the stepmother to fetch the younger sister. The younger sister goes near the river, and Narayan appears to her. The deity gives her three pills to throw at the fish prince's body after she wakes up. The second girl is brought to the fish as his bride and they both go to sleep. Some time during the night, the girl wakes up and finds the prince near her, so she takes the pills and tosses them at the prince: the first in his mouth, the second at his back, and the third at his tail. A blinding flash of light appears in the room, as the fish prince becomes a prince in human form, so dazzling is his countenance. The now human prince controls his powers and reveals his human form to the bride. The girl and the prince marry.

The Tiger Prince

In a South Indian tale titled Puli Rája, or the Tiger Prince,

See also

• King Lindworm (ATU 433B)
• The Dragon-Prince and the Stepmother (ATU 433B)
• The Girl with Two Husbands (ATU 433B)
• Dragon-Child and Sun-Child (ATU 433B)
• Champavati (AaTh 433C)
• The Story of the Hamadryad (AaTh 433C)
• Animal as Bridegroom

The Pomegranate Fairy / Belbati Princess

"The Seventh Prince", tale from Panjab (published in Chandamama) - seventh prince searches for Anarkali, the Pomegranate Princess, who is shoved into a well and goes through a cycle of reincarnations ("beautiful flower", then pomegranate tree)

At least one variant of the tale type has been collected in Kashmir.

• Overhearing as a motif in Indian tales = hero overhears the birds born out of the heroine's remains and discovers the truth.

The Story of Belabati

Orissan tale The Story of Belabati (Belabati katha),

= The Girl inside the Bel Fruit (Hindi: बेलवती कन्या, 'Belavati Kanyā')

"Belavati/ī Kanyā", from Champaran district (ATU 408 in Bihar?)

• The Crab-Apple Girl and the Parrot [Nepali] (408?)
• Das Granatapfelmädchen (The Pomegranate Girl) Vorwort (5-17), Quellenverzeichnis (479ff) - source for "Pomegranate Girl" = Anarzadi (Zograf) = Hindi language अनारजादी ("Anarzadi")

Belavati Kanya

In a Nepalese/Nepali tale translated to Hindi with the title "बेलवती कन्या" ("The Belavati Girl"),

Tipera / Tripura

French anthropologist Lucien Bernot translated to French a similar tale he obtained from a Tipera (Tripura) informant from Bangladesh. In this tale, titled La filla belle comme un concombre ("The girl beautiful as a cucumber"), man procures wife for his brother, leaves potential sister-in-law up a tree and departs; a creature named Rae go zok ma sees the maiden's reflection in the water and mistakes it for her own, then spots the maiden on the tree and devours her, then puts on her garments and jewelry to pass herself off as the human girl. Girl goes through cycle: only one of her fingers remains, which Rae go zok ma spits in the water; the finger turns into a fish named ašoray; creatures eats fish; fish scale remains and becomes a creeper named mi lok that yields gourds. The creature replants the mi lok in a distant place, and it yields even better gourds, and even a vegetable named tae šömu kol ma, a red, round cucumber.

In a tale from Chattisgarh with the title Belva Kayina ("The Girl from the Belva Fruit?")

In an Indian tale translated to Bengali with the title "আয়নাবতী" ("Anayavati"),

• Dalimberāni / Dāḷimberāṇi ("The Pomagranate Queen") from Karnataka

Russian SUS 428

According to Jan-Öjvind Swahn, [ Slavonic tradition?] Russian tales of type Aa 428 involve a sequence named "The Girl as a Soldier" or "The Girl At War", wherein the heroine wears a male disguise, joins with a compatriot who tries to unmask her gender, and eventually marries him. The tale then segues into her mother-in-law's attempts to kill her by setting ludicrous tasks for her.

Similarly, according to Russian folklorist Lev Barag, type SUS 428, the heroine is helped by the witch's son: with his advice, she milks cows (bears), shears sheep (devils), pays a visit to a second witch in the other world by treating the objects with kindness, and invites guests to the wedding. After the witch dies, the heroine marries the witch's son. Barag traces the origin of the type to the 17th century, in the story The Golden Root in the Pentamerone. The heroine's helper may be a wolf (like in Russian or in Serbo-Croatian texts), a cat or a dog; the animal helper then turns into a human male that marries the heroine.

Jack V. Haney lists a single Ukrainian variant of SUS 428, and one Serbo-Croatian.

Russian SUS 428 (Perm Krai)

In a Russian tale collected from a source in Perm Krai with the title "Про Ягижну" ("About Yagizhna"),

The Girl as Soldier (Russian folktale) / Girl at War (ATU 884) + Swahn's type A (Russian SUS 428)

Finland ?

Swahn mentions a Finnish tale he indexed as FF 28 (F = Finnic tradition; F = Finland)

AaTh 451A "The Sister of Nine Brothers"

North African AaTh 451A

In an Argelian tale titled Celle qui fait fuir ses frères ("The One that made Her Brothers Flee"),

In a Kabylian tale collected by Auguste Moulièras with the Berber title Seba Ouaithmathen D'Oultmathsen Fadhma Thaklith, translated by Camille Lacoste-Dujardin as Les sept frères er leur soeur Fat'ma la négresse,

• Lum, Peter (1967). Fairy Tales from the Barbary Coast: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. F. Muller. ISBN 9787420001121.

Seto AaTh 451A

According to Estonian scholars Kristi Salve and Vaike Sarv, type 451A shares "common motifs" with type 451, but stands as an independent tale type. Finnish scholar indexed the Finnish and Karelian variants as type 533, and so did U. Konkka with a specific Karelian text (1980). Per Salve and Sarv, type AaTh 451A is a Balto-Finnic/Baltic story, with tales also attested in Russian (SUS 533) and Mordvin (1967). The story also appears among the Finnish, Karelian, Vepsian, Estonian, Latvians and Lithuanians. "Almost all" Estonian texts are sourced from Setumma and the Lutsi Estonians.

Estonian AaTh 451A

In an Estonian tale published by author Juhan Kunder with the title Südi sõsar,

Lithuanian AaTh 451A

In a Lithuanian tale collected from a Lithuanian teller named Liudvika Šilabritienė with the title Devyniabrolė ("[The One With] Nine Brothers"), an old couple have nine sons and a daughter, and a pair of horses (a stud and a mare). The mare foals nine colts, which the brothers take with them to go to war. Time passes, the old woman dies and the old man remarries to a witch ("ragana", in the original). One day, when the brothers have established themselves elsewhere, they send a letter inviting their youngest sister to visit them. The girl prepares to depart on a carriage, when the witch, her stepmother, offers to accompany her, along with a little she-dog. On the road, the pair pass by some streams and the witch sings some verses to the girl, called "Devyniabrolė", to take a bath in the water. Everytime, the little she-dog advises the girl with another song about the witch, warning her not to do it for the witch will betray her. Thus everytime the witch breaks the animal's legs, one at a time, until the dog is dead and cannot warn the girl anymore. After killing the dog, the witch convinces the girl to leave the carriage and take a bath before she arrives at her brothers' home. Devyniabrolė follows the witch's advice and strips down to bathe. While she is the water, the witch steals her clothes and rides the carriage to the brothers' castle. Devyniabrolė leaves the stream and cannot find her clothes, so she wanders until she reaches her brothers' castle. She notices her siblings' horses are not eating and asks them with a song what is the matter with them, and they answer in verse that they cannot eat grass, nor drink water, for the witch is sitting at the table with the brothers, while the real sister is outside. The youngest brother listens to the singing voice and mistakes it for a bird among the linden trees of their garden, then mentions it to his elder siblings. The other brothers tell him to find it for himself. Thus, the youngest brother listens to a repeat of the song. Then, one by one, each of the other siblings join their cadet in listening to the verses, until they see the girl outside and realize she is their sister. They go to embrace her, as she reveals the harrowing journey she made with the witch. The brothers then tie the witch to a pair of horses, harness them and lets them loose. The witch is destroyed, and only her bones remain.

The Girl who Banished Seven Youths / Moroccan AaTh 451A (= Udea)

The Sister and Her Seven Brothers

In a Moroccan tale titled La soeur et ses sept fréres ("The Sister and Her Seven Brothers"),

The Seven Brothers and the Moon Lake

In a Moroccan tale collected by professor Maria Dolores Lopez Enamorado with the title Los siete hermanos y ey lago de la luna ("The Seven Brothers and the Moon Lake"),

Surya Bai / Indic AaTh 709A / ATU 709A

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type AaTh 709A, "The Stork's Daughter": a girl is abandoned in the forest, but a flock of storks find her and raise her in a nest; the heroine, who has been living with her brothers, has to find a source of fire with a neighbour, since her fire has been put out, and finds a ghoul (or ogress) that gives her one; later, the ghoul or ogress comes after her, and, although it is killed, one of its nails (or tooth) pierces the heroine's skin and she falls in a death-like state; her body is preserved in a glass case by the storks, until she is eventually brought back to life by a prince, who marries her.

Variants

In his 1961 revision of the tale type index, American folklorist Stith Thompson indicated 9 variants of the type, found only in India. Hence, Thompson and Warren Roberts's work Types of Indic Oral Tales links this tale type "exclusively" to South Asia. In addition, according to A. K. Ramanujan, variants of type 709A ("abandoned girl raised by a bird") exist in Kannada, Konkaki, Tamil and Telugu.

According to Christine Shojaei-Kawan, in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, the revised tale type is attested in Bulgaria, Turkey and among the Arabs, besides South Asia, and may be preceded by the episode of the birds kidnapping the heroine and raising her.

India

In a tale sourced from Karnataka with the title Manchadamma, an abandoned human girl is raised by cranes, and lives in the company of a dog and a cat, which protect her. However, a demon gains the upper hand and sticks one of its nails on her, placing her under a death-like state. Her body is places in a glass box and hung on a tree, when a prince finds the box and removes the poisoned nail. Manchadamma revives and marries the prince.

In a Tamil tale collected by professor Stuart Blackburn with the title A Parrot's Story, a pair of siblings (brother and little sister) go to play, and the girl climbs a tree. A pēy (a kind of corpse-eating ogre) appears and asks the girl to throw fruits from the tree to her, until she uses her long hair and the pey pulls her by her hair and brings her to its home. Seven parrots watch the scene and fly in to rescue the girl to their parrot-house. They live together. One day, the parrots warn the girl not to open the door for the pey will come in and devour her; for her safety, the parrots indicate her to climb on the roof of the parrot-house and see a light in a well, meaning the birds will return. The parrots fly away. After three days, the girl has nothing to eat and decides to ask for some food in a nearby house. The girl goes to the house in the distance, which belongs to the pey, then rushes back to the parrot-house, the creature chasing after her. The girl bars the door to stop the pey from coming in, but he leaves one of its claws above the door and below the door, and retreats. The next day, the girl sees the light in the distance, signaling the return of parrots, and goes to open the door, when the pey's claws fall on the girl and kill her. The parrots mourn for her, place her inside a box and cast it in the ocean. A raja and his minister find the box and fish it out of the water, the open the box. The raja removes the claws from the girl and she revives. The raja takes her in as his fourth wife, and says he will go eat in each of their houses to decide which he will be with. The girl does not know how to cook a dish of pounded rice without bruising the grains. The parrots which rescued her sight the girl and go to help her in the task. She prepares the food per the raja's requests and marries him.

Blackburn indicated <Rajanarayanan 1993 ( tale 97)>

Sri Lanka

In a Sri Lanka tale titled The Black Storks' Girl,

In a variant

[96]

In a Sinhalese tale translated to Russian as "Амаль Бисо" ("Amal Biso"), a Gamarala and his pregnant wife go to an orchard to gather cucumbers. Suddenly, the woman gives birth to a girl, and orders her husband to protect the baby and bring it home. The man forgets the girl in the fields, but a couple of storks fly in and take her to raise as their children. They name the girl Amal Biso. One day, the storks say they have to leave, for they plan to gift her with golden earrings and bracelets, and ask the girl to watch over their animals, a parrot, a dog and a cat, and to mind the house. After they leave, the girl feeds the animals correctly. Some days later, she gives the cat only half of its rations and the feline puts out the fire. The girls asks the parrot to search for smoke signals, and the bird spots smoke coming from a house in the distance, which belongs to a rakshasa, although they do not know it. Amal Biso goes to fetch some fire source in the rakshasa's house and meets its wife, a rakshasi. The creature asks her to husk the rice, then to fill broken jars with water, which the girl performs, and the rakshasi gives some ashes in a hollowed out coconut husk, which makes a trail of ashes back to her house. The rakshasa returns home and his wife directs him to Amal Biso's house by following the trail of ashes. The rakshasa knocks on the door and pretends to be the girl's parents, but first the dog, then the cat warn her not to open the door. The rakshasa kills both animals for ruining its plans, and tries again to trick the girl. A "murungag" tree warns her not to do it, which the rakshasa cuts down. Then, the firewood and the ashes themselves warn Amal Biso not to open the door, and the rakshasa burns the wood and tosses the ashes in the river. Finally, the river itself warns Amal Biso not to open the door, when the rakshasa tries to drink the water, but drinks too much and suffocates. The stork parents return and ask her to open the door. The parrot is with them and repeats the request. Amal Biso opens the door and is gifted gold earrings and bracelets by the storks.

See also

• Calumniated Wife
• Little Wildrose
• Udea and Her Seven Brothers
• The Girl Who Banished Seven Youths

References

Category:Asian fairy tales Category:Indian fairy tales Category:Indian folklore Category:Indian literature Category:ATU 700-749

The Three Golden Children ATU 707

Mayan ATU 707 / Central America ATU 707

According to professor Fernando Peñalosa, type 707 is known in Mayan sources as 707, Los tres hijos dorados or The Three Golden Sons, with two texts collected.

Mongolia ATU 707

Hungarian orientalist László L. Lőrincz established the classification of the Mongolian tale corpus, published as Mongolische Märchentypus ("MMT"). In his system, he indexed a Mongolian type numbered MMT 138, Die Gattin, die einen "Welpen" geboren hat ("The Wife that gave birth to puppies"), separated in two variations or redactions, A and B. In MMT 138A,

Lörincz also adduced a similar Mongolian tale type, MMT 238, Die Gattin, die einen "Welpen" geboren hat ("The Wife that gave birth to puppies"). In his second type, the khan's wife gives birth to children in his absence, but the envious co-wives replace the sons for puppies and throw woman and child in the sea or kill the childen. If the children are killed, they return in animal form, then back to human form.

Indonesian ATU 707

In an Indonesian tale translated to Russian with the title "Золотоволосая принцесса" ("Golden-Haired Princess"),

Finnic ATU 707

ATU 707 in Finland

Vepsian ATU 707

Vepsian scholarship also divides variants of tale type 707 into two redactions: one Russian and one Western European. In the Russian redaction, mother and son and cast in the sea in a barrel to die; the son grows up inside the barrel and both wash ashore on an island; the son builds a palace for himself and his mother with magic, and goes to rescue his brothers with the aid of koloboks made with their mother's breastmilk; the hero finds marvellous items for his island and reunites with his father. In the Western European redaction, the siblings are cast in the water and rescued by an adoptive parental figure; the brothers are sent on a quest for items and fail; their sister goes after them to rescue them.

In a Veps tale collected in the 19th century, witch Jagibab replaces the queen's three sons for animals to humiliate her. Prince Ivan-tsarevitš

Karelian ATU 707

In a tale collected from Voijärvi teller M. A. Mihailova with the Karelian title Kolme yheksea poigoa (AT 707),

Polish/Belarus SUS 707

Polish writer Antoni Józef Glinski collected a tale titled O królewiczu z księżycem na czole, z gwiazdami po głowie, which was also translated into German with the name Vom Prinzen mit dem Mond auf der Stirn und Sternen auf dem Kopf (English: "About the Princes with the Moon on the Forehead and Stars on the Head"). Russian folklorist Lev Barag, in the East Slavic Folktale Index (SUS), indicated it as a Belarusian variant of the tale type, while philologist and folklorist Julian Krzyżanowski listed it as a variant of type 707 in the Polish Folktale Index, sourced from Nowogródek.

Lithuanian ATU 707

In a Lithuanian tale collected from a teller named Pranas Pronckus with the title Karalienė ir jos nedoros seserys ("The Queen and her Wicked Sisters"), a young king orders that every light to be put out at eleven o'clock at night. His subjects follow his orders, save for a single house where three sister work by candlelight at night. The soldiers notice the girls' house is violating the ban and report to the king, who goes to investigate himself. The king eavesdrops on the conversation between the three sisters: the elder wants to marry the king's cook to eat the royal dishes, the middle one the king's treasurer, and the youngest the king himself. When questioned by her elder sisters, the cadette answers she will give birth to a son with a star on the forehead, a daughter who can produce pearls with her tears, and another daughter like herself. The king is interested in their conversation and sends for them the next day. The three sister repeat their wishes, and are respectively married to their husbands of choice. The elder sisters are angry at this turn of events, and seize the opportunity when the king leaves for war: the queen gives birth to her first son with the star on the forehead, whom they cast in the water and replace for a snake. The next year, the queen gives birth to a daughter, whom they also cast in the water and replace for a puppy. On the third year, the queen gives birth to a second daughter, and the jealous sisters cast the girl in water and lie that the queen devoured her baby in her sleep, by smearing her mouth with some rooster's blood. The king falls for their tricks and imprisons his wife. As for the children, they are rescued by the gardener and his wife, who are childless and raise the children as their own. After some years, the gardener goes to the king and asks for a strip of land to build to work on, and the king grants the gardener and his family one. Time passes, and the children grow up. One day, a stranger passes by the gardener's house and compliments their beautiful work, but says there are three items missing: the healing water ("vandens gydančio"), the talking bird ("paukščio kalbančio"), and the tree that plays ("medžio grojančio"), located in a distant mountain in the east. The elder brother offers to go and place a pin on the table as his token of life, which will rust if he is dead. After he departs, his pin rusts, and the elder sister goes to search for him. The girl finds an old man on the road who directs her to the mountain, which she climbs. Her brother's voice calls for her, she turns around and turns to stone. The youngest sister goes to rescue her elder siblings and captures the talking bird. With the bird's advice, the girl draws some of the water whcih she uses to revive her sister and brother, breaks off a branch of the tree, and returns home with the treasures. Later, the talking bird advises the siblings to invite the king for a meal and prepare him a dish of cucumber with pearls inside. The king goes to the gardener's house with the cook, the treasurer and their respective wives. The monarch tries to eat the meal and questions how can one eat such a dish, to which the bird retorts that how is is possible for a woman to bear a snake, then a puppy, and devour her own child. The king is enraged at the bird's words, but the animal bids the elder male siblings remove his cap. He does so and shows the king his shining star on his forehead. The bird then bids the elder sister cry, and she produces pearls, lastly bids the king to take a good look at the youngest daughter. The king realizes the siblings are his children and embraces them. The king ties his traitorous sisters-in-law, releases his wife from prison and remarries her.

Russian ATU 707

Russian Pskov ATU 707

In a Russian language tale collected from a source in Pskov Oblast with the title "РЕЧКА СЛЁЗ" ("River of Tears"),

Serbian ATU 707

[97] - "Златни синови и несрећна царица" ("Golden Sons and the Unfortunate Queen")

Hungarian ATU 707

[98]

Slovak ATU 707

[99]

Galician ATU 707

Galician ethnographer Lois Carré Alvarellos published a tale collected from Campamento, in San Xurxo de Iñás, with the title As Fillas do Zapateiro ("The Shoemaker's Daughters"). In this tale, a shoemaker has three daughters, all equally beautiful, but the elder two are haughty, while the youngest is kind and lovable. One day, the prince is on a hunt and, tanned and sweaty by the hot son, knocks on the shoemaker's house and asks for a drink of water. The third sister is kind enough to provide one, to her sisters' mockery, for they see him as a hunter. The next day, the prince returns to the shoemaker's house and asks for the cadette's hand in marriage, while the other two realize he was the hunter from the previous day. The prince marries the cadette and she gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Noticing that their nephew can become a king, their niece a queen, and that they themselves will never be royalty, the jealous elder sister casts the children in the river in a box and lie to the monarchs they were stillborn. The box washes away next to a miller; the miller's wife sights it and calls her husband to rescue it. They find the twins and raise them. Years later, the miller couple's biological daughter mocks the twins for being foundlings, and they leave the miller and his wife. A king old woman takes them in and they live together. One day, the old woman, who is used to eating at the king's house, takes the children with them for a meal at the king's, but their elder aunt poisons their food to kill them. The aunt's attempt is discovered, and the king orders her execution. The children try to beg for her life, but the king carries on her execution by burning. The monarch welcomes the twins as their grandchildren and when the old woman dies, the boy and the girl inherit her possessions.

In a Galician tale titled Santa Dora, a king passes by a house where Santa Dora lives with her sisters and overhears their conversation: the elder boasts she can sew a seamless shirt, the middle one that she can sew a stichless shirt, and Santa Dora promises to bear two children with golden stars on their foreheads. The king decides to marry Santa Dora to have beautiful children, and proposes to Santa Dora. Some time later, he leaves on war, and his wife, Santa Dora, gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl. However, her envious elder sisters cover the twins' star birthmarks and cast them in the water in a box, then replace them for black cats. The king returns and punishes Santa Dora with immurement, so she starves to death, but the Virgin Mary provides her with bread and water. As for the children, a miller rescues the box and raises the twins with his wife. In time, the miller sends the children to school with his own biological son, where they excel at, to their adoptive brother's jealousy. The miller's son mocks them for being foundlings, which the miller and his wife confirm. The twins decide to leave home, and the miller gives them seven pesos and some provisions for the road. On the road, they pay a dead man's debt with their money, and make their way to the kingdom where the king lives, eventually establishing themselves in a house near the palace. The children's aunts realize the twins are alive and send a witch to get rid of them. The witch pays them a visit and convinces them to send on quests: first, for harmonious music, which is located in the Castle of Irás Y Non Volverás. The male twin goes to the castle, but meets the dead man's spirit on the road, who advises the boy to fetch the correct music (the more sad sounding one), otherwise he will be locked inside the castle. Next, the witch sends the male twin for a "precious fountain", also located in the same castle, and finally for the bird that speaks all. The dead man's spirit advises him to fetch the dirtiest-looking water and the shabby-looking bird. The boy brings back the correct fountain, but fetches the wrong bird and drops dead, becoming a victim to the magical castle. The female twin notices her brother is in danger by looking at a piece of bread that darkened, then goes to the castle of Irás Y No Volverás to save him. She meets the dead man's spirit on the road and, guided by his advice, captures the right bird. She forces the bird to revive her brother, and the animal tells her to sprinkle some water on him. Both return home and embellish their garden with the music, the fountain and the speaking bird, which knows all and answers all questions. In time, the king, their father, learns of the marvellous garden and pays them a visit. The king questions the bird and the animal answers the queen, Santa Dora, is suffering a heinous injustice. It explains the whole story and bids the king burns the sisters-in-law as punishment, then urges the monarch to release the queen, for she is the only one that can remove the twins' coverings on their foreheads. The monarch suspects his wife is dead, but the bird assures she is alive, for she is a holy woman. Santa Dora is rescued safe and sound from the wall and reunites with her children, then removes their coverings to reveal their astral birthmarks. The queen then asks her husband to forgive her sisters, but he burns them at the stake.

Romanian ATU 707

Barbulescu, Corneliu (1968). "Cîteva observatii la basmul "Insira-te margaritar": tip 707 C*" [A FEW REMARKS ON THE FAIRY TALE "INSIRA-TE MARGARITAR" ("SPINNING THE YARN") TYPE 707C]. REVISTA de etnografie si folclor (in Romanian). 13 (4): 293–298.

The Three of Heaven etc.

In a Romanian tale collected by Ionel Oprisan with the title Pomu raiului, puiu cântător, bobul mărgăritar ("The Tree of Heaven, the Singing Hen, and the Pearly Grain"), a king forbids lighting any light source at night. However, three poor sisters disobey the ban and keep spinning by candlelight. That same night, the emperor's son goes to check on them and eavesdrops on their conversation: the elder wants to have better meals, the middle one wants a better financial situation, and the youngest wants to marry the emperor's son, promising to bear him three golden-haired children with a star on the front, the moon on the chest, the Sun on their backs and a "hyperion" on their shoulders. The emperor's son marries the third sister, and she bears her promised children in three consecutive pregnancies. However, the emperor's wife, wanting to get rid of her daughter-in-law, replaces the children for puppies and orders a black manservant to throw the children in the sea. Instead of drowing them, the black manservant merely abandons the babies near the shore, where they are found by another Black person and nursed by a wild doe. When they are a bit older, the children see their reflections in the water and realize their specialness, and God gives the siblings directions to their father's palace. During the journey, they rest by a golden forest and crack some golden branches they sell to make money. With the money, they buy clothes for themselves and build a house near the emperor's palace. The brothers go to school and learn the language they teach to their sister, and keep in touch with the black manservant. Meanwhile, the emperor's mother discovers her grandchildren are alive and goes to their palace to send them on a quest for the tree of Heaven, the bird and the pearl. With the help of the black manservant, who loans his horse, the elder brother, called Ionica, fetches the tree. Later, the emperor's mother sends the siblings on a quest for the wild stallion with five fetters, which Ionica also brings home. The children's teacher reveals the truth to the trio and warn them not to eat the food the emperor's mother will give them. Finally, the emperor learns the truth, reinstates his wife and children, rewards the black couple that raised them, and punishes his mother.

The Evil Mother-in-Law

Linguist Gustav Weigand collected an Aromanian tale from an Aromanian source that lived in Pljasa, Albania. In this tale, titled Die böse Schwiegermutter ("The Evil Mother-in-Law"), a king who is single travels around the world. One night, he stops to rest on a rock near a house where three sisters live. Inside, they are talking: the elder wants to marry the royal cook, the middle one the royal coach, and the youngest the king himself, for she promises to bear him two boys with the Morning Star on the front and a girl with the moon. The king overhears their conversation and decides to marry the youngest. While the king is away at war, the queen gives birth to three children in three consecutive pregnancies, but the king's mother, his two sisters-in-law and the midwife replace them for animals (a kitten, a dog and a goose) and cast them in the water. The queen is then banished to a chicken coop to be spat on. As for the children, they survive and fifteen years later they are playing the forest when the king meets them during a hunt. When he invites the siblings to hunt with him, the monarch recognizes the Morning Star on one of the children's foreheads, and decides to enroll them at school. When the king's mother discovers the children are alive, a witch goes to visit the sister and convinces her to search for a Singvogel (singing bird) that belongs to the "Erdschöne" ("The Beauty of the Earth"). The elder brother journeys to seek the bird and meets an old man on the road. The old man teaches him how to get the bird from the Beauty of the Earth: cross through a garden full of guardian animals, but have no fear, climb up a set of stairs and fetch the wooden cage, not the golden one, and leave. The elder brother goes to the garden and grabs the wooden cage, but he fells paralyzes with fear and fails. The middle brother also goes to fetch the bird and fails. After two months, their sister puts on male's clothes and meets the same old man, who teaches her how to steal the bird, while keeping her ears shut. The girl enters the Beauty of the Earth's room, steals the wooden cage with the bird, and exits through the garden. Suddenly, the voice of the Beauty of the Earth echoes: she asks the girl to wait, for she will accompany her. The Beauty of the Earth restores the girl's elder brothers from their marble state along with several others, and the group take the old man home with them. The old man tells the siblings their mother is in the chicken coop and they have to retrieve her. They do and everyone goes to have dinner with the king, but the king's mother has poisoned the food. The old man warns the children not to touch the food, and for the king's mother, the queen's sisters and the midwife to be present at the meal. The quartet come to the meal and say they know nothing of the queen's children, save that she bore animals. The old man shows the astral birthmarks on the children, and the king orders the conspirators to eat the poisoned food, then executes them. The queen is restore to her place, and the Beauty of the Earth marries the eldest brother.

Variants exist where the youngest sister of the siblings is the heroine who rescues her elder brothers, or tales wherein there are only male children born, and the youngest brother rescues the elder.

Singvogel.

The Stellar nature of the children in ATU 707

British scholar Arthur Bernard Cook, in his book Zeus, a Study in Ancient Religion (1925), concluded on a stellar nature of the children, based on their names and astral birthmarks.

Bochra Charnay and Thierry Charnay notice that the children may either have astral marks on their bodies, or their names, like Sun, Moon or Star, indicate methonymically their nature. Thus, following Greimas, they argue that the luminous reference, either with gold or with stars, indicate their exceptionality and celestial origin.

Prato, Stanislao. Sun, Moon and Star as symbols of beauty in fairy tales and folksongs

Caucasian ATU 707

Kabardian ATU 707

In a Kabardian tale translated to Russian with the title "Три дочери старика" ("Old Man's Three Daughters"), a poor old man worries about not earning enough to sustain his family. One day, he goes to the woods, plucks some apples and returns home. He asks his three daughters if each worries if he is starving: the elder two say no, but the youngest gives a kind answer and is given the apples, which she shares with her sisters on the latter's request. The man tells his daughters he will take them to pluck some fruits with him. The next day, he goes to the apple tree, digs up a hole and places a carpet on top of it, and draws his daughters next to the tree. The girls walk over the carpet and fall in the hole, the man closes off the hole and goes back home. Inside the hole, the elder sister prays to God for an opening to appear in the covering, and the middle one for the hole to be uncovered, so they can escape it. It happens thus, and they climb out of the hole. The youngest then prays to God for a dish of lybzha (cooked meat) to appear before them, which they eat, then make their way up the apple tree. A khan is passing by with his retinue and sights the girls up the tree. He brings them down and inquires about their abilites: the sister say they are Adyge; the elder boasts she can weave clothes for a hundred knights, the middle one that she can do it for fifty knights, and the youngest promises to bear twin children, a boy and a girl, each with half of white gold and half of yellow gold. The khan chooses the third sister, and marries the other two to companions. Some time later, the khan goes on a journey, and his wife gives birth to her promised twins. The jealous elder sisters throw the babies in the water in a box and replace them for puppies. The children are rescued by a lady of the waters ("Псыхо-Гоаша", "Psykho-Goasha").

Mingrelian ATU 707

In a tale collected from the Mingrelian people with the Russian title "Золотыя дѣти царя Кучи" ("The Golden Sons of Tsar Kucha"), in a kingdom, a king named Djiki has three daughters. He hires the best tutors for them, but eventually dies. The princesses spend all of his wealth and become poor, then wander the world, until they reach the palace of the son of the king, Kuchi. Kuchi sights the girls and inquires them about their abilities: the elder boasts she can weave silk garments with a single skein of silk, the middle one that she can sew clothes for the entire kingdom with a single tuft of wool, and the yougest promises to bear him golden children. Kuchi marries the youngest and takes the other two as his servants. After a while, he is summoned to war and departs, while his wife gives birth to a golden son. The elder sisters replace the boy with a blind puppy and hide the boy in a well. The next year, Kucha is summoned again to war, and his wife gives birth to a golden girl. The elder sisters replace the girl for a kitten and toss the babies in a locked box in the river. Kuchi punishes his wife by having her buried up to her neck in lime near a church and for people to light poke her head with a piece of wood. Back to the children, the box washes ashore near the beach where an old couple lives, and they find the children. When the old woman bathes the children, the bathwater turns to gold. The poor couple raise the boy, named Alexey, and the girl, named Magdana. They become rich and the man teaches the boy how to hunt. After some years, the siblings leave home and go to their biological father's kingdom. Magdana waves a handkerchief and a large fortified palace appears to house them. King Kuchi, on seeing the strange palace, promises to give half of the kingdom to whoever can enter it. An old woman offers to go to the new palace: after the brother, Alexey, leaves at night, the old woman creeps in and meets Magdana. The old woman says Alexey could find himself the most beautiful princess in the world as wife: princess Changuri, daughter of king Changi, in the kingdom of Changet, between the red and white seas; Changuri is hanging suspended on a golden cage and will be given as wife to whoever can jump high enough over a giant wall. After the old woman leaves, Magdana tells her brother about the princess and bids him find her as a wife. Alexey mounts his horse and rides to Changet, and nearly beats the challenge, but the princess Changuri slowly petrifies him. Back at their home palace, Magdana senses her brother is in danger and rides to Changet to save him. An old man on the road advises her to grab the princess by the hair and force her to restore her brother and the rest of her victims, then begs her to see him before she leaves the kingdom. Magdana goes to the princess and does as the old man instructed, rescuing her brother and many others. Alexey and Changuri are betrothed to each other and they pass by the old man on the road: it is king Changi, who gives the couple his blessings and a magic box. Back at king Kuchi's realm, the king is worried about the strange fortress and its inhabitants, and a council of seven kings advise him to invite its occupantes for a meal on a certain day, after church service. Alexey accompanies king Kuchi to church, where people notice his beauty. When he leaves, he sees the woman buried in lime and sighs deeply, then goes to king Kuchi's palace for a meal. The boy's aunts poison his food, but Alexey throws the dish to a dog, which eats it and die. Two days later, Alexey invites the king and the court to his palace for a meal. During the meal, Alexey reveals the whole truth to king Kuchi. The king digs his wife out of the lime and punishes his sisters-in-law.

Svan ATU 707

In a Svan language tale titled "Касар" ("Gesar", "Tsar" or "King"), a king has three daughters and remarries. His new wife hates her stepdaughters and orders her husband to get rid of them. The king then goes to the steppes, finds an apple tree and brings some apples to his daughters. The princesses ask her father to take them to the tree. The king digs up a hole near the tree, covers with a carpet, and tells his daughters to go get some fruits near the tree. The princesses fall into the trap, the king covers the hole with a rock and leaves them there. Inside the hole, the elder princesses eat their apples, but the youngest spares hers for a later time. After the provisions are eaten, the elder princess wants to kill the youngest to sate their hunger, but the third princess prays to God for her hands to become a shovel and a pickaxe. They dig out their way out of the hole and reach an iron stall where magic horses of another king are. The girls eat their wheat, so much so the horses start to look emaciated. The king orders some servants to feed the animals, they fail for the girls keep stealing their fodder, and are beheaded. A second group of servants meet the same fate. The third time, a healer and a card reader position four guards in the stalls, and they capture the girls and bring then to the king. Since the king is looking for a bride for his son, the prince, the monarch asks the girls what they can do: the elder princess boasts she can weave a carpet that can function as bed and quilt for the king and his subjects; the middle one that she can give a single wine cup to the entire people, and the youngest promises she will bear him twins, a boy and a girl with their upper and lowers halves made of gold. The prince marries the third sister, to the elders' jealousy. The elder sisters throw the babies in the water, and replace them for puppies. The prince ties his wife to a wooden board near a crossroads and orders people to spit on her. Back to the children, they are rescued by a priest that lives by a mill, who raises them.

The jealous sisters convince her to look for a golden apple tree that grows on the Elbrus Mountain, then for a golden mirror on Elbrus Mountain, and finally for a wife for himself, one of the daughters of the Western Sovereign.

Ossetian ATU 707

In an Ossetian tale titled "Златокудрая девушка и златокудрый юноша или бездетный алдар" ("The Golden-Haired Girl and the Golden-Haired Youth, or the Childess Aldar"),

Indic ATU 707

Indian ATU 707

In an Indian tale collected by John W. Spellman with the title The King's True Children, a king has six wives, and yet no children. One day, he finds himself a beautiful princess whom he makes his seventh wife. When the seventh queen is pregnant, they become jealous of her, and, after the king leaves on a hunt, the queen's first child, a son, is taken from her, cast in the river in a basket and replaced by a stone. The baby prince is rescued by an old fisherman, who takes the boy to raise with his wife. The next year, the seventh queen gives birth to a girl, who is also cast in the river by the jealous co-queens and replaced by another stone. Tricked by his co-wives, the king demotes his seventh spouse to shoo away crows in the garden. As for the children, the fisherman couple raises them until, on day, the boy has a dream about a yogi beckoning him on a pilgrimage towards a sacred stream. Deciding to chase the vision from his dream, the elder sibling departs and journeys beyond mountains until he finds the yogi near the sacred stream. The holy man gives him a catamaran, two water pots, and warns the boy to always look ahead while on the river, and to not look back. The boy follows the yogi's warnings and sails to the source of the river, deep into a cave, but demons in the deep darkness of the cave frighten and grab at his clothes, he turns his head to glance behind. Back at the fisherman's cottage, the female sibling realizes her elder brother is in danger and follows the same trail to the yogi. She meets the holy man and is given the same instructions: the girl sails on the catamaran and always looks straight ahead, until she reaches the source of the stream and fills the water pots with the liquid. The cave suddenly illuminates and she finds the unmoving figures of pilgrims and sprinkles the water on them, reverting their immobile state. She reunites with her elder brother and they return home. Later, the king learns of the girl's deed and pays the fisherman's cottage a visit with his six co-queens, the seventh their servant and fanning them. The fisherman tells the story of how he found the children floating in the river, and the seventh queen realizes the pair are her children. The king hears the queen's story, proving the injustice done to her, then banishes the elder co-queens to wander the forest, and reinstates his children and their mother.

In an Orissan tale titled Sunā Jharanā ('The Golden Shower'), collected in 1918 from a source in Nilgiri, near Balasore, a king has three children, two boys and a girl. Their mother dies, and the king remarries. At first, the stepmother likes the children, but after some time she begins to nurture hatred towards them. One day, she orders a maid to kill the children in the forest, while the king is told a lie that the siblings have travelled to visit their mother's people. The maid spares the children and only abandons them in the forest, while she reports to the queen she killed them. Back to the children, a rishi finds them and provides some magical help: he gives them a golden deer that can grant them anything they wish for, and a magical ring that signals whenever the elder brothers are in danger. Later, a foret ranger discovers the children and tells the queen. The queen then hires a witch to get rid of the children. The witch goes to the siblings' forest house and convinces them to search for a golden spring atop a mountain. The elder brother goes and meets a wise man on the path, who warns them the spring is inside a temple guarded by serpents and a bird that can petrify anyone that responds to it. Despite the warning, the elder brother fails. The younger brother goes to fetch himself the water and also fails. The sister, seeing the diamond ring has changed colour, goes to the temple and douses herself in the golden spring, all the while ignoring the bird. Soon after, the bird advises her to pluck a feather of its tail and touch the petrified brothers. They are restored and return home. At the end of the tale, the king, their father, finds his children in their forest house and bring them home, then executes his second wife.

In a tale collected from a source in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, with the title The Jealous Queens, a king has six wives, but no child. He marries a seventh one, and she becomes pregnant. Jealous of the newcomer, the six other queen try to trick her: first, they blindfold her, saying that is custom for a woman to give birth thus; next, when she is given a bell to ring for the king, they trick her into ringing it, annoying the monarch. Finally, the queen gives birth to a boy, but the queens replace the child for a pile of stones and put in him a potter's kiln, then lie to the king she gave birth to a stone. The king banishes her. Back to the child, the potter finds the boy inside the kiln, and cannot extinguish the fire. In desperation, he promises half of his wealth to anyone that can put out the kiln. The people cannot do so, even the king and the six queens, save for the seventh queen, who approaches the kiln and a stream of milk jets from her breast to extinguish the fire. Inside the kiln, the pots have turned to gold and the boy is in the hands of a goddess named Mother Asai. The goddess reveals the truth to the king and promises to deliver the prince, but first the king has to punish the co-wives and reinstate the boy's mother by sending a palanquin to get her. Her request is carried out, and the king regains his seventh wife and son.

According to Kunja Behari Dash, in an Orissan tale (Sarbajana Chadhei?; Ominiscient Bird / All-Knowing Bird), a queen gives birth to her three children (two boys and a girl), who are replaced by a monkey, a dog and a cat. The children are cast in the water by the queen's jealous sisters (co-wives in "All-knowing"), but they are saved by the gardener. The gardener adopts and raises them. Years later, the siblings are sents on a quest for the bird, and they plant a basil in their garden to serve as token of life, warning the other siblings whenever the first is in danger. the princess goes in search of the "ominiscient bird" and captures it. With a magic wand, she restores hundreds of men turned to stone. She takes the bird with her to her brothers. Some time later, the king goes on a hunt and meets the children. The siblings invite the king for a meal and he compliments the girl's curry. The bird then talks to the king that the curry of pearls prepared in Ceylon is even better. The king notices the absurdity of eating a meal out of an inedible material (pearls), and the bird retorts that the same impossibility about a human woman giving birth to animals.

In another Odishan tale, Chakulia panda, the queen's evil sisters take her son and cast him in the water, then replace him for a puppy. The boy and his siblings are raised by Mother Ganga. As for the queen, she is downgraded and forces to work as the cleaner of the cowshed. Years later, the children go to play in front of king by trying to give water to their wooden horse.

Author Jnanadabhiram Barua collected an Assamese tale titled Mekuri Jiyekar Sadhu, translated as The Tale of the Cat's Daughter. In this tale, a farmer has a pregnant wife and a pussy that is about to have kittens. One day, the farmer's cat develops a craving for fish and asks its owner to find her one. The farmer asks the cat to get him fish first, then he can give it some. The cat does as requested, but the farmer's wife eats fish every day and leaves only bones to the animal. For this, the cat curses the farmer's wife to bear the kittens the pussy is carrying, and vice-versa. Thus, two kittens are born to the farmer's wife, and two humans girls to the cat. The animal feeds the human girls with fish and milk and raises them. Years later, the girls ask their cat mother how they can ascertain if it is in trouble or not; the cat places a tulasi plant and a bowl of milk, then explains that the plant will wither and the milk will blacken, indicating that something has befallen it. Some time later, the tulasi withers and the milk blackens, and the girls leave home to search for their cat mother. On the road, the elder tries to fetch some water for themselves, when the river-god appears and offers water in exchange for the elder girl's ring. She gives him the ring and brings water to her younger. The younger sister then sends the elder back to the river to retrieve the ring, but the elder sister is carried by the river-god and vanishes. As for the younger sister, a sailing merchant passes by the bank of the river, spots the younger sister and brings her with him to be his third wife, since he has already two wives. Jealous of the new spouse, since their co-husband loves her more, they plot to humiliate her: just as the third wife is ready to give birth, they take her children (two boys, in consecutive pregnancies), cast them in the water and replace them for a flail of rice and a pumpkin, respectively. The merchant falls for his co-wives' trick and banishes the younger sister to a hut near a dunghill. As for the children, their aunt takes her nephews and raises them, explaining their family's story to the pair. Some time later, the merchant is sailing on a boat, when the river-god stops him in his tracks and makes him promise to call for a gathering of people, then asks him to throw his areca-nut carrier and a stick in the water as proof of obedience. The merchant does so, and the river-god lets him pass. At the assemblage, the brothers pay a visit to their mother's hut, get some food and drink and tell her the whole story, then make their way to the gathering. The siblings tell the people the whole story fo their lives, and, to prove their claims, show them the areca-nut carrier and stick that belonged to their father, the merchant. Realizing the whole truth, he cuts off the ears and noses of his co-wives, banishes them, and reinstates his younger wife and two sons.

In a tale from Uttarakhand titled Goreel,

In a tale from [Orissa?], a queen gives birth to seven children, six sons and a daughter, whom are thrown in the water by the co-queens and replaced for puppies. Goddess Ganga rescues them from the river and changes the boys into six Arjun trees and the girl into a Patali tree (Stereospermum chelonoides), whose flowers only their mother, the scorned queen, can pluck.

In an Indian tale from Goa with the title Twenty Brothers and a Sister, a man gathers his seven daughters to impart them with their marriage portions, and asks them whose destiny they are born to fulfill. The six elder daughters say their father's, to the man's contentment. The seventh and youngest daughter answers that she was born to fulfill her own destiny. Offended, the man dresses his cadette in rags and forces her as the family's servant. Some time later, a prince passes by the man's house and the seven sisters each promise to make him a gift from their own hands, save for the seventh, who promises to bear him twenty sons and a daughter. The prince overhears the words and finds their voice: the seventh daughter who is in the kitchen. He decides to marry the seventh daughter, despite the elders' jealousy. The prince departs to deal with some business in a distant land, and promises to return to take his wife to his parents' house. In turn, the seventh sister promises that, when the children will be born, a rain of pearls will fall where he is to signal their birth. It happens thus. While the prince is away, the girl keeps working at the kitchen in her father's house and, when she is in labour, her elder sisters blindfold her and take the children as soon as they are born, placing them in boxes in the river and replacing them for frogs. As for the prince, a rain of pearls falls on the land where he is, just as his wife promised it would happen, and he returns home. However, his sisters-in-law show him the twenty-one frogs, and the prince abandons his wife in her parents' house. Back to the children, the boxes are washed near a chapel, and the chaplain rescues the children to raise them. Years later, the children play near the river bank until dusk, then return to the chaplain. One day, the twenty boys befriend a servant who gives them poisoned ladoos, which their sister warns not to eat, but they eat and die. The girl rushes to tell the chaplain about it, and the man rubs his ring and sprinkles some water on the boys to revive them. The priest then warns them never to accept any food from strangers, and gives them some wooden horses for them to play with. The children's aunts learns of their survival and plot to kill them. The boys play by the river margin where the six aunts are walking, and the women mock their play pretend by asking how can wooden horses drink water. The boys retort how a woman can bear frogs, and the aunts realize the boys are their nephews. Some time later, the children's father, the prince, pass by them again and notices how they resemble the woman he married years go. The prince then goes to talk to the priest, who explains he found the children floating in the river. The priest then tells the prince to pay a visit to his sisters-in-law' house, prepare dinner with some poisoned dishes and invite the children, but not let them touch any meal; then, he is to bring his wife, for, if she is the mother of the children, jets of her breastmilk will spurt forth and feed them. The prince does as instructed and brings the children to their aunts' house. The prince brings the woman he married before the children and, just as the priest predicted, her milk gushes forth to feed her children. Thus, after confirming their relationship, the prince takes his wife and children with him, and punishes his sisters-in-law.

Tibetan (?) ATU 707

In a Tibetan tale titled The Three Children Who Were Saved from the Water, a king in the East has three daughters, and a king in the West was a widower, whose ministers press him to marry again. The minister meets an old woman who gives matrimonial advice, and she takes a journey to the kingdom in the East to investigate prospective brides. One night, when the king of the East's daughters are standing on the terrace of their palace and converse about their marriage wishes: the elder boasts she can sew clothes for a thousand officers with a cubit of fabric, the elder that she can cook meal for a thousand warriors with a single measure, and the youngest promises to bear triplets. The old woman reports to the king of the West, and he marries all three, despite their father warning him against doing so. The elder sisters, now co-wives to the king of the West, do not deliver the deeds they boasted, while the youngest does become pregnant and gives birth to two boys and a girl. The elder sisters take the children, cast them in the river in clay pots and replace them for puppies. The king falls for their trick and imprisons the third wife, while the children wash down the river to a holy man that was taking a bath. The holy man rescues the children and raises them in the Religion. Back to their mother, the king decides to spare her life by keeping her in prison, despite his ministers pronouncing she should be executed. After twelve years, the children grow up and the holy man gives them a flower named Drolma Metog that indicated he is still alive while he is secluded in a cave for meditation. The lama also explains that, when the flower withers, it means he has died, but he has reincarnated into a bird named Chapo Karabshog, which will lead the children to their parents. Later, the flower withers, and the boys leave home to the kingdom of the West in horses the lama gave them. Riding on their horses, they win many competitions, and draws the attention of the king of the West, who inquires them about their parentage. The elder sisters suspect the boys are their nephews, and decide to kill then: they try to give them poisoned food three times, but each time a little kitten eats the fatal meal in the siblings' place, alerting them of the danger. As for the king, their father, he keeps wondering about the mysterious twins and, consulting with a magician, decides to search for the Chapo Karabshog, which can reveal the truth of their parentage. Back to the siblings, they notice that the Drolma Metog has blossomed again, which means their adoptive father, the lama, has reincarnated into the bird. The eldest boy goes in search of the bird and meets with an old woman who directs him to a cace filled with birds. Without recognizing the real bird, he turns to stone. The same thing happens with the middle brother. Finally, after three more years, the sister makes the same path and reaches the cave full of birds. She says a prayer for the real bird to fly down the sandalwood tree and circle around her. It happens thus. The bird perches on the stones and restores her brothers and several others to life. The children bring the bird with them down to the hermitage where they lived with the lama, and they make a kingdom there. The king of the West learns the queen of the valley has the bird and wages war against them, but loses. The bird explains to the siblings the king of the West is their father and their mother is in prison. After being rescued from prison, the queen is restored to full health by the bird's powers.

Palestinian Jrefiyye ATU 707

In a Palestinian Jrefiyye titled __ ("___"), translated to Spanish as El ruiseñor cantarín ("The Singing Nightingale"), people pray for rains at night, then each goes back to their houses. The sons of a person named Umm Aḥmad walk home singing loud songs,

Moroccan ATU 707

In a Berber Moroccan (Chleuh) tale titled Le verger du roi ("The King's Garden"),

Turkish ATU 707

In a Turkish tale collected by folklorist Muhsine Helimoğlu with the title Yedi Çingene ("Seven Gypsies"), a sultan rules two countries and has a son in search of a wife. In the same land, seven gypsy girls set up their tents with their families, the first girl ugly and the seventh the most beautiful of the group. The girls learn the sultan's son is looking for a bride, and they comment what they will do if they marry him (pour water on his hands, bring him his shoes, etc.), and the youngest promises to bear him two golden children. The sultan's son, who was listening to their conversation, decides to marry each of them, and each of them fail to fulfill their wishes, since they simply wanted a husband, save for the youngest, who does bear him the twin gold children. The six gypsies take the seventh to give birth next to a chimney, through which the children fall. The gypsies cast the twins in the water and replace them for puppies to fool the sultan's son. The six gypsies suggest the seventh girl is to be left in at seven crossroads and for people to beat her with a piece of wood. As for the children, a poor fishing couple finds the children in the water and rescues them. Whenever water is poured over them, gold appears. The fisherman couple dies and leaves the twins all by themselves, the boy going on hunts and the girl staying at home. One day, the boy fails to hunt some partridges and complains it to a man, who is his true father and gives him some. The man returns home and tells the gypsies he met a "golden boy" on the road whom he considers as his son. The gypsies realize the children are alive; one of the gypsies disguises herself as an old woman on a pilgrimage, pays the female twin a visit and says their house is missing a nightingale. The male twin goes in search of the nightingale and meets a man on the road, who advises him to go to a certain hut and call out for the bird, but take care to not be petrified. Despite the man's warnings, the male twin becomes stone. The female twin senses something wrong with her brother and goes to the nightingale's hut. She cries for her brother's fate and the bird restores him and other stones back to life. The twins take the bird with them to their house. At the end of the tale, the nightingale suggests the twins invite people to a meal and place rocks to feed the guests' horses. The twins notice the strangeness of the request, and the bird explains the whole story to them. The twins then restore their mother and look for their father, who learns the truth and punishes the six gypsies.

In a Turkish tale collected from a source in Erdebile with the title Xoruz-u Neqel-xu, a padishah has forty wives, and still no child from any of them, thus he sends his vizier and his vekil to find a new bride for him. The duo find a shepherd's beautiful daughter and pay her brideprice to marry the padishah, and marries the monarch. Some months later, she is pregnant, and the sultan sends for a midwife. However, the mother of one of his co-wives offers to help in the delivery of the children. The padishah's new wife gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl with a mark on their cheeks, whom the woman replaces for two puppies and casts in the river in a basket. The padishah falls for the trick and banishes his wife to a deep well. Back to the children, a merchant finds the basket and rescues the twins, whom he raises with his wife and names Mehemmed (the boy) and Zerintac (the girl). The twins go to the madrassa to learn, but their colleagues mock them for being foundlings. The merchant and his wife confirm the story, and the twins decide to look for their birth parents. The merchant gives them a horse and a rifle, and advises them to establish themselves where the horse stops. Thus they leave home and establish themselves near a hill, Mehemmed hunting and Zerintac taking care of the house. Some time later, farmers pass by their house and marvel at Zerintac's beauty. The padishah learns of this and goes to investigate, falling in love with the strange girl. The padishah wishes to marry the girl and sends a person to inform the twins of his decision. Mehemmed, her brother, says he will give an answer in a few days' time. The padishah's mother-in-law gets word of the event and goes to meet this girl at her house: she realizes by the birthmark on her cheek she is the monarch's daughter, and so is her twin, so she decides to get rid of them. The woman tells Zerintac her house could be even more beautiful if her brother finds her an apple that cries and an apple that laughs from the orchard of Ağlar-güler - a trap, since the place is home to giants and thieves. Mehemmed goes to fulfill his sister's request and meets a dervish on the road, who advises him to buy some wooden clothes before he enters the orchard. He steals the apples from under the thieves' noses and returns home. Next, the padishah's mother-in-law convices the girl to search for an "el-dașı" or "eltaș" (a type of stone) that produces gold from one side and silver on the other when it rolls around. Mehemmed also fetches it. Lastly, the woman sends the twins for a talking rooster the lives in the orchard and tells of the past and the future. The man on the road warns Mehemmed about the petrifying powers of the rooster, and advises him to shoot at the bird. Mehemmed captures the bird and brings it home with him, since it can reveal the truth about their parents. The twins listen to the rooster's tale as it recalls their story up to a certain point, then everyone leaves to the padishah's court for his upcoming marriage. Mehemmed talks to the rooster and it continues the tale, revealing the twins are the padishah's children. The padishah is aghast at the idea of almost marrying his own daughter, and asks the bird where is his wife, to which the rooster answers she is still alive in the well and more beautiful than ever. The monarch rescues his wife from the well, beheads his mother-in-law and her daughter, and marries Mehemmed to the vekil's daughter and Zerintac to his vizier's son.

Kazakh ATU 707

In a Kazakh tale titled Ақбілек Қыз - Түрғын Бала (Turkish: Akbilek Kız-Turğın Bala, English: "Girl Akbilek and Boy Turgin"), Bögen takes for wife a woman named Akborik, who becomes pregnant, drawing the ire of his other co-wives Kanikey and Tinikey, daughters of Nogay Khan. Forty batyrs come from Crimea to congratulate Bögen, and take him for a celebratory hunt. While he is away, the co-wives hire a witch named Mistan Kempir to get rid of the unborn children. Akborik gives birth to twins, a boy named Turgin and a girl named Akbilek. The co-wives make Akborik faint, replace the twins for puppies and give the babies for Mistan Kempir to kill them. The witch dons iron garments and walks very far, until she reaches a desert and drops them down a well. Back to Bögen, a letter is sent to him telling the false birth, and he orders his wife to be banished to the island of Kula Su with the puppies. As for the children, a monarch and his large caravan pass by the same desert the well is in, and he goes to draw water from the well. He notices the twin children, who sing a song that they have been protected by Allah and lived in the well, and wish to be given cattle. The Hodja takes the boy with him, but the members of the caravan complain to their leader. Turgin, being of "heroic lineage", steals a herd of cattle and a herd of horses and brings them with him to his sister. He spends the days hunting while she stays home. Back to Bögen, the forty batyrs convince him to join them for another hunt, and he releases his falcon ("Shahin") to guide the hunt. The falcon reaches the well where the children are, and perches on the girl Akbilek's arm. Bögen asks the girl to return the bird, and she wants to be given the bird for her brother. Bögen takes back the falcon and returns home, and his co-wives Kanikey and Tinikey learn the children are alive. Thus, they bribe Mistan Kempir to go there and get rid of them. Mistan Kempir walks back to the well, but finds a tent nearby, and goes to talk to Akbilek, passing herself as a wandering beggar lady. Mistan tells the girl her brother needs to find a wife for himself, and suggests Täpeltes, daughter of the Kalmyk khan who lives in the Kipchak Mountain. Turgin goes to the mountains and meets a kempir (old woman), whose breasts he suckles. The kempir says Täpeltes is her daughter, and marries them to each other. Next, Mistan Kempir convinces the girl to have a drink from the "sieve of white water". For this next quest, Turgin kills two snakes to protect the nest from the Samurik (Simurgh) bird, and their father, in gratitude, warns him there is an personal enemy driving him to death. Turgin heeds the warning, fights the Kalmyks for ten days, gets the white water and returns home. Back home, the twins learn the truth of their predicament, and Turgin captures Jalmavız Kempir. The twins also make their way to Bögen's tent, where the twins reconcile with their father. Bögen also orders his wife to be retrieved from the island, and the family is reunited again. The co-wives' deceit is brought to light and they are publicly exposed.

Tatar ATU 707

In a Tatar tale translated to Turkish with the title Mustan Başlik, a widower has three daughters and remarries. One day, the woman orders the man to get rid of the girls by abandoning them in the woods. The man takes his daughters to the forest on the false pretense of picking strawberries, and pretends to be cutting wood. The girls think the father is there with them, but cannot find them, and reach a hut deep in the woods where an old woman lives. The woman - a witch - takes them in, and the youngest, in a smart move, says she prefer to sleep by the chimney. While her sisters are fast asleep and the witch is preparing the stove for cooking and whetting a knife, the cadette drops a bit of salt from the inside the chimney to put out the fire. The next day, while the witch has gone fishing, the girls drown the witch's daughter and flee the woods. The witch returns home and, discovering her dead daughter, she chases after the girls, who drop objects to deter her: a whetting stone becomes a high mountain, a comb becomes a thick forest, and a mirror becomes a deep sea. The witch asks the girl how crossed the sea and they lie that they put some heavy stones on them and waded through. The witch dies and sinks, then the girls make their way to a nearby city. Soon enough, a king and his vizier, both on a hunt, spot the girls and ask them about their abilities: the elder boasts she can sew clothes for the whole city with a meter of fabric; the middle one that she can feed the whole city with a single dead bull, and the youngest promises to bear twins, a boy and a girl, with silk hair, teeth of pearl and silver body. The sultan's son marries the youngest who becomes pregnant as the elder two fail to deliver their boasts. After nine months, a boy just like she described is born to her, whom the elder sister sell to a fisherman on the other side of the Irtysh river, and place a puppy in his place. The next year, a girl is born to her, and the baby is also sold to the old fisherman, while a puppy is placed next to the sultan's son's wife. The sultan's son returns and, falling for the deception, orders his viziers to blind her and to place her next to the stairs where people are to spit on her. Some time later, the sultan's son is rowing down the river, and finds two children with silken hair, teeth of pearl and silver body playing by the fisherman's hut. The fisherman tells him the whole truth, that the children were sold to him by the elder sister. The king buys the children back and gains a magic leaf to restore his wife's health. The old sultan then orders the execution of the elder sisters.

In a Tatar tale translated to Turkish as Ateş Akordeonu ("Fire Acordeon"), an old man has an only daughter and remarries. His second wife dislikes her stepdaughter, and orders her husband to get rid of her. Saddened at the idea, the man takes his teenage daughter to the forest and abandons her there. After a while, another man passes by the girl and rescues her to his house. He buys her clothes and decides to marry her. He was already married to a previous wife. One day, he has to leave on a journey and asks his two wives what they can provide him when he returns: the first wife promises to sew him a unique shirt, while the youngest says she will bear twins, a boy and a girl. A witch brings the dress to the first wife, and becomes the midwife to the second wife to help in the twins' delivery. Nudged by the first wife, the witch takes the twins as soon as they are born, casts them in the water in a box and places two puppies in their place. A fisherman and his wife find the twins and raise them, while the man returns home and banishes his second wife to a house, where people are beat her. Back to the children, the male twin becomes a hunter and, one day, helps his father - unbeknownst to him - from a wolves' attack. The witch-midwife and the man's first wife realize the twins are alive, and the witch pays them a visit, who are living alone since the death of their adoptive parents. The witch convinces the female twin to send her brother to search for a wife: a maiden that lives in the water and combs her hair by the lake. With the help of his horse, the male twin captures the water maiden in her underwater abode and brings her home as his bride. During a second hunt, the male twin rescues his father again from another wolf attack, and again the witch sends them on a quest: for a lake of milk to help them graze cattle. The water maiden warns the female twin the witch is trying to kill the male twin. Regardless, the male twin rides his talking horse to the milk sea, hits a birch tree with a whip and plucks one of its leaves, then returns home with: the milk lake appears for them in their house. Thirdly, the witch sends them for the self-playing gramophone: with the aid of three elderly women, the youth gets the gramophone from inside an egg, inside a duck, inside a box, atop an oak tree. Lastly, the witch sends the twins for a magical instrument: the fire accordion. The male twin enters a mountain of fire and fetches the accordion from three sisters, then steals magic objects from a trio of old men: a stick that kills people and a saddlecloth that revives them. After all these quests, the male twin rescues his father for the third time from wolves after he uses the stick to kill the animals, and the man invites the youth for a meal with him. The male twin thanks, but brings his twin and his wife with him. When they reach the man's house, the male twin passes by the house where his mother was banished to, when the water maiden stops him from beating her. The man's guards inform their master the youth did not hit the woman, and the water maiden reveals the whole truth. The man then punishes his first wife and the witch-midwife, and restores the mother of the twins as his wife.

Bashkir ATU 707

In a Bashkir tale translated to Turkish with the title Dokus OĞlan ("Nine Sons"), a sultan's unmarried son overhears three girls talking:

Uyghur ATU 707

In an Uyghur tale titled Mestan Kempir, a childless padishah is married to two wives and has no son. He is advised by his viziers to find a new wife. The padishah visits a city where he finds his prospective bride: a maiden named Aycemal, an old man's daughter. The padishah takes Aycemal with him and marries her as his third queen. Some time later, the padishah goes on a hunt and leaves a pregnant Aycemal alone. The elder co-wife hires the witch Mestan Kempir to get rid of the children as soon as they are born. Aycemal gives birth to twin children, a boy and a girl. On the elder wife's orders, Mestan Kempir takes the sultan's twin children and abandons them in the mountains, putting two puppies in their place to deceive him and humiliate the children's mother. A doe finds the children when it goes to drink water and takes them to its cave. Years later, the padishah goes to hunt in the mountains and the adoptive deer mother guides the monarch to the cave where the children are hidden. The children hide into the cave on seeing the padishah, who tries to convince them to come out. He returns home and tells his co-wives what he experienced in the hunt. The elder co-wives realize the children are Aycemal's children and plan to get rid of them by sending Mestan Kempir. The witch goes to the twins' cave and, while the male twin is away, convinces the girl to search for the branch of a magical tree that is located in the land of the devs. After the witch leaves and the male twin returns from the hunt, the girl asks her brother to fetch the branch from the tree. With the advice from a Hizir (holy man), the male twin brings the branch, plants it near their cave and, the next morning, a green and lush vine sprouts. The next time, Mestan Kempir sends them after a magic girl named Hörlikahan, who lives in a cave on the east side of a mountain. Again, with the Hizir's aid, the male twin brings Hörlikahan to their cave. Time passes, and the padishah passes by the twins' cave again, and Hörlikahan, with her powers, realizes the padishah is the twins' father. Hörlikahan welcomes the monarch, and, in return, he invites them to his palace. Hörlikahan takes the twins to the padishah's palace, and reveals the whole truth, by mocking the idea that a human woman can bear puppies. In return, the padishah is instructed by Hörlikahan to gather every subject in the realm to his palace. Thus, Hörlikahan and the twins wait by the palace doors as every person passes by them. Finally, Aycemal, who had been locked in a cage for her false birth, walks by the twins and a jet of her breastmilk spurts from each of her breasts and into each of the twins' mouths, confirming their parentage. The witch Mestan Kempir and the elder co-wives are then executed.

ATU 433B + ATU 425E / TTV 106, Lindworm

• Yılan Damat

In an Jewish-Iranian tale titled "בת הדייג" ("The Fisherman's Daughter"), [100]

In a Judeo-Spanish tale collected in Skoplje translated with the title Le prince serpent ou la femme aux deux maris ("The Serpent Prince, or the Woman with Two Husbands"),

Dragon-Child and Sun-Child / Armenian ATU 433B + 425E + *446

Tamar Harapeytian (pp. 110-111)

[101]

The Pomegranate Girl (Azeri ATU 408 Love for Three Oranges / Cucumber Girl)

In an Azeri tale published by Azeri folklorist Hənəfi Zeynallı with the title "Девушка из граната" ("The Girl from the Pomegranate") or Nar qızı ("Pomegranate Girl").

Summary

A prince dreams of a maiden in a pomegranate. He decides to seek her out. He visits three dev mothers, who indicate the way to the garden. He takes the three pomegranates and leaves the garden. The first two fruits yield nothing, but the third releases the maiden. He asks the girl to wait nearby a tree, while he goes back to the kingdom. A slave girl sees the maiden, shoves her down the well and replaces her. The girl becomes a rosebush, a platane tree and a tree splinter. The splinter is found by a man and brought to his home. The fruit maiden comes out of the splinter to do household chores and is discovered by the man. One day, the prince summons all women to his yard for them to tell him stories, and the fruit maiden sings about her story while weaving and counting pearls. The compiler sourced the tale from an informant in Nakhkray (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic), and classified the tale as type 408.

Analysis

Tale type

Azerbaijani scholarship classifies tale type 408 in Azerbaijan as Azeri type 408, "Əməmxiyar qızı". In the Azeri type, an old woman curses the prince to search for the girl from a fruit (e.g., pomegranate) or a vegetable (e.g., cucumber), or the prince has a dream about the fruit maiden; the prince searches for the three vegetables or fruits and opens them: either he finds nothing, save on the third one, or the first two release maidens that ask for food; the prince leaves the fruit maiden atop a tree and leaves; another girl shoves the fruit maiden in a well and replaces her as the prince's false bride; the fruit maiden goes through a cycle of reincarnations, then regains human form; she then goes to a gathering and reveals her story through the use of a patience stone, or her clothes tell the story in form of a song. The fruit maiden is restored and the false bride punished. The Azerbaijani type corresponds, in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, to tale type ATU 408, "The Three Oranges".

In an article in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, scholar Christine Shojaei Kawan separated the tale type into six sections, and stated that parts 3 to 5 represented the "core" of the story:

• (1) A prince is cursed by an old woman to seek the fruit princess;
• (2) The prince finds helpers that guide him to the princess's location;
• (3) The prince finds the fruits (usually three), releases the maidens inside, but only the third survives;
• (4) The prince leaves the princess up a tree near a spring or stream, and a slave or servant sees the princess's reflection in the water;
• (5) The slave or servant replaces the princess (transformation sequence);
• (6) The fruit princess and the prince reunite, and the false bride is punished.

Motifs

The maiden's appearance

According to the tale description in the international index, the maiden may appear out of the titular citrus fruits, like oranges and lemons. However, she may also come out of pomegranates or other species of fruits, and even eggs. According to Walter Anderson's unpublished manuscript, variants with eggs instead of fruits appear in Southeastern Europe. In addition, Christine Shojaei-Kawan located the motif of the heroine emerging from the eggs in Slavic texts.

The transformations and the false bride

The tale type is characterized by the substitution of the fairy wife for a false bride. The usual occurrence is when the false bride (a witch or a slave) sticks a magical pin into the maiden's head or hair and she becomes a dove. In some tales, the fruit maiden regains her human form and must bribe the false bride for three nights with her beloved.

In other variants, the maiden goes through a series of transformations after her liberation from the fruit and regains a physical body. In that regard, according to Christine Shojaei-Kawan's article, Christine Goldberg divided the tale type into two forms. In the first subtype, indexed as AaTh 408A, the fruit maiden suffers the cycle of metamorphosis (fish-tree-human) - a motif Goldberg locates "from the Middle East to Italy and France" (especifically, it appears in Greece and Eastern Europe). In the second subtype, AaTh 408B, the girl is transformed into a dove by the needle.

Separated from her husband, she goes to the palace (alone or with other maidens) to tell tales to the king. She shares her story with the audience and is recognized by him.

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In variants of the tale, "the trees and plants symbolize life and rebirth".

Tale type 408a.

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Variants

According to Azerbaijani scholarship, the story of the "Pomegranate Girl" is spread in different regions of Azerbaijan: Nakhchivan, Goycha, Gazakh, Agbaba and South Azerbaijan.

In another Azeri tale collected from Nakhkray with the title "Женщина, вышедшая из камыша" ("The Wife from the Reeds"), a king has a son. One day, the prince tells his father he had a dream he would marry a woman from the djinns, and decides to look for her. He consults with an old woman in the city, and the old woman advises him to take provisions for a seven-month journey, ride all the way to the west, where he will meet a div with a blister on his leg; the prince is to pierce the blister, hide and wait for the div to swear on his own mother's blood not harm his helper. The prince heeds her words and journeys west to meet the div; he pierces the leg blister, and the div wakes up in pain. The div swears on his mother's name not to harm the person, and the prince presents himself and explains the reason for his journey. The div then directs him to a river with three reeds, where he is to cut one and only open it at home, not on the way. The prince follows the div's advice, but, nearing his home, he cuts open the reed: a beautiful girl comes out of it, but admonishes him for disobeying the div's orders. Still, the prince is enchanted with the girl and helps her climb a plane tree, while he goes back home and bring a retinue to properly welcome her. As he leaves, and time passes, the girl becomes thirsty and sees a black girl coming with some dishes to wash. The girl asks for some water, but the black girl shoves her into the sea and takes her place up the plane tree. The prince comes back and takes the black girl into the palace, thinking her to be the reed girl. As for the reed girl, she becomes a fish that is captured and brought to the prince, and begins to sing to him. The false bride orders the fish to be cooked and that no drop of its blood is to fall on the ground. The cook follows the orders, but the fish's blood drops on the ground and a plane tree sprouts. The tree uses its leaves to caress the prince when he passes by, and the false bride also wants it chopped down. A splinter of the plane tree survives and is taken by an old woman to her house. The reed girl comes out of the splinter to do chores at the old woman's house, but is discovered and adopted by the old woman. Time passes, the reed girl dies, and the old woman, fulfilling her last request, places her body in a tomb. One day, the prince passes by the tomb and hears someone calling for him from within. He returns to the tomb some days later and finds the reed girl, alive. The reed girl tells him her adventures, and says the black girl has a key around her neck, which is to be returned to the reed girl. The prince returns the key to the reed girl, punishes the false bride and marries her. The tale was also classified by the compilers as type 408.

In an Azeri tale from Nakhchivan with the title Qıra qız ("The Melon Girl"), a man has a dream and decides to fulfill it, when the prince walks by him and buys his dream from him. The prince then walks to the place described in the man's dream by the road and cuts up three qira (unripe round melons) and brings with him. On the road, he cuts open the first one, releasing a maiden that asks for water. Since he has none with him, the maiden dies. He cuts open the second one, releasing a maiden that asks for water, and dies for not having any to drink. The prince decides to open the last one only near water: he reaches a spring and open the last melon, releasing a girl to whom he gives water from the fountain. She lives, and he takes her along with him near the palace. When they reacha plantain tree, the prince leaves her up the tree and warns her against a witch, then goes back to the palace. While he is away, the witch appears and tricks the melon girl in descending from the tree, and rips the maiden's pearl necklace. Taking advantage of the situation, the witch throws the melon maiden down the valley, and dresses her own daughter in the maiden's clothes to trick the prince. The prince returns and, finding the witch's daughter up the tree, notices the difference between both girls, but takes the false bride in. As for the true melon maiden, she becomes a rose down in the valley, which the prince brings with him to plant in the garden. The maiden then turns from a rose into a willow tree, which the false bride wants to be burnt down. From the ashes of the tree, a çuvaldız (large needle for sewing up sacks) remains, which a baker takes home with him. At the baker's house, after he returns one day, he finds that the wool has been carded and combed. He investigates the mystery and discovers the melon maiden comes out of the large needle to card the wool. The baker grabs her and she explais her story: her sisters in the melons, how the prince found her, how the witch replaced her. The maiden asks the baker to retrive her pearl necklace from the witch at the prince's palace. The prince then follows the baker to his house and finds there the melon maiden, asking her to come with him. The maiden agrees, but requests that the witch and her daughter are tied to horses first. It happens thus, and the prince takes the melon girl with him, marrying her in a 40 days and 40 nights ceremony.

The Daughter of the Orange and Toranj (Iranian ATU 408 / Persian ATU 408)

"دختران انار" = Pomegranate Girls

The Prince and the Gypsy Woman / Ukrainian ATU 408, Love for Three Oranges

[102] - De tre citronerna

Variants

By Mykola Zinchuk

In an Ukrainian tale collected by folklorist Mykola Zinchuk with the title "При царевича Гриця та циганку" ("About Prince Gryts and the Gypsy Woman"), a king and queen have a son named Gryts whom they want to get married. One day, he is walking when he meets an old gypsy woman who gives him a nucula (uk) ("горішок", in the original), advising him to open the fruit near a well. Gryts reaches a well and breaks open the nucula, releasing a maiden that asks for water. However, the prince does not fulfill her request and dies. He then meets a second gypsy woman, older than the first, who gives him a second nucula with the same warning. Gryts reaches another well and releases a second maiden that asks for water, but she dies as well. Finally, he meets a very old woman who gives him a third nucula, to be opened near a well. Gryts does as instructed and releases another maiden to whom he gives water to drink. Gryts asks the maiden to marry him, and leaves her by the well, while he goes to fetch a carriage. While he is away, the third gypsy woman finds the maiden and tricks her into trading clothes. The gypsy woman shoves the maiden into the well and takes her place, then puts a veil on her face to hide her identity. Prince Gryts comes back and takes the false bride with him to the palace. As for the real maiden, an old woman comes the next day to draw water from the well and rescues the maiden, whom she takes to her house. Some time later, the queen pays a visit to the old woman and asks her to come to the palace to pluck feathers. The old woman says she must look after her own daughter, but the queen convinces her to let the girl come with them to regale them with tales to pass the time. The women go to the palace to pluck feathers, and the nucula maiden tells the audience the story of how the prince found and met her. The gypsy woman listens to the story and dies of fright, while Gryts recognizes her as his true bride and marries her.

In another tale collected by Zinchuk with the title "Чарівні квасолини" (uk)("Magic Beans"), a poor couple, husband and wife, have a son they wish to see married. The woman visits a fortune-teller to discern about her son's future wife, and the fortune-teller advises her to enter a nearby orchard and fetch three bean pods and open the pod near a water source. The woman does as instructed and opens the first pod near the river, releasing a beautiful maiden with a moon on the front. She asks for water, but the woman is frightened at the sight she forgets to give her some water, and the girl dies. She walks along the river margin and opens the second pod, releasing a similarly looking maiden. The woman rushes to give her some water to sate her thirst, then leaves her by the river and goes back home to find her some clothes, since the maiden is wearing some willow leaves as garments. As soon as the woman leaves her, some robbers drown the maiden in a well and replace her for their ugly maidservant. The woman returns and notices the maiden looks different, but the maidservant says the sun rays darkened her skin. The false daughter-in-law is lazy and bosses everyone around. One day, the woman sends her daughter-in-law to draw water from the well, and finds a little fish she cannot catch. The woman sends her husband to fish out the animal from the well and the false daughter-in-law cooks a meal with it, but a scale remains and falls in a trash heap. The woman sweeps out the scale trash heap, and out of the fish scale a pear tree sprouts. The false daughter-in-law orders the tree to be felled down, but a splinter remains and flies out to a neighbour's garden. The neighbours, an old couple, take the splinter to their house and leave to forage for mushroom and red berries in the forest. When they return, they find the house is swept and the food is cooked. Another neighbour tells them he saw a beautiful girl at their house. The couple discover the bean maiden the next day and adopt her as their daughter. However, the bean maiden never leaves home for the lunar mark on her forehead. Some time later, the woman who is their neighbour invites the old woman and her daughter. The bean maiden hides her mark with a cloth and goes to pluck the birds. When she is doing so, the cloth falls out of her head, and the woman recognizes the bean maiden as the one she released from the bean. She banishes the false daughter-in-law and marries the bean maiden to her son.

Balkanic ATU 408 / Carpathian ATU 408

In a German tale from Banat with the title Das Mädchen aus dem Ei ("The Girl from the Egg"), a king's son declares he wishes to marry no one, save for the girl from the egg, which he will find inside an egg on a nest, upn a tree in the forest. The prince does as he said and goes to the forest, finding a nest with four eggs inside. He takes one of the eggs and climbs down the tree. He cracks open the egg and a maiden appears, asking for water. The prince rushes to a well to fetch water, but when he returns the girl is dead. For the next try, he goes to the nearby well, draws water and then cracks open the egg, releasing another maiden. He gives the maiden some water to drink, and proclaims she is his bride. Noticing she is naked, he asks her to wait for him atop an elderberry bush overlooking the well, while he goes back home to fetch royal clothes and bring back a carriage and a retinue to welcome her.

In a tale collected from a source in Kyustendil with the title "Краставичка девоікьа" ("Cucumber Girl"), Girl from the Cucumber

Slavic ATU 408

In a Slovenian tale from Prekmurje titled Trije jajčki ("Three Eggs"), a rich man wishes to marry a girl that is not begotten of mother nor father, but he has no luck finding one. One day, he meets an old beggar man to whom he tells his sorrows. Understanding the man's plight, the beggar gives the rich man three eggs, and advises him to open them only near a body of water. Curious about the contents of the eggs, he cracks open the first two, releasing a maiden that asks for water, but vanish soon after. He then saves the third egg when he reachs a stream, then breaks open the last egg: a maiden emerges from the egg to whom he gives water. Since he notices she is naked, he leaves her by some bushes, while he goes back home to fetch her some clothes. When the man goes away, a gypsy girl comes and shoves the egg maiden in water, then takes her place. The man returns and notices the gypsy, who lies that she is the egg maiden, but in another form. Thus, the man marries her, but he still feels despondent, so he goes to spend some time near the stream. On one occasion, he sees a goldfish in the water. The gypsy girl wants to eat the fish, so the man catches it and cooks it, but keeps a small scale with him. He misplaces the fish scale and it falls on the ground; a pear tree sprouts, yielding golden pears. The gypsy girl feign illness and wishes to have the pear tree burnt down. A woodcutter is summoned to cut it down, but he keeps some woodchips with him, which he brings to his house. The woodcutter leaves the woodchips in a cupboard, then leaves home. When he returns, he finds his house swept and the food done for him. The woodcutter investigates and spies through the keyhole: the egg maiden comes out of the woodchips to do chores around the house. The woodcutter reports the incident to the rich man, who quickly rushes to the woodcutter's house to see the mysterious girl: it is the egg maiden, returned to life. The rich man embraces the egg maiden and learns of the whole story, including the gypsy girl's deception. For this, he has the false bride executed, and marries the true egg maiden.

Austrian ATU 408

According to scholar Kurt Ranke, only six German variants are known to him, and he also supposed the tale originated in the Orient.

In an Austrian tale from Tirol with the title Vom reichen Grafensohne ("About the rich Count's Son"), retranslated as Das Pomeranzenfräulein ("The Pomerance Maiden") by author Karl Haiding,

[103]

Karl Haiding tale nr. 94 (Burgenland) and nr. 528 (Hungary)

Romanian ATU 408

• Saineanu, Lazar. Basmele române: în comparatiune cu legendele antice clasice și în legătură cu basmele popoarelor învecinate și ale tuturor popoarelor romanice: studiu comparativǔ. București: Göbl, 1895. pp. 303-310.

Croatian ATU 408 Love For Three Oranges

++ (English: _) is a Croatian fairy tale. It is classified as tale type ATU 408, "The Love for Three Oranges", of the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index. As with The Three Oranges, the tale deals with a prince's search for a bride that lives inside a fruit, who is replaced by a false bride and goes through a cycle of incarnations, until she regains physical form again.

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 408, "The Three Oranges". In an article in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, scholar Christine Shojaei Kawan separated the tale type into six sections, and stated that parts 3 to 5 represented the "core" of the story:

• (1) A prince is cursed by an old woman to seek the fruit princess;
• (2) The prince finds helpers that guide him to the princess's location;
• (3) The prince finds the fruits (usually three), releases the maidens inside, but only the third survives;
• (4) The prince leaves the princess up a tree near a spring or stream, and a slave or servant sees the princess's reflection in the water;
• (5) The slave or servant replaces the princess (transformation sequence);
• (6) The fruit princess and the prince reunite, and the false bride is punished.

Motifs

The maiden's appearance

According to the tale description in the international index, the maiden may appear out of the titular citrus fruits, like oranges and lemons. However, she may also come out of pomegranates or other species of fruits, and even eggs. According to Walter Anderson's unpublished manuscript, variants with eggs instead of fruits appear in Southeastern Europe. In addition, Christine Shojaei-Kawan located the motif of the heroine emerging from the eggs in Slavic texts.

The transformations and the false bride

The tale type is characterized by the substitution of the fairy wife for a false bride. The usual occurrence is when the false bride (a witch or a slave) sticks a magical pin into the maiden's head or hair and she becomes a dove. In some tales, the fruit maiden regains her human form and must bribe the false bride for three nights with her beloved.

In other variants, the maiden goes through a series of transformations after her liberation from the fruit and regains a physical body. In that regard, according to Christine Shojaei-Kawan's article, Christine Goldberg divided the tale type into two forms. In the first subtype, indexed as AaTh 408A, the fruit maiden suffers the cycle of metamorphosis (fish-tree-human) - a motif Goldberg locates "from the Middle East to Italy and France" (especifically, it appears in Greece and Eastern Europe). In the second subtype, AaTh 408B, the girl is transformed into a dove by the needle.

Separated from her husband, she goes to the palace (alone or with other maidens) to tell tales to the king. She shares her story with the audience and is recognized by him.

Variants

Tales about oranges

In a Croatian tale from Pazina v Istri with the title Svrha treh naranač ("The Purpose of the Three Oranges"), an old lady goes to fetch some oil in an eggshell, but a botegar mocks her for it. For this, the old lady hopes God curses him with the "purpose of the three oranges". Another old lady comes to fetch oil in an eggshell and the botegar mentions the incident to her. The second old lady then advises him to go up a certain mountain, where he will find the three oranges inside a house that belongs to fairies, but he is to carry some grease (to use on some iron gates), some food for a cat, and a broom to give to some ladies cleaning the place. The botegar does as the old lady instructed, fetches the three oranges and escapes the house of the fairies, who command their servants to stop him, to no avail. He walks along the path and cuts open one of the oranges, releasing a maiden that asks for water. Since he has none with him, the maiden dies. At another part of the road, he opens the second orange, releasing a maiden that asks for water, but dies for not getting any to drink. Finally, the botegar reaches a water body and releases a third maiden from the last orange, to whom he gives water. She survives, but he notices she is naked and leaves her up a tree, while he goes back home to fetch some clothes for her. While he is away, an old woman's daugthers come to draw water and see the orange maiden's reflection in the water, mistaking it for their own. The girls' mother goes to check herself and finds the orange maiden atop the tree. She questions the maiden about her presence there, and sticks a pin in her head, turning her into a bird. As the botegar appears, the old woman places her eldest daughter to pose as the orange maiden, and lies to him that the sun and the wind burnt her skin. Still, the botegar takes her to his house and arranges a grand wedding. However, the little bird appear in the kitchen to ask the cook about the false bride and the botegar and curses the food to the overcooked. It happens thus, and it happens twice. The cook goes to complain to the botegar and reports the incident, and the botegar wishes to see it for himself. He goes to the kitchen and finds the little bird, then takes it with him back to the wedding table, where the false bride is waiting. The false bride is clearly upset with the bird's presence, while the botegar simply pets the little animal. He takes off the pin from the bird's head and it turns back to the orange maiden. She tells the whole story to the botegar. The false bride is forcibly undressed and taken to a field to be executed by burning, while the true orange maiden marries the botegar.

Poet and linguist Matija Valjavec published a Croatian tale from Varaždin with the title Devojka postala iz pomaranče ("The Maiden out of the Pomerances"). In this tale, a young lord wishes to marry, but cannot find a bride. However, he hears about the orange tree at the garden of an emperor, from where he can get a bride. On the road, he meets an old lady, who instructs him how to get the fruits from the garden: there are only three guards at the emperor's garden who rest at midday, so the prince can simply get the oranges when the guards are asleep. The young lord does as instructed and steals three oranges. On the road back, he cuts open the first fruit, releasing a naked maiden that asks for a mirror, a comb and some water. The lord has none with him, so the maiden dies. He opens the second orange, releasing another maiden that asks for the same items, and dies for not getting them. Finally, the lord buys a mirror and a comb, and opens the last fruit: a third naked maiden appears, to whom he gives the mirror and the comb, which she uses on herself. Noticing she is naked, he asks her to stay there while he goes to find some clothes. An old gypsy woman appears and sticks a pin on the maiden's head, turning her into a bird, and replaces her. When the lord comes back, she says that the sun darkened her skin. The lord brings her back to his house, and his friends complain that she is not white as he described, but of a darker complexion. As for the true orange maiden, in dove form, she lives amid some pigeons, when the false bride realizes the bird is the orange maiden and asks the lord to capture and cook the animal, so she can eat its meat and regain strength. The lord spares the bird, hiding it from the gypsy's eyes, and kills another bird instead, which the gypsy eats with relish. The lord feeds and pets the little bird in secret, and notices a pin on its head. He takes it off, and the bird turns back into the orange maiden. The lord then assembles other lords and asks the false bride what should be a fitting punishment to someone; the false bride answers that execution by horse, and it is exactly what happens to her, who is tied to some horses. The young lord then marries the orange maiden in a grand ceremony.

In a Croatian tale collected by Rudolf Strohal from grada Rijeke with the title Tri narance ("Three Oranges"),

In a Croatian tale from Varazdin with the title Putnik Ferko

Croatian folklorist Maja Bošković-Stulli published an untitled variant, collected from a storyteller near Daruvar. In this tale, .

Other tales

In a Croatian tale collected by folklorist Maja Bošković-Stulli and translated as Die drei Glücksäpfel ("The Three Lucky Apples"),

In a Croatian tale published by Maja Stulli with the title Tri jaja ("Three Eggs"),

See also

• The Love for Three Oranges (fairy tale)
• The Prince and the Gypsy Woman
• The Enchanted Canary
• Lovely Ilonka
• The Pomegranate Fairy
• The Belbati Princess

References

Category:Slavic fairy tales Category:Croatian fairy tales Category:Fictional princes Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:Recurrent elements in fairy tales Category:ATU 400-459 Category:False hero Category:Witchcraft in fairy tales

The Gypsy Tsaritsa (Serbian folktale)/ Serbian ATU 408 Love For Three Oranges

In a Serbian tale titled / Ciganka carica or Циганка царица, / translated as Die Zigeunerin als Zarin ("The Gypsy Girl as Tsarina"),

Hungarian ATU 408, "The Three Reed Girls"

• A három tojásból lett lány ("The Girl from the Three Eggs")
• "Untitled"
• Tündérkirálykisasszony ("")

Hattyúkacsa ("The Swan-Duck")

Die Drei Pomeranzen - Janos Erdélyi -> Gottlieb Stier

The Fairy Maiden and the Gypsy Girl (Hungarian ATU 408)

The Fairy Maiden and the Gypsy Girl (Hungarian: A tündérkisasszony és a czigánylyány) is a Hungarian fairy tale published by Hungarian author László Arany.

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 408, "The Love For Three Oranges", albeit in a variation that appears locally in Hungary: instead of fruits, the fairy maiden comes out of reeds or bulrushes.

Summary

Hungarian researchers Judit Gulyás and Mariann Domokos published a manuscriptural variant of the tale which author Lászlo Árany first collected in the mid 19th-century, but he never published. In this tale, titled A tündérkisasszony és a czigánylyány ("The Fairy Maiden and the Gypsy Girl"), a prince goes to hunt in the forest, when he finds an old woman carrying three jugs to fill with the water in the well. The prince threatens to break her jugs, but she advises him not to. Despite the warning, the prices throws a rock at the jugs, breaking them, and the woman declares the prince shall find a bride in the forest. The prince dismisses her words, and returns to his hunt. After he ventures deep into the forest, he finds three oaks in a meadow. He cuts the branch of a tree, and a beaufitul fairy comes out of it. She asks for water, but the prince is astonished at the sight and cannot fulfill her request, so she dies. He brings her home to bury her and returns the next day to the three oaks' meadow, and finds the remaining trees in a crooked position, as if they have been crying. The prince cuts the branch of the another tree and releases another fairy that asks for water, but she dies for not having any. After he buries the second fairy, he returns the following morning to the last oak carrying a jug of water, which he gives to the fairy he releases from the third tree. The prince and the fairy profess their love for each other, and they walk out of the woods. However, since the fairy is still weak, the prince leaves her up a willow tree near a well, while he goes to fetch a carriage. While he is away, a gypsy girl appears to draw water from the well, when she sees the maiden's reflection in the water and mistakes it for her own. She then spots the fairy maiden up the tree and talks to her. The fairy maiden naïvely tells the gypsy everything, and is shoved down the well by the gypsy, where she turns into a goldfish.

The prince comes with a carriage and a wedding retinue, and notices the gypsy girl, instead of the fairy maiden, but the gypsy spins a story that she was not used to the weather, for the sun and the wind darkened her skin. Still, the prince takes the gypsy girl back to the castle and marries her. Later, the gypsy girl feigns illness which no royal doctor can cure, and asks the prince to catch the goldfish at the well, for only by eating it she will be cured. The prince captures the goldfish and the gypsy asks the cook to prepare it, but to burn its every remaining scale. However, a small fishbone escapes from being burnt, falls through the window and fall in the garden, where a tree sprouts overnight. The prince likes the tree, but the gypsy girl realizes it is the fairy maiden, so she again feigns illness and lies that she needs food to be cooked in a fire made with the tree's wood, and every part of it should be burned. Thus, the prince orders the tree to be felled down and every leaf and splinter burned. However, a single splinter survives, which a woodcutter brings home to his wife. The woman places the splinter on a shelf, and they leave home the next day. When they return, they find the house has been swept clean, the bed done and the food prepared, but they have locked the house before they left. They suspect a neighbour girl did it for them, and decide to investigate. On the second day, they find the same event happens again. On the third day, the couple pretend to leave the house, and discover a maiden comes out of the splinter to do chores around the house. The couple enter the house and throw the splinter in the fire, keeping the girl with them. The fairy maiden cries for not having where to go, but the couple comnfort her, and she tells them her whole story: about how the prince killed her two sisters, how the prince found her, and how the gypsy threw her down the well. The woodcutter and his wife decide to adopt her.

Despite living with the human couple, the fairy maiden feels she should earn her own living and bread, and suggests she works as a maid to the queen, for she can sew, weave and spin. The couple agree, and the woodcutter introduces her to the gypsy queen, passing her off as an orphan daughter of a rich man. She is hired by the gypsy queen, and works under her. Later, during wintertime, the gypsy queen gather her servants and bids them tell stories to the others to pass time. Every maid tells a tale, save for the newly hired maid. After some insistence, the girl begins to tell her story, narrating how the princess provoked the old woman in the forest, who cursed him his wife would be from the forest. The king, who was the prince, begins to notice the maid's tale is about him, but no one but himself should know of it. The maidservant then continues her tale, which the gypsy queen begins to realize it is about herself, and tries to leave the room, but the king forces her to stay and listen to the whole story. The maidservant then recalls how she changes shape into a goldfish and a tree, how she was found by the woodcutter couple, and how she was hired by the queen. As she finishes her story, the king recognizes the maidservant is the fairy maiden from the oak tree he once released, and the queen an imposter. The gypsy tries to flee, but the king knocks her down and reunites with the fairy maiden, asking her which punishment shall be meted out on the imposter. The fairy maiden then asks the gypsy should be given a hundred forints and expelled into the world. With this, the king and the fairy maiden marry in a grand wedding.

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is related to type ATU 408, "The Love for Three Oranges" or Die Drei Citronenjungfrauen ("The Three Maidens in the Citron Fruits").

In an article in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, scholar Christine Shojaei Kawan separated the tale type into six sections, and stated that parts 3 to 5 represented the "core" of the story:

• (1) A prince is cursed by an old woman to seek the fruit princess;
• (2) The prince finds helpers that guide him to the princess's location;
• (3) The prince finds the fruits (usually three), releases the maidens inside, but only the third survives;
• (4) The prince leaves the princess up a tree near a spring or stream, and a slave or servant sees the princess's reflection in the water;
• (5) The slave or servant replaces the princess (transformation sequence);
• (6) The fruit princess and the prince reunite, and the false bride is punished.

Motifs

The heroine's appearance

According to Hungarian folktale collector Arnold Ipolyi, Hungarian variants of the tale type usually show the fairy maiden coming out of a plant ("növényből"). In addition, the Hungarian Folktale Catalogue (MNK) named the type A Három Nádszálkisasszony ("The Three Reed Maidens"), since the maidens come out of reeds instead of fruits. However, they may also appear out of eggs (in 5 variants) or from apples (in 3 variants). According to Ákos Dömötör, the motif of "girls from eggs" in variants of type 408 indicate "the Subcarpathian unity" of the tales.

Variants

According to scholar Stith Thompson, Hungarian professor Ágnes Kovács, Hungarian-American folklorist Linda Dégh and German scholar Hans-Jörg Uther, the tale of the reed girls is one of the popular fairy tales in Hungary. In addition, the tale type is known all throughout the Hungarian speaking regions. The Hungarian Folktale Catalogue (MNK) listed 59 variants of type 408, A Három Nádszálkisasszony ("The Three Reed Maidens"), across Hungarian sources. On the other hand, Hans-Jörg Uther reports 79 variants.

A previous study reported four texts in Palóc. Later fieldwork conducted in 1999 by researcher Zoltán Vasvári amongst the Palóc population found 3 texts.

Tales with trees

Hungarian linguist Antal Hoger collected the tale A háromágú tölgyfa tündére ("The Fairy from Three-Branched Oak Tree"). A king goes hunting in the woods, but three animals plead for their lives (a deer, a hare and a fox). All three animals point to a magical oak tree with three branches and say, if the king break each of the branches, a maiden shall appear and request water to drink. With the first two branches, the maidens die, but the king gives water to the third one and decides to marry her. They both walk towards the castle and the king says the fairy maiden should wait on the tree. A witch sees the maiden, tricks her and tosses her deep in a well; she replaces the fairy maiden with her own daughter. He also cited two other variants: A tündérkisasszony és a czigányleány ("The Fairy Princess and the Gypsy Girl"), by Laszló Arányi, and A három pomarancs ("The Three Bitter Oranges"), by Jánós Érdelyi.

Hungarian ethnographer János Berze Nagy collected the tale A gallyból gyött királykisasszony ("The Princess from the Tree Branch"): a prince that was hunting breaks three tree branches in the forest and a maiden appears. The prince takes her to a well to wait for him to return with his royal retinue. An ugly gypsy woman approaches the girl and throws her down the well, where she becomes a goldfish.

In a dialectal tale collected from teller Fodor Erzsébet with the title Cigány kirájné (Standard Hungarian: Cigány királyné; English: "The Gypsy Queen"), a prince goes on a hunt in the forest and finds an oak tree. He breaks off a branch and releases a beautiful fairy maiden that asks for water. Since he has no water with him, she dies of thirst, and he buries her. The next time, he goes to the forest again and finds the oak tree again, breaking off a second branch and releasing another fairy maiden. Still not having water, she dies on him, and he buries her. Touched by the death of two maidens, the prince brings a jug of water with him and goes to the oak tree meadow. he breaks off a third branch and gives the maiden water to drink. The fairy maiden accompanies the prince on a trek back home, but, since she is unused to walking, she feels tired. The prince decides to spare her the toil of walking on foot, and bids her climb a tree near a well, as he goes back home to fetch her a carriage. He also warns the fairy maiden that people may deceive her, but he will protect her. After he leaves, a gypsy girl goes to draw water by the well and sees the fairy maiden's reflection, then spots her. The gypsy talks to the fairy maiden, puts on her clothes, and shoves her down the well, where she turns into a goldfish. Soon the prince comes with a carriage and notices the gypsy girl, mistaking her for the fairy maiden, but she lies that she was staying under the Sun too much and by going to the palace her skin will whiten again. The prince also notices that she is trying to catch the goldfish from the well, but returns home. Some time later, the prince begins to take an interest in the fish, and the gypsy bride tells him she needs to eat the fish to get better. The goldfish is caught and cooked, but a sacle remains, sprouting into a tall tree. The gypsy also wants the tree cut down, and says a soup from the tree will cure her. She also orders the remains of the tree to be burnt to ashes. The woodcutters do as ordered, but one of them fetches a chip from the tree and brings it home to his wife. They place the chip inside a box and leave home; when they return, their house is swept clean and their bed made. After some days, they discover the fairy maiden did this and take her in. Later, the fairy maiden asks the woodcutter's wife to tell the king if he wants a new maidservant, since his queen is insatiable. The fairy maiden is then hired to the king and works in the castle, under the gypsy queen's watch. One day, the king discovers the fairy maiden and approaches her. She explains everything to him and he suggests options to execute the false queen. The fairy maiden, instead, decides to spare the gypsy queen. The king banishes the false bride, and marries the fairy maiden.

In a tale titled Az elátkozott királykisasszony ("The Cursed Princess"), the gentleman cuts off three branches from a tree, releasing three maidens from them; the first two die, but the third one survives and marries the gentleman.

Adaptations

Another Hungarian variant of the tale was adapted into an episode of the Hungarian television series Magyar népmesék ("Hungarian Folk Tales") (hu), with the title A háromágú tölgyfa tündére ("The Fairy from the Oak Tree").

See also

• Lovely Ilonka
• The Love for Three Oranges
• The Pomegranate Fairy
• The Belbati Princess
• The Prince and the Gypsy Woman

External links

• A háromágú tölgyfa tündére at IMDb

Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Hungarian fairy tales Category:ATU 400-459

Armenian ATU 408

[104] [105] - Tamar Hayrapetian, p. 92

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is claaified, in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, to tale type ATU 408, "The Three Oranges".

In an article in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, scholar Christine Shojaei Kawan separated the tale type into six sections, and stated that parts 3 to 5 represented the "core" of the story:

• (1) A prince is cursed by an old woman to seek the fruit princess;
• (2) The prince finds helpers that guide him to the princess's location;
• (3) The prince finds the fruits (usually three), releases the maidens inside, but only the third survives;
• (4) The prince leaves the princess up a tree near a spring or stream, and a slave or servant sees the princess's reflection in the water;
• (5) The slave or servant replaces the princess (transformation sequence);
• (6) The fruit princess and the prince reunite, and the false bride is punished.

Motifs

The maiden's appearance

According to the tale description in the international index, the maiden may appear out of the titular citrus fruits, like oranges and lemons. However, she may also come out of pomegranates or other species of fruits, and even eggs. According to Walter Anderson's unpublished manuscript, variants with eggs instead of fruits appear in Southeastern Europe. In addition, Christine Shojaei-Kawan located the motif of the heroine emerging from the eggs in Slavic texts.

The transformations and the false bride

The tale type is characterized by the substitution of the fairy wife for a false bride. The usual occurrence is when the false bride (a witch or a slave) sticks a magical pin into the maiden's head or hair and she becomes a dove. In some tales, the fruit maiden regains her human form and must bribe the false bride for three nights with her beloved.

In other variants, the maiden goes through a series of transformations after her liberation from the fruit and regains a physical body. In that regard, according to Christine Shojaei-Kawan's article, Christine Goldberg divided the tale type into two forms. In the first subtype, indexed as AaTh 408A, the fruit maiden suffers the cycle of metamorphosis (fish-tree-human) - a motif Goldberg locates "from the Middle East to Italy and France" (especifically, it appears in Greece and Eastern Europe). In the second subtype, AaTh 408B, the girl is transformed into a dove by the needle.

Separated from her husband, she goes to the palace (alone or with other maidens) to tell tales to the king. She shares her story with the audience and is recognized by him.

Variants

The Extraordinary Cucumber

In an Armenian tale titled "Сказка о небывалом огурце" ("The Tale of the Fantastic Cucumber"), translated as The Extraordinary Cucumber, a large cucumber appears in a man's garden, who sells it to the prince, with a piece of advice: take the vegetable and keep walking until he reaches a sycamore, but do not look back. The prince heeds the man's words and hears voices telling him to look behind him, but he presses on until he reaches a plane tree. He then takes a knife to cut open the cucumber, and out comes a beautiful golden-haired maiden. He falls in love with her on the spot and guides her up the plane tree, where she is to wait until he returns for her. He goes back to the palace, leaving the maiden unprotected: an old woman sees the girl's shadow in a spring behind the tree and tries to convince the girl to come down, but she refuses. The old woman then transforms the girl into a bird, changes her shape into the girl and tricks the prince. Later, the girl, as bird, flies over the prince and his friends, but the prince snaps its neck and throws it in a garden. On its place, a mulberry tree sprouts, which the garden's owner chops down, but a large splinter the size of a spoon flies over to a poor woman's yard. The poor woman finds the spoon and brings it home; when she leaves, the cucumber maiden comes out of the spoon, cleans the house and prepares the food, then turns back into the spoon. The poor woman discovers her presence and adopts her as her daughter. Later, the king orders that every house is care for and feed one of the king's horses. In the poor woman's house, the cucumber maiden feeds and grooms the horse; the prince comes to fetch the horse and sees the poor woman's daughter, which he notices is a lookalike of the cucumber girl. The next day, the prince orders that one person from every household shall come to the palace to comb wool. The cucumber maiden goes with the others and they finish the task. The prince then offers a reward, and the maiden asks for a ripe pomegranate, a little doll and a sharp razor. Despite the strangeness of the request, the prince produces the objects, which the maiden takes with her to a deserted road. The cucumber maiden then begins to tell her sorrows to the objects: the pomegranate bursts in response to her story, the doll dances and the razor greatly sharpens, but before she does anything, the prince finds her and takes her to the palace. He punishes the sorceress and marries the true cucumber maiden.

Reed-Maid

Author A. G. Seklemian published an Armenian tale titled Reed-Maid. In this tale, a king insists his unmarried son finds a wife, and the prince retorts that he will only marry a maiden "not begotten of father and mother". Pondering on the words, the king travels far and wide, asking people if they know of such a maiden. A hermit tells the king about a river in a forest where reeds grow near the shore. The king is to choose the best looking one and cut it off with a golden pocket-knife. The king follows the hermit's instructions, finds a reed and releases a beautiful maiden for his son. He leaves the girl, named Reed-maid, atop a tree, while he goes to fetch maidservants and clothes for her. As the king departs, a gypsy girl from a nearby gypsy camp sees the Reed-maid and wants to take her place: she shoves the reed maiden inside the river and waits for the king's arrival. When the monarch arrives, he finds that his prospective daughter-in-law has changed appearance, but falls for the false reed-girl's excuses. The false bride claims to the prince she is the reed maiden his father procured, but he does not believe her. As for the true maiden, she goes through a cycle of reincarnations: on the spot she was drowned, a silver fish with gold fins appears, which the gypsy woman orders to be cooked; one of the fish bones remains and is discarded in the garden, where a beautiful tree sprouts; the gypsy orders the tree to be felled and burnt, but a chip survives and is flung off to the cabin of a poor old woman, which she takes as a pot lid. The next days, when the old woman leaves, the reed maiden gets out of the chip to do chores and returns to that form after. The old woman finds out who is doing chores at her house and adopts the reed-maid as her daughter, who says she cannot reveal her origins yet. Later, the old woman sells embroideries sewn by the reed-maid, which the prince notices to be very beautiful and demands to know its maker. The old woman consults with the reed-maid, who tells her to invite them to the cabin for a meal. It is done as the reed-maid requests, and the prince, his father and the false bride attend the occasion. After the meal, the king suggests the maiden regales them with a story, which she agrees to do: she places a dry grapevine and a dove prepared to be cooked on the table, then claims that, if her story is true, the vine will yield fresh grapes and the dove will be cooked without fire. The reed-maiden then narrates the tale of the king who searched for a wife for his son, and, when she finishes, the vine yields fresh fruits and the dove is cooked, confirming her identity as the true reed-maid. The gypsy is then executed. The tale was originally published by author Ghazaros Aghayan, with the title Եղեգնուհին (Yeghegunhi; "Reed-Girl").

The Daughter of the Janissary

The prince finds three eggs, releases the heroine, who goes through a cycle of incarnations.

Scholars Isidor Levin and Uku Masing published an Armenian tale titled Die Janitscharenmaid (Turkish: Yeniçeri Kızı) sourced from Vagharshapat. In this tale, a king lives in Shama (Sama) with his son and daughter. One day, the prince, when he is but a child playing in the streets, finds an old lady carrying a jug. The young prince breaks the jug, and the old woman curses him to suffer with longing for the Janissary's Daughter. Time passes; the prince withers with longing for this maiden, and the doctors cannot help him. However, the same lady that cursed him before appears and advises him to reach a certain tree outside the city, where a nest is located; there are three eggs inside the nest, from where peris will emerge, asking for water or bread, which he has to give them. The prince takes a horse and departs, meeting an old man on the road, who warns him that no one that has ventured for the peris ever returned. Still, the old man advises the prince to reach the seashore and steal the clothes from some peris that fly down to bathe in the sea; if the peris ask him to join them in bathing each other, he is to pay no heed to them. The prince reaches the seashore and finds the peris, then steals his clothes. The scenery shouts that their clothes were stolen, and the peris invite the youth to bathe with them. By doing this, he is petrified. Back to his father, the king, he senses something is wrong, and sends his daughter, the princess, to find her brother. The princess walks the same path and finds the old man, who gives her the same advice regarding the bathing peris.

decides to search for her.

ԵՆԳԻՉԱՐՈԻ ՀԵՔԻԱԹԸ ("ENGIDZAROI HEK’IAT’Y", "The Tale of Engidzaroi") The compiler noted that, while the heroine's cycle of incarnations (basil plant, to foal, to plaintan tree) appears in other tales, he considered that the tale, as whole, showed "certain antiquity".

Other tales

[106] or [107] pp. 231-232

See also

• The Enchanted Canary
• Lovely Ilonka
• The Pomegranate Fairy
• The Belbati Princess
• The Prince and the Gypsy Woman

References

Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Armenian fairy tales Category:ATU 400-459

The Falcon Pipiristi (Komi folktale) / Komi SUS 432 / Zyryanen SUS 432 (= Finist/ATU 432)

Other tales

• Пипилисти Сӧкӧл ("Pipilisli Sököl") Коми мойдъяс да сьыланкывъяс (in Komi). Сыктывкар: Коми книжнӧй издательство. 1963. pp. 66–70.

The Lake Beetle as Groom / ATU 425M East Slavic (= Lithuanian/Baltic Eglé)

[108]

• Добровольская, В.Е. (Москва). Воронежские варианты сказки «Жена ужа» (СУС 425 М) в контексте русской сказочной традиции. In: pp. 3-16.
• pp. 383-390.

[109]

Danish ATU 425A

____ (English: ) is a Danish fairy tale first collected in .

The tale is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband: a human maiden marries an animal that is a prince in disguise, breaks a taboo and loses him, and she has to seek him out.

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 425A, "The Animal as Bridegroom". in this tale type, the heroine is a human maiden who marries a prince that is cursed to become an animal of some sort. She betrays his trust and he disappears, prompting a quest for him.

Motifs

The heroine's journey

According to Hans-Jörg Uther, the main feature of tale type ATU 425A is "bribing the false bride for three nights with the husband". In fact, when he developed his revision of Aarne-Thompson's system, Uther remarked that an "essential" trait of the tale type ATU 425A was the "wife's quest and gifts" and "nights bought". In stories from Europe, mostly, the heroine's helpers may be three old crones, or her husband's relatives.

Other motifs

According to Jan-Öjvind Swahn's study on some 1,100 variants of Cupid and Psyche and related types, he concluded that the bear is the "most usual" form of the supernatural husband in Germanic and Slavonic areas.

In some tales, before the separation from her supernatural husband, the wife's children are taken from her and hidden elsewhere. Scholarship locates this motif across Celtic and Germanic speaking areas.

Variants

Denmark

In a Danish variant collected by Danish author Mathias Winther with the title Prins Hvidbjørn ("Prince Whitebear") and published in 1823, a king with three daughters is visited by a white bear. The king sends his daughters to shoo away the animal. The bears asks each princess to climb on his back, but only the third agrees. He departs with the princess and stops by a cave - their new home, for the next years. He tells her he becomes a prince at night, and, if she does not light any lamp at night for the next seven years, he will be disenchanted. They live like this for the next six years: she visits her family on her sister's weddings and on her father's birthday. She disobeys her husband and breaks his trust. The prince returns to ursine form and takes the princess to his sisters. They give her a golden bowl, a golden hat and a third golden object - all items she will use to bribe the false bride for three nights with her husband. Norwegian scholar Jørgen Moe noted the resemblance between Winther's tale and the Norwegian tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

Author Svend Grundtvig collected a variant from Vendsyssel, titled Hvidebjørn kongens søn ("Whitebear King's Son"): a king, father of four daughters, rides his horse through a meadow and begins to sink into the ground. A bear appears and offers his help, in exchange for the king's youngest daughter. Twice he refuses, but on the third time relents. The bear appears at court to get the girl, but the king tries to trick the bear by giving him servants' daughters. The bear eventually gets the princess and marries her. They live together and she gives birth to three children that the bear takes from her and hides elsewhere. The princess visits her family on the occasion on her sisters' weddings. After the third wedding, the princess decides to see who her husband really is, by lighting a lamp at night. The prince wakes and, feeling betrayed, reveals he was enchanted and a maiden who could love him without seeing his true face for seven years could have broken the curse. The prince becomes a bear and takes the princess to his three sisters, who are taking care of their children and each gives the princess three golden objects (a golden medal, a golden thread and another golden object). The bear takes her to the foot of the Glass Mountain and leaves her there. A blacksmith fashions her a pair of iron shoes so she can climb the steep mountain. The princess uses the three golden objects to bribe the false bride for three nights with her husband. The tale was republished in 1970 with its classification: AT 425A.

Folktale collector Jens Kamp collected another Danish variant from Vendsyssel with the title Prinds Hvidbjørn ("Prince White-Bear"). In this tale, a king has three daughters, the youngest his favourite and his two elders haughty and proud. One day, the king enters a mist-covered forest, when a bear appears and promises to help him in exchange for his youngest daughter. The king refuses twice and continues his way, but on the third time, he accepts the offer. Some time later, the bear visits the king to get the third princess, but the man tricks and passes his two elders as the princess. The bear asks the girl a riddle to check the girl's identity and only the third princess answers it. The bear takes the princess to a splendid castle. They live as husband and wife and she gives birth to three children in the next few years, two boys and a girl. However, the bear takes her children away from her. She laments over the fact that she cannot see her children, so at least she can see her family. The bear agrees to take her to her sister's wedding, but warns her to only listen to her father, not to her mother nor her sisters. The princess is told by her mother and sisters to light a candle at night to see his true face. She returns to the bear's castle and does just that; she sees a handsome man on her bed and inclines to kiss him, but three drops of candlewax fall on his chest. The bear awakes and tells his wife she should have waited for seven years for his curse to be broken, but now it is too late. He becomes a bear and takes the princess to his sisters' castles, where their children are being cared for. Each of her sisters-in-law gives her a dress and a golden object: she gets from the first a golden dress and a spinning wheel, from the second a silver dress and a golden heel, and from the third a bronze dress and a golden thread-winder. The bear departs without her and arrives at the Glass Mountain. Meanwhile, the princess meets a blacksmith who fashions her a pair of metal shoes to climb the mountain. She does and arrives at a castle, where she finds work as a servant. Her husband is to be married to his stepmother's daughter, and the princess uses the dresses and golden objects to trade for three nights with her husband.

Author Evald Tang Kristensen published a Danish tale titled Hvidbjörn kongesön ("Whitebear King's Son"): a king is riding his horse when it becomes stuck in the mud and cannot move. A white bear appears and offers his help, in exchange for the king's youngest daughter as his bride. The king refuses at first, but, seeing that he horse is slowly sinking, decides to agree to the bear's terms. The king returns home and tries to deceive the bear by sending two maidservants in the princess's clothes, but he discovers the ruse and angrily demands the princess, as it was part of their deal. The king delivers his daughter to the white bear and the animal takes the girl to the woods. At night, she sleeps and someone comes to her bedside. Time passes, and the bear tells her that her elder sister is getting married, and takes her to the wedding, with a warning that she is to listen to her father, not her mother. She visits her parents and mentions that she sleeps in the dark at night, and her mother gives her a flint to better see at night. She goes back home and bears a son who the bear takes away. Next, her middle sister is getting married, and the bear takes her to visit her parents for the merry occasion. Again, she talks to her mother, who gives her some candles. She then gives birth to another boy, who is also taken by the bear to another place. Finally, the princess third sister is also getting married, and the bear takes her to attend the wedding. After a while, she also gives birth to a third boy, who is taken by the bear. Some time later, the princess decides to light the candle her mother gave her on the white bear, and discovers he is a human prince. A drop of candlewax falls on his body and he wakes up. He then explains a witch cursed him into bear form, and alternated between ursine form by day and human shape at night, and if she had lived with him in the cave for 4 years without lighting a candle, he would have turned back into human. The bear takes her on his back and they pass by three apple trees, one of copper, another of silver and the third of gold, which the bear tells the princess to pluck. Next, they pass by three houses that belong to the bear's sisters, where the princess trades the apples to her children for a goldenrod (in the first house), a silver willow tree (in the second house) and a copper yarn. At last they reach a glass mountain, which the white bear climbs but leaves his wife at the foot. The princess commissions some iron shoes from a nearby blacksmith and scales the mountain. Up there, she meets a witch, whom she gives the three metal objects so she can spend a night in her husband's quarters. She tries to wake him up on the first two nights, but the witch has given him a sleeping potion; and only manages to wake him up on the third night. He recognizes her and decides to kill the witch and her daughter with a steel sword. It happens so, and the glass mountain crumbles apart to reveal the prince's golden castle, where he lives with the princess and his three children.

In another tale collected from Gjern by Kristensen with the title Hvibekongens søn ("Whiteking's Son"), a gentleman has three daughters. Before he leaves on a trip, he asks his daughters what he can bring them: the elder asks for a golden rod, the middle one for a golden hinge and the youngest for a flower like a 'violen". The man buys the golden objects his elders requested, but cannot find the flower, until he passes by a garden and plucks the flower. When he tries to mount on his horse, someone grabs his leg and warns him to give in return the first thing that greets him. The gentleman agrees, thinking his little white dog will be the one to greet him, but, when he goes back home, it is his youngest daughter. Remembering the voice at the garden, he tries to renege on the deal by sending two maidservants in the girl's place: for two consecutive nights, a maidservant waits outside the house, and someone comes and asks her to climb onto their back. The person discovers the ruse and demands the youngest daughter. The man relents and delives his daughter to the person, who takes her to a magnificent castle. The voice tells her not to light anything in the castle at night, and they live like this. At one time, the girl gives birth to a boy who the voice brings to his sister. Some time later, the girl's elder sister is getting married, and the voice allows her to pay them a visit, but warns her to listen to her father, not her mother. Next, she has two other sons in consecutive pregnancies, who are taken by the voice and given to the voice's kin. Finally, the girl's other sister is getting married, and she is allowed to visit them. On this occasion, her mother gives her a candle and matches, so she can use them to illuminate her room at night. Back at the voice's palace, she lights the candle and sees a handsome man at her bedside, but drops some candlewax on his body. He wakes up and adminishes his wife, explaining that he is a king's son, cursed to marry a witch that lives on a glass mountain southwards of the sun, westward of the moon, and three miles east of the Tower of Babylon. The girl agrees to accompany him during his journey to the glass mountain, and they pass by three houses that belong to his three siblings. In the first house, shining like the Moon, she finds one of her children playing with a golden nut, which her sister-in-law gives her. Next, they pass by the prince's brother's house, where the girl finds another son, and is given a golden acorn. Lastly, they pass by the third house, which radiated light like a rising Sun, where she finds her third child and is given a golden apple. At last, they reach the glass mountain, which he manages to climb and brings his wife up, but she slips down to its foot. Fortunately, the girl asks a blacksmith to fashion iron instruments she uses to climb the slippery mountain and enter the witch's castle. The girl takes out the golden fruits to bribe the witch for a night with her husband, managing to talk to him on the third night. He recognizes her and they hatch a plan to punish the witch. The next morning, the girl sits at the table and narrates her story. The witch mocks her tale, and the prince asks her how they should punish a person who tries to keep two people apart. Without realizing it, the witch pronounces her own sentence, which is duly carried out. The prince and his wife live together in the castle atop the glass mountain.

See also

• The Brown Bear of Norway
• White-Bear-King-Valemon
• East of the Sun and West of the Moon
• Whitebear Whittington

References

Category:Danish fairy tales Category:Fictional kings Category:Fictional polar bears Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:Witchcraft in fairy tales Category:ATU 400-459

Crab Ivan Tsarevich (Ukranian folktale) / Ukrainian ATU 425A Crawfish Husband (SUS 433B/440)

Рак Іван Царевич is an Ukrainian fairy tale.

The tale is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband: a human maiden marries an animal that is a prince in disguise, breaks a taboo and loses him, and she has to seek him out.

Summary

In an Ukrainian tale collected by folklorist Mykola Zinchuk from Bukovina with the title "Рак Іван Царевич" ("Crab Ivan Tsarevich"), an old couple fishes a crawfish from the sea, which wishes to become their son. They live together, and the talking crawfish provides them with food. One day, the crawfish gives his adoptive father a heap of gold in a handkerchief, and asks him to court the king's daughter on his behalf. The old man goes to the king and offers the gold, and the king orders the crawfish to build a crystal bridge between the old man's house and the king's castle, with milky shores. The old man returns home and tells the crawfish son about the king's request. The crawfish whistles and summons carpenters and craftsmen, and the bridge is built. The tsar wakes up the next day and sees the bridge has been built, so the crawfish son sends his human father to ask for the princess's hand again.

the heroine loses her husband, and goes after him, passing by the houses of three sisters and gaining three dresses (one of the stars, the second of the moon and the third of the sun). At last, she reaches the shore of the fiery sea, and meets a man who is commanding the eagles to carry flour across the sea to the wedding of Falcon Filist, Red Leaf ("Сокіл Філіст - Червоний Лист"), with another princess. The girl asks the man to let her be carried by the sea inside a sack of flour. The man agrees to do it, despite the warning that the eagle may drop her, and she crosses the fiery sea safely. She reaches the princess's castle and works in the kitchen, in preparation for the wedding. When everyone goes to church, the girl puts on each dress to attend, drawing the attention of the false bride to it. The princess wishes to have the garment, and Falcon Filist's true wife agrees to a deal: the dress for a night in his chambers. The girl goes to talk to Falcon Filist (whom she refers to as "Ivan Tsarevich") to wake him up, since the iron hoops on her are hurting, but he cannot respond, for the princess gave Filist a soporific drink. A guest alerts Filist about a girl that cried on his bed for the past nights. On the third night, Filist forces the princess to drink her own potion, and pretends to be asleep. The girl enters his room and cries over him, he wakes up and spends the night with his first wife. The next day, Filist asks the people a riddle about an old and a new key, and which he should keep. The people answer that he should keep the old key, and he stays with his first wife.

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is classified in the East Slavic Folktale Classification (Russian: СУС, romanized: SUS) as type SUS 440, Russian: Муж-рак, romanized: Muzh-rak, lit. 'Crawfish-husband': the heroine marries a crawfish or water animal that fulfilled the king's tasks; he takes off the animal skin at night to become a handsome youth; the heroine burns the animal skin and has to seek him out. According to Russian folklorist Lev Barag, type SUS 440 with the motifs of the crawfish suitor fulfilling the king's pre-marriage tasks (akin to type SUS 560, "The Magic Ring"), is "characteristic" of Ukrainian and Belarusian tales.

Russian scholarship suggests that East Slavic types SUS 433B and SUS 440 are closely related. In type SUS 433B, Russian: Царевич-рак, romanized: Tsarevich-rak, lit. 'Prince Crawfish', a woman gives birth to a crawfish who marries the princess; the princess burns his animal skin and has to seek him out; she trades expensive items to spend a night with her husband and he recognizes her. The East Slavic Index, last updated in 1979 by folklorist Lev Barag, registers variants of type SUS 433B only in Ukraine. In the same vein, in a 1958 study, professor Nikolai P. Andrejev noted that the tale type 433B, "The Crab Prince", featured among types that were rare or inexistent in the Russian repertoire.

However, in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, the tale corresponds to type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom": the princess burns the husband's animal skin and she must seek him out, even paying a visit to the Sun, the Moon and the Wind and gaining their help. The heroine is given marvellous objects on the way to her husband by the personifications of the elements, or by her helpers, and she uses them to bribe the false bride for a night with him. Only on the third night the heroine manages to talk to her husband and he recognizes her.

Motifs

According to Hans-Jörg Uther, the main feature of tale type ATU 425A is "bribing the false bride for three nights with the husband". In fact, when he developed his revision of Aarne-Thompson's system, Uther remarked that an "essential" trait of the tale type ATU 425A was the "wife's quest and gifts" and "nights bought".

The crawfish husband

In his work on Cupid and Psyche and other Animal as Bridegroom tales, Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn located in Eastern Europe variants wherein the animal bridegroom is in the shape of a lobster, shrimp, crayfish and crab, in regards to his type B, which involves the heroine bribing the false bride for three nights with her husband with the gifts she gained from her helpers. Similarly, in his work about animal symbolism in Slavic culture, Russian philologist Aleksandr V. Gura stated that the crawfish has male symbolism, and marries the heroine in East Slavic types SUS 433B, "Царевич-рак" ("Prince Crawfish"), and SUS 440, "Муж-рак" ("Crawfish Husband"), although the crawfish bridegroom may be replaced by another type of animal in variants, like frogs, toads, snakes, serpents and worms.

Variants

By Mikola Z. Levchenko

Ukrainian literary critic Mikola Z. Levchenko published an Ukrainian tale from Podolia with the title "Зачарований королевич-рачок стає за приймака дідові і сватає королівну" ("The enchanted Prince-Crawfish cares for his grandfather and woos the Queen"). In this tale,

Levchenko also published a second tale from Podolia, which he considerd a variation ("ТЕЖ", in the original) of the above. In the second tale, a fisherman catches a crawfish and brings it home for he and his wife to eat. However, while the man's wife is preparing the cauldron to cook the crawfish, the animal hides away in a corner. The next day, the crawfish begins to talk and asks the old man to go to the king's court and woo the princess on his behalf. The old fisherman goes to the king's presence and tells of the crawfish's proposition. The king says he will marry the princess as long as the crawfish builds a golden bridge between the fisherman's house and the castle. The fisherman returns home and tells the crawfish the king's terms. The animal tells the fisherman not to worry and, the next day, a golden bridge appears between both houses. The king then consents to their marriage, and weds his daughter to the crawfish, which is brought on a plate to the princess on the wedding night. Suddenly, while the princess is asleep, the crawfish takes off his shell and becomes a handsome youth, and sleeps by the princess's side. The next morning, the human crawfish tells the princess he is the crawfish and she must not tell anyone the secret. However, the princess blurbs the secret to her mother, the queen, who advises her to cook the shell in a pot. The next night, while the human crawfish is asleep, the princess takes the shell and cooks it in a pot. The human crawfish wakes up and warns his wife she should not have done that, and curses her to wear an iron outfit, before he disappears. The next day, the princess puts on an iron outfit and begins a quest for her husband. She passes by an old woman in the forest and works for her for a year, and is given a golden branch and a golden lingot. She wanders a bit more and finds another old woman, whom she works for and is paid with a golden hen with chicks. She lastly finds a third woman, works for her and is given a golden yarn. At last, the princess reaches a castle where she finds work as a goose-herder. The princess asks around for her crawfish husband and discovers he has married the mistress of the castle. The princess then uses the three golden objects to bribe the mistress of the castle for a night with the human crawfish. She fails on the first two nights, since the mistress of the castle gives a sleeping draught to the human crawfish, but she succeeds on the third night. The human crawfish wakes up and the princess's iron garments fall off her body. The crawfish then stays with the princess.

By Ivan Manzhura

In a Ukrainian tale collected by Ukrainian poet Ivan Manzhura with the title "Дід та рак" and translated as "ДЕД И РАК" ("Old Man and Crab"), an old man lives near the sea with his wife, and complains he has no children, and there are no fishes in the sea to catch. One day, he manages to catch a crayfish in the sea, but the animal tells him to dip his arm in the water and grab a certain thing in the water. The old man grabs a bag of money, which he spends. Later, he goes to catch the crayfish again, but the animal asks him to go into the water. He does and gets another bag of money. Some time later, the crayfish asks the old man to ask for the hand of the princess in marriage. The old man goes to the king and makes a proposition on the crayfish's behalf. The king orders the crayfish to build a palace and a bridge between their palaces, with gold and silver, and to have trees with ripened fruits alongside the path. The old man reports back to the crayfish, and, the next morning, there is a palace and a bridge connecting to the king's castle. The princess is wed to the crayfish, who lives by the stove in the morning and takes off the shell at night to become a human youth. One day, the princess takes the crayfish shell and burns it. The human crayfish then appears to her and complains that she should have waited until the end of the curse, but now she has to wear iron laces on her body which may one day come off if he returns. He vanishes, and the princess keeps waiting, until he finally comes back.

By Antoni Jaksa-Marcinkowski

Ethnographer Antoni Jaksa-Marcinkowski published a Ukrainian tale titled Raka ("Crayfish"). In this tale, an old man complains he has no son, and prays to God to have a son. His wife then gives birth to a crayfish, which he loves like a human son. Years later, the crayfish begins to talk and asks his father to go to the king and make a bid for the princess's hand. The old man cries over the idea, but his goes to talk to the king. The king asks the man to bring his crayfish son to court, which he does. The king sees the little animal and orders him to build overnight a palace grander that the king's, in both silver and gold. The old man goes back home in tears, but the crayfish tells his father not to worry. During the night, the crayfish summons reptiles, snakes and frogs and commands them to build him a palace following the king's specifications. The next day, the crayfish goes to the king's palace and marries the princess. During the night, the princess waits for her crayfish husband, but sees a handsome youth entering the nuptial chambers. She lives with him, who alternates between human shape at night and a crayfish shape during the day. The princess's mother and sisters despise the crayfish husband, and she tells them he does become a human at times. Her family then tells her to get rid of the crayfish shell. The princess decides to burn the shell the next time her husband takes it off: while he lies asleep in bed, the princess takes the crayfish shell and throws it in the fire. The human crayfish's body begins to contort in pain, and he dies in the princess's arms.

By Mykola Zinchuk

In an Ukrainian tale collected by folklorist Mykola Zinchuk from a source in Chernivtsi with the title "Равлик" ("Snail"), an old woman goes to fetch some crabs, and finds a magic snail shell with a human head. The old woman takes the snail to a magician who advises her to hold it under her arm for nine months. Nearing the allotted time, a voice comes out of the shell, telling that if he is born at night, he will sleep by day and come out at night, and if he is born in the morning, he will wear a shell at night. Thus, he is born at night and begins to talk with a human voice, explaining that he will be a man by night and a snail by day. When the sun sets, he does everything for his mother in human form. He then falls in love with a local gentleman's daughter and wishes to marry her. The snail's mother warns him that, due to his condition (man by night, snail by day), the girl may fall out of love with him, and may even burn his shell if his mother dies. So, as long as she is alive, she lets the girl live with them. Soon, the old woman dies. The snail husband and his human wife spend the days like this. One day, after sunset, the man comes out of his shell and decides to visit some neighbours, leaving his wife at home and his shell unattended. The girl heats up a fire and tosses the snail shell into the fire. The human snail hears the fire crackling and returns home. On not finding his shell, he says their life together is over, for he will depart to the wide world, but his wife can find him again if she eats two iron apples, fills two buckets with her tears and wears out iron shoes. After the man vanishes, the girl can only fulfill part of a bucket with her tears, throws out the iron apples, and goes after her husband. She wanders a bit, when she finds a cave, enters it and reaches a hut where an old woman welcomes her: it is the mother of the Moon. The old woman hides the girl in a chest, and asks her son, the Moon, where the snail man is. With no information, she sends the girl away. The girl reaches another hut inside a cave, where another old woman, the mother of the birds, takes her in: she summons all the birds of the world into her hut, but none knows her husband's whereabouts, save for a "чурупіт", which knows the way, for it has a nest there and the snail man's new wife feeds it. The mother of the birds orders the churupit to take the girl there, takes out a broom the churupit can use to carry the girl on. The old woman then gives the girl three golden objects (a pair of golden "kolts", a golden ring, and a golden "пацьорок", a beaded necklace), and advises her to trade the objects to be allowed a visit to her husband, the ring for the first night, the earrings for the second and the necklace for the third. The churupit then takes the girl there, and perches on its nest, while the girl goes to talk to the snail man's second wife, by trading the golden items for a night with him. However, for the first two nights, she cannot nudge her husband, save on the third one. The snail man wakes up and asks his wife if she ate the iron apples, but she admits she tossed them away, and shed many tears for him the whole time. The snail man then leaves with his first wife, and the tale ends. Mikola Zinchuk classified it as East Slavic type SUS 433B.

Other tales

In a Ukrainian tale titled "Рак-неборак і його вірна жінка" ("The Poor Crawfish and his Faithful Wife"), an old couple have three daughters. One day, the old woman sends his elder daughter to fetch water from a well. The eldest daughter takes a bucket and fills it with water, but a crawfish grabs the bucket and stops the girl, and is only willing to let her go if she marries him. The girl refuses and the crawfish pushes her into the well. The same fate befalls the middle sister. The youngest daughters goes to the well and the crawfish stops her to propose. The youngest daughter accepts his proposal and the crustacean shows her the sisters, still alive. The girl returns home and tells her parents to prepare for a wedding with the crawfish. On the wedding day, the crawfish does not appear; instead, a handsome youth on a white horse and his retinue appear. The youth marries the girl and whispers at her ear he is the crawfish, but she has to wait for a year and three months for his curse to fade. They marry, and the youth assumes the crustacean shape. Near the end of the time of the curse, the human youth tells his wife to wake him up at night when she hears three whistles by the window. However, the girl is sound asleep and cannot wake him up. The next morning, the youth places the crawfish shell on himself, tells his wife to look for him, and dives into the water. The girl goes back to her mother and asks her to make provisions for the road. She departs and meets an old man on the road, who directs her to the Blue Mountains, where the Moon lives with his mother. The girl walks to the house of the Moon and asks the Moon and his mother where she can find her husband. The Moon does not know, and directs her to the house of the Wind, who might know something. The Wind knows where the crawfish is, and agrees to take the girl to the golden castle where he is being kept in crustacean shape inside a fence. The girl sees him and goes to embrace him, which turns him human forever. The mistress of the castle, an "old snake", sees the heartwarming reunion and, in a fit of rage, breaks in many pieces.

"Про Пана Раковича" - Hutsulcina

See also

• Prince Crawfish (Belarusian folktale)
• The Fisher-Girl and the Crab
• The Golden Crab
• The Little Crab (Greek folktale)

Category:Slavic fairy tales Category:Ukrainian folklore Category:Fictional princes Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:Fictional crustaceans Category:ATU 400-459

Brazilian AaTh 433C

In a Brazilian tale collected from a source in Sobradinho with the title Maria Triste ("Sad Maria"), a girl lives with a mean stepmother who mistreats Maria, forcing her to do every chore and withholding food from her. Maria cries for her situation when, one day, a large snake appears and asks her what is wrong. Maria tells the snake about her stepmother, and the snake asks if he can rest his head on her lap. Maria denies it at first, for fear of being bitten, but the snake says he is an enchanted prince, then asks her to marry him. Maria agrees to marry the snake, then introduces the snake bridegroom to her stepmother. The woman warns her that the snake will devour her overnight, and tries to convince her husband to dissuade the girl. Still, she goes through with the marriage, and goes to her room for the wedding night. Maria's stepmother then tells her husband to wait for the rooster's crowing, which will confirm that Maria is dead ("ruída", in the original). The next morning, the rooster crows, stating Maria is rich ("rica", in the original), but the stepmother thinks that her stepdaughter is dead and goes to check on her: instead of a snake, there is a prince in Maria's room. Maria's stepsister, also named Maria, envying her sister's good fortune, tells her father she wishes to marry snake. The woman sends a soldier to capture another large snake for the girl, and a priest officiates their wedding. The second Maria goes with her husband to another house for their wedding night, and her mother eagerly awaits the same fortunate fate of a prince and wealth. However, the second snake is a real animal, and devours the girl wholesale, leaving only her bones. The next morning, the rooster crows, announcing that the other Maria is dead, but the woman thinks her daughter is rich. She goes to open her daughter's room and notices her delay. They break into her room and finds the girl's bones and the large snake, which they shoo away. The first Maria, from her initial sadness, is now living well with a prince and wealthy, while the second Maria is dead due to her jealousy.

Spanish ATU 433B (King Lindworm) + 425A (Animal/Monster as Bridegroom)

Analysis

Tale type

The first part of the tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 433B, "King Lindworm": a serpent (snake, or dragon) son is born to a king and queen (either from a birthing implement or due to a wish); years later, the serpent prince wishes to marry, but he kills every bride they bring him; a girl is brought to him as a prospective bride, and wears several layers of cloth to parallel the serpent's skins; she disenchants him. Tale type ATU 433B, "King Lindworm", is part of the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom, stories that involve a human maiden marrying a prince in animal form and disenchanting him.

The second part of the tale is indexed as type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom". In this tale type, the heroine is a human maiden who marries a prince who is cursed to become an animal of some sort. She betrays his trust and he disappears, prompting a quest for him.

Motifs

The heroine's journey

According to Hans-Jörg Uther, the main feature of tale type ATU 425A is "bribing the false bride for three nights with the husband". In fact, when he developed his revision of Aarne-Thompson's system, Uther remarked that an "essential" trait of the tale type ATU 425A was the "wife's quest and gifts" and "nights bought". It is "frequent" in Spanish variants that the heroine, in her quest, reaches the house of the Sol ('Sun'), Luna ('Moon') and Aire ('Air' or 'Wind').

The animal husband

According to scholarship, the form of the animal husband may vary between Spanish and Hispano-American tradition, but the lizard as his enchanted form is "common" to both continents.

Variants

In a Spanish variant collected in Cuenca by Aurélio M. Espinosa with the title El lagarto de las siete camisas ("The Lizard with Seven Skins"), a queen longs for a child, even if it is a lizard. God grants her wish and she gives birth to a lizard. Whenever a wet nurse tries to feed the child, the lizard bites off the wet nurse's breast. The royal couple finds a girl named Mariquita, who suckles the prince with a pair of iron breasts filled with milk. The lizard prince grows up and wants to marry. Mariquita's sisters are given to him: he expects his wife to stay awake and wait for him on their bed; they fail and he kills them. However, Mariquita stays awake and sees that the lizard is a prince underneath the animal skin. He puts the seven lizard skins on a couch and warns his wife not to touch them. Mariquita tells the queen about her son's secret and they decide to burn the lizard skins. They do and the prince disappears, which prompts a quest for him. This tale is classified as both ATU 433B and ATU 425A, "the Search for the Lost Husband".

The Tailor's Daughters

In a tale collected from a Leonese source with the title Las hijas del sastre ("The Tailor's Daughters"), a gypsy woman knocks on every door for alms. One day, she knocks on a king's doors and begs for some, but the king denies her request. Thus, the gypsy woman curses the pregnant king's wife so that her unborn child becomes a lizard. In time, a lizard is indeed born to the queen, but acts like a human being: eats at the table and walks with then. However, the lizard is indeed human underneath the lizard skin, for he removes it whenever he goes to sleep, without his mother knowing. Some time later, the lizard son asks his mother to find him a bride, and he chooses the tailor's youngest daughter. The queen asks the tailor for the hand of his youngest daughter on the prince's behalf, and he delivers his youngest to the royal couple. On the weddign night, the tailor's daughter pushes the lizard suitor away whenever he tries to climb on the marital bed, and, for this affront, his strangles her. Next, the prince asks for the hand of the tailor's middle daughter, whom the queen brings as his second bride. Just as the first one, the lizard prince kills the second bride. Lastly, the queen brings the tailor's elder daughter, who marries the lizard prince and goes to sleep on the same bed as the reptile. The prince takes off the animal skin and embraces his human wife. The queen notices the girl is strangely happy and suspects something, but her daughter-in-law reveals the prince is a handsome youth underneath the lizard skin, so the queen plots with her to burn his animal disguise. In another night, while the prince and his wife are asleep, the queen steals the lizard skin and burns it with the king's help in a large fire. The next morning, the prince cannot find the reptile skin, and says his wife will have to search for him at the Castillos de Irás y No Volverás, by wearing down iron shoes. The girl buys the iron shoes and begins a journey towards the Castillos. She passes by the houses of the Moon and his mother, the Sun and his mother and the Averroz and his mother. The Averroz knows the location of the Castillos, and gives the girl a woolen "manelita", a spool of thread and a tuft of cotton, then takes her to the Castillos. Once there, she passes herself off as a poor girl and takes out the gifts from Averroz: the first produces a golden hen with chicks, which she trades with the local bride who is celebrating her marriage to the human lizard prince. The girl cannot wake him up on the first night, so she trades a skein of silk for a second night. During her encounter with the sleeping lizard prince, her lament is overheard by a servant, who later informs his master about the stranger. The third night, the girl trades her last valuable thing for one last night with him, and the human lizard prince recognizes her, after not drinking a sleeping potion. The prince then arranges a new wedding, and invites the poor girl (his true wife) to eat with them. The prince then asks his guests about a lost key he previously had for a chest, bought others, but found the first one, so which one should he keep? The guests say he should keep the first one; thus, the prince chooses to be with his first wife, and they settle in the Castillos de Irás y No Volverás for a time, before they return to his parents' kingdom.

The Lizard King

In a tale collected from a Leonese source and published by scholar Julio Camarena with the title El Rey Lagarto ("The Lizard King"), a king and queen are childless, so they pray for the Virgin Mary and to God for a son, even if he is a lizard. Thus, a lizard is born to them, with head of a blue colour and the rest of a green shade. Years later, the lizard son asks his mother to find him a bride, lest he kills the queen. The queen finds a house with three single ladies, and brings the first one as Rey Lagarto's bride. On the wedding night, the lizard prince creeps on the girl's body, she shrieks and tosses him away, and he kills her for it. Later, the lizard prince asks his mother for another bride, and his second bride also rejects him on the wedding night after letting out a shriek of horror, and the lizard prince kills her for it. Lastly, the queen brings the youngest sister as the lizard prince's bride. On the wedding night, the girl does not reject him; he accepts her and tells her he is cursed into that form, and he must travel to the Castillos de África to reverse the curse, then disappears. The girl decides to to go after him and buys a pair of shoes, beginning a journey towards the Castillos de África. After a long journey, the girl reaches the house of the Moon and his mother, who do not know where is such a place. Still, the mother of the Moon gives the girl some little golden apples, and she continues on her journey. Next, the girl reaches the house of the Sun and his mother, who also do not know of the location of the Castillos. Still, the Sun's mother gives her some golden pears, and she continues her travels. At last, the girl reaches the house of the Aire and his mother, who do know the location of the Castillos: in a valley, in a thick forest. The Aire's mother gives the girl a golden spinning wheel and golden fuse, and she is carried by the Aire to the wooded valley, where she lands. The girl then knocks on a nearby hut to check her destination, and its female occupant confirms it is the Castillos de África. The lizard prince's wife takes out the golden objects and draws the attention of the female owner of the house, who wishes to buy the golden items. The girl trades them for a night with Rey Lagarto: the golden spinning wheel and fuse on the first night, the golden apples on the second, and the golden pears on the third. For the first two nights, the girl sings some verses to wake Rey Lagarto up, but he does not budge, since he drank a sleeping potion given by the owner of the house. On the third night, Rey Lagarto pretends to be asleep, and listens to his wife's lament, then wakes up, takes his wife, and goes back to his homeland where his parents live.

See also

• The Dragon-Prince and the Stepmother (ATU 433B)
• The Girl With Two Husbands (ATU 433B)
• Dragon-Child and Sun-Child (Armenian folktale)

Kibaraka (Swahili folktale) - Swahili ATU 314 Goldener / The Youth Transformed to a Horse

Sudan

German ethnologue Leo Frobenius collected a tale from Kordofan with the title Magische Flucht ("Magic Flight"): According to Frobenius, the tale circulated among the people in Omdurman, but originally told by people in Soba.

Second part of the tale follows ATU 314.

SUS 532 / ATU 314, Horse and Hero, without "Ne znayu"

Analysis

Tale type

Polish philologist and folklorist Julian Krzyżanowski, establisher of the Polish Folktale Catalogue according to the international index, classified the tale as Polish type 314, Zaczarowany koń ("Enchanted Horse"). The Polish type corresponds, in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, to tale type ATU 314, "The Goldener": a youth with golden hair works as the king's gardener. The type may also open with the prince for some reason being the servant of an evil being, where he gains the same gifts, and the tale proceeds as in this variant.

Introductory episodes

Scholarship notes three different opening episodes to the tale type: (1) the hero becomes a magician's servant and is forbidden to open a certain door, but he does and dips his hair in a pool of gold; (2) the hero is persecuted by his stepmother, but his loyal horse warns him and later they both flee; (3) the hero is given to the magician as payment for the magician's help with his parents' infertility problem. Folklorist Christine Goldberg, in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, related the second opening to former tale type AaTh 532, "The Helpful Horse (I Don't Know)", wherein the hero is persecuted by his stepmother and flees from home with his horse.

American folklorist Barre Toelken recognized the spread of the tale type across Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe, but identified three subtypes: one that appears in Europe (Subtype 1), wherein the protagonist becomes the servant to a magical person, finds the talking horse and discovers his benefactor's true evil nature, and acquires a golden colour on some part of his body; a second narrative (Subtype 3), found in Greece, Turkey, Caucasus, Uzbekistan and Northern India, where the protagonist is born through the use of a magical fruit; and a third one (Subtype 2). According to Toelken, this Subtype 2 is "the oldest", being found "in Southern Siberia, Iran, the Arabian countries, Mediterranean, Hungary and Poland". In this subtype, the hero (who may be a prince) and the foal are born at the same time and become friends, but their lives are at stake when the hero's mother asks for the horse's vital organ (or tries to kill the boy to hide her affair), which motivates their flight from their homeland to another kingdom.

Motifs

Professor Anna Birgitta Rooth stated that the motif of the stepmother's persecution of the hero appears in tale type 314 in variants from Slavonic, Eastern European and Near Eastern regions. She also connected this motif to part of the Cinderella cycle, in a variation involving a male hero and his cow.

The suitor selection test

The motif of the princess throwing an apple to her suitor is indexed as motif H316, "Suitor test: apple thrown indicates princess' choice (often golden apple)". According to mythologist Yuri Berezkin and other Russian researchers, the motif is "popular" in Iran, and is also attested "in Central Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Near East, and Central Asia".

According to Turkologist Karl Reichl, types ATU 314 and ATU 502 contain this motif: the princess chooses her own husband (of lowly appearance) in a gathering of potential suitors, by giving him an object (e.g., an apple). However, he also remarks that the motif is "spread in folk literature" and may appear in other tale types.

Germanist Günter Dammann, in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, argued that Subtype 2 (see above) represented the oldest form of the Goldener narrative, since the golden apple motif in the suitor selection roughly appears in the geographic distribution of the same subtype.

The gardener hero

According to Richard MacGillivray Dawkins, in the tale type, the hero as gardener destroys and restores the garden after he finds work, and, later, fights in the war. During the battle, he is injured, and the king dresses his wound with a kerchief, which will serve as token of recognition.

Branding the brothers-in-law

According to German scholars Günther Damman and Kurt Ranke, another motif that appears in tale type ATU 314 is the hero branding his brothers-in-law during their hunt. Likewise, Ranke stated that the hero's branding represented a mark of his ownership over his brothers-in-law.

Ranke located the motif in the Orient and in the Mediterranean. In the same vein, Hungarian professor Ákos Dömötör, in the notes to tale type ATU 314 in the Hungarian National Catalogue of Folktales (MNK), remarked that the motif was a "reflection of the Eastern legal custom", which also appears in the Turkic epic Alpamysh.

Variants

Russia

Golden Horse

In a tale collected from a teller in Kuznetsky District with the title "Золотой конь" ("Golden Horse"), a merchant has a son that helps him in his store. One day, the son sees a golden-maned black horse next to a peasant and asks his father to buy it. The merchant bargains with the peasant for the animal and buys it to give to his son. The boy tends to the horse, feeds and grooms it. One day, he goes to the stables and sees the horse crying. The animal warns him not to eat any food he is given and throw it to the dog. The boy goes home and his mother gives him a dish, but he follows the horse's advice and throws away the food to the dog; it eats and dies. Next, the horse advises the boy to refuse a new shirt his mother may give him, and to hang it over the stove. The boy does as instructed and reptiles crawl out of the garment. The third time, the horse tells him his mother wishes to kill the horse to cure her. The boy goes to his mother's room, and is told she is sick and needs the horse's heart to regain health. The next morning, the horse is brought to be sacrificed, but the boy asks to ride a last time on the animal. He seizes the opportunity to gallop away to another kingdom. At a distance, the horse tells him to dismount and walk to the nearby kingdom of the serpent king ("змеиный царь"), where his three daughters are to choose their husbands in a public gathering, and says the boy can summon him by whistling three times. The merchant's son enters the kingdom and takes part in the husband selection: the elder princesses choose husbands for themselves, and the youngest chooses the merchant's son, to the assemblage's mocking laughter and the king's disgust. The princess remains steadfast in her decision, and asks her father to provide at least a chicken coop for them to live. Some time later, a large six-headed snake rises out of the sea and menaces the kingdom. The eldest princess is given to appease the beast, but the merchant's son summons his loyal horse, dons a golden furcoat and a golden saber, and saves his sister-in-law. The same events happen to the middle princess: she is given to a seven-headed serpent, but the merchant's son kills the monster to save her. Lastly, the youngest princess is given to a 17-headed serpent; the merchant's son rides the horse to save his wife and decapitates 16 of its heads, leaving only one intact, per the horse's advice. The serpent bites his hand, and the princess dresses his wound. The merchant's son follows the monster to its marine lair and they hold a truce. The serpent gives the merchant son's two magic eggs. The boy returns to land and tosses one of the eggs on the chicken coop: a large terem appears for him to reside in. Later, he asks his wife to invite the king over to the terem for a banquet. The king at first declines the invitation twice, since he knows his daughter lives in miserable conditions, but accepts on the third time and goes to have a drink with his son-in-law.

Goat Skin

In a tale collected from Samara Region by folklorist Dmitry Sadovnikov with the title "Козья Шкура" ("Goat Skin"), a king has a herd of horses, and a mare that strangely moves away to foal and returns without its child. The king's son offers to look into the reason for this. He follows the mare to a place of reeds and waits until it foals, then rushes to save grab the foal by its ears and push it to land. The prince goes back through the forest, rivers and swamps and meets three horses that give him some of their hairs to summon them, then vanish. The prince goes back with the foal and promises to take care of it, but the little horse says it will only eat walnut kernels. The prince's stepmother dislikes this arrangement, and later falls sick. The doctors are not able to discern the reason, and the prince's stepmother asks the horse to be killed and its heart to be given to her. The next day, the prince returns from school and goes to talk to the foal, which tells him his family plans to kill it, and says it will neigh to call out his attention so that he rushes home and stops the killing. It happens as the horse predicted: its neigh alerts the prince, who returns home and asks the king for a last ride on the animal through the yard. The king indulges his son, who takes the opportunity to gallop away to another kingdom. The prince then dismisses the horse, places a goat's skin on his head, and goes to the city. One day, the local king asks to be brought apples for him to eat, and the prince in goat's skin takes three apples of variable ripeness to the king. The king questions the meaning of the deed and consults with wise men, but the third princess interprets them correctly: their variable ripeness ara analogous to the princesses' marriagebility. Based on this, the king marries the elder princesses to high-ranking officials, and the youngest to the Goat Skin. The king refuses to have Goat Skin at his table, and the princess cries for her situation. Later, war breaks out, and the elder brothers-in-law ride into war. Goat Skin also wishes to take part in the battle, but is given a cart to carry supplies. At a distance, however, the prince summons one of the horses by burning the hair and defeats his father-in-law's enemies, to the latter's delight, who invites him for a feast. The prince refuses the invitation, returns to his lowly station, puts on the goat's skin again, and goes to sleep. His wife, the third princess, notices his kingly garments underneath his disguise, but keeps quiet about it. This happens a second time. On the third time, after defeating the enemies, he accepts his father-in-law's invitation and tells his wife he will appear in his kingly garments. Later, during the meal, the prince arrives and the princess goes to embrace him. Her father reprimands his daughter for her strange behaviour, but the princess explains the knight is her husband.

Vanyushka's Horse

In a Russian tale from Voronezh Oblast titled "Ванюшкин конь" ("Vanyushka's Horse"), Vanyushka loses his mother and father, and decides to find his "luck" in the world. He eventually finds some people pulling a colt to sacrifice it, but Vanyushka asks them for the colt. The boy and the colt live together, and eventually he hires himself as a servant to a king. This king had two children from a previous marriage and married a second wife, but his new queen hates her stepchildren and planned to kill them. The queen conspires with Baba Yaga to kill the royal children: first, the witch suggests she gives them cursed belts after they come out of the bath. Vanyushka considers the royal children, a boy and a girl, like his siblings. He meets his horse, which warns him of the ploy. Vanyushka then goes to the children and places the belts on some dogs that die. Next, the queen tries to give her stepchildren some poisoned jam, but Vanyushka tosses the pot to the ground. Eventually, Baba Yaga reveals the queen the servant's horse is warning them, and advises her to feign illness and ask for the horse's heart as remedy. The king takes the news and tells Vanyushka they will sacrifice his horse. Vanyushka refuses it at first, but lets them have the animal, as long as he is allowed one last ride on it. Vanyushla deceives the king and the queen, and rides away to another kingdom where he marries, and the tale ends.

Dear Brother Piebald Horse

In a tale collected from Samara Region by folklorist Dmitry Sadovnikov with the title "Братецъ Пѣганушка" (Russian post-1918 reform: "Братец Пеганушка", English: "Dear Brother Piebald Horse"), a merchant is married to a woman, but has no son. His wife has a Jew as a lover. One day, the merchant learns that an apple tree that fruits that if eaten will allow his wife to give birth to twins. The merchant finds the tree and plucks one, then returns home to his wife, and goes to trade. His wife eats half of the apple and gives the other half for their mare to eat. In time, the woman gives birth to a boy named Vanyushka, and the mare to a foal named Peganushka ('pegan' a word to denote a piebald horse). Years later, he comes back from school and goes to talk to Peganushka. The horse says the Jew has prepared a trap for him in the bathhouse, so Vanyushka is to go to the bath house and put on a dirty shirt instead of a new one. Next, the horse says the Jew has prepared poisoned tea for him, which the boy is to spill and not drink. Vanyushka drops the teacup and avoids the danger. Later, his mother decides to kill the foal. Vanyushka goes to talk to Peganushka, which reveals that the boy's mother will kill it. Vanyushka retorts that they can simply kill another horse, but Peganushka tells him his mother has a Jew lover in a room, and that the boy is to ask for a saddle and a ride on Peganushka in front of the porch. The next day, Vanyushka meets his father, who is coming back home, and asks him to saddle the horse for him to ride. The merchant attends his son's request, and Vanyushka mounts on Peganushka in front of the porch. He then reveals to his father that his wife has her lover in her room, and gallops away, as the tale ends.

Ukraine

In a Ukrainian tale collected by Ukrainian folklorist Mikhailo G. Ivasyuk from Chernivtsi with the title "Золотоволосий хлопець" ("Golden-Haired Youth"), a childless tsar suffers for nor having children. On a hunt, he comes across a hut with an old woman who lives alone, though her children have long left into the world. The old woman tells the tsar she knows of a sorcerer that can grant the monarch his wish. The tsar gives her some gold and goes back to the palace. The old woman buys herself the information from the sorcerer: there is an apple tree in the royal gardens with six apples, three in an upper row and three in a lower row, which the empress is to eat if she wants to have a child. After the sorcerer leaves, the old woman goes to pluck the apples and eats three of them herself, while the other three she throws to her mare. The next year, a golden-haired son is born to the old woman, and a golden-maned, golden-tailed horse to the mare. After a year, the emperor returns and finds the woman with a son, and inquires about the sorcerer's advice. The old woman lies that the sorcerer needs three years to prepare a potion for the empress, and says the golden-haired son is hers. The tsar asks the woman to let him adopt her son as his heir, and the woman agrees. Time passes, and the boy grows up in three years. One day, the tsar has to leave to fight in a war, and the golden-haired youth is left at the palace. Meanwhile, the empress begins an affair with a lover, and both conspire to destroy the adopted prince: first, they rig his bed so he turns to dust as soon as he lies on it. The youth meets with his foal in the stables and confides in him that the empress is having an affair, to which the foal advises him not to sleep on his bed that night. Their first plan fails, so they plot again. The second time, the foal advises the youth to take some firewood and throw it to the porch before he enters the palace. He follows his foal's orders and survives another attempt, for the firewood becomes ashes instantly. Failing twice, the empress's lover advises her to scratch herself, rip her clothes apart and tell the tsar the youth attacked her. The tsar returns, falls for the empress's trick and orders the execution of his adoptive son. The youth, as a last request, asks to be allowed a last goodbye to his foal. The soldiers try to bring the foal out of the stables, but the animal trots them down - first, ten; then a hundred, and finally a thousand soldiers fall down before him. The youth goes himself to the stables, mounts on the horse and goes to talk to the tsar on the gallows; he reveals the empress's affair then rides away to another kingdom. The foal says he needs but to whistle three times, and it will come to him, then vanishes. The youth makes a pipe in the forest, then goes to the city to play sad tunes on his instrument. The king's daughters, three princesses, each take notice of the youth's sad melodies and question about it. He pays no heed to the first two princesses, but falls in love with the third one and asks her for her a ring. The princess agrees and they marry, the youth playing merry tunes in his wedding.

See also

• Neznaiko
• Nemtudomka (Hungarian folktale)
• The Black Colt

References

Category:Russian fairy tales Category:Horses in literature Category:Horses in culture Category:ATU 300-399 Category:ATU 500-559

Turkish ATU 314 / AaTh 532

Analysis

Motifs

Turkologist Ignác Kúnos noted the existence of helpful magical horses in Turkish folklore: the Kamer Tay (Камӓр Таі) and the Sea-Horse (аіҕыр). The Kamar Tay is born from the same apple a Dervish gives to a childless padishah, when a mare eats the apple peels. As for the Sea-Horse, it lives in water, but can emerge and return to it; it comes at night to the surface to drink water and can be tamed if one places iron soles on its hooves. Sometimes the Sea-Horses are identified as children of a Wind Dev. The magical horse drinks rosewater and eats almonds.

Variants

Wind Horse (Erdemli)

In a Turkish tale from Erdemli with the title Padişah Oğlu ("The Padishah's Son") or Yel Ati ("The Wind Horse"), a padishah has a son and his wife dies, so he dotes on the boy. Convinced by his viziers, the padishah remarries when the prince is ten or twelve. By the same age, on a walk, the prince finds a lame and shabby horse which he asks his father to buy. The prince dotes on the horse and grooms it, until he becomes a fine horse. The horse is also a wind horse, which can talk and only the prince can hear it. One day, the prince surprises his stepmother and the vizier in bed. Thus the illicit lovers plan to kill the boy to hide their affair by poisoning his food: first, a dish of poultry and chicken entrails; next, a goose dish; lastly, a turkey dish. With the horse's warnings, the prince, called Shah Muhammed, avoid eating each dish. The new queen and the vizier suspect the prince is being warned by someone, and deduce the horse is the one helping him. Thus, the queen feigns illness and vizier bribes the doctors to prescribe the meat of a wind horse as cure. The padishah is convinced to kill the animal. The next day, Shah Muhammed goes to visit his horse in the stables, which, in tears, tells the boy they plan to sacrifice it, and plots a way they can escape: the prince is to ask for a last ride on the horse and, after a javelin game, he will give up the horse, but he is to ask for gold and take the opportunity to flee. The prince feigns ignorance and goes to meet his father, who explains the situation. The prince then asks for his belongings and a golden saddle, throws a javelin, and whips the horse three times. This causes the horse to fly away with the prince on its back, while the padishah cries until he falls blinds. When the wind horse lands in another country, it gives the prince some of its hairs and rides away with his belongings. The prince then buys a bald shepherd's clothes, puts a sheep's rumen on the head and dons the disguise of a Keloglan, then finds work in the king's garden. On three successive Fridays, the royal gardener orders his assistant to watch over the garden from children intruders. While the gardener is away, Keloglan summons the horse by burning its hairs, takes a ride around the garden and tramples everything, then dismisses his mount. The gardener comes back and scolds Keloglan for the ruined garden, but the princess intervenes on his behalf. The princess falls in love with the Keloglan and sends him a dish of chicken filled with gold, but Keloglan trades it for a chicken and rice dish destined for the gardener. Some time later, the three princesses talk to their father, the king, about their marriage plans: the elder wants to marry the right vizier's son, the middle the left vizier's son, while the cadette wants to toss an apple to her suitor from a crowd of elligible people. The king gathers a crowd to stand under the palace's window, but the princess withholds her apple. The king then sends for the Keloglan, to whom the princess throws her apple, indicating her choice. The king then falls ill and the doctors prescribe lion's milk. The king's sons-in-law gather each their own army and ride to find the remedy, while Keloglan is given a lame mule to ride on. While no one is looking, he summons his loyal horse and asks it to be taken to the king of lions to request the milk. Keloglan reaches the lion's pride and asks for the milk, and notices his brothers-in-law are coming. Keloglan tricks the duo by giving them she-donkey's milk in exchanging from branding their backs. The king's sons-in-law give him the wrong milk and his health worsens, then Keloglan gives him the right one and he improves. Later, war breaks out, and the king sends his sons-in-law into battle. Keloglan wants to join the fray, and is given another lame mount. Again, he summons his horse and rides into battle, injuring his wrist in a fight. His father-in-law, the king, goes to meet the mysterious newcomer and asks if he is friend or foe, to which the stranger replies he is the king's friend. The king notices the knight's injury and dresses his wound with a handkerchief. The prince rides away from battle and resumes his Keloglan disguise with his wife. The princess notices her father's handkerchief and brings the monarch to meet his saviour. The king recognizes his handkerchief, and orders his soldiers to tie Keloglan inside a carpet and bring the youth to the palace. It happens thus, and Keloglan wakes up on the king's bed. He tries to mantain his lowly disguise, but the king tells him he found the handkerchief. Keloglan then tells the truth and resumes his princely identity, saying he would like to take his wife, the princess, back to his kingdom. The king allows it and gives him a retinue. Before Shah Muhammed enters his home kingdom, the wind horse says the padishah is blind, and earth from its hooves can cure him. Shah Muhammed fetches some earth and cures his father. The padishah learns of his wife's affair, and hangs both her and the vizier.

Wind Horse (Gaziantepe)

In a Turkish tale collected from an informant in Gaziantep with the title Yel Atı ("Wind Horse"), a padishah has no children, until he has a son by his wife, who then dies. Later, when the boy is but ten or twelve years old, the padishah's ministers advise him to remarry. When the prince is walking with his father one day, the boy finds a lousy horse, which he insists to bring home with him. The padishah allows it, and the boy grooms and feeds the lousy horse until it grows into a fine steed. The horse is no ordinary animal, for it is a Wind Horse, able to speak, but only the prince can understand it. One day, the prince discovers his stepmother in bed with the vizier, but keeps it a secret. The queen conspires with the vizier to kill the prince to hide her affair, first by giving the prince a poisoned dish with chicken. The prince goes to talk to the horse in the stables, and finds it crying. The Wind Horse, which heard the queen's plan, warns the prince, Shah Muhammad, to avoid the food. The next day, the queen tries again with some poisoned goose, and on the third day, with some poisoned turkey, which the prince avoids eating. The vizier supposes the prince is being helped, and correctly deduces it is the Wind Horse in the stables. He then plots with the queen to feign illness and the doctors to prescribe the meat of a wind horse as remedy. The queen dyes her skin and hides some bread under the sheets to pretend her bones as cracking. The padishah falls for the trick and decides to sacrifice his son's horse. Shah Muhammed goes to the stables and finds his horse crying again, this time for itself, for the queen plans to sacrifice it, but the prince can save it: when the padishah announces the next day about his decision, the prince is to ask for a last ride on the horse on the square for the cirit games, gather his belongings in a golden saddle, and nail iron nails into the horse's hooves. The next day, it happens as the horse predicted, and, while they are throwing javelins, it asks the prince to whip three times, to they escape through the air to another land. The padishah cries for his son's vanishing, becomes blind, and leaves the king to be ruled by his wife and the vizier. Back to the prince, the horse lands and thanks him for saving it, gives two hairs to the prince to burn in case he needs the horse's help, and rides away. The prince then trades clothes with a shepherd, hiding his royal pedigree under the Keloglan disguise, and enters another kingdom, where he finds work as a gardener's assistant. Some time later, the prince, as the gardener assistant, is instructed by the gardener to guard the royal garden from some rambunctious children who will play and destroy it, when everyne has gone to pray on Friday. After the gardener leaves, the prince summons his horse, rides around the garden, then dismisses his friend. The gardener returns and the prince spins a story that some forty knights invaded the garden. The princess vouches for him, and the story repeats for two subsequent Fridays. The princess falls in love with the Keloglan, and sends him two dishes: a chicked with golden and a chicken filled with rice. Keloglan accepts the gifts, but retains the edible one. Keloglan surmises the princess is in love with him. As for the princess, she and her sisters tell the sultan their marriage plans: the elder wants to marry the son of the right vizier, the middle one the son of the left vizier, and the youngest wishes to throw an apple for her suitor of choice. Callers assemble a crowd under the sultan's palace for the princess to cast her lot, but Keloglan is not among them. The sultan then orders his soldiers to bring the gardener's assistant to the gathering, and the princess throws the apple to him. The sultan is enraged at this turn of events and banishes his cadette to the goose coop. He falls ill with disgust, and the doctors warn that only lion's milk can restore him. The sons-in-law each depart with a retinue in search of lion's milk, while Keloglan is given a lame mount. While he is out of sight, he burns one of its horse's hairs and summons the wind horse, asking to be taken to the sultan of lions to request its milk. Shah Muhammed talks to the sultan of lions, which gives him the milk of a newly nursing lioness. While en route back to the kingdom, Shah Muhammed meets his brothers-in-law and makes a deal: the milk (which he exchanges for she-donkey's milk) in exchange for branding their backs with a seal. The sons-in-law returns with the wrong milk, which worsens the sultan's health, until Shah Muhammed, donning the disguise of a Keloglan again, gives the correct milk to his wife, who delivers to her father. The sultan's condition improves. Later, war breaks out, and the sultan's sons-in-law march into battle. Keloglan is also given a lame mount, but summons his horse again and rides into battle to save his father-in-law's kingdom, taking the enemies' weapons as battle trophies. He then meets the sultan, who notices his bleeding arm and bandages it with his own gem-encrusted handkerchief. The knight vanishes from the battlefield and the prince resumes his lowly Keloglan disguise, lying on the goose coop ro rest from the battle. The princess notices her father's handkerchief on her husband and summons the sultan to see for himself: her husband Keloglan is their saviour at the battlefield. The sultan takes Keloglan to his chambers and confronts him about the ruse, Keloglan confesses everything, and reveals his princely origin as Shah Muhammed. Shah Muhammad decides to depart with his wife to his father's kingdom, where he learns he has gone blind. The prince returns home and uses the sand encrusted on his wind horse's hooves to cure his own father's blindness. The padishah rejoices at reuniting with his son, then learns of his wife's deception. He hangs the queen and the vizier, and celebrates a new marriage for Shah Muhammed.

Other tales

"Padişahın Oğlu ile Atı" (The Son of the Padishah and the Horse) - Turkish ATU 314

• Süpürgeci Koca, from Gaziantep

See also

• Neznaiko
• Nemtudomka (Hungarian folktale)
• The Black Colt

References

Category:Turkish fairy tales Category:Horses in literature Category:Horses in culture Category:ATU 300-399 Category:ATU 500-559

Bulgarian ATU 425B

Analysis

Tale type

The horse-prince as the enchanted husband also appears in the Bulgarian tale corpus, under tale type 425B, "Момъкът с конската глава" or "Der Junge mit Pferdekopf" ("The Youth With the Horse's Head"). In the Bulgarian type, the heroine journeys after her husband and finds him in the house of his relatives, where she becomes their maidservant. Once there, she has to fulfill impossible tasks for his mother or his sister, which she accomplishes with her husband's help. At the end of the tale, the heroine and her husband interrupt his wedding to another bride and flee from his family by changing into objects and animals.

Variants

In a Bulgarian Romani variant, E Batiméskeri Paramísi ("The History of Batim") or Batim The Horse (A Story from Bulgaria), a king owns a horse, which is the son of an ogre. One day, the servant who grooms it notices that when the horse saw the eldest daughter of the king, it became enamoured, and it won't eat its rations. The king orders his daughters to line up in a queue, to be given leblebi with nuts and to feed the horse with it; the animal only eats from the eldest's apron. They marry. The princess is despondent at first, but the horse takes off his equine disguise and becomes a man. He tells her that he will appear the next day as a fine knight with green garments and horses, and that she must not tell her sisters anything; otherwise, she will have to search for him in the land of Čine-ma-čine-džéza-davúlja. She obeys at first. The day after, he appears on a white horse and she lets her family in on the secret. He disappears, and she goes after him with shoes of iron and a staff of iron. She arrives at the land of Čine-ma-čine-džéza-davúlja, and stops by a fountain. She sees a servant fetching water and asks her to whom it is the jug; she answers it is for Batim (the horse's name). She drops her ring inside the jug and the servant brings the jug to Batim, who recognizes the ring. The princess meets him again, but he warns that his mother will eat her, and turns her into a pin to protect her. Batim asks his ogress mother to swear on his name not to harm her, and he shows her his human wife. The ogress mother forces her to do difficult tasks: to fill a tank with tears, to fill 41 rooms with feathers and let half remain over, to invite the ogress's sister and her brothers for a wedding feast - all accomplished with her husband's guidance. Lastly, Batim and his wife escape from the ogress by turning into objects to fool her. The third time, Batim turns into a flower and the wife into a rose-bush. The ogress comes to the rosebush and hesitates, for she might pick one or the other and hurt her son. She concedes defeat and lets her son live with his human wife.

Linguist Gyula Németh collected a tale from the Turkish population of Vidin, Bulgaria, with the German title Die Königstochter und Bilejiz ("The King's Daughter and Bilejiz"), which was translated as "Дочь падишаха и Билеиз" ("The Padishah's Daughter and Bileiz"). In this tale, a padishah is going on a trip, and asks his daughters to look after his horse and feed him dry oats. The horse only responds to the youngest. When the padishah returns, he learns of the horse's affectionate treatment of his third daughter and marries them. After the wedding, the girl begins to cry, but the horse takes off the horse skin and reveals he is a human named Bileiz. The next day, he appears as a knight in red garments on the padishah's tournament, and on the day after in black clothes. In case anything happens to him, he gives his wife a signet ring as a token. She tells to her family the knight is the horse, and he disappears. She then decides to go after him, by wearing an iron amulet and using an iron cane. She reaches a fountain, with an inscription nearby: "Bileiz". She sees a servant girl fetching water and begs for some to drink. She drops the signet ring on the servant's jar. Bileiz finds his wife, takes her home and explains his mother is a seven-headed deva and might devour her. His mother appears and smells human flesh, but Bileiz spins a story about hiring the girl as another maid. So, the deva mother forces her to sweep half of the floor and not sweep the other half, to cook half of the meat and not cook the other half, and go to a relative of the deva to get a plank and some bread dough. Finally, the deva mother orders her to carry ten candles on her fingers during Bileiz's marriage to another bride. The padishah's daughter vents to her husband about his mother, and he tells her he planned their escape: when she is holding the ten candles, she must drop them and jump on a winged horse, while he rides a normal one. It happens as he describes. While on the run, his deva relatives come after them in the shape of a fog. They transform into a minaret and a muezim, a watermelon and a gardener, a snake and a rosebush. Bileiz's sister hesitates in cutting either the snake or the rosebush, and returns home.

In a Bulgarian tale titled "Царската дъщеря с железните дрехи" ("The Tsar's Daughter With Iron Clothes"), translated into Hungarian with the title A vasruhás cárkisasszony ("The Tsar's Daughter with Iron Garments"), an old woman takes a czar's son as companion. One day, the youth wants her to ask for the tsar's daughter's hand in marriage. However, the tsar wants the youth to perform some tasks first: to erect a crystal palace that opens and closes on its own; a garden where it is raining, it is sunny, the birds sing and the trees bloom by themselves, and to build bridges across all lakes and rivers overnight. The tsar consents to their marriage. They marry and live with the old woman. One day, the tsar invites his daughter and son-in-law to his palace. The son-in-law takes with him a giant horse's head that he carelessly deposits somewhere in the palace. The servants, who were baking bread, see the horse's head and throw it in the oven. The prince warns his wife that the horse's head should not have been burnt, and that he will disappear; if she ever wants to find him again, she must wait 9 years, then ask for iron garments, iron shoes and an iron cane to be made; finally, she must always journey towards the sunrise, and look for him, whose name is "Öreg" ("старецътъ", in the original Bulgarian). Time passes and she goes on a journey: she visits three old women with giant spinning apparatuses and their cannibal sons, who direct the princess to Öreg. She reaches a well, where Öreg's nine servants and nine slaves come to fetch water. The princess begs for a drink and drops her ring in a jug. Öreg recognizes the ring and takes the princess into his castle as a servant. His mother suspects something amiss between her son and the girl. One day, Öreg is to be married to another woman; the man and the princess conspire to torch the bride's veil to cause a distraction during the wedding. The princess becomes a bridesmaid; when everyone is kissing the bride's veil, she asks to kiss it too, and torches the veil with a candle. Öreg and the princess escape from the wedding, but his family comes after them. The pair transforms into a lake (the princess) and a duck (him); a melon orchard (the princess) and a park-keeper (him), and finally a blackthorn bush with a thorny branch (the princess) and a giant grass snake wrapped around it (him). His mother ceases her pursuit and lets them be.

• Tille, Václav (1935). "P. Lavrov a J. Polívka (1932). Jihomakedonské lidové povídky. [review]". Slavia. 13: 168 (summary for tale nr. 46, "Ženich-zvíře").

In a (South Macedonian?) Bulgarian tale collected by Verkovic with the title "Царската ќерка и момчето — змеј" ("The Tsar's Daughter and the Dragon Boy"), a king has three daughters. One day, a zmei (dragon) appears to court them, but the king imposes tasks for him: first, he has to cover the roof of the guesthouse with one layer of fabric and make a road of silver between his palace and hers. The zmei-suitor fulfills the tasks and takes the elder princess to the guesthouse as his bride. He tells her he appeared in the kingdom with thunder and lightning, and she did not fear him at all. He then takes off the zmei-skin and becomes a handsome "hero-angel", then warns her to protect his zmei-skin, lest she will have to search for him in iron boots, and leaves with her to a dance. However, by leaving the skin at home, someone takes it and burns it, causing him to disappear. The princess then requests her father to provide her with iron boots and an iron cane, and begins her journey. After a long search, she climbs down a mountain and finds her husband by a fountain. The man tells her his mother is an old samovila, and his sisters are "judi" samovila, then turns the princess into a red apple to hide her from his mother. The elder samovila notices a human smell, but her son dismisses it, and tries to trick his mother for a while, until one day he restores the princess to human form and introduces her as his human wife. Some time later, the samovilas go for a walk in the woods, and order the princess to sweep and not sweep their house. Her husband advises her to sweep in certain areas and leave others untouched. The next day, they order her to prepare the dough, and bake and not bake some bread for them - he advises her to place a fire on the floor, place the bread and cover the dough on one side. Thirdly, the samovilas order her fill two pots with tears - her husband advises her to place salt inside a pot and add water. Seeing that the human princess fulfilled their tasks, the samovilas relent on their persecution, the man takes the princess back to her father and they celebrate a second marriage.

In a Bulgarian language tale published in newspaper "Славейче" with the title "Царь Рачо" ("Little Crawfish King"), an old woman goes to wash her clothes in the sea, when a crawfish approaches her and piches her with its claws. The old woman returns home. She boils some eggs and goes to sleep, when the crawfish appears in her house and begins to talk: he is a "a king of the sea" ("Морски цар", in the original), and asks her to adopt him as her son, and woo the princess on his behalf. The next day, the old woman goes to the palace, but is hesitant to enter. The king notices her and invites her in. She tells her the crawfish's reasons, and the king agrees to their marriage, but he first has to perform suitor's tasks first: first, to build a beautiful palace in the middle of the sea. The old woman reports to the animal and he tells her not to worry; at night, he goes to the beach and summons the sea animals to build the palace for him. Next, he is to build a golden bridge between the sea palace and the king's, and finally a grapevine that always yields ripe fruits by midday. The crawfish fulfills every task, and marries the princess. Some time later, the king organizes a feast, which his elder daughters attend with their respective husbands and mock the youngest for the latter's animal husband. However, the third princess knows her husband, the king of the sea, is in fact human under the crawfish skin. He tells her he will attend the feast under three disguises of different colours, and she is not to reveal he is the newcomer, lest she will have to wear down three pairs of iron shoes in search of him. It happens thus: during the feast, the crawfish, in human form, appears first in black clothes and on a black horse, and later as knight in gray garments and on a gray horse, to the crowd's admiration and the elder sisters' endless mockery of their cadette. Finally, the crawfish appears as a red knight on a red horse, and the elder princesses suggest their sister marries the knight and forget the crawfish, when the princess reveals the knight is the crawfish. On saying this, the human crawfish vanishes, and does not return. The princess dons three pairs of iron shoes and walks with three iron canes in search of him. After years, and after wearing down two pairs and two iron canes, she stops one night to rest under a tree near a well. The next morning, a samodiva goes to draw water and finds the asleep princess. She takes the human girl with her to her house, where the king of the sea, the crawfish, is there, under another form. One day, the samodivas leave the house and order the princess to sweep and not sweep the house, otherwise the creatures will turn her to stone. The princess cannot perform the task, and the other man offers his help in exchange for marrying him. The princess refuses for she is in search of her husband, but the man teaches her how to do the task. Next, the samodivas order her to fetch her glasses. The strange man offers his help with the same proposition, which the princess refuses, but he helps her anyway, advising her how to proceed: compliment a fountain of pus and blood by saying it is freshwater, which will appear for her to drink; pass by an old oven and utter she wants to eat some of the bread it bakes, which the oven will offer her to eat; reach a house; give hay for a donkey that has been eating bones, sweep a dirty staircase, enter a room and steal the glasses from a box, then rush back. The princess follows the instructions to the letter and fetches the glasses for the samodiva. The creature, enraged at the princess's success, chastises the fountain, the oven, the donkey and the staircase for not stopping her, which all side with the princess for her kind deeds. With this, the samodiva calms down, turns into a winged being and vanishes with other samodivas. The princess wakes up and finds her husband there with her, in his red garments. The crawfish husband then takes the princess and both return to their kingdom.

• "Завареницата и моравският бик" ("Stepdaughter and 'Maritime' Bull") - Sbornik 56 (1980), pp. 232. From Pazardzhik
• Сборник за народни умотворения и народопис 2002, tale nr. 42, from Mramor ('water bull').

See also

• The Horse-Devil and the Witch

References

Category:Bulgarian fairy tales Category:Fictional princes Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:ATU 400-459

Balkanic ATU 425B / Carpathian ATU 425B (A in Swahn)

Antologie de proz̆a populară epică, Volume 3. Ovidiu Bîrlea. Editura Pentru Literatură, 1966. pp. .

[110]

Mit Hat-Prinz (Cu Hat-Prinț)

• Tietz, Alexander (1976). Märchen und Sagen aus dem Banater Bergland (in German). Kriterion Verlag Bukarest. pp. 204–207. - ethnographia 72.

Romania

In a Romanian tale titled Rândunica, [111]

Author Iuliu Traian Mera published in magazine Convorbiri Literare a Romanian variant titled Crăişorul Şărpilor or Crăişorul Şerpilor ("Prince Serpent"). In this tale, an old peasant couple lives in the edge of the village, in the forest. They live by scavenging from the forest. One day, the old man finds a little snake in the forest and brings it home. His wife decides to take care of it with milk. Time passes; the little snake refers to the couple as its parents and, when he is old enough, decides to choose a bride: the daughter of the Imparatul Verde ("Green Emperor"). The snake's mother goes to the Green Emperor to ask for her hand in marriage, but the Green Emperor sets three tasks: first, to build a palace over the poor couple's hut; second, to build a bridge between their palaces, with gardens by its side, with singing little birds and a bell on each bird; third, to have, under the bridge, water sweet as honey and as crystalline, whose waves crash at the Green Emperor's palace, and where every fish swims. Crăişorul Şărpilor, as a snake, fulfills the tasks and gets to marry the Green Emperor's daughter. After they enter the wedding chambers, the snake takes off its skin to become a handsome man, with golden hair, face fair as milkfoam, and dark eyes. Crăişorul Şărpilor remains human by night and wears the snakeskin by day. This goes on for some time, until the Green Emperor wants to invite nobles from all around the world for a banquet. Crăişorul Şărpilor worries about being a snake during the celebration, but he takes off the snakeskin and goes with his wife. Meanwhile, the Green Emperor's wife, the Empress, finds the snakeskin and throws it in an oven - the story explains that the snake prince's curse was about to end, had the snakeskin not been destroyed. During the banquet, Crăişorul Şărpilor senses the snakeskin was burned, and talks to his wife that he needs to disappear, and he will only be found in the Isle of Snakes ("ostrovul şărpilor"), though the path is dangerous and even more dangerous is the Isle, filled with snakes and dragons. He disappears, leaving the princess alone; his palace, the bridge and the sea also vanishing with him. The Green Emperor's daughter begins her long quest. On the road, she helps a little bird, a hare and a deer, which promise to help her in the future. She then reaches the lair of the Mama Padurii ("Mother of the Forest"), deep in a dark forest. Mama Padurii promises to guide the princess, in exchange for a year of servitude under her. The princess's task is to watch over her hens, but one of them disappears after the princess dozes off. She summons the little bird, the hare and the deer to help her locate the lost hen. The hen disappears again on the next two days, but her animal helpers aid her. Now free of Mama Padurii, the creature tells the princess to cross a dangerous valley. The deer helper advises the princess to seek the help of Sfânta Duminecă (Holy Sunday), who lives in a hut. Sfânta Duminecă asks the princess to work for her for another year, just herding the sheep. With an easier task, the princess performs her chores. For her kindness, Sfânta Duminecă tells that a river marks the threshold between their world and the Isle of Snakes, and that her husband, Crăişorul Şărpilor, takes a bath every morning by sunrise in the river. Armed with this knowledge, the princess keeps walking for another nine years, through nine lands and nine seas, until, one day, by sunrise, she sees her husband taking a bath in the river and goes to him. She embraces him, but he warns her that his family (four sisters and his mother) are terrible, snake-like creatures that will kill her. She decides to remain with him, despite the danger. The snake-like family returns and hisses at their guest, who Crăişorul Şărpilor introduces as his human wife. Crăişorul Şărpilor's mother begins to devise a way to kill her. On the first day, she orders the princess to bake six pies for them, three unbaked and three baked; on the second day, to fill a bottle with her tears. Crăişorul Şărpilor helps her on both tasks. As a third task, the princess is to get a sieve from a draconic neighbour. Crăişorul Şărpilor gives her a ring and tells the princess to use it as the draconic neighbour goes to the kitchen to sharpen her teeth. In the neighbour's house, the princess places the ring to answer for her, gets the sieve and escapes. Finally, Crăişorul Şărpilor and his wife decide to escape from his snake family in a "Magic Flight" sequence: they shapeshift into a melon orchard (the princess) and an orchard keeper (him), then into a mill (the princess) and a miller (him), next into a pair of birds pecking corn on the road (both), and lastly into an elm tree (the princess) and ivy (him). Crăişorul Şărpilor's mother comes to the tree, recognizes it as both her son and his wife, but, not knowing which is which, lets them be. Crăişorul Şărpilor and his wife go back to the Green Emperor's palace and live out their days in peace and happiness.

Romanian 425B?

Romanian folklorist Atanasie Marian Marienescu published a tale in newspaper Federaţiunea with the title Psiche. In this tale, Psiche is a princess, the youngest of three sisters. One day, men come to court her and her sisters, who find suitable husbands, save for her. The king then consults with a sage that divines the girl's future: she is to be taken atop a mountain for her future husband, a dragon (balaur), otherwise the dragon will come to destroy his kingdom. Fearing for the safety of his kingdom, the king delivers his daughter to the top of the mountain for her to meet her husband. The princess sleeps on the mountain and wakes up in a beautiful castle where she is waited on by invisible servants that call her "empress", the wife of their master. At night, Psiche goes to sleep on a bed and senses someone beside her, whom the tale refers as "imperatulu dîneloru". For three nights, she talks to him and, little by little, loses her fear of him. On the third night, she asks him to allow her sisters to pay her a visit, to which he agrees: they must plunge from the cliff so his servants may take them to his palace. Psiche's sisters convince her to spy on her husband at night with a lamp and a knife, to kill him if he is indeed a dragon. Following their advice, she brings a lamp to her bedroom and discovers a handsome youth on her bed, but accidentally drops a wax on his body. He wakes up, opens the windows, grabs Psiche and flies away with her, dropping her on the way. The princess begins to wander off in search of the imperatulu dîneloru, and passes by harvesters in a field of silver, and a field of gold, none of them knowing where he went. Suddenly, the imperatulu's mother appears to Psiche and drags the girl to her house, where she orders the girl on tasks. First, Psiche is to get her a bit of "apa négra" ('black water'). Psiche walks near the shore and finds a flopping fish, which she throws back in the water. She then reaches the place of the apa négra, and sees a serpent poised to attack an eagle's nest. She kills the serpent and the eagle, in gratitude, brings her some of the black water. Next, the imperatulu's mother orders Psiche to bring her some tufts of golden wool from golden sheep. On the way to the sheep, she meets a man (who was the fish she saved earlier), who advises her that the herd could only be reached by midday, neither before, nor after, for it is the time the sheep bleet and the rams rest. Following the man's advice, she takes some of the golden wool and brings it back. Lastly, the emperor's mother orders her to go the world below ("lumea de desuptu", in the original) and get some "beauty" in a vase to heal the emperor. Psiche begins her journey to the world below and stops to rest at the edge of a forest, when she has a dream. In it, a voice tells it will help her: she is to pass down the mountains and valleys, by people asking for help in carrying firewood iron, or unloading their carts, but she is to pay no heed to them, for they will take her to their world; she is to go ahead until she meets the empress of the world below; she will embark on a boat and sail across a river where people will beg for help; then, she will reach the empress's doors, where there are 12 lions instead of dogs, to which she is to give some bread; at last, she is to meet the empress and deliver her the vase to be filled with beauty. She follows the voice's orders and gets a vase filled with beauty and returns to the place where she had the vision. Then, she decides to open the vase to use some of the beauty, and a bee ("albina", in the original) comes out of it and goes for Psiche's neck, making it bleed. She drops on the ground, as if dead, and her husband, the imperatulu comes to her rescue, heals the wound and locks the bee inside the vase, and, although chastising his wife, makes her more beautiful than before, then flies away with her to their palace. According to Lazar Saineanu's study, the tale was sourced from the Banat region.

Hungarian ATU 425

• Sebestyen, Adam (1981). Bukovinai Szekely nepmesek [Szekely folktales from the Bukovina]. Vol. 2. (Annotated by Agnes Kovacs.) Szekszard: Tolnamegyei Tanacs V. B. Konyvtara. pp. 9-16 (Kégyókirályfi); 267-270 (Kégyó kirájfi); 395ff (Jegyzetek/Notes on the cited tales).

The pages refer to tales told by a Hungarian/Székely couple that lived in Bukovina. Hungarian-American scholar Linda Dégh noted that their tales, while referring to a serpent husband, contain the "hostility of the husband's fairy family" and the Magic Flight episode (Dégh, Linda. Narratives in Society. A Performer-Centered Study of Narration. Folklore Fellows Vol. 255. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1995. pp. 143, 146). Based on Dégh's brief descriptions, I suspect these tales are more closely related to type ATU 425B (Cupid and Psyche).

Both tales belong to the the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom (tale type 425A and correlates, to which belongs Cupid and Psyche), although they also conclude with an episode of tale type 313A, "The Magic Flight".

Hungarian folklorist Ágnes Kovács suggested that both tales derived from the Székely tradition in Bukovina.

Snake Prince 2 (ATU 425B)

A poor man has a wife. One day, while he is gathering wood, a snake appears and asks the man to bring it home. The man agrees to its terms and brings it home, where the animal grows larger with time. Some time later, the snake asks its adoptive mother to go to the neighbouring king and court of the princesses for him. Despite some reservation, the woman goes to meet with the king. The poor woman says her son wants to marry the princess, and the king agrees, so long as the suitor builds a golden bridge between both houses, with water and golden fishes underneath it, and birds perch along it. The old woman reports to the snake, who tells her to go to sleep and not to worry. When the old couple wakes up the next morning, their humble hut has turned into a beautiful palace overnight, with the golden bridge linking their house to the king's palace, with fishes and birds along the path. The poor couple cross the bridge to the king's palace after a long time, and marry their adopted snake son to the princess. The newlyweds are happy for a while, until one day the serpent son goes on a hunt and leave his snakeskin home. His parents-in-law and his own mother notice that the princess's husband comes out of the snake skin from time to time, and decide to destroy it permanently by throwing it in a fire. The snake prince, without his snake disguise, asks his adoptive mother why she did that, for now the palace will disappear and he will have to return to Fairyland, to his mother, and spend ten years there until he regains his strength. He says farewell to his wife, and returns to his home, in Fairyland. The princess waits for his return, but, after some waiting, she decides to go after him. On her journey, she passes by the Sun, which tells her to keep walking on the same path, and sends some friends to accompany her. When she finally reaches the end of the country of humans, her companions say she is near the place where the fairies live, but she presses forward. She finds her husband near the water and goes to embrace him. The human snake prince is surprised to see her there, for his mother and his brothers will try to destroy her. The princess, in response, opts to stay with him, despite the danger. The snake introduces his wife to his mother as the daughter of the Green King, and leaves her at home. After he goes back to the water, the princess's mother-in-law orders her to fill a large barrel with water, then leaves. As much as the princess tries, she cannot fill it, until her husband comes back home and fulfills the task for her. Next, her mother-in-law orders her to prepare bread for her, but to bake and not bake it. The snake prince's brothers come home, and the snake prince after them, and he finds his wife crying. In order to help her, he advises her to place the loaves in the oven, then take them out. Thirdly, the snake prince's mother places some keys next door and orders the princess to fetch them, but there are tigers that will devour her. Her husband then advises her to throw a ring to distract them, while she gets the keys. With this she fulfills the task, but her husband convinces her to flee, for his family will not leave them alone. While they are on the road, his mother sends his brothers after them, and the prince changs himself and the princess into other people to trick them: first, a priest and a church; next, into a miller and a mill. Finally, his mother herself chases after them, and the snake prince turns himself into a lagoon and the princess into a lake. The mother tries to draw the duck to her, but the bird wades away, so she tries to drink the lake and bursts. At last, the princess and her husband returns safely to her land.

Albanian ATU 425B (A in Swahn)

In an Albanian tale titled Gjarpëri dhe e bija e mbretit ("Serpent and King's Daughter"), translated into Russian as "Змей и королевская дочь" ("Serpent and Royal Daughter") and by Albanologist Robert Elsie as The Snake and the King's Daughter, a snake slithers into an old woman's basket and, after some time, asks the old woman to go to the king and request for the hand of his daughter in marriage. The king sets as condition three tasks for the future son-in-law, which the snake performs with a magic ring. The princess and the snake marry. On the nuptial night, he reveals he is a handsome prince named "Swift" (Shpejt/Shpeit) underneath the snakeskin and warns that she must not tell anything to her family. One day, the princess is invited to a wedding, and her husband appears lately at the occasion, to everyone's surprise. The princess reveals the man is her husband and he disappears. She goes on a quest for him with a pair of iron shoes, and passes by the houses of the Mother of the Sun, the Mother of the Moon and the Mother of the Winds. The Wind tells her her husband Swift is being held prisoner by a monster named Kulshedra, on an island across the sea, and she begs him to take her there. The Wind carries her across the sea to the island and the Kulshedra captures her, taking her to its lair. Secretly, Swift lets his ring fall into a jug she is washing and she recognizes her husband is there. The next day, the Kulshedra forces the girl to sweep some parts of the floor and not sweep the others, and to fill two cauldrons with her tears - both tasks accomplished with her husband's advice: for the first task, the princess is advised to sweep the floor with breadcrust; for the second task, she is told by Shpejt to fill the cauldrons with water and sprinkle salt over it. Seeing that the princess fulfilled the tasks, the Kulshedra then plans to eat the prince, so Shpejt devises a plan to get rid of the monster: he disguises himself as a poor man and chops wood in the nearby forest. The Kulshedra approaches and inquires the man, who answers that he is fashioning a coffin for Swift. The man convinces the Kulshedra to take a look inside the coffin, shoves the creature inside and burns it to ashes. Now freed from the Kulshedra's grasp, he takes the princess home with him, and they live happily.

"Gjarpri, vajza dhe kuçedra" - The Snake, the girl and the Kulshedra [112]

An old man goes to the woods to fetch some firewood and hears a voice asking if he can come with him. The man pays no heed to it. Later, he asks his wife to fetch more firewood. She goes to the forest to gather some, and hears the voice making the same request. She then returns home and talks to her husband about it. The old man reveals he also heard the voice, and tells her to let him in. The old woman exits their house and bids the owner of the voice to come out to them: a snake. The old couple welcome the snake into their house, who becomes human at night and remains a snake during the day. Some time later, the snake tells the old couple he wants a bride, and the old couple marries him to a girl. The girl burns the snakeskin, and the youth complains that, by burning his snakeskin, she burnt his "buzën", which she should not have done, for now she will have to go after him with an iron cane and wearing a pair of iron shoes, then departs. The girl asks the old man for the iron instruments, and departs after her husband. She walks down a road and reaches a house, asking for the lord of the house ('zot i shpisë') if there is a guest there. Her husband, the (now human) snake youth appears to her and they reunite, but he warns the girl that his mother is a kuçedra, with one lip reaching the sky and the other touching the earth, so he will protect his human wife against her. After hiding his wife, his kuçedra mother appears, and tells him she can sense a human smell. The snake youth makes his mother promise not to eat them by swearing an oath on his head, then shows the kuçedra the girl. Later, the kuçedra conspires with her sister to send the girl to be devoured by her, since she did not make the same oath, so she orders the girl to go to her husband's aunt's house and fetch from there a "satace". The human snake youth asks his wife about his mother's task, and advises the girl how to proceed: exchange the correct fodder for animals (bone for a dog, straw for an ox), drink some water from a fountain filled with pus and compliment it, greet his aunt, who will ask her to sit down for a while, take the box and run away. She follows the instructions to the letter and goes to his aunt's house, greets her and asks her to sit down first, takes the "satacen" and escapes. The kuçedra's sister commands the animals and the fountain to stop the girl, to no avail, and she brings the "satacen" to the kuçedra.

(Tale nr. 30, Gjarpri, vajza dhe kuçedra ["The Snake, the girl and the Kulshedra"].

Swahn locates an Albanian variant where the girl dresses as a man, is helped by a dog, forced to do tasks and lastly to hold a torch at the wedding between her husband and the false bride. = FRASHËRI , Folklor Shqiptar 1 , p . 236: "E çupës që u bë si djalë ” ( German translation : LAMBERTZ , Die geflügelte Schwester , p . 145 : " Das überlistete Mädchen ”.

Aromanian ATU 425A

[113]

Swahn cites another Albanian tale (Silberzahn, 101 in Von Hahn), an Aromanian tale ("PAPAHAGI , Basme aromâne , No 129 , p . 444 : “ Me-arde, mi păleaște feată tu sifere") and a Bessarabian one ("PAPAHAGI , Basme aromâne , No 71 , p . 200 : " Muta "; German translation : LÖPELMANN , Aus der Volksdichtung , No 4 , p . 19 : " Die Stumme").

The Sun's courtship - Bessarabian/Gagauz: Swahn lists as part of the Balkanic cycle of 884/Girl at War and 425A/Witch's Tasks.

Persian Tree Husband ("The Girl and the Konar (Ziziphus) Tree") / Iranian ATU 425B / Persian ATU 425B

[] is a Iranian fairy tale.

The tale is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, in that a heroine marries a supernatural husband in animal shape, loses him, and has to seek him out. It is also classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type 425B, "Son of the Witch", thus distantly related to the Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche.

Summary

Sabzqaba

In an Iranian tale published by author Moniro Ravanipour with the title "سبزقبا" ("Sabzqaba"), a couple has no children. One day, the wife goes to the spring to fetch water and sees a tree with a green trunk, which she promises to deliver her daughter to if one is born to her. So it happens, and the woman forgets her promise. One day, when the girl is playing with other children, the girl hears a voice coming from the tree, which tells the girl to remind her mother of the promise. The girl goes home and tells her mother about the voice in tree. The woman, remembering her vow, prepares her daughter and takes her to the green trunk, despite the girl's pleas. The girl is left near the green trunk, in tears, when, suddenly, the trunk opens up, revealing an emerald palace inside it, and a youth comes out of it. He introduces himself as her husband and makes her promise not to tell anyone about this secret. Life goes on for her: during the day, she sits by the tree trunk, and at night, it opens up for her. She is asked about it by her friends, even her mother, who, one day, begins to cry for her daughter's fate. Moved by her mother's tears, the girl reveals her husband's secret, then goes to the tree trunk to wait for her husband. Realizing he will not appear, she remembers his words: if she told anyone about him, she would have to search for him for seven years in iron garments and iron shoes. She begins her quest and walks over seven mountains, until she wears down the seventh pair of shoes near a spring, and she stops to rest for a moment. She then sees a woman fetching water, and discovers that she is her husband's, Sabzqaba, servant. The girl secretly drops her ring in the woman's jar, which she brings to Sabzqaba. The youth recognizes the ring and brings his wife inside, but warns her his family is made of demons and will devour her, so he turns her into a pin and places it around his neck. Despite his magic, his demoness mother still senses a human nearby. Sabzqaba changes his wife back into a human, and introduces her as a servant he found for them. Still playing with her husband's charade, the girl is forced to fulfill tasks for the demoness: first, she is to separate a mixed heap of grains (peas, beans and rice) in the barn, which her husband helps her do; next, she is to empty a pond with her eyelashes. Over the impossibility of this task, she sits down and weeps, but Sabzqaba appears to her and chants a spell: water comes out of the pond and waters the yard. Thirdly, the demoness orders the girl to take a box to the demoness's sister and trade for a thing, and warns her the box is not to be opened. On the way there, the girl opens the box; and dancers leap out of it and begin dancing to drums. Sabzqaba appears to his wife and commands the dancers back into the box, then advises the girl how to proceed: open a closed door and close an open one; exchange the fodder for animals (grass for a horse, bone for a dog); enter his aunt's house and compliment a pool of pus and blood, give her the box and flee. It happens so: the girl escapes back to the demoness's house, despite the aunt commanding the pool, the animals and the doors to stop her. Finally, Sabzqaba's mother betroths him to her niece. During the wedding night, Sabzqaba changes his wife into a broom and places her in a corner, and secretly stashes a pack of needles and pins and a water bottle, and saddles two horses. After he marries, he kills his cousin and places her head in a chest, changes his human wife back to human shape and both flee from his demon relatives. The next morning, the demonesses discover the cousin's head and go after the couple on their horses with a demon retinue. Sabzqaba and his wife throw behind them the needles and pins (that become a field of them), a grain of salt (that becomes a lake) and finally the water in the bottle (which creates a sea between them). With each passing obstacle, the number of demons decrease, until they reach the sea and some of them drown, making them cease their chase. At a safe distance, Sabzqaba creates a palace for him and his wife, and brings his mother-in-law to live with them.

Analyis

Motifs

According to Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn's study on Animal as Bridegroom tales, a characteristic motif that occurs in the "Indo-Persian" area is the heroine using a ring to signal her arrival to her husband, when she finds his location.

The heroes' magic flight

The heroine and her supernatural husband escape in a Magic Flight sequence, that is, the characters either throw magic objects to delay their pursuers, or change into other forms to deceive them. Although this episode is more characteristic of tale type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight", some variants of type ATU 425B also show it as a closing episode. German literary critic Walter Puchner argues that the motif attached itself to type 425B, as a Wandermotiv ("Wandering motif").

According to Marzolph's index, Iranian type 425B concludes with the episode the "Magic Flight": by throwing objects behind them, the heroes create magic obstacles, e.g., a pack of needles becomes a field of needles, salt creates a plain of salt, and the water creates a sea or a river.

The tree husband

Among the forms of the supernatural husband of tale type ATU 425, the heroine may marry a tree.

Variants

Bibinegar and Maysaskabar

In another Persian tale published by Osmanov with the title "Бибинегар и Майсаскабар" ("Bibinegar and Maysaskabar"; Persian: "بی بی نگار و می‌سس قبار", "Bibi Nagar and Mises Qabar"), a childless woman promises her unborn child to a tree stump. A girl is born and given the name Bibinegar. A voice emerges from the tree stump to remind her mother to give what it is owed. Bibinegar cries but decides to sit beside the tree stump. A man comes out of it with a grand retinue, introduces himself as Maysaskabar and gives the girl a coat. He tells her that she can never part with the coat, lest he will disappear. Bibinegar's aunt burns the coat in order to get rid of him and to marry the girl to her son. The man disappears, his only memento a turquoise ring. Bibinegar decides to seek him out, and passes by a flock of sheep, a caravan of camels and a herd of cows - all presents from Maysaskabar to Bibinegar. She reaches a fountain where a boy is getting water. She begs for a drink and the boy refuses, and she curses the water the boy is carrying to become pus and blood. The boy returns to fetch water again and she drops his ring inside it. Maysaskabar notices the ring and gets the maiden to a house of divs. He convinces the divs to take her as a servant. He plans to escape with her that night after he kills the wife he was forced to marry. They escape in a "Magic Flight" sequence as the man's mother pursues them. She is killed, but lets a drop of blood drip on the ground and become a gazelle. Maysaskabar decides to take the gazelle as a pet, but once he is away the animal attacks Bibinegar. One night, the gazelle becomes human, hides everyone in bottles and prepares a cauldron of boiling water to drop Bibinagar in. Bibinegar tricks the woman and goes to the roof to pray, to buy herself some time, and a fairy appears. The fairy tells the girl to break the bottle Maysaskabar is in. She does and he is released. The man tosses the gazelle into the cauldron, reveals it is all a setup by his aunt and sends Bibinegar with a bottle with his aunt's life inside to his aunt. He advises her to feed the dog and the camel with the correct food, water the garden, clean the rug and the bed, and to delouse his aunt when she asks for it. She follows through with the instructions, slams the aunt's head against the floor and runs away. The dog attacks Maysaskabar's aunt. Bibinegar returns to her beloved, now human. Mazolph located its source from Kermān.

Suz Al-Hawa Beidar Qaba

In an Iranian tale titled "متیل سوز الهوا بی‌در قبا" or "سوزالهوا بی در قبا" ("Suz Al-Hawa Beidar Qaba"), an old woman has no children, and goes to a tree to pray for one, making a deal with it: if a boy, he will be its servant; if a girl, its bride. Some time later, a girl is born to the old woman. When she is old enough, she passes by the tree and a voice tells her to remind her mother of her promise, which is overheard by a passing shepherd. The shepherd tells the girl's mother about it, and she decides to fulfill her deal by delivering her daughter to the tree. After the old woman leaves, a handsome man appears out of the tree, and explains he is Suz Al-Hawa Beidar Qaba, a man with holy powers who has come from a family of "infidels". The girl and the man of the tree live together, but he warns her that she is not to tell anything to anyone, not even her mother, for she will have to search for him wearing fifty pairs of iron shoes in orders to find him again. Eventually, the girl accidentally reveals the truth to her mother, causing Suz Al-Hawa Beidar Qaba to disappear. Following his instructions, the girl begins a long quest towards him, by wearing down fifty pairs of iron shoes, until she finds him again with his infidel family. They meet again, and she follows his instructions in order to survive his family's attempts against her.

The Girl and the Konaar Tree

"The Girl and the Jujubee Tree" or "The Girl and the Konaar Tree" (کنار = konâr, i.e., the Ziziphus)

[114] Iranian scholarship compared the tale of "Cupid and Psyche" to Iranian tales about the marriage between a human maiden and a supernatural bridegroom that lives in a tree ("The Girl and the konâr tree", Persian: "دختر و درخت كنار"). [The tree is indicated as the Ziziphus spina-christi.]

The story is said to be common in the Evaz region of Fars.

In one tale, a woman longs to have a child and goes to the river margin. There, she finds a tree, to which she promises her daughter in marriage if one is born to her. Thus, one is born to her. One day, the woman's daughter goes to draw water by the river, when the tree tells the girl to remind her mother of her vow. The girl's mother dresses her appropriately and leaves her by the tree. By nightfall, the tree trunk opens and a voice bids her enter. The girl enters the tree and meets a handsome youth named Shah Nil ("شاه ‌نیل‌از", in the original), who says he is from the family of "Galzangis", humanoid man-eating creatures, and asks her not to tell anything about him to anyone, lest he disappears. The girl then falls into a routine: by night, she enters the tree to spend time with the youth, and by day, she waits by the tree, which earns the people's mockery. Some time later, there is a wedding celebration in the city, and the girl attends. She also knows that Shah Nil is there incognito at the celebration, and she is not to reveal his presence to anyone. At the wedding party, the girl is endlessly mocked for her relation to a tree, when she tells them about the youth in the tree. Shah Nil says that she will never find him again, and departs. The girl decides to go after him. She passes by flocks of sheep and herds of camel, which she learns from their herders belong to Shah Nil. The girl finally reaches a stream and sees a servant drawing water in a jug. She asks for some water to drink, but the servant says the water is for Shah Nil, and she will be punished if he learns someone drank from his jug. The girl insists to be given water and drops a golden ring inside it. The servant takes the jug to Shah Nil, who recognizes the ring when it washes on his hands. Shah Nil leaves the house and finds his wife outside, warning her his Galazangi family will want to devour her. He takes her in and tries to hide her, but his Galazangi mother discovers her and orders her to bring a rolling pin ("vardane") from the Asharkhane's house - a trap, since the dangers on the way will kill her. Shah Nil intercepts his wife and advises her how to proceed: exchange the fodder between two animals (bone for a dog, and hay for a horse), pass by a pond and tree and say she wishes to pray under a tree, enter the house to fetch the rolling pin and flee. The girl does as instructed and fetches the rolling pin, when the other Galzangi orders her servants to stop the girl, to no avail. The next day, Shah Nil knows his wife will be in danger if she stays at his family's home, and decides to escape with her. They fetch some broken glass, needles and water with them, and flee. The Galzangis learn they escaped and chase after them. Shah Nil and his wife throw behind them the broken glass and the needles to hurt the Galzangi's feet. While their pursuers busy themselves with removing the shards of glass and needles from their injuries, Shah Nil and his wife return to her mother's house.

In another tale, a woman finds a tree and vows to give it her daughter if she becomes pregnant. The woman does become pregnant, gives birth to a girl and forgets her vow. One day, when the girl is old enough, she goes to fetch water near the tree and a voice comes from its trunk, telling her to remind her mother of the promise. The girl goes back home and informs her mother, who covers her daughter with a scarf and leaves her by the tree. By nightfall, the tree trunk opens up and a voice bids her enter. Inside the girl meets a youth named Shah Nil, who asks her to spend her days next to the tree, and the nights with him inside the tree, and advises her not to reveal his existence to anyone. Some time later, the girl's mother goads her into revealing the secret encounters, and she mentions Shah Nil. On uttering his name, he vanishes. The girl then decides to go after him by passing through seven marker, until she finds a servant fetching water for Shah Nil. She drops a bead in the water jug, which is brought to Shah Nil. A nightingale brings Shah Nil a message that his wife is there. Shah Nil asks the servant to bring her in and he hides her. Shah Nil's mother, however, senses a human scent nearby and looks for the human to devour him. Shah Nil then introduces the human girl as another servant he brought in to do their chores. Thus, the girl is forced on hard tasks for Shah Nil's mother: first, the creature mixes kilos of grains, mung beans (or "ماش‌", in the original), rice, wheat and others, and orders the girl to separate them, which Shah Nil does for her. Second, Shah Nil's mother gives the girl a sieve and orders her to draw water from the pond. Shah Nil asks the nightingale to cover the holes of the sieve for it to retain water. Lastly, the creature gives the girl a black object which she orders to wash white. Shah Nil asks his nightingale helper to do the task for his human wife. Finally, Shah Nil tires of his mother's plot and decides to escape with his human wife. They take with them a comb, some needles, and a jug of water, and flee. Shah Nil's mother goes in pursuit of them. Seeing his mother is chasing after them, Shah Nil throws behind them the comb and the needles to injure her feet, and drops he water jug to create a sea to cause her wounds to hurt. The objects deter the creature, and Shah Nil returns with his human wife to her city, where they live by the tree.

In a third tale similar to the first narrative, there is a sequence where the supernatural husband transforms his human wife into a vase with flowers to hide her from his man-eating mother.

The story of "The Girl and the Tree" has been compared to the Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche, in regards to their common structure: marriage to supernatural husband, breaking of a taboo, search for lost spouse, reunion. Similarities have also been noted between Venus's tasks for Psyche in the myth and Shah Nil's mother for the human girl in the Persian tales.

[115] [116] - p. 14

See also

• Grünkappe
• Yasmin and the Serpent Prince
• The Snake-Prince Sleepy-Head

References

Category:Iranian fairy tales Category:Persian fairy tales Category:Male characters in fairy tales Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Fictional trees Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:ATU 400-459

Persian ATU 425B / Iranian ATU 425B Snake Husband and Woodcutter

Summary

The Serpent Tsar

In another Iranian variant, published by professor Osmanov with the title "Змеиный Царь" ("The Serpent Tsar"), a poor woodcutter is approached by a serpent, who asks him one of his daughter's hands in marriage. Only the youngest, named Mehrnegar, attends the serpent's request. The serpent comes to take her as an animal, but takes off its skin and becomes a handsome man, to her sisters' consternation and jealousy. Mehrnegar rejects the man at first, but he explains he is the serpent, born of a peri, and both leave for their new home. One day, Mehrnegar is visited by her sisters, who push her to ask her husband about the snakeskin. He answers her that the skin can be burnt in a bonfire with onion and garlic peels. The sisters overhear their conversation and, while the couple is asleep, they toss the skin in the fire. The Serpent Tsar wakes up and admonishes his wife. Mehrnegar begs him to forgive her, but he says he will become two pigeons she must try to capture; otherwise, Mehrnegar must wear a pair of iron shoes and walk with an iron cane until she finds a snake burrow. The girl fails in getting the birds, which escape. Mehrnegar dresses just as her husband instructed and goes on a journey; she passes by a herd of camels and a splendid garden with fruits, flowers and chirping birds - all belonging to her husband. She reaches a spring near a snake burrow and sees a servant girl coming to fetch water. She asks for a drink. The servant refuses and Mehrnegar curses the water to become pus and blood. The servant takes the water to her master, the Serpent Tsar, who sends the servant to the fountain to get clean water again. Mehrnegar gets her drink, and puts her ring on the jug. When the Serpent Tsar washes his hands with the water jug, he notices the ring. He goes back to the spring and brings his wife home. He explains to Mehrnegar that his mother is preparing his wedding to his cousin, and decides to protect his true wife by telling everyone she is an orphan in need of a job. The Serpent Tsar's mother forces Mehrnegar to give water to serpents with a sieve, and to carry a letter to her sister and trade it for scissors. The Serpent Tsar instructs his wife to compliment the objects on the way and to feed correctly the horse and the dog, get the scissors and leave as quick as possible. Finally, the Serpent Tsar's Mother places burning candles on Mehrnegar's hands, telling her to hold them until they go out. The Serpent Tsar and the false bride are led into their chambers, as Mehrnegar mourns her fate in the stables. Suddenly, her husband appears and convinces her to escape with him, saying he killed his second wife. Mehrnegar and the Serpent Tsar escape. His mother and family notice his absence and go after them. The couple escape by throwing needles, a handful of salt and a water skin, which transform into a forest, a mountain and a lake, to hinder the pursuit.

Analysis

Tale type

In his Catalogue of Persian Folktales, German scholar Ulrich Marzolph classified the tale as his type AaTh 425B, Der Tierbräutigam: Die böse Zauberin ("The Animal Bridegroom: The Evil Sorceress"). Marzolph's typing corresponds to type ATU 425B, "The Son of the Witch", of the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index. Type 425B is considered by scholarship to correspond to the ancient Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche, that is, the supernatural husband's mother forces the heroine, her daughter-in-law, to perform difficult and impossible tasks for her.

Motifs

According to Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn's study on Animal as Bridegroom tales, a characteristic motif that occurs in the "Indo-Persian" area is the heroine using a ring to signal her arrival to her husband, when she finds his location.

The heroes' magic flight

The heroine and her supernatural husband escape in a Magic Flight sequence, that is, the characters either throw magic objects to delay their pursuers, or change into other forms to deceive them. Although this episode is more characteristic of tale type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight", some variants of type ATU 425B also show it as a closing episode. German literary critic Walter Puchner argues that the motif attached itself to type 425B, as a Wandermotiv ("Wandering motif").

According to Marzolph's index, Iranian type 425B concludes with the episode the "Magic Flight": by throwing objects behind them, the heroes create magic obstacles, e.g., a pack of needles becomes a field of needles, salt creates a plain of salt, and the water creates a sea or a river.

Variants

Iran

Folklorist Margaret Mills disagrees with Jan-Öjvind's assessment in regards to the distribution of variants of the tale type in Persian language. She stated that "in [her] experience" the tale was one of the "most performed" in that language. A similar observation was given by professor Mahomed-Nuri Osmanovich Osmanov: he listed 7 versions of the tale "Змеиный Царь" ("The Serpent Tsar"), some found, for instance, in Dezful and Kashmar. In addition, according to Inge Höpfner, Iran registers many ("vielen") variants of the cycle.

Mehrinnagar and Sultan Mar

In an Iranian tale from Khorasan with the title "مهرین‌نگار و سلطان مار" ("Mehrinnagar and Sultan Mar"), an old man has three daughters, the youngest named Mehrinnagar and the most beautiful. He earns their living by gathering thorns and selling them. One day, he finds a large snake on his bundle of thorns and salutes the animal. The snake begins to talk and orders the man to give him one of his daughters. The man goes back home and tells his daughters the situation, saying that the snake will come on a certain date, when there is good weather. After hearing their father's tale, the elder two refuse to marry the snake, while the youngest agrees. On the assigned day, a retinue of snakes wait by the man's door for Mehrinnagar, who comes outside and sits on one of the snakes' back to be taken to her new home. After a while, the snakes reach a garden and bring the girl to their master inside a palace, the large snake waiting for her in a room. Suddenly, the large snake takes off his snakeskin to become a handsome youth, who warns his wife not to tell anyone, not even her parents, about this.

Time passes, and Mehrinnagar's mother and sisters pay her a visit. Seeing that their cadette is living a nice life, the sisters begin to feel envy and ask Mehrinnagar about her husband. Pushed by their words, she tells them about the youth behind the snakeskin, and they, even her mother, suggest she burns it. Later, when Sultan Mar comes home, Mehrinnagar tells him she will burn his snakeskin. He pleads with her not to do it, but, if she wants to go with it, he will turn into a bird and circle room three times, and she must catch him before he flies away. If she fails to do it, she will have to wear iron garments (dress and shoes), walk with an iron cane until they all wear down. She will also pass by herds of sheep, cows and camels which belong to him, until she finally reaches a spring, where a slave will be fetching water for him. She will curse the water for become pus and blood, and, after the slave fetches another jug, she will drop her ring inside it, which will serve to remind Sultan Mar his wife is near.

Ignoring his words of prophecy, she burns the snakeskin, and, to her surprise, it happens as he predicted: Sultan Mar turns into a bird and circles the room three times, then flies away. Mehrinnagar cannot catch him, and cries over her grave mistake. She then commissions iron garments from a blacksmith and begins her journey. Just as her husband predicted, she passes by his herds of sheep, cows and camels, and, feeling hunger, asks for some food, by the herdsmen forbid it, since the herds belong to their master, Sultan Mar. Finally, she reaches a spring with a tree nearby, and sees a slave fetching water with a jug. Mehrinnagar asks the slave for a drink of water, but the slave denies her. In anger, the girl curses the water to become pus and blood. The slave brings the water to her master, Sultan Mar, who notices that the water changed into pus and blood, and realizes his wife is nearby. He then sends the slave back to the spring and orders her to fulfill the wanderer's request. The slave goes back to the spring and gives Mehrinnagar some water to drink, and she secretly drops her ring inside the jug. The next time, the ring falls on his hands when he washes his hands, and he goes to retrieve his wife. After they meet outside, Sultan Mar explains he is a prince, kidnapped and raised by the demons, and is able to alternate between serpent and human forms.

He brings her home to his mother and introduces her to his mother as a servant. For the next days, Sultan Mar's mother forces her on hard tasks: first, she is to weep all over the floor and wash it with her eyebrows - Sultan Mar chants a spell to summon a gust of wind and a cloud of rain to fulfill the task for her. Next, the demon mother orders Mehrinnagar to go to her sister, get a sieve from there and use it to fill jugs with water. Warned by her husband, Mehrinnagar goes to his aunt's house, takes the sieve and rushes back to fill the jugs with water. Lastly, his mother betrothes him to his cousin, and she orders Mehrinnagar to hold ten candles on her fingers and illuminate her son's chamber for the whole night. Unable to avoid it, she stands and holds the candles, but curls in a corner of his room. Her husband appears to her and, uttering a magical word, creates an invisible glove around her fingers to protect her. As his bride enters the wedding chambers, Sultan Mar bemoans that his heart and soul are burning, while Mehrinnagar states that it is her fingers that are. After his bride falls asleep, Sultan Mar talks to his wife they need to escape, and tells her to get a jar, a sack of salt, and three packs of needles (one with thin, another with thick, and third with sewing needles). Then, she will have to pass by a crumbling wall and compliment it, by a crooked tree and compliment it, exchange the fodder of two animals (grass for a camel, bone for a dog), and at the end of the path, he will come and take her.

It happens as he described: while Sultan Mar kills his cousin and hides her head in a chest, Mehrinnagar passes by the strange path and tells the wall, the tree and the animals her husband's mother and aunt are after her. By treating them with kindness, Mehrinnagar is allowed to pass and finds her husband at the end of the path, and both escape, him warning her not to look back. She obeys and runs close to her husband, as his relatives chase after them. To deter the pursuit: Sultan Mar tosses the packs of needles behind them, first the thin ones, then the thick ones, and finally the sewing needles (juwaldaz). Failing that, he throws behind the salt to create a sea of salt, and finally the jug of water, which creates a sea behind them. Thinking they can cross the sea, Sultan Mar's mother and aunt try to wade through and drown. Free at last, Sultan Mar and Mehrinnagar return to their palace.

Heydar Mar and Bibi Negar

In an Iranian tale collected by researcher Hamidreza Khaza'ei from a 78-year-old informant named Soghari Golshani, from Damanjan village, in Nishabur, Khorasan with the title "حیدر مار و بی بی نگار" ("Heydar Mar and Bibi Negar"), a woodcutter lives with a wife and three daughters, cuts firewood to sell and feeds his family with the money. One day, he goes to gather more firewood and notices the bundle is strangely heavy: a snake named Heydar Mar is there. The woodcutter asks the animal to leave, and the reptile requests one of his daughters. The man returns home and explains the situation to his daughters, asking which will go with the snake: the elder two refuse, save for the youngest, Bibi Negar. The next day, the man tries to avoid the snake by going on another path. Still, the snake appears again and questions the man who chose to be with him. The snake gets his answers, and tells the man wind will blow at his house, then some rain will pour down, and he will come to fetch his bride. It happens thus and Bibi Nagar's parents prepare her for her bridegroom's coming. Some snakes appear and escort her to a garden with a large mansion in the middle. The tale then explains Heydar Mar is not snake, but a handsome youth. Some time later, Bibi Negar's aunt pays her a visit and advises her to destroy her husband's snakeskin, for one as beautiful as Bibi cannot be seen married to a snake. They try to burn the snakeskin in the oven, but the disguise does not burn. Thus, Bibi Negar asks her husband how to destroy it; he slaps her face so hard and she cries. He apologizes, and reveals: with garlic and onion skins, but warns her against it, lest she will have to look for him with a metal cane and in iron shoes, until both are worn out in her hands. Despite the warning, one day, when Heydar Mar is at the bath, Bibi Negar and her aunt gather some garlic and onion skins, take the snakeskin and burn it.

For days, weeks, and a month, Bibi Negar does not hear from her husband, who has vanishes after burning his snakeskin. She mourns for him so much one of her eyes cries tears and the other blood, and decides to find a blacksmith to commission the steel cane and iron shoes. She begins a long journey for days, passing by people threshing grains, a flock of sheep and a herd of camels - all belonging to Heydar Mar as a gift for her. Losing track of time, she reaches a place with a tree and a stream of water nearby. Suddenly, a maidservant appears with a jug to draw water. Bibi Negar asks for some water to drink, but the maidservant tells the water is for her master, Heydar Mar, to wash his hands. Bibi Negar curses the water to turn to blood when it falls on his hands, and it happens thus. Heydar Mar asks his servant about the situation, and learns of the stranger at the stream, so he sends the servant to draw more water. The next time, the maidservant fulfulls Bibi Negar's request, who drops her ring inside the jug. The maidservant then brings the jug for her master, Heydar Mar, and he notices his wife's ring, which he last saw seven years ago. The maidservant tells Heydar Mar about the stranger at the fountain, and he bids her to bring her in. Heydar Mar is set to be married to his cousin, and his grandmother and aunt will bring the bride the following day. The creatures talk to each other about the girl next to Heydar Mar, and the aunt tells her to send the girl to fetch scissors from her house, where she will devour the human girl. The next day, Heydar Mar's mother orders Bibi Negar to go to her sister's house and fetch some scissors.

Heydar Mar intercepts his human wife and advises her on how to proceed: she is to exchange the fodder between two animals (bones for a dog, straw for a camel), drink from a pond of bitter water and say it is sweet water, rest by a broken wall and compliment the shade it provides, enter his aunt's house, steal the scissors from behind the door and escape, since the creature will be sharpening her teeth to devour Bibi Negar. The girl follows his instructions to the letter, takes the scissors, and runs back. Heydar Mar's aunt walks to the roof to spy on the escaping girl and orders the wall, the pond and the animals to stop her, to no avail. Bibi Negar returns with the scissors. Earlier on the wedding date, due to her success, Heydar Mar's female relatives prepare their next trap: they will burn Bibi Negar's hands until she dies that same night. Heydar Mar overhears their plan, then goes to his human wife, recites a prayer and kisses her hands. During the wedding ceremony, Bibi Negar carries lit candles on her hands ahead of the wedding procession and complains her hands are burning, while Heydar Mar says his heart and soul are burning. Bibi Nagar's hands keep burning during the bride's henna session, then the couple retires to the Hajla. At midnight, Heydar Mar kills his cousin, then hangs her body from the roof of the house, with a basin of water underneath it, then fetches some juvaldooz, some salt, a bar of soap and a bucket of water and escapes with his human wife Bibi Nagar.

The next morning, Heydar Mar's aunt goes to check on the wedding couple, and hears something dripping, which she believes to be water. Some time later, after the sun rises, she goes to check for their tardiness and finds the bride has been killed, her blood dropping from her body. In a rage, Heydar Mar's female relatives rush after the escaping couple. When they are approaching Heydar Mar and Bibi, Heydar Mar releases the juvaldooz (juwaldaz, large sewing needles), which form a mountain of juvaldooz to hurt their feet; the rock salt to create a mountain of salt to hurt their legs; and the soap to create a mountain of soap to hinder her. Finally, as his aunt is approaching him and his wife, Heydar Mar throws the bucket of water, which creates a sea between them. On the other side of the water body, Heydar Mar's aunt asks how he crossed the water, and Heydar Mar lies that he put on some rocks and waded through. His aunts follows his suggetsions and sinks to the bottom of the sea. Heydar Mar and Bibi Negar return and celebrate a new wedding.

Other tales

In a Khorasan Turkic tale collected from a source in Bojnurd in 1973 and published in 1977, a poor man lives with his three beautiful daughters, and earns his living by gathering and selling bushes. One day, when he has finished a bundle, he tries to carry it, but it is too heavy. When he goes to check it, he finds a snake in the bushes. He tries to shoo it away, but the snake begins to talk and demands the man's elder daughter in marriage, otherwise it will devour him. The man is let go, returns home and tells his elder daughter about the situation. She refuses to marry the snake. The man returns to the snake the next day, and the animal, after the elder's refusal, tells the man to ask the middle daughter. She also refuses. The third day, the snake demands the man asks the third daughter, and she accepts. The man returns to inform the snake, which is delighted at the situation, and tells the man to come home and wait for three winds that will announce he is coming to get his bride: first, a red, then a white one, and lastly a black. The man returns home and waits for the winds to come. It happens thus, and he prepares his youngest daughter to go with a large retinue with snakes on horses that has come to fetch her. He lets his daughter go, and she departs. Some time later, the man goes to visit his daughter, worried about her, and finds their house filled with jewels, and his son-in-law, instead of a snake, has turned into a handsome male. The man returns home and his elder daughters pester him to know about their cadette. He is a bit worried about the snake biting the girls, but the duo ignore his warnings and go to their brother-in-law's house. Once there, they spot the snake coming, taking off the snakeskin to become a handsome youth, making ablutions, then returning to the snake disguise and slithering to the desert. The girls meet their sister and convince her to ask her husband how to destroy the snakeskin. When her snake husband returns home, she asks him about it; in retaliation, he slaps her, admonishing that if she does it, she will have to seek him with an iron rod and a pair of shoes. After assuaging her husband she does not plan to do so, he reveals it: burn the skin in garlic and onion peels. The elder sisters overhear it, then go to the market to buy the ingredients. That night, after he doffs the snakeskin one more time, the elder sister burn the snakeskin; the snake husband (whom the story calls "Salman") turns into a dove and flies away. The girl, named Mehrinigar, commissions the iron rod and shoes from a blacksmith and goes in search for him. She passes by a herd of chickens and a herd of cattle, which the shepherds tell belong to her husband Salman as her brideprice. Mehrinigar finally reaches a fountain and sees a girl fetching water. Mehrinigar asks for some, but the girl says it is for her brother Salman and denies her. Mehrinigar then curses the water to become blood. When Salman tries to use the water, he sees the blood and sends his sister back to the fountain, telling her to give the wanderer some water. His orders are carried out, and Mehrinigar, while drinking the water, drops her ring into it. Salman finds the ring and asks his sister to bring the wanderer inside. The couple reunite and spend some time together. Later, Salman takes his wife to a hut in a vineyard, where she finds a strange bottle: Salman explains it contains the life of his mother. Mehrinigar drops the bottle to the floor, it breaks and a storm bursts, causing them to fall asleep. When they wake, they start to live together. Professor Sultan Tulu translated the tale to Turkish, titling itYaşlı Adam ve Üç Kızı ("The Old Man and His Three Daughters"), and classified it as type ATh 425.

In another Khorasan Turkic tale, the father of three sisters remarries, and his new wife mistreats the girls. One day, they leave home and rest under a tree to talk about their marriage plans. The youngest sister declares that she will marry whomever fate sends her. A male peri that was on the tree overhears this and sends a man to ask for the girl, then takes her to the peri. The peri puts on a snakeskin disguise and goes to meet the girl, scaring off the elder sisters, but not his intended bride. The youngest girl faces the snake and the animal, in return, shows her his true face: the male peri. They spend the nights together, he puts on the snakeskin in the morning and slithers away, only to return at night. One day, the peri warns the girl not to tell anything to her elder sisters, but to lie that he is only a snake, lest he vanishes and she has to find him with an iron cane and in iron shoes. Her elder sisters appear to her and warn her that she may be bitten, for he is but a snake. The girl then reveals he is human under the snakeskin, and the peri returns to his own homeland. The girl waits for him to come back for the next nights, but he does not. After two years, remembering the peri's warnings and the ring he gave her, she buys an iron staff and a pair of iron shoes and goes after him. She passes by some people plowing the fields, then by a camel herd, and lastly by a ship docked in a port - all of it belonging to Hocahast (or Xoĵaxast), as a gift to his wife Mehrinigar. After passing the ship, she reaches a spring, where a maidservant is fetching water for her master, Hocahast. The peri master, inside the nearby house, smells a human scent on the servant, and sends her back fetch more water. Mehrinigar finds the maidservant crying and helps her with the water, then secretly drops her ring in the jug. Inside the house, Hocahast finds the ring and, realizing his wife is there, goes to meet her by the spring. They reunite, but Hocahast warns her his mother is a "giant" that will devour her, and turns his wife into a pin with a prayer. He then returns inside. His giantess mother appears and smells something human. Hocahast asks his mother to swear on Prophet Suleiman before he introduces Mehrinigar to her. The giantess makes the vow, and Hocahast turns his wife back into human form. After a while, the giantess decides to send Mehrinigar to her sister. Before she goes there, Hocahast intercepts her and advises her on how to proceed: she will find a crumbling wall which she is to compliment and sit nearby it; then, she is to exchange the fodder for two animals (bone for a dog, grass for a camel), open a closed door and close an open one, and finally, when meeting his aunt, she is to circle her as a demonstration of respect. Mehrinigar does as instructed: she exchanges the animals' fodder, opens the doors, compliments the wall, and finds his aunt. Hocahast's aunt notices she must have been told what to do, but, regardless, orders her to take some things and bring to her sister. Mehrinigar fulfills the order and rushes back to her mother-in-law's house. Hocahast's aunt then orders the objects and animals to stop her, but they remain still. Hocahast's mother is satisfied with her daughter-in-law's efforts, and tells Hocahast to take her for a stroll amidst the vineyard, but they must not enter the hut. In the vineyard, Mehrinigar sees the hut and wants to know what it is inside. She opens the door and finds a bottle inside; she tries to grab it, but it slips her hands and crashes on the floor. Hocahast's mother dies instantly, for the bottle contained her "life". Now free, Mehrinigar and Hocahast live in happiness. Professor Sultan Tulu translated the tale to Turkish language, titling it Üç kızkardeş ("Three Sisters"), and classified it as type ATh 425.

See also

• Grünkappe
• Khastakhumar and Bibinagar
• The Snake-Prince Sleepy-Head
• Yasmin and the Serpent Prince

References

Category:Iranian fairy tales Category:Persian fairy tales Category:Male characters in fairy tales Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Fictional trees Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:ATU 400-459

The Tale of Aftab (Azerbaijani folktale) / Azeri ATU 425B

The Tale of Aftab (Azerbaijani: Aftabın nağılı) is an Azerbaijani fairy tale, about a maiden that marries a man under a snakeskin disguise, breaks the secret about his identity and has to search for him, eventually finding him at his mother's house, where she is forced to perform difficult tasks for her.

The tale is related to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, in that a heroine marries a supernatural husband in animal shape, loses him, and has to seek him out. It is also classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type 425B, "Son of the Witch", thus distantly related to the Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche.

Summary

In this tale, a brother and a sister live together, the brother goes hunting and leaves his sister at home. One day, he hunts some game and prepares its heart, when a snake appears and coils around it. The youth is afraid, and the snake begins to talk and demands his sister Pəri as his bride, lest the snake kills him, and he makes sure of fulfilling the threat even if the youth hides in the depths of the earth or up in the sky. The youth returns home with the hunt and tells Pəri the snake threatened to kill him if Pəri does not consent with the snake's proposal. Pəri decides to go with the snake, and her brother delivers her to the animal, which is awaiting by the spring. Ten days later, the youth decides to see how his sister is doing, and goes to the spring, finding instead a castle where nothing was there previously. Pəri welcomes him and says Aftab is a human being under the snakeskin, so her brother asks her how can they destroy his snakeskin. He calls for other brothers and sisters and they prepare the tandoor to burn the animal disguise, but Aftab appears and warns them not to do it, since she will regret it. Aftab leaves for a month and Pəri's family burns the snakeskin in a tandoor. Aftab discovers the deed and admonishes his wife, saying that she will only find him again by wearing iron shoes and walking with an iron scepter.

Pəri follows after her husband in iron garments, and wanders the world until she reaches a spring, where a maidservant is fetching water. The maidservant explains she is bringing water to Aftab, since he fell in love with a human and now his body is burning after they burned his snakeskin. Pəri drops her ring into the jug, which the maidservant brings to Aftab. Aftab recognizes the ring when the water drops it in his hands, then asks his mother if a human was to come to their house, would she devour them? His mother promises not to do it, and Aftab orders the maidservant to bring the person at the spring. It happens thus, and Aftab recognizes his human wife, Pəri. Despite his mother promising not to harm her, she devises ways to kill her: first, she gives Pəri a pair of scissors that do not cut and orders her to deliver it down the mountain. Aftab intercepts his wife and tells her to drop the scissors there, fetch some clothes and rush back up the mountani. Pəri does as instructed, steals the clothes and makes her way up the mountain, with some voices echoing threats at her. Aftab's mother suspects the task was not Pəri's doing, but her son's, and gives her an ax with an order to go into the forest and bring back forty camel loads of firewood. Aftab tells Pəri to enter the forest and shout that Aftab is getting married, and needs forty loads of firewood in camels. Pəri does as instructed and forty camels come from the forest carrying bundles of firewood on their backs.

Thirdly, Aftab's mother tells Pəri to go to her sister and ask for the dastarkhan ("dəstərxanı") and the frying pan ("tavasını") for the wedding. Aftab intercepts Pəri and advises her how to proceed: pass by a thornbush and compliment it, compliment a river of white water, compliment a pool of black water by saying she would bathe and swim in it, reach his aunt's house and ask for the dastarkhan and the pan; while she goes to another room to sharpen her teeth, she is to steal the objects and rush back. Pəri follows his instructions to the letter and steals the dartarkhan and the pan, as his aunt commands her servants to stop the girl, to no avail. Finally, Aftab's mother arranges his wedding to his cousin, and places candles on Pəri's slippers, for she will illuminate the wedding couple. Pəri suffers for the burning on her feet, when Aftab beheads his cousin and throws her head across the room, takes his human wife and both escape from his mother's house. The next morning, Aftab's mother finds her niece dead and the couple gone, and sends her daughters after their brother. On the road, Aftab and Pəri transform themselves to trick their pursuers: first, into a chicken (him) with its chicks (her); then, into a Mollah (him) and a house (her); lastly, into a melon patch (her) and a garden keeper (him).

Analysis

Tale type

Azerbaijani scholarship indexes the tale as the Azerbaijani tale type 428, "Div qarısının qulluğunda" ("In the service of the Div woman"). In the Azeri type, the heroine marries a snake who is a human youth underneath it; convinced by her sisters, she burns his snakeskin and he vanishes; she dons iron shoes and goes after him, eventually finding him at the house of the Div woman, to whom she has to perform difficult tasks; with her husband's help, the heroine fulfills the tasks, then both flee in a transformation sequence, their third transformation a flower (the heroine) and a snake coiled around it (the snake husband).

The Azerbaijani tale corresponds, in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, as tale type ATU 425B, "Son of the Witch": the heroine marries a man in animal shape, betrays his secret and seeks his out; after a long journey, she finds him at his mother's house, where she is forced to perform difficult tasks for her, which she accomplishes with her husband's secret help.

Motifs

The heroes' Magic Flight

According to Christine Goldberg, some variants of the type 425B show as a closing episode "The Magic Flight" sequence, a combination that appears "sporadically in Europe", but "traditionally in Turkey". Although this episode is more characteristic of tale type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight", some variants of type ATU 425B also show it as a closing episode. German literary critic Walter Puchner argues that the motif attached itself to type 425B, as a Wandermotiv ("Wandering motif").

Variants

Shamsi-Kamar

In an Azeri tale published by Azeri folklorist Hənəfi Zeynallı with the title "Шамси-Камар" ("Shamsi-Kamar" or "Sun-Moon"), by analysing the ripeness of three melons, the king notices it is past time to marry his three daughters, so he organizes a contest: his daughters should cast three arrows at random, see where they land and marry the man that lives wherever the arrows land on. The two elders marry the son of a vizier and the son of a "vekila", while the youngest's arrow lands on a bush. The princess is dressed up and made to wait by the bush. A snake crawls out of the bush, summons a house and bids her enter. He takes off his scales, reveals he is a human named Shamsi-Kamar, and warns that the secret must stay between them, otherwise he will disappear and she must wear down a pair of iron shoes and walk with an iron cane. Her family visits her and she tells her mother the secret of the snake skin. Her mother takes the animal skin and throws it in the fire. Shamsi-Kamar enters the room, admonishes his wife and disappears. The princess follows his instructions and wanders the world for seven years, until her pair of iron shoes is worn out. Nearby, she sees some servant girls fetching water for their master, Shamsi-Kamar. The princess drops her ring on a jug that is taken to her husband, and he notices it. He brings her home on the pretense of having her as a maid. His father, then, orders her to fetch firewood in the forest. Her husband teaches her how to perform it: she must go to the woods and shout out that Shamsi-Kamar has died, and the firewood is for his pyre. That night, his father marries Shamsi-Kamar to another girl, but the prince goes to the kitchen, heats up two cauldrons of water, takes them and pours the scalding hot water on his second wife. He and the princess then escape on horses back to her kingdom. At the end of the tale, his family runs after them, but, on not finding them, return home empty-handed. The compiler classified the tale as type 425, and located its source as collected in 1930, in Nakhkray (Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic).

The Tale of Snake Son Mirzabey and the Shah's Daughter

In an Azeri tale titled İlan oğlan Mirzəbəy və Şah qızının nağılı ("The Tale of Snake Son Mirzabey and the Shah's Daughter")

The Woodcutter's Daughter

In an Azeri tale from Nakhchivan with the title Odunçu qızı ("The Woodcutter's Daughter"), a widowed man has three daughters. He earns his living by gathering firewood in the wilderness to sell it. One day, he finds a snake on his bundle ("şələni") and thinks the animal just came for a sleep. Suddenly, the snake begins to talk and demands one of the man's daughters. The man agrees to bring one the next morning, but in actuality ignores the snake's words and takes another route for fire wood the next day. Still, he finds the same snake, which makes the same demand. The man returns home and explains the situation to his daughter: the elder two refuse to go with the snake, while the youngest agrees to go with the snake. The man takes his cadette to the place where he met the snake, and instead of the animal, they find a man coming at their direction. The man takes the girl with him and they enter a large house, the palace of the divs. The snake, in human form, brings the girl with him to the palace. The tale explains he is the son of a div (a giantess) and her been betrothed to his aunt's daughter. He gives her a broom and advises her to agree to do whatever his mother asks of her, but to call on him. The div mother orders the girl to bring the broom with her, and orders the girl to sweep the floor for her son's wedding, in a way that no place is wet and no place is dry in equal measure. After the div mother leaves, the snake man uses his powers to summon a light rain and a gust of wind to fulfill the task. The dev mother suspects her son did it, but accepts the result of the task. Later, she writes a letter to her dev sister with a message to eat the human when she arrives there, then gives the letter to the girl to be delivered to the dev sister, and ask for tambourine. The snake man intercepts the girl, reads the letter, and advises her to deliver the letter and, when his aunt is distracted sharpening her teeth, she is to take the tambourine from a shelf and rush back. The girl does as instructed, and the dev aunt shouts at her to return. Finally, the dev mother arranges her son's wedding to his cousin: she pins the human girl to the wall, casts a spell to hold her in that position and places a candle between her fingers, so that the candle melts and the girl burns. The dev family brings the snake man's cousin and they marry. At night, the snake man undoes his mother's spell on the human girl, pins his cousin to the wall and makes her hold the candle, then escapes with the girl. The next morning, the dev family finds the couple gone and the cousin burnt to cinders, and chase after them. On the road, the snake man and the girl realize they are being pursued and transform into other objects to deceive them: first, into a stump (the girl) and a snake coiled around it (the man); next, into a pool (him) and a flower floating on it (the girl). His dev family fails to find them, and the couple make their way through the desert into a locked castle.

They cannot enter the castle, but the girl utters aloud "let me be dead", and enters the castle, the snake man remaining outside. The girl searches around the castle and finds a youth lying as if dead, and an inscription saying that, if she reads a book nonstop for 40 days, the youth will be revived. The girl sets herself to the task for 39 days, when she begins to tire and sights a bald girl drawing some water nearby. The girl hires the bald girl to cover her for the remaining time, while she goes to sleep a bit. The bald girl reads the final pages of the book, accomplishing the task; the youth mistakes her for his saviour. He then goes to the market, and asks both girl what he should buy then: the girl requests a sharp knife and a stone of patience. The youth buys them at the market and brings them to the girl. The girl finds a spot under a tree and begins to pour out her woes to the stone: about her adventures with the snake man, the escape from the div and finally the vigil at the castle. When she is ready to kill herself with the knife, the youth stops her in the nick of time and recognizes her as his true saviour.

Back to the girl's father, he decides to look for her, and wanders the deserts in search of her. He reaches a place with two children playing about - his grandchildren, born of his daughter. The children welcome the old man in and his daughter recognizes him as her father. She invites him to a meal and places a knife on the table. The old man recognizes the knife as his daughter's, which his host confirms, and admits she is his long-lost daughter. They embrace.

Snake Son

In a Azerbaijani tale titled İlan oğlan ("Snake Son") --> Aarne-Andreyev 440 + AA 428 (tasks for witch)

• İlan oğlan - the snake son turns his wife into an apple tree and himself into a snake coiled around it.

The Youngest Daughter

Azerbaijani literary critic Ehliman Ahundov collected an Azeri tale titled Küçük Bacı ("The Youngest Daughter"), translated to Turkish as Kiçik Bacı ("The Youngest Daughter"), sourced from Fuzuli rayonu. In this tale, a king has three daughters, the elder married to a vizier's son, the middle one to a politician's son, and the youngest still unmarried. One day, a little dog comes which she pets and feeds it for two days. When the little animal does not show up on the third day, she feels downcast, and the king forbids her from approaching the dog again, ordering her governess to inform him if it does so. The next time, the dog comes again, which the king threatens to kill. The princess intercedes in the animal's favour and is banished for her efforts. The girl and the dog move out to a cavern, where three other dogs are, and the pack hunts food for them. One day, the princess finds a handsome youth near the entrance of the cave: he says he is the dog, but his true form is that of the human-like son of the king of the fairies, named Hesenzard. The elder princesses go to look for their cadette and find her in the cave. She tells them about the fairy prince, and the elder sister suggest she burns the dogskin. After they leave, the princess asks Hesenzard how to burn the dogskin: with onion peels. The princess burns it, Hesenzard turns into a dove and admonishes her, saying that she will only find him again if she wears out iron shoes and an iron cane bends, then flies away. The princess commissions the iron garments and begins her long journey. After seven years, the princess notices the iron apparel is worn out and reaches a fountain, where a maidservant is fetching water for Hesenzard. The princess asks for some water to drink and drops a ring inside it. Hesenzard recognizes the ring when it drops on his hands and he goes to meet the princess near the fountain. They reunite, he turns her into an apple and brings her inside. He meets his grandmother and introduces the princess. The grandmother, of an evil nature, begins to order the princess: first, she is to sweep the floor with a beaded broom and not lose any, and wash the door and the chimney with her tears, in a way that the drops do not touch each other. Hesenzard summons a group of servants to fulfill the task for her. Next, the grandmother orders her to fulfill sacks with bird feathers: Hesenzard advises her to climb a mountain, summon the birds and tell them Hesenzard is getting married, and the birds will give them their feathers. During the night, Hesenzard teaches his human wife some verses that will calm his grandmother down. The next day, the woman gives a bar of soap and a black felt and orders the princess to wash it white - Hesenzard casts a spell for the felt to change colours. The grandmother then gives the princess a letter to be given to her sister and trade it for a "gаvalı" ("kavalı", 'pipe') - a trap, since the letter contains a command to eat the princess. Hesenzard intercepts his wife, warns her it is a trap, and advises her to proceed: compliment a stream of black water, compliment a stream of white water, compliment the water droplets dropping from the roof, open a closed door and shut an open one, fold an unfolded carpet and unfold a folded one, exchange the fodders between two animals (oats for a horse, bone for a dog), give a thread to a person, deliver the letter and, while she is distracted, steal the gаvalı and rush back.

The princess follows the instructions to the letter, steals the gаvalı and rushes back, the grandmother's sister commanding her servants to stop the princess, to no avail. For the next task, the woman orders the princess to plant a tree to reach the Heavens. Hesenzard casts a spell and the tree sprouts. When they are climbing the tree, Hesenzard kills the false bride and escapes with his human wife. On the road, they turn into a mountain of salt (the princess) and a mountain of blades (Hesenzard), a garden (the princess) and a garden-keeper (Hesenzard). The false bride's sisters plucks a pear and accidentally bites off three fingers from the princess's hand. After the creature leaves, Hesenzard restores the princess's fingers and they return to the cave.

See also

• Grünkappe
• Habrmani
• The Snake-Prince Sleepy-Head
• Yasmin and the Serpent Prince

References

Category:Azerbaijani fairy tales Category:Male characters in fairy tales Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Fictional snakes Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:ATU 400-459

The Donkey's Head (Turkish folktale) / Turkish ATU 425D

Variants

Turkish ATU 425D / Gül Ali

In a Turkish tale collected from a source in Manisa with the title Gül Ali, an old couple suffers for not having children. One day, the husband prays for a son, even if he is a snake. Thus one is born to them. They raise the snake as their son, but hide him on the upper floor of their house, and the snake accompanies his father in fetching firewood. One day, the snake son slithers away from home and sights a beautiful girl taking a bath, falling in love with her. He returns home and his parents ask him what is the matter. The snake son says he is in love with the padishah's daughter, and their parents remark he is a snake. Still, he asks his father to woo her on his behalf. The father goes to talk to the padishah, who agrees to the marriage, but orders him to prepare a large garden of roses and flowers, like a sea, between their houses. The snake asks his father to go to a certain rock he used to slither on and say that Gül Ali sends his regards, with some oil and bread. The father does and brings the oil with bread, which he is advised to dip in the oil, and a palace appears overnight. The padishah then orders a palace to be built for his daughter. The snake son sends his father to the same rock and asks him to find four sticks, which he uses to build the palace. Lastly, the padishah asks for a large wedding procession with forty horses, which the snake son, called Gül Ali, also provides with the help from the rock. The snake son is brought to the princess on the wedding night and begins to talk. The princess faints, but regains her consciousness. The snake son asks the princess to keep his secret, which the princess agrees to do, and removes his snakeskin to become a handsome youth. As time goes on, the padishah visits his daughter and wants to see his son-in-law, but the princess dismissively says he is elsewhere. Thus, the padishah organizes a tournament in hopes of him coming. Gül Ali, in snake form, tells his wife not to tell he will come as a contestant on a white horse. At the tournament, the princess is asked about her husband, and points to the white knights, saying he is her husband. On doing this, the ground shakes, Gül Ali vanishes, and so does everything he provided. Meanwhile, elsewhere, a man is preparing to take his elderly father to see a doctor. The princess asks her father to build a hospital, where people can attend and give news of her husband. Back to the father and son duo, they stop to rest on a fountain and see a bird entering a rock. After the third time, the man leaves his father by the fountain and enters the rock, where he hears that "Gül Ali still has fourteen scars out of fifteen to be healed". The man takes his father to the princess's hospital in search of a doctor and tell her about the fountain and the rock where he heard the name Gül Ali. The princess asks to be taken there, and leaves the hospital to the duo. The princess and the man go by the fountain, but they must wait a hundred years. After the elapsed time, they see a person with a raven entering a rock; after the third time, the princess enter the rock and hears about Gül Ali waiting for three of his four scars to be healed. The princess says she has come for Gül Ali and he appears to her. Upon reuniting, the palace and the garden of roses reappear.

In a Turkish tale collected from a source in Manisa with the title Gül Ali, a couple has no son, so the wife prays to God to have a son, even if he is a snake. Thus, a snake is born to them. They raise the snake son in secret and hide him in a room above their bed. He helps his human father in gathering firewood. Years later, during an outing, the snake son is crawling when he sights a beautiful girl near the river, and falls in love with her. He returns home and tells his parents he is in love: with the sultan's daughter. The snake's fathers replies that the sultan will not marry his daughter to snake, but goes to meet the sultan with his son's proposal. The king agrees to marry their children, but orders some suitor's tasks first: first, he wants a beautiful place between his palace and the couple's house, with roses and fishes. The man returns and reports to his snake son, who directs his father to a certain stone under which he used to crawl, where he is to ask for someone to perform the task for him and send them "Gül Ali"'s regards, after giving some bread and oil to the person. The man follows his son's instructions, and a garden appears overnight. The sultan then orders the man to build a palace overnight. The second time, the snake son sends his father to the same stone to ask for four sticks, which the snake son uses to fulfill the task. Finally, the sultan asks the suitor brings a retinue of forty people and forty horses. The snake son directs his father to the same rock, and the task is fulfilled. The sultan's daughter is brought to her mysterious husband, and, when the snake introduces himself, she faints. She comes to and talks to the snake, who asks her to keep quiet about the secret he is about to show her, lest he vanishes and everything he owns disappears: he takes off his snakeskin and becomes a handsome youth. Her father later visits his daughter and asks about his son-in-law, to which the princess replies he is hunting. Later, the monarch organizes a tournament, which the snake husband says he will attend as a human in white garments, but the princess is to keep his identity a secret. During the event, people pester the princess about her husband, and she points to the knight in white clothes as her husband. Suddenly, an earthquake erupts, and everyhing disappears. The snake husband admonishes his wife for this betrayal, and vanishes. The princess asks the snake son's parents about his location, but they also do not know where their son went. Thus, the princess asks him to build a hospital, where people can tell her news of her husband. Meanwhile, a boy is taking his old father to a doctor, when he stops next to a fountain. As the old man is sleeping, the boy notices a crow flying nearby and follows it through a cave. Inside the cave, a voice echoes from within saying that Gül Ali still has fourteen out of fifteen scars to heal. The boy returns to his father and both go to the princess's hospital. They tell of the strange happenings and the princess asks the boy to be taken there. The boy and the princess find the fountain and follow the crow to a cave, after they wait a hundred years. The duo find the cave and the same voice echoes from within: Gül Ali still has three scars remaining out of four. The princess announces she is looking for Gül Ali. Her husband appears before her, and they embrace.

In a Turkish tale collected in Ereğli with the title Allah’ın Verdiği Yılan Evlat ("God-Given Snake Son"),

Iberian ATU 425B (Son of the Witch)

Spanish ATU 425B (Son of the Witch)

• 1. Campos, Camiño Noia (2021). Catalogue of Galician Folktales. Folklore Fellows Communications. Vol. 322. Helsinki: Kalevala Society. ISBN 978-952-9534-01-2.

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• 2. Oriol, Carme; Josep M. Pujol (2008). Index of Catalan Folktales. Folklore Fellows’ Communications 294. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia. pp. __. ISBN 978-951-41-1014-6

• 3. González Sanz, Carlos. Catálogo Tipológico de Cuentos Folklóricos Aragoneses. Zaragoza: Instituto Aragonés de Antropología, 1996.

6 variants in Catalonia, 6 in Mallorca, 1 in Eivissa

In a Catalan tale published by Joan Amades with the title La filadora ("The Weaver"), an old woman lives with her daughter, who goes to the forest to fetch wood to make their distaffs and spindles. A doctor ('metge') passes by their house, drawn by the smell of burning wood, and finds the duo's house. He asks them where they found the wood, since he could cure hundreds of sick people. The weaving mother-daughter pair explain they find it in the forest, and the doctor tells them to bring him the wood, and they would not have to worry about spinning ever again. Thus, the daughter goes to the forest to fetch "fusta santa" ('sacred wood') and sells it to him. One day, she goes to pluck some bushes from the ground, when a voice complains that she is plucking some of its hairs. Suddenly, a giant serpent appears to her and threatens to devour her. The girl, afraid, explains the situation, and the serpent understands it, but demands her live with it for a long time. The girl agrees to accompany the serpent to save her mother, and both go down an opening in the ground until they reach a splendid glass palace, which the serpent says it belongs to the girl. The girl eats from a large banquet set on a table, and sleeps on a ornate bed, although she senses someone in bed by her side, but, when she moves to touch them, something stops her. This goes on for a whole year, when the serpent asks her if she is happy living there. The girl says she is fortunate to not want for nothing and not having to spin for a living, but she misses her mother. The serpent then allows her to visit her old mother, cautioning her not to say anything to anyone, lest misfortune falls on her. The girl returns home and her mother is happy to see her, then refrains from asking where she has been. However, the girl's grandmother bothers her with questions, until she relents and tells someone comes to bed at night. Her grandmother produces a holy candle and gives it to her, to be lit after he sleeps next to her. The girl then returns to the serpent's palace and goes to sleep, the serpent after her. By midnight, the girl wakes up, lights up the candle and shines its light on her mysterious bedmate: a handsome prince, whose features she admires for moments on end. A drop of wax falls on his face, and the earth suddenly shakes: the palace disappears, and the girl is left alone in next to the bushes, and the serpent. The reptile admonishes her, but gives her three skeins of red thread, advising her to tie the first skein to a tree and follow it until it extinguishes, then repeat the procedure with the next two, and find her fate wherever the skeins are unrolled. The girl does as instructed and, after exhausting the three skeins, reaches a palace, where she hires herself as a servant. In time, she becomes the queen's confidante, who trusts her about her missing son. Whenever the queen and the girl talk, a little pigeon flies next to them. The girl notices a pin on the bird's head and removes it, it turns into a prince - the same prince who slept next to her. The prince then explains he was cursed into serpent form for seven years and he was close to turning back to human shape, before the girl betrayed him and he had to suffer a second transformation. At last, he is restored to human form for good and marries the girl.

Catalan 428/ATU 425B

List of the Catalan tales of the type:

• El castell d'entorn i no entorn
• La filadora
• Les pedres del cap del món [117]
• Es Negret
• El Geperut i la Marieta
• La Fada Morgana (Alcover)
• La Reina Joana (Amades)
• Na Juana i la Fada Mariana (Alcover)
• La donzella Rosana i la vella Mariana (Amades)
• La Fada Morgana (Macabich)
• En Beuteusell (Alcover)

[118] [119]

In a Catalan tale published by Joan Amades with the title Les pedres del Cap del Món, heroine Maria asks her father to bring her three roses. The girl takes the roses and tosses them in the fire, one at a time. The first rose summons the image of a handsome prince who bids her talk to him, but she remains silent. The image then tells her to find him at the "Pedres del Cap del Món" and vanishes. Maria then tosses the second flower into the fire, which also produces a prince, and finally the third one. Each image bids him talk to her, and still she does not react to them, and they tell her to find them again at the same location: at the stones at the end of the world. Maria falls in love with the first prince she summoned, and decides to search for the location they mentioned: she journeys far and wide, until she reaches a mountaintop with three large stones. Believing she has found her destination, she begins to cry. Suddenly, the first prince comes out of the stone and comforts Maria, advising her to reach a nearby house by the shore and find work there as a maidservant. Maria does as instructed and hires herself at the house, where an old lady lives. Maria is so hardworking, she earns the old lady's trust and the the jealous ire of the other hundred servants. Driven by jealousy, the servants lie to their employer that Maria boasted she herself could wash the clothes for a hundred maids in one morning. Maria tries to deny having done so, but the old lady threatens to imprison her. Maria then goes to cry at the foot of the large stones, and the prince appears again. After learning of Maria's ordeal, he advises her to go to the shore and cry out for all the birds, which will appear to help her in the task. Maria goes to the shore and summons the birds, and many species of birds appear to do the task for her. After a month, the envious maidservants lie to the old lady Maria promised to sew five dresses for each of the maids and a hundred more for her. Once again, Maria is forced to obey the old lady and perform the false task. Maria goes to cry at the stones, again; the same youth appears out of the rock and advises Maria to return to the river and summon the birds again, which will help her. Maria does as asked and hundreds, thousands of birds of many species come to help Maria spin, sew and weave more than six hundred clothes for the old lady and the other maidservants. The old lady is so surprised at Maria's dilligence she allows Maria to have her favourite meal, to the other maidservants' greater jealousy. As a final task, the maidservants lie to the old lady Maria can bring her lost sons back. Maria goes to cry at the stones, and the same youth appears to her with instructions: Maria is to ask the old lady, who is his mother, to gather all local maidens, dress them in white and order them in a procession, and have them carry lit atxas, which cannot be put out, lest the youths cannot be disenchanted. Maria rushes to tell the old lady her son's instructions: they gather the maidens and order them to form a procession and circle the stones three times. As soon as the girls make the third round, a sudden strong wind blows out Maria's atxa. She curses the wind, and suddenly the large stones revert back to three youths, the same youths Maria saw when she burnt the three roses in her fireplace. The youngest youth then explains the three are brothers whom a sorcerer cursed into stones and to whom gave three beautiful red roses, and they could only be disenchanted if a girl named Maria cursed near the stones; believing Maria could save them, that is why they helped her by sending the birds, which they "rule and command", and thus she can choose which youth she wants to marry. Amades sourced the tale from an informant in Barcelona named Maria de la Castanya, in 1922. In his monograph about Cupid and Psyche, Jan-Öjvind Swahn classified the Amades's tale as his subtype 425A of his analysis, that is, "Cupid and Psyche", being the "oldest" and containing the episode of the witch's tasks. In the international index, however, Swahn's typing is indexed as type ATU 425B, "The Son of the Witch".

In a Catalan tale published by Joan Amades with the title El geperut i la Marieta ("The Hunchback and Marieta"), translated to French as Le Bossu et la Mariette ("The Hunchback and Marietta"), a poor woman and her daughter are starving and decide to pluck some figs from a fig tree guarded by an evil-looking old hunchback. One day, they are stealing the figs, when, fearing for the hunchback, the woman tells her daughter to bury her near the tree, leaving only her ear visible, and flee, and only return after the hunchback is not in sight. The girl does as asked and leaves her mother there. The hunchback pulls out the woman by the ear, thinking it is a mushroom, and the woman begs for forgiveness. The hunchback agrees, but makes a deal with her: he will return in a year and a day to take Marietta with him. After a year and a day, when Marietta is walking back home, she is approached by the hunchback, who tells her to remind her mother of their deal. After three days, Marietta's mother agrees to surrender the girl to the hunchback. The hunchback then takes Mariette to a mansion where seven woman live with a daughter, to be their servant. The hunchback also tells Marietta can summon his help by sitting in the shade of three pine trees. The woman then order Marietta to bring water from the Seven Fountains, for Pétronille to wash her face. Marietta does not know where to go to find the Seven Fountains, and summons the hunchback by sitting near the pine tree. The hunchback appears, is told about the task, then provides her with the water. For the next task, the old women give Marietta a bag full of dark wool, which she is to wash white. The girl summons the hunchback, who takes the bag of wool, goes to the river, and returns with white wool. The ladies, noticing that Marietta is performing the tasks, decide to give her a truly impossible one: going to their aunt Maria and fetch the chalumeau for Pétronille's wedding. The hunchback is summoned again and advises Marietta how to proceed: ask a river if it wants to wash the clohtes of king Jeannet; ask a wall of brambles if it wants to dry the clothes of king Jeannet, throw a calabash filled with milk to a den of serpents, throw a handful of dry earth to some frogs; grease the hinges of two large doors; enter a manor, enter a large dining room, but eat nothing, steal a little box ("cassette"), grab a bread from the table and toss it to a dog, and rush back without opening the box. Mariette goes back to the seven ladies' mansion to fetch the provisions (a calabash with milk, dry earth and grease), then makes her way to Midi: she asks the river like the hunchback taught her, and it opens up to let her pass, just as she the wall of brambles; she then gives the milk to the snakes and the dry earth to the frogs, greases the doors, enters the manor and fetches the box. Suddenly, a dog appears to stop Marietta, but she tosses a bread from the dining room table to the dog. Marietta rushes back with the box, as the dog commands the doors, the frogs and the snakes to stop her, to no avail. After crossing the river and the bramble, Marietta stops to rest, and decides to look into the box: she opens its lid and a green bird flies out of it. The hunchback appears to her and chastises for opening the box, then says he must grab the bird, for it will save them both, if Marietta listens to its instructions. The hunchback captures the bird and gives it to Marietta, who promptly delivers it to the ladies. Later that night, the ladies orders Marietta to set the table for the upcoming feast, when the bird reminds the girl she forgot the salt shaker, which she also places on the table. The green bird also tells Marietta she will be brought to the henhouse to guess which rooster crowed, to mark Pétronille's wedding hour, but she is not to answer anything. It happens thus, and Marietta is brought to the henhouse with a creuset (a type of torch), and she listens to the crowing of the roosters in silent. The following morning, the youngest of the seven ladies, pitying Marietta, asks her niece Pétronille to cover for the girl, and replace her in holding the torch inside the henhouse. Pétronille obeys and replaces Mariette in holding up the torch. Meanwhile, the oldest of the ladies, who is Pétronille's mother, utters a spell so that the person holding up the torch dies. To her surprise, Pétronille drops dead. Her mother, realizing her mistake, grabs Marietta's neck to break it, but the hunchback appears behind the lady and wrings her neck, rescuing Marietta. Suddenly, thunder erupts, the earth shakes, and the manor with the seven ladies disappears. The hunchback turns back into a handsome prince, who tells Marietta the ladies cursed him into the form, and he would only be released if Pétronille and her mother died. Marietta agrees to marry the prince. According to Amades, the tale was collected in 1922, from a source in Barcelona named Remei Margarit i Cantarell de Rafeques.

In a tale collected by Catalan folklorist Francisco Maspons y Labrós with the title Espigueta de Mill, a man lives in poverty and has seven daughters. He marries the elder six off, and lets the seventh stay with him. One day, when he is walking with his youngest, he sights the queen, who is crying. The queen, who has lost a son to an enchantment, asks the man about his daughter's name (Espigueta de Mill) and asks if he would let her work for her. The man agrees and delivers Espigueta de Mill to the queen, who takes the girl to her castle. Espigueta de Mill is courteous and hardworking, which earns her the jealousy of the queen's other maidservants. Some time later, the maidservants lie to the queen Espigueta boasted she could wash, mend and iron the clothes of the entire palace. The queen sends for Espigueta and orders her to fulfill the false boast. Espigueta goes to cry in her room, when an angelic youth appears by the window and gives her a wand of virtue, with which she could summon any number of helpers. Espigueta uses the powers of the wand and summons many helpers to fulfill the task for her. Next, the maidservants tell the queen Espigueta promised to bring back the queen's missing son. Espigueta goes to cry in her room, when the same angel appears to her and advises her to request a carriage, a white lamb, some wool, a beehive and a bag of brooms. The next day, the girl is given the items and journeys to search for the missing prince. Just as she begins her path, a pack of wolves attack her, to which she throws the lamb. Then, she throws a beehive to a swarm of bees and meets an old woman sweeping the floor with an old broom, to whom she gives the brooms. In gratitude, the old woman tells Espigueta to walk towards a illuminated palace in the distance and only enter when its guards have their eyes open, for it means they are asleep. Espigueta enters the palace by passing the sleeping guards and searches every room for the prince, eventually finding him in a cursed state in the last room: the prince has been turned into a wooden plank and placed on a bed surrounded by bells. Espigueta uses the wool to muffle the bells and escapes with the wooden object. The guards wake up and command the old woman, the bees and the wolves to stop her, but they answer the guards the girl has provided them with much needed objects, and for this they will let her pass through. Espigueta rushes back to the queen's palace; the prince is disenchanted and marries Espigueta, and the jealous maidservants are hanged for their wickedness.

In a Catalan language tale collected from informant Na Concepció Ribas, from Palma, with the title En Beuteusell, Na Catalineta's mother goes to steal some gold and silver from an old fairy, but the fairy discovers her and makes the woman promise to surrender Na Catalineta to her. The girl, named Na Catalineta, goes to work for the fairy and meets her fairy son, named en Beuteusell, who advises the human girl to call out for him whenever she finds herself in trouble. First, the fairy woman orders Na Catalineta to fill three mattresses with bird feathers. The girl summons Beuteusell to help her, and he summons the birds to give them their feathers. After her task is accomplished, the fairy confronts Na Catalineta about meeting Beuteusell, but the girl denies it.

Murcia

Spanish academic Ángel Hernandez Fernandez abstracted the common traits from a tale from Jumilla and another from Cartagena (both located in the Region of Murcia), and developed a tale type from the region with the same typing, ATU 425B. In his system of Murcian folktales, type 425B, El pájaro ayudante ("The helpful bird"), the heroine leaves home to escape mistreatment from her step-family and finds employment in a castle. There, the queen, based on false claims by the other servants, forces the heroine on difficult tasks, which she accomplishes with the help of a bird (that may be changed into a prince at the end of the story).

In a tale from Jumilla collected by researcher Pascuala Morote Magán with the title Pajarito Verde ("Little Green Bird"), a girl finds a bird who gives her a mantilla and a teja (a tile), and she leaves home from her step-family to work in the king's castle. One day, the queen gives her a bottle to fill with birds' tears. The girl summons the little green bird to help her, and he orders all birds to come and cry over the bottle. Next, the queen asks her to find a ring she lost in the sea: the bird summons the fishes, one speckled, the second white, and the third green, and she brings the queen's ring. Thirdly, the queen orders her to go to the castle of Irás y No Volverás. The little green bird advises her how to reach it: she will find an ox eating meat and a wolf eating hay, which she is to place for the right animal; then, she will find a woman cleaning an oven with a boja (a sort of stone), whom she is to give a stick to help her; lastly, she is to enter the castle only when a woman is sleeping with her eyes open, get the caja de los caudales, and escape. The girl takes the box and its keeper wakes up, ordering the woman at the oven and the animals to stop her, but they remain still. On the way back, she enters the church where the king's son was asleep with candles on his toes and crashes into the altar.

In a Murcian tale collected in Sierra de Mazarrón with the title La Tierra de Ifre ("The Land of Ifre"), a girl named María lives with her widowed father. She goes to school and passes by the house of a widow who has her own daughter, and insists María convinces her father to join their families, for she will give "sopa de miel" to María. The girl tells her father about it, but he warns her new stepmother will soon give her "sopa de hiel". Time passes, and eventually María's father marries the widow. The man leaves on business trips, and also brings gifts to his stepdaughter. One day, he asks María if she wants something, but she wants for nothing. One night, however, the Virgin Mary appears to María in her dreams and tells the girl she should ask for three roses a giant guards: a white one, a green one, and a yellow one. The next day, María tells her father to bring her the flowers described in her dream. Before the man returns, the Virgin Mary appears to María again and tells her she should light each of the flowers on fire and talk to whatever appears in the flames. María's father brings her the roses, she goes to her room and burns the white rose that same night: a gentleman in white appears and begs her to talk to him, but he vanishes before she can utter a word. The next night, she burns the green rose, and the same gentleman appears to her in green garments, and still María is silent. The third night, she burns the yellow flower, and the gentleman appears in yellow clothes. Before he vanishes, he tells María to seek him in "la tierra de ifre" ("the land of ifre"). María decides to seek the land of ifre, by asking the harvesters in the village about it. A pair of peasants, an old man and his daughter, say they hail from there, and María decides to join them the next time they return to their homeland. The trio journey on mules until they reach the sea which blocks their path. Suddenly, a large bird appears in the air and bids María talk to him. María remains silent, but jumps on the bird and it takes her to the land of Ifre across the sea. The girl then hires herself as a servant to the local queen. In time, the other maidservants begin to gossip about María, jealous of her beauty, and lie to the queen the girl boasted she could wash, dry and iron all the clothes in the castle. María receives piles and piles of clothes, to be done lest she is executed, and cries next to the river. The same bird that carried her over the sea (which the tale says is a green bird) appears to María and bids her talk to him. She keeps her peace, but the bird teaches her a magic command then leaves. María repeats the bird's words and the work is done for her. Next, the castle's maidservants lie that María boasted she could restore the queen's sight. María goes to cry in next to the river, the green bird appears, gives her a small flask and teaches her a spell to summon all birds for them to offer their tears. María does as instructed and fills a flask with birds' tears, curing the queen's eyesight. Now with her vision restored, the queen decides to hold a ball for the "reyes encantados" ("enchanted kings"). Every girl attends the ball with a candle in hand as part of a procession. The tale was also classified as type Aa-Th 425B, Las labores difíciles.

Extremadura

Folklorist Sérgio Hernandez de Soto collected a tale from Zafra, Badajoz, with the title Los Tres Claveles ("The Three Carnations"). In this tale, a poor laborer has a daughter. One day, he finds in the fields three carnations and brings them to his daughter. The girl is cooking, and one of the carnations falls in the fire, and a prince appears to her. The youth tries to talk to her, but she does not answer, and he tells her she will have to seek him in the "piedras de toito el mundo" ("the rocks of all the world"). The second and the third claveles also fall in the fire, and summon a second and a third princes. María, the girl, falls in love with the third prince and decides to look for the rocks of all the world. María climbs a large rock and begins to cry. Suddenly, a rock cracks open and the third prince appears to comfort her. As she still will not talk, the prince directs her to a house in the valley, where she can find work as a maidservant. María goes there and is hired as a servant. She earns her employer's trust and the jealousy of the other servants, who lie to their mistress that María can wash all the clothes in the house. María takes the clothe piles to the river and goes to the rocks to cry. The third prince appears again and advises her to summon all birds of the world to help her. Next, the story explains that the mistress of the house lost her three sons, and cried to much her sight has deteriorated. So, the servants lie that María can find her a cure for her sight. The third prince advises her to summon all the birds again, and every one of them will carry a drop in their feathers to fill the flask. Finally, the other maidservants lie that María promises to disenchant the mistress's three sons. María is advised by the third prince to summon all the maidens from the neighbouring villages, have each carry a lit candle, and they must form a procession around the rocks, and must not let any candle be put out. María follows his orders and a procession circles the rocks, but a gust of wind snuffs out María's candle and she shouts. The three rocks disappear and the three princes are back to normal. The third prince explains that the one who burned the carnation should talk to him, in order to break the spell. María marries the third prince. Writer Elsie Spicer Eells translated the tale as The Carnation Youth, in her book Tales of Enchantment from Spain, albeit making the third prince an only son. Swahn classified Los Tres Claveles ("The Three Carnations") as his type A (see above). The tale was classified as type 425B, Las Labores Difíciles ("The Difficult Tasks"). In the international index, however, Swahn's typing A is indexed as type ATU 425B, "The Son of the Witch".

• "Три гвоздики" ("Three Carnations")

In an Extremaduran tale titled El príncipe encantado ("The Enchanted Prince"), collected from an informant named Filomena Moreno Pozo, from Zalamea de la Serena, a traveller marries a merchant's daughter, who asks for three dresses as gifts: a white one, a "colorado", and a black one. In time, the couple have a daughter with the same colours as the dresses, and the woman dies, buy advises her husband to remain single if he decides to be, and to remarry if their daughter agrees to it. Time passes, and his daughter grows up. In the same village, she meets a widow with two daughters, who convinces the girl about marrying her father. It happens thus. Some time later, the traveller always bring gifts for his daughter and stepdaughters. One day, his own daughter asks for a three-leaf carnation. The man travels far and cannot find it, but is advised to look for the flower in a magic castle just outside the village. The man returns with the carnation and gives it to his daughter, who places it in her hair. Later, a king passes by with his retinue through the village, and he sights the girl with the carnation on her hair. He falls in love with her, she gives out a scream and says she wants to see him again, but he tells she can meet him in the castle of the Lions ("castillo de los Leones"). With this, he disappears, and his retinue do not know where he went. They know he is in the castle of the Lions, but those that enter it cannot leave. Meanwhile, the girl decides to pluck one of the carnation's petals; she does it and a voice asks the girl, María, to talk to them. María faints, and is helped by her stepfamily. María plucks the next two petals, and believes it to be her mother's voice. The stepmother admonishes her for her deed, and she leaves home. María goes to look for a job in a castle, and is hired as a maidservant. She works in the garden and teaches sewing to the two princesses. She also notices that the queen keeps muttering about her lost son, and one night, in bed, she realizes the prince has been enchanted into the carnation. Suddenly, the prince's voice talks to her, and tells her he can disenchant him: first, she is to ask the queen for every cloth, which she is to wash in a single day. Her orders are carried out, and María, following the prince's voice, simply rests for a bit, and the clothes are washed, ironed and folded. Next, the queen tells María she can feel happier if someone could bring her her husband's ring, lost at sea. María offers to get the ring, and follows the prince's instructions: she is to guide some soldiers to the sea, then enter the water on a horse, and raise her sword. María puts on a man's disguise ("jinete"), rides the horse into the sea, and brings back the queen's ring. Lastly, the queen sighs that she could be with her son again, and María offers to bring him back. The prince's voice advises her how to rescue him: she is to gather bones and bring two brushes with herself to the castle of the Lions; she is to give the brushes to two people cleaning up an oven and the bones to two lions; she will then meet a witch who will say the girl dropped a kerchief, whom she is to shove into the ground. María does as instructed and meets the prince in a pavilion just past the witch. The prince embraces María and both escape through a backdoor, while the castle of the Lions becomes filled with smoke. The pair returns to the castle, and the queen thanks María for saving her son. María and the prince marry. The tale was classified as type 425B, Las Labores Difíciles ("The Difficult Tasks").

Cádiz

In a variant from Cádiz, collected from teller Carmen Pérez Galván, from Chiclana de la Frontera with the title Rosa, a young woman named Rosa lives with her travelling father. Their neighbour, a widow with two daughters, tells Rosa to convince her father to marry her. She does, and, as time passes, their neighbour, now her stepmother, mistreats the girl and favours her two biological daughters. The last straw is when the stepmother tells Rosa to seek employment somewhere else, since Rosa draws any suitor's attention away from the step-sisters. Rosa leaves home and meets an old lady on the way, who directs her to a castle, to work for the lady of the castle, the queen, as her hairdresser. Eventually, the castle's servants, jealous of Rosa's talents and kindness, lie to the queen that she boasted she could do impossible things. The queen summons Rosa to her presence, and comments about the false boasts: that she can find the queen's missing son, and that she can clean all the palace overnight. Rosa goes to her bedroom and cries about the task, when a knight knocks on the door and tells her not to worry, for everything will be done the next morning. The next day, the whole palace is clean, from top to bottom. The other servants spread another rumour: that Rosa can wash and iron all the clothes of the palace's inhabitants. The same knight knocks on the door and tells her not to worry. By the next morning, the clothes are washed and ironed. Lastly, the queen reminds Rosa about the boast that she can locate her son, who has been missing for 20 years. The knight instructs Rosa to escape by a castle backdoor into an alleyway, carrying a sack of straw, a bag of bones, a comb, a piece of bread and a satchel of tobacco. The girl must go on until she finds two bulls (to which she must give the straw), two dogs (to which she must give the bones) and a long-bearded old man cleaning an oven with his long fingernails (to whom she must give the comb, the bread and the tobacco). At the end of the journey, she must ring a doorbell, and a witch will let her in. Inside, she will find a box surrounded by four candles. The girl is to put out the candles, take the box, and return to the castle by the backdoor. The girl follows the knight's instructions to the letter, and brings the box to the queen. The queen opens the box and her son comes out of it. The prince and Rosa marry. The tale was also classified as type 425B.

In a tale from Cádiz titled La bolsa de los peines,

Galicia

Galician ethnographer Lois Carré Alvarellos published a tale collected from Campamento, in San Xurxo de Iñás, with the title A Filla do Rei, which researcher Marisa Rey-Henningsen translated as The King's Daughter. In this tale, a king locks his only daughter in a high tower to protect her from the world. However, when she is old enough, she peers outside the tower and marvels at the moonlight. Some days later, she decides to leave the tower and wander the world. One day, she cries in the middle of the road, when a ram appears to her. The animal asks for a kiss; she refuses, but it agrees to accompany her. Later, the ram guides her to a house where she finds work for a mother and her daughter, who are secretly a pair of witches (Galician: meigas). The witches order the girl to get them the "caixa de demachiños" ('the little box of demachiños'; 'goblin casket', in Marisa Rey-Henningsen's translation). The girl does not know where to find it, so she wanders off until she finds a donkey whom she feeds with grass instead of straw, a bull she gives bread instead of grass, and a rooster she gives wheat instead of corn. The animals guide her to the place where she can find the box, and the princess enters the house and steals the box. Suddenly, a very old, very ugly woman comes out of the kitchen and wrestles with her for the box, the princess is stronger and flees; the old woman orders the animals to stop her, but they refuse due to the girl's kindness. On the road, she opens the box to see what lies inside, but it is apparently empty. She delivers the box to the witches, but they realize the box is empty, so they send the girl for another box. The princess gets a second box which she does not open, and gives it to the pair. Later, the witch duo forces the girl to gather piles of clothes, wash, dry, mend and iron them before noon. The girl cries over the task, when the ram comes to her and summons an army of rams to fulfill the task. Finally, the princess goes back to her father in the company of the ram and introduces the animal as her saviour. She washes it in a fountain and kisses it; a handsome prince appears before her. The princess then marries the disenchanted prince.

In a Galician tale collected by Galician linguist J. A. Saco y Arce with the title Aladina, a beautiful and kind girl named Aladina finds work with the local king. The monarch likes her, to the envy of the other maidservants. Thus the girl is forced to perform difficult tasks: first, they deliver her a large pile of clothes to be washed and ironed in the same day. Cow-driven carts loaded with the piles take the clothes to the river, and Aladina begins to cry. Suddenly, a bird flies out of the water, asks what is wrong, and advises her: ask the cows to wash the clothes with their horns and iron it with their paws. Aladina does as the bird instructed and the task is done for her. Next, the maidservants order Aladina to steal the bed from the giants that live under the palace. The girl goes to cry on the riverbank, when the bird appears again and advises her: take a sack filled with beetles and fleas, release them in their cell when the giant pair go out at eleven o' clock for some fresh air, and hide behind a door. Aladina follows the bird's instructions, throws the bugs on the giants' bed; when they lie down to sleep, the bugs bite them all over their bodies and they place the bed behind the door, which the girl takes up to the castle. For the third task, the maidservants order her to find a ring lost in the sea to disenchant the prince. Aladina meets the bird again, who asks her to cut it in pieces with a razor, catch the blood in a flask and drop it in the sea, and not lose any drop of its blood. Aladina refuses it at first, but the bird assures it will be safe. The girl slices the bird and catches its blood, but lets a single drop fall on the ground; she throws the flask in the sea, and it emerges with the ring. Still, the prince is nowhere to be found. At last, the maidservants order Aladina to steal a box from an old magician. The bird, back to life, advises Aladina how to proceed: fetch a broom, some meat and a jug of water, throw the meat to some lions, give the water to some tigers, meet the magician and ask him for some bread; while he is distracted, use the broom to sweep some dust and cobwebs from a chest, get the box from inside the chest and rush back. Aladina follows the bird's instructions to the letter and flees with the box, and the magician commands the chest and the animals to stop her, to no avail. Aladina brings the box to the king, who opens it and removes little boxes until there is a small container. The container is opened and out flies the same little bird, who turns into the prince. The prince explains he was the bird, thanks Aladina for rescuing him, and marries her.

Other regions

In a Spanish tale from Salamanca published by Hispanists Julio Camarena and Maxime Chevalier with the title El Príncipe Enamorado ("The Enamoured Prince"), a merchant has a daughter named Elena to whom he brings roses whenever he comes back from the market. One day, however, the man forgets about it, then meets another man to whom he explains he brings roses to his daughter Elena. The second man goes to Elena's house and calls for her from under the balcony, but she does not answer. The man goes back the following mornings, and still she does not answer. One day, Elena decides she wants to leave home to be a servant elsewhere. Her parents agree with her decision and she departs. The girl eventually knocks on the house of the man who tried to talk to her under her balcony and offers her services; the man's mother denies her at first, for they have other maidservants, but the man vouches for Elena and the girl is hired. In time, the other four maidservants notice their employer only has eyes for Elena, and begin to spread gossip about her: first, that she can wash every mattress in the palace. The woman (the queen) arranges for a cart loaded with mattresses to be delivered to Elena. On the road, the prince appears and tries to talk to her, but she remains silent. Still, he gives her a wand of virtue and teaches her a spell to go to the riverbank and summon the birds to help her wash and dry them. It happens thus. The next time, the maidservants lie to the queen that Elena boasted she could fill every mattress in the palace with bird feathers. Elena takes a new cart loaded with mattresses and meets the prince, who advises her to go to the sea and summon the birds for them to offer their feather and fill the mattresses. After doing the second task, the prince's grandmother dies, and falls under a spell, and there is a little box guarded by animals and an old man sitting on the box that is holding the prince's grandmother. The maidservants then tell the queen Elena can fetch them the box. Elena cries for the task; the prince appears to her and bids her talk to him, and still she remaisn silent. Despite this, the prince gives her a house key, some meat for wolves and some milk for some snakes. Elena steals the box and rushes back to the palace, the old man commanding the animals to stop her, to no avail. Elena delivers the box to the queen, who, pleased with the girl's success, wishes to marry her to her son. The next day, the queen arranges for her son's wedding and places Elena on his right, while the prince's bride on his left. The maidservants hold candles, while Elena holds a melted "cirio". The prince takes notice of the sad-looking candle in Elena's hand and she tells him that sadder still is the person holding it. The prince then announces he will marry Elena instead of his bride.

In a tale collected in Guadalix de la Sierra with the title Los hermanos convertidos en piedras ("The Brothers Turned to Stone"), a ploughman has a beautiful daughter. One day, he finds three carnations on the road which he brings her. Some years later, the man dies, and the girl's carnations are as fresh as the first day she gained them. Now all alone, she plans to leave and find work elsewhere. She then throws a carnation in the fire, which makes a youth appears to her. The prince asks if she needs something, she remains silent, and the youth tells her to seek him in the "piedras de las tres hermanas". After the youth disappears, she suspects something about the flowers, and throws the other two in the fire, with two other youths appearing before her and telling her to seek them in the same location. After exhausting the three flowers, the girl decides to go to the "piedras de las tres hermanas", and stops by the rocks. The third youth appears to her, to whom she explains she is looking for a job. The youth then points her to a house in a valley, where they are looking for a maidservant. Following the youth's directions, the girl knocks on the house's door and is welcomed as a servant. One of the house's servants gives the newcomer a huge pile of clothes to be washed. The girl goes near the rocks; the eldest of the three brothers comes out of the rock, is told about the task, and advises her to go near the riverbank and summon the birds to help her. It happens thus. Some time later, the other servant lies to the lady of the house the newcomer can find her a remedy for her eyesight. The girl goes to the rocks; one of the youth appears and directs the girl to a bramble where the birds will give her their tears to fill a flask, and she is to pluck a feather from the last bird to use it on the lady's eyes. The third time, the servants lie to their employer the girl can disenchant the lady's missing three sons. The girl returns to the rocks and meets a youth, who instructs her to gather a hundred maidens from the village, have each carry a candle and circle around the rocks, and they will be disenchanted. The girl arranges for the hundred maiden retinue, each holding a candle. They circle around the rocks and restore the youths to human form. The girl marries the lady's elder son.

Aragonese author Romualdo Nogués published a tale titled La varita de virtudes ("The Wand of Virtues"). In this tale, a town secretary asks his three daughters how much they love him: the elder two say they love him with their own lives, while the youngest says she loves him more than water and salt. Misunderstanding her answer, the man banishes his youngest daughter. She is joined by a spaniel that a sorcerer taught how to speak. The little dog asks the girl what troubles her, and she explains her situation. The dog gives the girl a star-tipped wand of virtues and teaches her a spell. Later, the girl, named Mariica, reaches the queen's castle and finds work as a duck herder. The queen notices the girl's shabby clothes and gives her better clothes. Mariica grows up in beauty and grace, to the jealousy of the other servants, who lie to the queen that Mariica boasted she could feed a thousand guests with no help. Mariica asks the wand of virtue to help her, and a banquet for a thousand guests appear at the castle's dining room, with golden tableware. Next, the servants lie to the queen that she boasted she could wash the clothes of everyone in the palace and from the king's hundred thousand guards in fifteen minutes. Mariica uses the magic wand; a magpie appears to her and commands the sea birds to wash the clothes, and others to iron and fold them. Lastly, the servants lie to the queen that Mariica boasted that she could disenchant the queen's eldest son, who has been missing. With the wand, two pages and a steed appear before Mariica, one carrying a cup of rock crystal and another with a bird with iridescent plumage. The pages advise her to take the steed and cup and follow the bird. Mariica does that and reaches a fountain. The bird tells Mariica to draw some water and throw it upwards. By doing this, the prince, the queen's son, appears before her. Mariica marries the prince and they expel the jealous servants. Some time later, they invite the town secretaries for a banquet, and Mariica goes to talk to her father, who does not recognize her. The man says his elder daughters abandoned him when he needed the most, and Mariica reveals herself to her father, explaining that one cannot live without water and salt. The tale was classified as type 425B, Las labores difíciles.

According to scholars Johannes Bolte and Jiri Polívka, Spanish writer Agustín Durán, in his work Romancero General, reported a tale from his childhood: the hero is a Black man named "Gafitas de la Luz"; the heroine, his beloved one, is persecuted by his parents, who force her on tasks; in one of her tasks she is helped by the birds, which cry over the clothes to wash them and iron them with their beaks. Catalan scholar Josep M. Pujol noted that this tale could refer to type 425B.

México

In a tale collected by Stanley Robe from a source in Los Altos with the title Marcia y Marimonia ("Marcia and Marimonia"), a king and queen have a daughter named Marcia. One day, the queen falls ill and dies, and the king remarries. Marcia does not like her stepmother and cries over it. Some time later, the new queen tells Marcia that the king said the princess can cook food for the entire world. Marcia cries for the impossibiliy, when a little bird appears to help her: it summons women to fulfill the task for her, and by nine o'clock the food is prepared. The next time, the stepmother says the girl can wash and iron clothes for the entire world. Again, the little bird appears to help her: he gives her three apples which the princess is to cast in the fire for an army of women to appear to help her. The third time, the new queen asks the princess to find the king's wedding ring he lost at sea, his childhood's toys and his cradle. The little bird appears again and fetches the ring from the sea, then advises Marcia where to find the remaining objects: she will walk until she reaches a house where an old woman lives; she is rocking the cradle with a box inside; Marcia is to trick the old woman to fetch a drink of water and, while she is distracted, she is to steal the cradle and the box and escape. Marcia walks towards the old woman's house, finds her rocking a cradle and asks for a drink of water. The old woman cannot leave the cradle unattended, but the princess says she can replace her. The old woman exits the room, then Marcia absconds with the cradle and the little box. After she flees, she meets the bird, which tells her to return home and not open the box. En route to the palace, Marcia's curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the box, releasing monkeys that leap all over the meadow. The little bird appears to her and locks the monkeys inside the box. Marcia returns home with her father's belongings. The king finds his daughter in tatters, then has her change clothes and introduces her to society.

New Mexico

In a tale collected from a New Mexican source with the title Marikita the Lovely (Marikita la Linda), Marikita the Lovely is mistreated by her stepmother. One day, Pájaro Azul (Blue Bird), an acquaintance of her stepmother's, pays the family a visit and falls in love with Marikita. The stepmother, however, forces Marikita to perform hard tasks for her stepsister's upcoming wedding: first, she is to gather bird feathers for pillows. Marikita cries for not knowing where to find feathers on such short notice, when Blue Bird appears to her in bird form and offers his help: she should call all the birds and say Blue Bird wishes to get married. It happens thus and the birds appear to offer their feathers. The next day, Marikita is given a bucket and orders to fill it with birds' tears for her stepsister to bathe in. She cries for the task, when Blue Bird appears to her and tells her to summon the birds and ask them to cry, for Blue Bird is getting married. On Sunday, Marikita's stepmother tells her Blue Bird is coming to dine with them, and she is to clean the entire house and sew a beautiful gown for her stepsister, while her stepfamily goes to church. Marikita cries, when Blue Bird appears to her with a wand that fulfills the task for her, and magics a fancy dress for her to go to church. Marikita goes to church, but does not overstay for fear of her stepfamily recognizing her, then rushes back home, losing a golden slipper in the process. Blue Bird fetches the golden slipper and goes to Marikita's house. The Greedy One cuts up part of her feet to fit the slipper, but it does not. The prince then tries the slipper on Marikita, who fits it, proving she is its owner, and marries her. In the second part of the story, Blue Bird and Marikita move out to a castle built for them, and the prince spends his days singing on the windowsill of the seven windows of the castle.

Dominican Republic

Folklorist Manuel José Andrade collected a tale from informant Carmen Sánchez from Seibo. In this tale, titled Los Princípios de Las Tres Toronjas, a man sends his daughter to the Monte de La Tre Toronja ("Hill of the Three Grapefruits"), where she is to fetch the titular fruits. The girl finds an old woman en route, who advises the girl to enter the hill only when its guardians, a pride of three lions, are asleep with their eyes open. The girl does as instructed and fetches three grapefruits. On the road, she lights up a candle and tosses a fruit into the fire, releasing a prince that bids her talk to him, but she remains silent. Some time later, the girl tosses the second and third fruits into the candle and it generates other princes, and still she utters no word. The girl returns to her mother, who asks her what the fruits produced: three princes. The woman takes the girl, named Siriaca, to the yard and ties her to a pole. The girl then cries out for the help of the "Prínsipe de la Tre Flore de Alejandría", and he appears in person to help her. He talks to her, but she remains silent. Still, the prince rescues Siriaca and takes her with him to be his bridesmaid at his wedding. During the wedding, Siriaca is given a candle. The prince comments on the candle Siriaca holds, noticing it is sad-looking. Siriaca talks for the first time to him, and replies her own heart is also sad. The prince then marries Siriaca.

Portuguese ATU 425B (Son of the Witch)

Portugal

In a Portuguese tale from Algarve with the title As Alfaiatas, (ATU 425E/AaTh 425L? + ATU 425B),

Brazil

In a Portuguese tale titled A fada malvada (named Um Afilhado de uma Fada by its teller), a fairy lives with her daughter and her godson named Valdomiro. One day, a poor woman gives up on her own daughter Delmira and delivers the girl for the fairy to raise. The trio grow up. The youth has self-taught magic by reading his fairy godmother's books without her knowing. One day, the fairy godmother notices her godson is more interested in the stranger than in her own daughter, and plans to get rid of her by setting impossible tasks for her: first, the fairy orders the girl to dry the stream and build a bridge over a deep river for her daughter's upcoming wedding. Delmira begins to cry, when Valdomiro appears and asks what is wrong. Delmira explains the situation and Valdomiro places his head on her lap and asks her to delouse him. The girl falls asleep and when she wakes up, the task is done for her, but Valdomiro advises her to tell the fairy a group of women wearing white did it for her.

Later, the fairy arranges for Valdomiro's wedding to her daughter. The youth warns Delmira his fairy godmother will give her a candle for her to light the wedding couple, but it is a trap set to kill her, and advises her to feign a stomachache when the candle has melted halfway through, so that the girl trades places with his fairy bride. After the wedding, it happens as Valdomiro predicted: the fairy gives Delmira the booby-trapped candle to be held in her hands. Between midnight and two in the morning, Delmira feigns a stomachache and gives the candle to the fairy's daughter. As soon as the girl exits the bedroom, the candle explodes on the bride, killing her. Valdomiro then takes Delmira and both escape on a horse. Back to the fairy, she calls on her daugher to have breakfast, and, noticing her delay, goes to check on her and finds her dead. The fairy laments the fact, while Valdomiro and Delmira are happily living together.

AaTh 425N (Bird Husband)

Swahn described type 425N thus: the heroine goes to a house to find work, where she is seduced by suitors; the heroine uses her husband's token to glue the suitors to objects; the men seek to avenge their humiliation and the heroine humiliates them in front of the people.

Swahn calls type 425N "West European", with a limited distribution area.

The husband's magic token

The crow is the supernatural husband's form in Northern European variants, but in all of them the heroine receives a magical token from her husband: either a feather from the bird husband, or a ring. According to Swahn, the husband's token (feather or ring) is what allows the heroine to humiliate her unwanted suitors (akin to some variants of tale type ATU 313, "The Magic Flight"), and the feather as the token appears in German, English and Irish variants.

Baltic AaTh 425N?

German professor Karl Plenzat summarized a tale published by Joseph Rink with the title Dei Rauw, which he classified as type 432, "Prince as Bird". In Dei Rauw, a raven marries the third and yougest princess, turns into a man overnight as his castle emerges at night, but in the morning, it disappears and he turns into a raven again; he gives his wife a feather; she finds work elsewhere and uses the feather's magic to expel thieves.

English AaTh 425N

Swahn described the English/British variants thus (GB = Germanic language/British) <CI is Celtic languages/Irish>:

• GB 11 - serving for one year, crow husband
• GB 13 - three feathers, crow husband
• GB 14 - Three feathers, crow husband
• GB 15 - crow husband

Las barbas de plata / Iberian "Horse Lurja"

Catalan-speaking area

In a Catalan language tale titled La Dent D'or, collected by Joan Amades,

Finnic ATU 425, "Search for the Lost Husband"

Estonian ATU 425B

In Estonian variants, the heroine's father promises her to an animal husband (a dog, a wolf, a bear), or she is destined by fate to be his bride. Either way, the heroine marries the animal, who discards his animal disguise at night. She breaks the taboo on him and he vanishes. The heroine follows her husband into hell, where she is made to perform tasks to the devil, including going for the devil's sister. Estonian scholarship, however, indexes this narrative sequence under type ATU 425A, Koer peigmeheks ("The Dog as Bridegroom").

<Commentary to Estonian tale type ATU 425A (which is A/three nights + B/tasks)>

Must pini/Must koer ("Black Dog") - from Setomaa (Hindrik Prants?)

Estonian ATU 425A (Snake + 3 Nights)

In a tale from the Lutsi Estonians collected by linguist Oskar Kallas the title Ussiks nöiutud mees (German: Der in eine Schlange verwandelte Mann, English: "The Man Changed into a Snake"), a poor couple finds a Wurmlein (a little wyrm or snake) and adopt it. The Würmlein (little snake) becomes a man in the evening and a snake by day. One day, he asks the old man to go to the king and ask for the hand of the princess. The king listens to the old man's request, and gives him a riddle: to come neither clothed, nor naked. The snake son gives the correct answer. Then, the king orders the snake son to fulfill two tasks: first, to roll a red carpet between the king's castle and the old couple's house, with gold and silver apple trees on either side; second, to build a church made of white wax where people can pray and the candles light up by themselves. The snake son fulfills the requests and marries the princess. The princess's sisters take the snake husband's covering and burn it, and the princess is forced to search for him in three pairs of iron shoes, three iron hats and three iron apples. She passes by houses that spin on chicken legs and belong to her sisters-in-law, and gains a golden spindle and silver bobbin from the first; a handkerchief from the second and an expensive cloth from the third one. The third sister-in-law also gives the princess a ball of yarn, for her to throw and follow to where her husband is. The princess does and finds him at the mercy of another woman. She uses the objects she gained from her sisters-in-law to trade for three nights with her husband, who she manages to wake up on the third night. The now human snake husband kills the second woman with an iron rod, takes her gold and silver and his wife's gifts, and goes back to his sisters, who they find dead. The snake husband resurrects them with "wine of death" and "wine of life".

In a Lutsi Estonian tale collected by linguist Paulopriit Voolaine with the title Nastik ("The Grass Snake"), an old couple lives alone. One day, the wife wants to have a child, and the husband goes into the woods. He meets a grass snake that begins to talk and asks to be taken as the man's son. The man returns home with the grass snake and his wife complains they have no food at home to feed themselves. The reptile says she should not worry, and food appears in their oven. Later, the grass snake asks his adoptive father to court the tsar's daughter on his behalf. The tsar agrees to the prospective marriage, but sets up tasks first: to build a palace like the tsar's; erect a bridge between both their houses, with a river for swans to swim near the bridge, garden of gold a silver and sea cats that sing up the tree and tell stories when they climb down the trees; build a gold church with a rooftop of "ahont" and gems. After fulfilling each task, the grass snake marries the princess at the church. The princess goes to her mother for advice, and she tells her to place a fire under the bed and burn his snakeskin when he is sleeping. The princess does as instructed and burns her husband's snakeskin. When he wakes up, he cannot find his snake disguise and chastises his wife for her deed, explaining that the curse would have ended in a month. He then gives her three iron rings, iron dresses, iron canes and iron shoes for her to wear when she is looking for him, turns into a pigeon and flies away. The princess dons the iron garments and passes by the houses of her three sisters-in-law, where she obtains a golden shuttle from the first one, a golden apple from the second one, and a hen with chicks from the third one, along with an apple of rejuvenation and an apple of aging. The third sister-in-law also advises her to use the objects to draw the queen's servants' attention and trade each for one night with her husband, the now human grass snake. The princess then reaches the house of a witch queen ("волхвитка", in the original), eats the apple of aging to become an older woman, and asks the witch for a job. The witch hires her as her gooseherder, and takes out the object her sister-in-law gave her. Just as predicted, the witch's servants inform their mistress of the exquisite items the new goose herder has with her, and she asks to have them. The princess trades the objects for three nights with the human grass snake, each item for each night, but the witch forces the human grass snake to sleep. On the morning of the third day, the hunters inform the human grass snake about the newcomer who has traded her own belongings with the witch. The man realizes the newcomer is the princess, his wife, and arranges to simply sleep at night. For the third night, the princess trades the hen with chicks with the witch and enters his room. The human grass snake wakes up and reunites with his wife. The following morning, the princess eats the apple of rejuvnation to restore her appearance, her husband summons his coachmen and ties the witch to some horses to be drawn and quartered. The princess lives with her husband there, and call his adoptive parents to live with them.

Karelian ATU 425A (Bear + 3 Nights)

According to Karelian scholarship, Karelian variants of type 425A number 18, with six variants registered in North Karelia. Also, in Karelian variants of the tale type, the enchanted bridegroom appears as a bear, a head, a sheaf of straw, a snake, a dog, or, less commonly, a three-headed sea monster. The tale begins with his conception or adoption by an old couple, and the enchanted husband has to perform tasks for the king in order to marry the heroine. Alternatively, the Karelian tales begin with the louseskin riddle (tale type AaTh 621).

In a tale collected from Syargozero (Särg'arvi) teller M. V. Morozova with the Karelian title Iroin starina (AT 425A),

In a tale collected from Sel'gi teller М. I. Stafejeva with the Karelian title Starina (AT 425B),

Karelian ATU 425A (Snake + 3 Nights)

According to Karelian scholarship, Karelian variants of type 425A number 18, with six variants registered in North Karelia. Also, in Karelian variants of the tale type, the enchanted bridegroom appears as a bear, a head, a sheaf of straw, a snake, a dog, or, less commonly, a three-headed sea monster. The tale begins with his conception or adoption by an old couple, and the enchanted husband has to perform tasks for the king in order to marry the heroine. Alternatively, the Karelian tales begin with the louseskin riddle (tale type AaTh 621).

In a Karelian tale collected in 1879 with the title Käärmesulhanen ("The Snake Bridegroom"), an old couple live with their beautiful daughter. One day, the old woman finds a louse in his hair, fattens it until it is large enough, then kill it to make a pair of shoes out of its leather, and as part of a suitor riddle: whoever guesses it right, shall marry the couple's daughter. After two days, no one appears to guess, but on the third day, a voice is heard from the forest saying the right answer: a large snake. Despite the snake's menacing appearance, a promise is a promise, and the man agrees to deliver his daughter to the animal.

The heroine tries to wake her husband, Ivan Tsarovitṧ, but the false bride, daughter to the witch Syöjätär, pricks his body with needles and makes him fall asleep to hinder the heroine's objectives.

In a Karelian tale collected from teller Marya Ivanova Mikheeva with the Karelian title Čoherapiäpoika, translated to Russian as "Змееголовый парень" ("The Snake-Headed Youth"), an old couple have a son with two heads, one of which is a snake. The snake son asks his parents to find a bride for him, from their old neighbour's three daughters. He asks for the widow's eldest daughter first. His parents question him about the possibility of marriage to one such as him, and he threatens to devour them if they do not comply. Thus, the widow's eldest daughter is married to the snake son, and, when his parents go to check on the couple the next morning, only the girl's bones remains. The snake son then ask for the widow's middle daughter, and she shares her sister's fate. the snake son comments that the girls' flesh tasted delicious. Finally, it comes to the youngest daughter's turn: the snake son's parents ask her to accompany them, and she asks about her elder sisters. After she learns the snake devoured her sisters, she agrees to marry the snake, and commissions three iron bars and a hundred traps from the blacksmith. The third sister places the traps in the windows and joins the snake husband in bed. He then tries to devour her, but she takes out an iron bar and strikes him with it. In pain, he calls for help from a cadre of demons, but they cannot interfere due to the traps the girl places around the house. The girl hits the snake-headed youth until he turns into a dog, and he begs her to stop. The youth, now in dog form, asks her to join him in bed, but she refuses. He then takes off the dogskin and becomes a handsome man, and asks her not to tell anything to anyone, lest he departs. The next morning, the couple find the dog son and his wife in bed, then inform the widow her daughter is safe. The dog son and his wife live like this for some time, with him living as a dog by day and man by night, until one day the couple ask their daughter-in-law how she disenchanted their son. The girl tells them he promised to keep it a secret, lest their son departs, but the couple assure her she can live with them even if he leaves home. The girl then tells them everything. The dog son overhears their conversation, tells his wife he will depart, and runs away. The girl then decides to look for her husband, and talks to her mother about her husband. The widow tells her daughter to commission three iron shoes, three iron rods, and three iron prosvirs from the blacksmith and keep walking until she wears out all iron apparel on her way to her sister, the girl's aunt, for she can tell her where her husband is. Following her mother's instructions, the girl dons the iron garments and reaches her aunt. The woman tells her niece her husband is now living with a witch named Syöjätär; if the girl reaches the witch, the creature has barns full of flax and wool she will order her to spin in the span of two weeks, otherwise Syöjätär will devour the girl. The aunt then gives her a pipe to summon girls that will help her spin the whole barn; as reward, she should ask to sleep with her husband for a night, place five eggs in the bath house to distract Syöjätär, and escape. Armed with this information, the girl reaches Syöjätär and is hired as a spinner; she and notices a dog running nearby and turning into a man: it is her husband, who recognizes his wife. The girl is guided to the barn to spin the flax and wool, then summons the girl helpers with the pipe her aunt gave her, finishing the task in two weeks' time. The girl meets with her husband and both plan their escape. Syöjätär goes to reward the girl and lets her spend one night with her husband. The spouses reunite, and the girl places five eggs inside the bathhouse to answer for them, while they make their escape. On the road, the girl draws a sign on the ground with a staff and utters a command for a sword to manifest when Syöjätär tries to chase after them. Back to the witch, she notices their delay, and enters the bathhouse, finding no one inside. She then runs after the couple, but a sword appears and cuts down the witch's legs. The couple return home to his parents.

Finnish ATU 433

According to the Finnish Folktale Catalogue, established by scholar Pirkko-Liisa Rausmaa, type 433 is known in Finland with the title Hirviö-sulhanen ("Monster Bridegroom"): a couple has a snake for a son (which appears as an alder block in Finnish variants), who devours every bride they send her.

Vepsian ATU 425A

Näytteitä nr. 22, 27, 32 (SUS 425M Zhena Uzha), 23 (SUS 432 Finist, yasni sokol) and 286 (425A)

• Setälä, Eemil Nestor; Kala, J. H. (1951). Näytteitä Äänis- ja keskivepsän murteista. Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura. pp. 526ff (tale nr. 286).

Seto ATU 425 (ATU 425D?)

In a Seto tale titled Mees soendiks,

Estonian ATU 425A / Karelian ATU 425A "Bear + 3 Nights"

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 425A, "The Animal as Bridegroom". in this tale type, the heroine is a human maiden who marries a prince that is cursed to become an animal of some sort. She betrays his trust and he disappears, prompting a quest for him.

Motifs

According to Hans-Jörg Uther, the main feature of tale type ATU 425A is "bribing the false bride for three nights with the husband". In fact, when he developed his revision of Aarne-Thompson's system, Uther remarked that an "essential" trait of the tale type ATU 425A was the "wife's quest and gifts" and "nights bought".

In other stories (from Europe, mostly), the heroine's helpers may be three old crones, or her husband's relatives.

Variants

Estonia

According to the Estonian Folktale Catalogue, in tale type ATU 425A, Koer peigmeheks ("The Dog as Bridegroom"), the heroine's father promises her to an animal husband (a dog, a wolf, a bear), or she is destined by fate to be his bride. Either way, the heroine marries the animal, who discards his animal disguise at night. She breaks the taboo on him and he vanishes. In the alternate redaction of the Estonian type, the heroine journeys after him wearing iron shoes and meets on the way her husband's sisters, who gift her precious objects and guide her to her husband. At last, the heroine reaches her husband's location and trades the precious gifts for three nights with him. According to Estonian folklorist Richard Viidalepp, tale type ATU 425A registers almost 20 Estonian variants.

Linguist Oskar Kallas provided the summary of a Lutsi Estonian tale titled Karuks nöiutud mees (German: Der in einen Bären verwandelte Mann; English: "A man cursed to be a bear"): a girl marries a person that becomes a bear by day and human at night. One night, she burns her husband's bearskin, causing him to vanish. She goes after him: using three iron brooms to clear up the path from snakes, eating three iron apples, and walking with three pairs of iron shoes. On the journey, the girl passes by her three sisters-in-law: the first gives her a silver bunkel and a golden bobbin; the second silver groats and golden chicks; and the third a golden spinning apple. Finally, the girl reaches her husband's location, and uses the wonderful gifts to bribe a second wife for the right with three nights with her husband. After the events, the bear husband, in human form, returns to his first wife.

In a tale collected by Oskar Loorits and translated to German with the title Die Frau auf der Suche nach ihrem Gatten ("The Woman in Search of her Husband"), a woman has one daughter whom she asks to bake two cakes for her. On the road, the woman is approached, respectively, by a hare, then a fox, thirdly a wolf, and finally a bear. The woman is looking for a son-in-law, and the first three animals invite themselves to be her best men. The woman gives some portions of the cakes to the hare (so it will stop eating her cabbages), the fox (so it will stop eating her chickens) and the wolf (so it will stop eating her cattle). Finally, the bear asks the woman to take her as her son-in-law and husband to her daughter. The bear threatens to eat the woman, she relents and agrees to take the animal into her house. The bear spends the night with the girl in her room, and she tries to push him away, then there is only silence in her room. The next day, the woman's daughter exits the room in one piece. The girl, her mother and the bear fall into a routine, and the girl tells her mother the bear only wears a bearskin which he takes off at night. The woman consults with a sorcerer how to destroy the bearskin: dig up a hole, fill it with coals, then push the bearskin into the hole to burn it. The woman does as intructed and, that same night, the man in the bearskin smells something burning, which human wife dismisses as some pigs roasting in the fire. The man then goes to search for his bearskin and, finding it burning, decides to depart, leaving only a handkerchief in his wife's hands. The pair of women consult with the sorcerer again, and he advises the girl to don iron shoes, an iron cane and an iron cake, then begin a journey. The girl passes by the spinning houses of three women working on a loom, who each gift her a copper apple, a silver apple, and golden apple, and other iron garments for her to continue her journey. At last, the third old woman tells the girl her husband is at a certain estate, and advises her to sit by a well, take out the metallic apples and draw out her husband's second wife, then trade the apples for one night with him. The girl follows the old woman's instructions, sits by the well and takes out each apple on each day, which she trades for three nights with her husband, who was the man in bearskin. On the third night, the man lies by his first wife's side, and tells her he would have burnt the bearskin if she had only waited three more nights, thus he fled to another land. Still, the man and his wife return home.

Estonian folklorist Richard Viidalepp published an Estonian tale sourced to Vastseliina with the title Kadunud Mees ("Disappeared Husband"), translated to German as Der verschwundene Mann ("The Missing Husband"). In this tale, a man goes in search of a husband for his daughter, and a bear offers to be the man's son-in-law. The man takes the bear to his family and marries him to his daughter, but, as a precaution, he plants soldiers near the bridal bed and near the door. The bear husband asks his human wife to dismiss all the guards. After the soldiers leave, the bear takes off his bearskin and becomes a handsome youth, then asks his wife to keep it a secret between them. However, the girl's relatives start to question her about living with a bear for a husband, and she tells everything to her sister. The girl's sister divulges the information to the whole family, and they prepare some hot coals near the barn where the couple sleep. That same night, after the couple goes to bed, the bear husband removes the bearskin and places it on the heated coals, accidentally burning it. The husband then admonishes his wife, saying she will only find him again is she wears down three pairs of iron shoes, three iron sticks and ate three golden apples, then departs. The girl cries for her loss, then dons the iron garments and reaches the house of an old woman, spinning on goose legs. The first woman, in her copper house, takes the girl in. After the girl passes by the house of a second old woman, made of silver, and finally the house of a third old woman with golden instruments, ans still no sign of her husband. The girl then produces a handkerchief to dry her tears, and the third old woman recognizes it as her son's belonging. The girl explains everything to the old woman, who gives her a red apple and instructions to reach the margin of a river, drop the apple and create a farm with it; people will soon come to stop at the farm for rest and provisions, and the girl is to ask to spend a night with their leader. The girl takes the apple, spreads the handkerchief and cuts the apple in piece, then a farm materializes. Some riders come to her farm and wish to buy it, but she offers to sleep one night with their leader. The man goes to her and she recognizes the wedding band on his finger - he is her husband. They reunite.

Karelia

According to Karelian scholarship, Karelian variants of type 425A number 18, with six variants registered in North Karelia. Also, in Karelian variants of the tale type, the enchanted bridegroom appears as a bear, a head, a sheaf of straw, a snake, a dog, or, less commonly, a three-headed sea monster. The tale begins with his conception or adoption by an old couple, and the enchanted husband has to perform tasks for the king in order to marry the heroine. Alternatively, the Karelian tales begin with the louseskin riddle (tale type AaTh 621).

In a Karelian tale from South Karelia with the Karelian title Kondii-poigu (Russian: "Сын-медведь"; English: "The Bear Son"), an old couple suffers for not having children, so the old husband goes to the woods to finds one. He meets a bear on the road that offers to be his son. Despite some fear on the man's part, he agrees to take him in. The old wife faints at seeing the bear in their house, but wakes up and warms to their ursine son. Some time later, the couple realizes their son might want to get married, and the bear suggests the tsar's daughter for wife. Despite some reluctance, the old man agrees to court her on his son's behalf. The old man goes to the tsar's court and explains his bear son wishes to get married. The tsar accepts the bear's courtship, but everytime sets a task first: first, a house larger than the tsar's must be built; next, a new church for the couple to marry in, served by nine priests; thirdly, a bridge over a river, on marble pillars encrusted with gems and with a nightingale on each pillar; lastly, to build a carriage that can ride on both land and water. To accomplish the tasks, the bear makes a bow to the north, to the sunrise and to the noon, and a cadre of 12 young men appear to serve him, whom they address as Ivan Mikhailovich. After fulfilling the tsar's tasks, the bear and the princess marry and move out to another house. On the wedding night, the bear takes off the bearskin to become a man, to the princess's delight, but wears it again in the morning. This goes on for some time until, one day, the princess inquires her husband about his enchanted nature: the bear is a prince, cursed into ursine form by a witch named Syuvätteri, for not marrying her daughter, he has to live like a bear for three years, and there is a still a month before the spell is lifted. The princess promises to keep this a secret between them, but, later, they are visited by the royal couple. The queen asks her daughter how she can bear to live with a husband like him, and the princess tells her about the bearskin. That same night, while the bear, in human form, is asleep, the queen takes the bearskin and burns it. Ivan Mikhailovich wakes up and, not finding his animal disguise, admonishes his wife and swears she will not find him again, then departs. After a period of grief, the princess decides to look for him. She passes by the houses of three witches that spin on chicken legs, and each one directs her to the next. After arriving at the third witch's house, the eldest of the three, the witch says Ivan Mikhailovich went by nine years before, but the princess can see him again, so the witch gives her silk ribbons for thread warps, and she is to find work with a widow down in a nearby village; next to the widow's house, Syuvätteri's daughters will come to a nearby well to fetch water. The princess follows the witch's instructions, and, when she sees Syuvätteri's daughters by the well, throws a shuttle through the window to draw their attention. Syuvätteri's daughters return the shuttle to the princess and notice the dress she is weaving, and wishes to have it. The princess sells it for a night with Ivan Mikhalovich. A deal is made, and the princess goes to talk to him, but Ivan is fast asleep for having sleeping needles on his bed. The princess fails the first night, and gives more dresses for two more nights, where she also fails. Before she is removed from the room, she soaks her husband's shirt with her tears, places a ring with her name on it and ties a ribbon to his waist. Ivan Mikhailovich wakes up and notices the shirt, the ring and the ribbon, and Syuvätteri convinces him to arrange a feast. It happens thus: a feast is prepared and everyone is invited, the rich, the poor, the gypsies, and the princess. During the ceremony, Ivan Mikhailovich asks the guests if a second wedding is better than the first; the rich and the poor agree, but the gypsies say that the first wedding is better. With this, Ivan Mikhailovich executes Syuvättari and takes his true wife back.

In a Karelian tale titled "Сын-медведь" ("Bear-Son"), an old couple live together. However, they suffer for not having any son to look after them in old age, so the husband goes out to find anyone to be their son. In the forest, the man finds a bear which runs towards him and asks if he can make the bear his son. The old man doubts the bear's honesty, but decides to welcome the bear into their house. The bear introduces himself to the old woman, who faints at the sight. The bear, true to his word, nudges the woman awake and promises not to hurt them. The trio live together as a family. One day, the bear son asks the old couple to find him a bride, and suggests the tsar's daughter as his intended. The old couple question the bear son's decision, since no one would want to marry a bear. Still, the old man takes a boat and oars to the other side of the river to talk to the tsar. The tsar, on learning of the prospective son-in-law's identity as a bear, agrees to his courtship, but orders him to fulfill some tasks before the wedding: first, build a palace grand as the tsar's; next, to build a bridge over the lake, standing on marble pillars and encrusted with gems, and with nightingales singing nearby; lastly, to design a carriage that can ride over land and sea. Each time, the old man informs the bear son of the tsar's demands, and the bear assures him the task will be done by morning. After the couple sleeps, the bear son goes to the couple's yard, makes a bow to the north, then to the east, and finally to noon, and suddenly invisible bear servants appears to fulfill the task for the bear son. After providing the monarch's demands, the bear and his parents ride the carriage over the bridge to the tsar's palace to fetch his bride. The tsar's daughter goes to meet her future husband and swoons at seeing the bear. The animal nudges her awake and takes her to his palace. On the wedding night, the bear son removes his bearskin to become a handsome youth, to the princess's delight, and puts it on again in the morning. They live like this for some time, until one day the princess asks her bear husband the secret of this transformation: he says she must not tell anyone, and reveals the witch Suoyatar kidnapped him when he was but an infant, and, for escaping her, she cursed him into ursine form for three years, and the curse is almost at an end. Some time later, the princess and her husband visit the tsar, and the tsar's wife asks her daughter how she can live with a bear. The princess then tells her mother about her husband's secret and the queen, when the couple is asleep, steals the bearskin and burns it. The human bear husband wakes up the next morning and, not seeing the ursine disguise, admonishes his wife for betraying his secret, given her a silk ribbon and his ring, then vanishes. The princess blames her mother for ruining her life, and returns to her parents-in-law's house. After years of mourning, the princess decides to look for her husband. She begins a long journey and passes by three houses that spin on legs, and meet three large-nosed old women. The three old women tell the princess her husband passed by them, and the third one reveals that the princess's husband is a prisoner of Suoyatar, who keeps him under lock and key, for she forces him to plough her fields which are surrounded by a barrier of snakes, gives him a sleeping potion every night and makes him sleep in the barn. The third old woman, however, also tells the princess she can save her husband: Suoyatar has three barns full of linen which the princess must offer to spin, and gives her a pipe to summon rats to help to do the task for her, and a swallow's feather to turn herself into a swallow. Following the old woman's advice, the princess reaches Suoyatar's house and employs herself to spin all of the witch's linen in a single week. The princess summons the rats with the pipe to help her, and she finishes the task in two days. At night, she also sights her husband coming to sleep in the barn, then turns into a swallow to enter the other barn. The princess flies into the barn, turns herself into human and tries to wake her husband, but he is fast asleep, so she ties his silky ribbon on his body and flies away. The next morning, the husband notices the ribbon around his waist. In the second day, the princess finishes up the task in the second barn, flies up to her husband in his barn and places his ring on his finger, then flies away as a swallow. The third day, the princess finishes the third barn and flies back to her husband's barn, and this time he recognizes her, for he avoided drinking the witch's sleeping potion. The couple reunite, unlatch the barn's doors and make a run through the woods. Suoyatar senses something wrong and goes to check on her prisoner; on not finding him, she chases after the couple. The princess's husband realizes they are being chased and summons his bear servants, which come and maul the witch to smithereens. Now safe at last, the princess and her husband return to his parents.

See also

• The Brown Bear of Norway
• White-Bear-King-Valemon
• East of the Sun and West of the Moon
• Whitebear Whittington
• The Tale of the Little Dog (Sámi fairy tale)

References

Category:Estonian fairy tales Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:Fictional bears Category:Bears in human culture Category:Bears in literature Category:ATU 400-459

Iranian/Dari ATU 425, "Search for the Lost Husband"

Afghan ATU 425B

Shah Sultan Serpent

In an Afghan tale from Herat titled "شاه سلطان مار" ("Shah Sultan Serpent"), a king has three daughters. One day, they are bored, and send for the eunuchs to buy melons of varying ripeness and have them delivered to their father. The king questions the meaning of the fruits, and his minister answers: the melons are an analogy for their marriagebility, the elder's is overripe, the middle one is ripe, and the youngest is just right. Thus, the king gives them oranges and lead them to the palace roof, so they can choose husbands by throwing the oranges at their suitors of choice. The elder two throw theirs to the minister's house and the lawyer's house, respectively, while the youngest's falls on the plain. The youngest princess walks to the plain and digs out a hole to protect herself from the weather and wild animals, when suddenly a black snake with a crown, the Snake King or Shah Sultan Serpent, crawls out of the hole. The princess faints at the sight of the animal, but the snake takes off its skin to become a human youth, and comforts her. She wakes up and explains the situation to him. They enter a hole in the ground to a sumptuous palace, and fall in love with each other, becoming husband and wife. A year later, the princess wants to visit her family; Shah Sultan Mar at first denies her, but relents. He then prepares three horses of clouds and winds to take her to her sisters.

The youngest princess reaches a female hamman and meets with her elder sisters, who marvel at her jewels and garments, feeling jealous of her. After being told of the whole story, they deduce their brother-in-law is a peri, and convince their sister to ask how to destroy the snakeskin. The princess returns and does as her sisters requested, but Shah Sultan Mar slaps her face for her question, admonishes her that the question will destroy their life. Some time later, the girl asks again, and this time she promises she will not burn his snakeskin. On these terms, Shah Sultan Mar reveals how: with peels of garlic and onion. Days pass, and the princess gathers enough peels, take the snakeskin and burns it in a corner of the garden. As soon as she does that, the garden, the palace and everything disappears, leaving the princess alone on the plains where her orange fell. Shah Sultan Mar appears to her in the shape of a dove, admonishes her, and says she can find him again by walking for seven years towards the "qibla of the Earth", wearing iron garments and iron shoes and with seven iron canes until she reaches his lands, then flies away. The girl dons the iron garments and travels through lands and countries for seven years, until she passes by herds of sheep and cattle, which some shepherds say belong to Shah Sultan Mar and Bibi Nagar. The shepherds also mention that Shah Sultan Mar is a peri on his father's side, and the son of a female Barzangi.

The girl reaches the land of Peris and Divs, and sights the castle towers in the distance. While she stops to rest near a tree, a maidservant comes to fetch water for her master Shah Sultan Mar. The princess asks for a drink, which the maidservant denies, and the princess curses the water to become blood. The second time, the princess is denied again and curses to become pus. The third time, Shah Sultan Mar orders the maidservant to fulfill the wanderer's request. The princess takes a sip from the jug and drops her ring inside it, which is brought to her husband Shah Sultan Mar. The youth recognizes the ring and goes outside to meet his human wife. They reunite, but he warns her his family is comprised of man-eating barzangis and other bloodthirsty monsters, so he will pass her off as a maidservant. He takes his human wife inside and introduces her to his mother as a girl from a coming caravan who has come to be their servant, and makes his mother promise not to eat her.

Despite this, Shah Sultan Mar's mother begins her tricks to devour her. First, she sends the princess to her sister to ask for some dough, and writes a command on the girl's forehead for his sister to devour her. Shah Sultan Mar wipes the command on his human wife's forehead to spare her. Next, the girl is forced to wash a black thing white, which Shah Sultan Mar does by uttering the name of Azam, then to wash the white thing black again, which is also done by Shah Sultan Mar. Thirdly, the girl is to sweep and wash the path for his upcoming wedding, which Shah Sultan Mar does by saying a prayer. Just before the wedding ceremony, Shah Sultan Mar asks his wife to fetch some needles, some juwaldaz (giant sewing needles), some salt and a mirror. Later that night, the princess is made to hold candles and dance during Shah Sultan Mar's wedding to his cousin. As the princess dances, she sings some sad verses about how her fingers are burning, and how she has suffered for Shah Sultan Mar, while Shah Sultan Mar says his heart and soul are burning, referring to the princess as "Bibi Nagar". After the ceremony, as they enter the "halja" (an alcove), Shah Sultan Mar puts out the candles in his wife's hands, kills his cousin, and escapes with the princess through the roof. The next day, the barzangi family knocks on the door to the wedding chambers and, suspecting the silence, enter the room and find the dead bride. They blame the human girl they brought in, and gather the tribes to go after them. On the road, Shah Sultan Mar and his wife realize they are being pursued, and throw behind them the items to deter his family: the needles to hurt their feet, the salt to burn their wounds, the juwaldaz to further hurt them, and finally the mirror to create a sea between them and their pursuers. From the other side of the sea, his family asks how they can cross the water, and Shah Sultan Mar convinces them to place some stones on them and wade through. Some of them obey his orders and sink to the bottom of the sea, while others survive. Free at last, Shah Sultan Mar lives in happiness with the princess.

Khasta Khamorah (The Human Brick)

A poor thorn-gatherer lives with his wife and three daughters. One day, he finds a stash of wheat under a stone and brings it to his family. However, when he returns the next day to fetch some more, a snake appears and questions the man. The man reveals he took the grains, and the snake demands one of the thorn-gatherer's daughter as his wife. The man returns home as asks which will go with the snake: the elder two refuse to marry the snake, save for the youngest. Following the snake's instructions, the thorn-gatherer dresses his cadette and places her on a white camel, when a cadre of snakes on a white she-camel appear to take her to their master. The girl meets her snake bridegroom, who reveals he is a peri named Khasta Khamorah under the snakeskin. She lives in luxury in an underground palace. Some time later, the girl's elder sister pay her a visit and advise her to burn the snakeskin. The girl asks Khasta Khamorah how to burn it, and he slaps her so hard to chastise her for such a question. Still, the girl burns the snakeskin, despite his warnings; Khasta Khamorah tells his wife she will only find him again by wearing seven pair of iron shoes and seven iron clothes, and warns his wife his family is made of devs. With this, he disappears along with the palace and everyhing in it. The girl goes after him in the iron garments and finds him again at his family's house. The devs take her in and force her on hard tasks for her to fail so she can be devoured: first, to sweep straw; then, to wash a black cloth white and another white into black. With her husband's magic powers, she prevails. Thirdly, the girl is ordered to go to the dev-aunt's house and fetch a comb, scissors, and a mirror. Khasta Khamorah intercepts his wife and advises her how to proceed: compliment a river of pus by saying it is yellow oil; compliment a pool of blood by saying it is mulberry syrupy, compliment a crooked tree by saying it is straight, exchange the fodder between two animals (bones for a dog, straw for a camel), and steal the objects when his aunt goes to another room to sharpen her teeth. The girl follows his instructions to the letter, fetches the items and rushes back, and the aunt commands her servants to stop her, but they stay their hand due to the girl's kind words. Finally, Khasta Khamorah is betrothed to his cousin, and his brother-in-law ties some candles to the human girl to illuminate the wedding procession. Khasta Khamorah asks his mother to let their new servant in the wedding chambers at night. It happens thus, and Khasta Khamorah roasts his dev cousin alive in retaliation for burning his human wife, takes some needles, some straw and a cup of water and escapes with his wife. The next morning, the aunt and mother enter the wedding room and find the dev-cousin's charred remains under the chadris, and decide to chase after the couple. On the road, Khasta Khamorah realizes his relatives are chasing after him and throws behind the needles to hurt their feet, the straw to burn their eyes, and the cup of water to create an ocean between them. On the other side of the ocean, his female relatives ask how he crosses the water, and Khasta Khamorah says he put some rocks under his arms and jump in the water. The dev-family falls for his trick, places the rocks and drown in the ocean. Khasta Khamorah and his human wife return to their underground palace and live in peace.

Persian ATU 425B

• Shammas, Saeid; Shammass, Shaunie (2018). My Mother's Persian Stories: Folk tales for all ages in English and Farsi. Kotarim International Publishing. pp. 18-22 (Tale nr. 2, "GreenRobe"). ISBN 9789657238301.

• Haghroosta, Maryam; Pedrosa, José Manuel (2010). Los príncipes convertidos en piedra y otros cuentos tradicionales persas. Guadalajara (España): Palabras del Candil. pp. 63-74 (Tale nr. 8, "Bibi Negar, la Amada Buena, y Heydar Mar, el marido serpiente"). ISBN 9788493756932. OCLC 868814669.

• L'endormi mélanquolique (= Khasta Khumar?). In: Faqiri, Abolqâssem. Oessehä-ye mardom-e Fars [Les contes du Fars]. éd. Sepehr, Téhéran, 1970. p. 113ff.

Tales from Khorassan Vol. 8

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• "جلد مار" = snakeskin ('snake jild')
• "گله گاو" = flock of cows
• "گله شتر" = flock of camels
• "گله ⁧اسب⁩" = herd of horse(s)
• "بشور" + "سفید" + "سیاه" = wash (imp.) white into black
• "دیوار شکسته" = broken wall
• "دیوار راست" = straight wall

Shafi Guli Zard (Fars province)

In an Iranian tale collected in Fars province with the title "شفی گلی زرد" ("Shafi Guli Zard"), a snake appears to an old man in the desert and demands one of the man's daughters in marriage. The man returns home and asks his daughters which will go to the snake: the elder five refuse, but the youngest, suspecting somehing more about the snake agrees. Thus, the girl is prepared and dressed in fine garments and given to the snake, while the snake repays him a hefty dowry in jewels and gold, and the man departs. The girl keeps suspecting the snake is more than it appears, they enter the snake's abode through a crevice, and she finds a lush garden inside with a large mansion in the distance. The snake comes out of the snakeskin to show his true form as a handsome human youth, and, despite some initial reluctance, reveals his origins: he is Shafi Guli Zard, son of the Shah of the Paris, who an ugly black woman wants to betroth to her even uglier daughter. He alternates between both places so they will not suspect anything, and asks his human wife to keep the secret; if not, he will depart and she has to wear out seven pairs of iron shoes in search for him. Some time later, she begins to miss her family, and pays them a visit in her parents' house, adorning herself with garments and jewels and joined by her husband, who camps outside the house in a tent. Her mother is surprised at her presence, but her elder sisters mock her for being a snake's wife that has come to poison them. Fed up with their mockery, she shows then jewels and ornaments her husband gave her, questions how her spouse can be a snake if he can talk, and finally reveals her husband is Shafi Guli Zard, son of the Shah of the Paris. On hearing this, Shafi Guli Zard shows himself and abandons his wife.

The girl puts on seven pairs of iron shoes and goes after him, passing by mountains and deserts. She meets a shepherd on the journey, then wanders off until she finds an old woman who takes her. However, the old woman begins to force her on hard tasks as her servant. One day, the old woman gives her a black cloth and orders her to wash it white in the water. When doing the task, Shafi Guli Zard appears and asks why she went after him. The girl says she would never break her promise, but her sisters made her do it, and Shafi Guli Zard explains the old woman is Elala Zangi, who betrothed her daughter to him. He also chants a spell and turns the black cloth white. Days later, Elala Zangi orders the girl to go to her sister's house and fetch from there a pair of self-cutting and self-sewing scissors. Shafi Guli Zard intercepts her and advises her how to proceed: she is to compliment a hedge of thorns and say it is a needle, compliment a pool of sewage and say it contains water like honey and oil, exchange the fodder between two animals (bone for a dog, straw for a camel), open a closed door and close an open one, get the scissors from the ledge and flee. Following his instructions, she reaches the old woman's sister's house, gets the scissors and rushes back. The old woman commands the door, the animals and the scenery to stop her, but they stay their hand. After this success, Elala Zangi still forces her on more hard tasks, which are done with Shafi Guli Zard's help.

Next, she is to clean up the yard for his upcoming wedding, which is done by Shafi Guli Zard summoning a raincloud after praying to God. Finally, the girl is placed on a platform and forced to hold ten candles on her fingers to illuminate Shafi Guli Zard's wedding to Elala Zangi's daughter. During the ceremony, the candles are melting in her hands, and she complains her hands are burning, while Shafi Guli Zard says it is his life that is. At midnight, Shafi Guli Zard takes the candles from his human wife's hands and escapes with her.

Sabzeh Qoba (Mazandaran)

In an Iranian tale collected from an 87-year-old teller from Noor, Mazandaran, with the title "سبزه قبا" or "سبزه‏قبا" ("Green Cloak"), translated as The Man in Green Robe,

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A magical person named Sabzeh Qoba marries a human maiden, and asks her to keep his identity a secret to her sisters, lest the garden they live in turns back to ruins, and she has to seek him out on a long journey in seven pairs of iron shoes and with an iron cane, until the iron is worn out and the cane is but a stick in her hands. Still, he gives her his ring and advises her to drop it inside a jug when she reaches her destination, and he will know she is nearby. Despite his warnings, the girl blabs his secret to her sisters, and, just as he predicted, his possessions disappear, the garden returning to its previous ruined state.

Sabzeh Qoba's mother gives the girl a letter to be delivered to her sister, with a command to kill the human, since she wants to replace Sabzeh Qoba's cousin as his bride. The girl begins to walk there, when the man intercepts her, reads the letter and tears it, then produces another missive with a request for a pair of scissors that cut and sew. He also advises her to exchange the fodder between two animals (grass for a cow, bones for a dog), deliver the letter to his aunt, get the scissors and escape, and not worry that his aunt will try to catch her and command the animals to stop her, but they will deny her order. She does as advised and brings back the scissors. His mother is furious she survived and writes another letter to her sister, with another command to kill her. Before his human wife goes to his aunt again, Sabzeh Qoba intercepts her, rips apart the letter and gives her another letter with a simple request for a tambourine that sings and dances. The girl makes the same path to his aunt's house to fetch the instrument and rushes back to his mother's house. Sabzeh Qoba's mother failing in another attempt against her son's human wife.

As his wedding approaches, Sabzeh Qoba tells his human wife to leave the compound and place ten candles on her hands to light the way and wait for him. She does as instructed and waits for him. Back to him, Sabzeh Qoba goes through with the wedding and, that same night, beheads his cousin, saddles two horses (one of the cloud race and the other of the wind race), and goes to meet his human wife in the wilderness. The pair mount the horses and escape through the sky.

Back to his peri family, Sabzeh Qoba's mother and aunt discover the bride's corpse in the morning, and ride their own pair of horses to chase after the couple. Sabzeh Qoba and his human wife notice his family are trailing behind them, they land, and, upon reciting some verses, turns himself into a dragon ("اژدهایی") and his human wife into a tree. His female relatives pass by the tree and dragon and, not seeing anyone, continue their chase. After the creatures leave,

The king's other two sons-in-law ride around the wilderness to hunt some deers, and reach Sabzeh Qoba's lands. He invites them in and learns of their mission. Sabzeh Qoba agrees to give some of the deers at his garden to his brothers-in-law, in exchange for branding the feet of both men with a brand of ownership. The deal is made, and both men return to the palace with the meat, which is cooked and given to the king. The monarch eats the dish and his health improves a bit. Sabzeh Qoba sends his own dish to his father-in-law on a silver platter, which he eats and his health is restored. Sabzeh Qoba then sends an invite to the king and his court to come to his palace, and welcomes them. The king is then guided to another room, where his youngest daughter, in fine clothes and jewelry, meets him. Father and daughter embrace in a tearful reunion. Sabzeh Qoba then enters the room and announces the king has two of Sabzeh's slaves in his court: his two sons-in-law. The king notices that there is a brandmark on the sons-in-law's feet, while the elder sisters are humiliated by the situation. He then recognizes Sabzeh Qoba as a worthy son-in-law and a worthy husband to his daughter, and nominates him as his successor, and his other sons-in-law as his ministers.

Author Behzad Sohrabi published the tale The Man in Green Robe, retold from an "ancient fairy tale of Iran", with similar plot points. In this tale, the king prepares a suitor selection test with his daughters: each is to take a trained falcon and release it; wherever it lands, if there is a suitor nearby, she is to marry him. Princess Golnar, the third and youngest daughter of the king, releases hers and it flies beyond the castle's walls, to a desolate place. She releases it twice again and it still lands in the same place. She eventually marries a mysterious "Man in Green Robe". After the wedding, he warns her against a prohibition imposed on him. She disobeys, he disappears and she has to find him in a distant city, by wearing down seven pairs of iron shoes and carrying an iron cane. When she reaches her destination, she meets her mother-in-law, and begs her to promise not to harm her on her son's name. Her husband, the Man in Green Robe, is set to be married to his cousin, and her mother-in-law forces her to do some chores for her, including bearing a letter to his aunt with a command to kill the princess. Before Golnar visits the woman, her husband intercepts her and exchanges the letter for another with a request for a pair of "scissors that cut and sew by themselves". Having failed the first time, the mother sends her again with another letter, and again the Man in Green Robe replaces the command with a simple request for a musical instrument ("the tambourine that sings and dances"). As his wedding ceremony approaches, the Man in Green Robe dispatches his human wife to the wilderness and instructs her to wait for him with ten candles on her fingers, while he deals with the false bride. After ruining his wedding, he meets Golnar and they escape from his parents by transforming into different things. After the dust settles, they regain human form and create a kingdom for themselves with his magic powers. Some time later, his father-in-law visits them and names Golnar's husband as his successor.

Bibi Nagar and Agha Shahryar

In an Iranian tale collected by researcher Hamidreza Khaza'ei from Khorasan province with the title "بي بي نگار و آقا شهريا" or "بي بي نگار و آقا شهريار", "بی بی نگار و آقا شهریار" ("Bibi Nagar and Agha Shahryar"),

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Bibi Nagar marries Agha Shahryar, who lives in a snakeskin. One day, her sisters visit her to talk about their cadette's marriage to a snake. Bibi Nagar answers her husband is no snake, but a youth that lives inside the reptile skin. The sisters then suggest they burn the snake covering and place it inside the oven, but the fire does nothing to it. Thus, the sisters convince Mehrnagar to ask her husband that same night how to destroy his disguise. The girl does as asked, but he backhands her for the question. Mehrnagar cries, and Agha Shahryar answers: with garlic, but warns her that, if she does that, he will turn into a pigeon and fly away, and she will have to search for him for seven years in iron shoes, until they are worn out.

Mehrnagar tells her sisters the answer, but they dismiss his warning as a him trying to scare her. At any rate, she collects enough garlic and burns Agha Shahryar's snakeskin. As the the serpentine covering burns, the man turns into a pigeon, admonishes his wife for breaking his trust, then flies away. The girl cries for her loss,

then commissions from a blacksmith a pair of iron shoes and an iron cane, so she can begin her long journey. She walks for seven long years, until she stops by a spring near the castle of the Dibas (devs). The story then explains Agha Shahryar left his ring on Bibi Nagar's finger on their wedding night. The girl sees a maidservant is fetching water. Bibi Nagar asks for some water to drink, which the maidservant refuses, since it is for her master. Thus, Bibi curses the water to become blood when her master is to wash his hands on it.

Agha Shahryar finds Bibi Nagar again, and warns her he is to be married to his cousin. His mother learns of a human's arrival to their house, and tells her sister they must destroy her. The creature's sister says she cannot devour Bibi Nagar with her nephew present, and convinces her sister to send the girl to her house with a pair of scissors.

Agha Shahryar intercepts his wife and asks where she is going; she tells says she is going to his aunt's house to lend her the scissors to adjust the bride's hair. The man advises her how to proceed: she is to exchange fodder between two animals (bone for a dog, cotton seeds for a camel); then she will pass by a stream of dirty water which she is to say looks clear, throw a pebble inside it, repeat an prayer three times then move out; pass by a crooked wall and say it looks straight, enter his aunt's house, steal the scissors and flee. Bibi Nanar follows his instructions to the letter and reaches his aunt's house, where she asks for the scissors. The aunt asks her to wait a little, then retires to another room, to sharpen her teeth. While the creature is distracted, Bibi Nagar steals the scissors and rushes back through the same path. The aunt sees that the girl, which the story at this part calls both "Bibi Mehr" ("بی بی مهر", in the original) and "Mehrnegar" ("مهر نگار", in the original), has escaped, and commands the wall, the water and the animals to stop her, to no avail.

Bibi Mehrnagar ("بی بی مهر نگار", in the original) returns to her mother-in-law's home, where a wedding is held at midnight between Agha Shariar and his female cousin. Agha Shahryar kills his bride, recites a verse and turns himself and his human wife into two pigeons, then fly away from the house. The next day, Agha Shahryar's aunt relizes her daughter is dead and wants her family to look for the pigeons, but the pair of birds have escaped to their own city.

<The pair of birds reach their city, where they transform into a bouquet of flowers, which a dervish finds and keeps singing in front of the palace's doors. The king tries to bribe him to leave with horse and gold, but he refuses the gifts twice.>

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Bibi Zarnagar (Qushan)

In an Iranian tale collected from a Qoshan source with the title "بی بی زرنگار" ("Bibi Zarnagar"), there is a legend about a marriage between Bibi Zarnagar and a person named Khoja Khast Khamar ("خوجه خست خماری", in the original). One day, she asks him how she can destroy his snakeskin, and he replies: with garlic and onion peels, but warns her that, if she does it, he will roll around the house, and she has to catch him; if not, she must find him with steel shoes and with a steel cane. For the next days, she collects enough garlic and onion peels and, when he is in the bathroom, burns his snakeskin. He senses the burning, rolls around the house, and cannot be caught by Bibi Zarnagar, then vanishes. She puts on steel shoes and walks with a steel cane, then passes by a flock of sheep, a vineyard (where she eats some grapes), a blue river with an endless stream and a bridge - all belonging to Khoja Khast Khamar as gift for his wife.

After some more walking, she notices her shoes are worn out, and the cane is but a stick in her hands. She then sees she is near a spring, where people are fetching water, and asks a passing servant for some to drink. The servant says her brother is waiting for the water, and ignores the stranger's pleas. When the servant goes to meet her brother, Khoja Khast Khamar, and pours water on his hands, it has become pus and blood. Khoja Khast Khamar suspects something, and the servant says a person asked her for some water, which she refused, and the person cursed the water to become pus and blood. Khoja Khast Khamar orders the servant to go back and fulfill the stranger's request, then bring another jug. The servant returns and shares the water with Bibi Zarnagar, who secretly drops her ring inside the jug. When the servant brings the jug to her master, the ring falls on his hands. Khoja Khast Khamar recognizes the ring and goes outside to meet his wife. He admonishes her for having burnt his snakeskin, but recites some verses, turns her into an object and brings her inside the house. He then meets with his mother and asks if she can welcome a human to their abode, then makes her promise not to devour any human. His mother makes a vow, and Khoja Khast Khamar shows his mother the human Bibi Zarnagar. Khoja Khast Khamar tells his wife to come to him whenever his family wants something of her. It happens thus, and Bibi Zarnagar does whatever his mother orders of her, until one day, the woman orders her to go to her sister's house to fetch scissors to sew a dress for the upcoming wedding.

Khoja Khast Khamar intercepts his wife and advises her how to proceed: exchange the fodder for two animals (bone for a dog, straw for a camel), compliment a pool of pus and blood by saying it contains honey, compliment a crooked wall by saying it is straight, take the scissors behind the door of his aunt's house and escape. Bibi Zarnagar does as instructed, and goes to meet his husband's aunt, asking for the scissors. While the woman is distracted, Bibi Zarnagar steals the scissors behind the door and rushes back to the same path. The woman then orders her the animals and the broken wall to stop the girl, to no avail. then, she is to sweep the yard, the floors and the alleys before the ceremony - Khoja Khast Khamar summons the north wind to fulfill the task for her. Later, at night, they tie candles on Bibi Zarnagar's hands so that she illuminates the wedding procession by going ahead of them. Bibi Zarnagar complains to her husband her fingers are burning, while Khoja Khast Khamar states his heart and soul are burning. They enter the couple's chambers, and Khoja Khast Khamar requests a bed for the servant, in case he and his bride need anything. When his bride is asleep, Khoja Khast Khamar asks his human wife to trade places with her, for the demons will soon come. The demons devour the wrong person, thinking it is the human girl. Khoja Khast Khamar bids his wife to escape with him, before the demons realize they ate the wrong person. The couple saddle their horses, one with a bag of milk and juwaldaz, and another with salt, gold and a jug of water.

The next morning, the demons realize they devoured the wrong person and, vowing revenge against Bibi Zarnagar and her husband, go after them. Back to the couple, they notice the demons coming after them and throw the objects behind them to deter their pursuers: first, they throw the juwaldaz to hurt their feet, then the salt, which spreads everywhere to enter their wounds, and finally the jug of water, which creates a sea that drowns the pursuing demons.

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Sabze Qoba and Bira (Bakhtiari)

In a tale from Bakhtiari province with the title "سبز قبا و بی را" ("Sabze Qoba and Bira"), a magical person named Suzalqwa marries a human maiden named Bidel Hava ("بیدل هوا", in the original). She, however, burns his skin/disguise/jild and he vanishes. The maiden goes after him and meets him at the house of his female relatives, where she is made to perform tasks for. First, she is to wash a piece of black cloth white as cow's milk, but all she does is making it darker. Sabze Qoba summons the help of King Suleiman, and changes the colour of the cloth.

Next, his mother gives her a box and orders her to go to her sister and trade the box for a comb, scissors and a mirror. The girl does not know where to go, and Suzalqwa's mother admonishes her, then spits on the ground, telling the girl to do the task quickly before her spit has dried up. Helpless, Bidel burns one of her husband's hairs to summon him. He appears to her, complaining about the consequences for burning his skin, but advises her how to proceed: she is to compliment a pool of blood by saying it is a spring of honey, then compliment a pool of pus by saying it contains oil; compliment a crooked tree by saying it is towering, exchange the fodder between two animals (bones for a dog, straw for a horse), deliver her the box and ask in return for the comb, scissors and mirror; she will take the box and go to a room in the back to sharpen her teeth; while his aunt is distracted, she is to get the objects from the stove and escape. Bidel Hawa does as instructed, delivers the box to his aunt. While the creature goes into a backroom, the girl steals the scissors, comb and mirror from a shelf above the stove and rushes back through the same path. Sabze Qoba's aunt then commands the animals, the tree and the pools to stop her, but they remain still due to her kind words and deeds.

Sabzeh Qoba (Hazaveh)

In an Iranian tale from Hazaveh, Sabze Qaba brings his human wife, Mir Duma ("مير دوما", in the original) to his mother and hides her. Still, his mother senses a human scent ('adamzad'). The creature gives Mir Duma some black clothes for her to wash in the spring until they become white. Sabze Qaba helps his wife and tells her not to tell his mother about it. Sabza Qoba's mother suspects the task was done by her son, and orders Mir Duma to wash the white clothes black again. The man finds his wife crying, for the more she washes, the whiter the clothes become, admonishes her for burning his disguise, then utters a "vardi" to turn the white clothes black.

Next, his mother gives Mirdoma a sieve and orders her to fetch water and water the floor with it.

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"Bibi Zarnagar" (Jolgeh Sankhvast)

In a Khorasani tale from Jolgeh Sankhvast, Bibi Zarnagar loses her husband Hasan Khumar ("حســن خمــار") and goes after him on a long journey. She passes by herds of sheep and camels in a desert and their respective herders. The girl asks them to whom the herds belong, and they answer: they are Hasan Khumar's dowry for Bibi Zarnagar. She finally passes by a castle and a house, which she learns also belong to Hasan Khumar.

Shah Sultan Mar and Bibi Nagar

In a tale from Taybad, in Razavi Khorasan province, with the title "" ("Shah Sultan Mar and Bibi Nagar"),

Sultar Mar in Dari Behdini

"سلطان مار" in Dari Behdini "دَری بهدینی"

Zarnagar and Shah Sultan Serpent

In an Iranian tale titled "زرنگار و شاه سلطان‌مار" ("Zarnagar and Shah Sultan Serpent"), sourced from Khorasan province,

Jewish-Iranian ATU 425B

In a Jewish-Iranian tale archived in the Israeli Folktale Archives (IFA) with the number IFA 15210 and titled "סבזה ג'ובה וגולה פרוז: בת המלך והעלם בעור נחש" ("Sabza Joba and Gul Feroz: The King's Daughter and the Man in the Snake Skin")

Iranian ATU 425B?

In an Iranian tale translated as Der Drachenschah ("The Dragon Shah"),

Turkic ATU 425, "Search for the Lost Husband"

• Jason, Heda [in German] (1970). Eberhard-Boratav Index of Turkish Folk Tales in the Light of the New Revision of Aarne-Thompson's Types of the Folktale. Magnes Press, The Hebrew University.

• AYDIN, H. (2012). Iğdır Masalları. Yayımlanmamısh Yüksek Lisans Tezi. Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Kırshehir.

• Comparison between Kurdish and Grimm German tales

Professor Gönül Tekin divides the Turkish cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom in three groups.

Tekin calls TTV 98 as "At Adam" ("Horse Man").

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Turkish ATU 425B (TTV 98)

• "bir topral, bir gümüs, bir altin kaleye" - a castle/fortress of clay, silver, and gold (the heroine's journey). According to Eberhard and Boratav's index, in 13 of the indexed variants, the heroine passes by mountains or castles of copper, silver and gold before reaching her husband's location.
• dev/Cadın - dev/witch
• "kutu" - box
• "süzgeç"/kalbur - colander/sieve
• "kuş" - bird (task: to collect/gather/fetch bird feathers)
• "yılan" / "ejderha" - snake/dragon (his transformation)
• "kavak" ("gavak") - poplar
• "ağaç" - tree (her transformation)

The Witch's Daughter-in-Law

In a Turkish Anatolian tale titled Cadının Gelini ("The Witch's Daughter-in-Law"), the youngest of three princesses marries a horse that is a handsome youth underneath the horseskin, since he is the son of the queen of the witches. He turns into a human during the wedding night and asks the princess to keep his secret, but she blabs about it and reveals the secret, causing their separation. The princess finds her husband at his mother's house, and both escape from her in a Magic Flight sequence, their last transformation a tree (her) and a snake coiled around it (him).

The Frog Prince (Turkey)

Kurbağa Şehzade ("The Frog Prince") = Search for the Lost Husband, meeting at the mountain Kafdağı (id. pp. 145/150ff.)

Sultan's Daughter and Yakup the Green

In a Turkish tale collected from a source in İbradı, Antalya, with the title Padişahın Kızı ile Yeşil Yakup ("Sultan's Daughter and Yakup the Green"), a padishah has three unmarried daughters. One day, he gives each of them an arrow, for them to throw and marry whoever the arrow lands near to. The elder two throw theirs and theirs land on the rooftops of viziers, to whom they are betrothed. The youngest princess's lands in a pond, she repeats her action and still lands on the pond, where a frog lives. The padishah orders his daugther to bring whatever it is that is in the pond, and she is married to the frog. One night, the princess finds a man in her room, who is the frog, and asks the princess to keep his secret. Later, the padishah organizes a tournament, and the frog husband, Yakup the Green, attends under a human disguise: the first time, as a knight in white, the second time, as a knight in black. The padishah asks his cadette about the mysterious knight, but she does not answer. Some time later, the monarch falls ill and wants some fruits during winter. The princess provides her father with an apple and a pear, and he presses his daughter to tell where she found the fruits. The princess reveals her husband's secret, he turns into a bird and he disappears. The princess cries for his fater, and goes after him in iron shoes and walking with an iron cane. She passes by the mountain of tin, the mountain of silver, and the mountain of gold, where she finds a girl in each of them and asks them about the location of Yakup the Green's house. Only the girl at the gold mountain answers: she warns that Yakup the Green has a Dev (giant) family that will devour her; still, she will pass by a hedge of thorns which she is to compliment and says it contains roses, cover an open gap and uncover a covered one and they will let her through, exchange the fodder between two animals (meat for a lion, grass for camel), pass by a fountain from where honey and water flows, drink from them and compliment it, then reach another fountain where Yakup the Green comes to give water to his horse. The princess does as instructed and reaches the last fountain, where she finds her husband. Yakup the Green reunites with his wife, and places her on his horse to bring him to hus aunt. Yakup asks his aunt not to do any harm, then introduces the princess to her. Yakup the Green's aunt suspects the newcomer is his lover or fiancée, and orders her around: first, she is to fill vases with her tears. Yakup has given his wife some feathers to be burnt to summon him. The princess cannot fill the vases with enough water, and summons her husband. Yakup appears and summons water from the underground. Next, the dev-aunt gives the princess some pillows to be filled with bird feathers. The princess can find only enough feathers, then summons Yakup, who advises her to go to the nature and say that Yakup the Green sends his regards, and the birds will give her their feathers. Thirdly, the dev-aunt sends the princess to get a "galbır" (a type of sieve) from a neighbour. With her husband's help, she prevails. Finally, Yakup the Green takes the princess on his horse and they escape, when his female relatives (mother and aunt) go after them in the form of a white and black clouds. To trick their pursuers, Yakup the Green shapeshifts himself and the princess: an earring (the princess) and a lid (Yakup), then into a well (her) and a bird (him) and lastly into a cypress tree (her) and a dragon ("ejderha", in the original; him) wrapped around it. His dev-mother reaches the tree and dragon and tries to convince him to come back with her, but the dragon does not nudge and their pursuer leaves defeated. Yakup the Green and the princess shapeshift back to their forms and return home. The tale was classified as Turkish type TTV 98, "At Adam".

Dev Yavrusu

In a Turkish tale collected from informant Zeynep Doğan, from Adıyaman, with the title Dev Yavrusu ("The Young Dev"), an old couple walks somewhere and the woman complains about her thirst. She then drinks some water from a dev's footprint, and, nine months later, gives birth to a son in dev form. When he is three years old, he goes to the mountains in the morning, and returns at night. When he is twenty years old, he asks his parents to find him a bride, and suggests the local pasha's daughter. His parents question his choice, but he fills a basin of gold and tells his parents to take is as a gift to the pasha. His mother goes to the palace to give him the basin, but, on finding the monarch in prayer, she leaves the object there and goes home before she is found out. The next day, the giant son gives another golden basin to his mother and sends her again, and again the monarch is in prayer, but this time the concubines spot her. The third day, the woman goes to the palace again with the golden basin, and the concubines capture her and take her to the pasha. She explains her son wishes to marry his daughter. The pasha agrees, but sets three tasks: first hi, for him to build a palace more magnificent than the pasha's and surrounded by trees, in a way the princess's feet cannot touch the ground; second, furnish the mansion with a carpet so that half remains empty; thirdly, provide a cluster of grapes for his soldier to eat and not diminish the fruits. The giant son provides the three requests (he uses a neighbour's hand mill for the palace, and asks his mother to buy a carpet and a grape for the other two). Resigned, the pasha marries his daughter to the giant son. On the wedding night, the giant son takes off his skin and becomes a handsome youth, then puts on the disguise in the morning. After six months, the pasha pays a visit to his daughter and asks her about her husband. The princess reveals about the giant's skin, and the pasha suspects the disguise is in the house somewhere. He finds it up a pillar and burns it. The giant son, without his skin, returns at night and discovers his disguise is burnt, then blames his wife for it, telling her he will depart and she will only find him if she wears down a pair of iron shoes. He then leaves. After he vanishes, she dons the iron shoes and makes a long journey, until, feeling tired, stops to rest by a tree. Her husband, Dev Yavrusu finds his wife near the tree and says he is living with a witch who wants to marry him to her daughter, but he will ask if he can take his human wife in. After he explains the situation, the witch agrees to take her in as a servant, and forces her on tasks. First, the witch gives the princess a black cloth and orders her to wash it white, for she will use it to make a quilt for her daughter. The princess takes the black cloth to the river; her husband utters a spell, then throws it in the river, where it becomes white.

Next, she orders her to gather bird feathers for a pillow. The princess tells her husband about the task, he spreads wheat grains and attracts the birds, ordering them to give their feathers. Next, the witch orders the girl to fetch a drum for the upcoming wedding. The princess does not know where to find one, so her husband advises her how to proceed: walk until she finds a river of pus and blood which she is to compliment, wash her face with it and drink from it; compliment a blackthorn, exchange the fodder between two animals (meat for a lion, hay for a horse), clean out a dirty sackcloth, reach a village where the witch's elder daughter lives and ask for the drum; refuse her invitation to come in and, while she exits the room to sharpen her teeth, steal the drum from a calabash behind the door and rush back. The princess does as instructed and brings the drum back, despite the witch's elder daughter commanding her servants to stop her. At last, the witch marries Dev Yavrusu to her daughter, but Dev Yavrusu tricks her, saying the wedding couple and their servant must spend three nights in the same room, as is costumary. The witch allows it. Later that night, Dev Yavrusu kills the bride and escapes with his human wife back to her kingdom. Back to the witch, she notices how long it has passed since the wedding night, and finds her daughter is dead. The witch's other daughter promise to avenge their sister and chase after Dev Yavrusu and the princess. On the road, the couple shapeshift into other people to trick their pursuers: first, a garden (the princess) and an old gardenkeeper (Dev Yavrusu); next, a small fountain (her) and a pumpkin (him); lastly, into a poplar tree (the princess) and a dragon ("ejderha", in the original) surrounding it (Dev Yavrusu). The witch herself reaches them, and Dev Yavrusu, conceding defeat, asks her for a last kiss, since he knows they will be devoured. The witch agrees to it and opens her mouth; Dev Yavrusu bites the witch's tongue and she dies. The tale ends.

Süllü Yusuf

In a Turkish tale collected from informant Zülbiye Arslen from Nigde with the title Süllü Yusuf, a childless poor woman prays to Allah to have a child, even if he is a Dev. Thus, she is granted one. The Dev son grows up and she places him in the barn. One day, the princess is throwing out some ashes when she notices a light in the distance: it is the Dev. The Dev meets the princess and says he is a youth on the inside, but she must not tell his secret, lest he turns into a dove and fly to the land of the Devs. Later, the Dev son tells his mother he wants to marry the princess. His mother goes to talk to the padishah, who notices the poor woman's status. The princess appears from her window and says she wants to marry the Dev, and their wedding is celebrated. The princess's mother asks her about her husband, but she will not talk about him. She then sends her other daughter to spy on the wedding couple: the princess's husband removes the Dev disguise and becomes a handsome human youth. However, he notices his secret is out, turns into a dove, and flies away to the land of the devs. The princess laments the fact to her mother-in-law and her mother, then dons iron sandals and walks with an iron cane in search for him. She walks until the iron cane is but a stick in her hands, and sees a group of dev women fetching water with many jugs. She asks the one with the golden jug if she can have some, but the girl directs her to the one with the brass jug ("ibrikli"). This goes on with the other maidservants carrying metal and wooden pitchers, when the girl with the golden pitcher, who is the Dev king's daughter, mentions Süllü Yusuf's name. The princess hears the name and asks the girl where he is. The dev girl takes the princess to the garden, where Süllü Yusuf is digging up gold.

The couple reunites, but Süllü Yusuf warns the princess the Dev king has betrothed him to his daughter, and they must escape. The Dev King then orders the princess to make a feather bed for his daughter, or he will devour her. Süllü Yusuf finds his human wife crying, says a prayer and the birds come to give their feathers. Next, the Dev king orders the princess to fill cauldrons with her tears. The princess cries over a cauldron and cannot fill it, so Süllü Yusuf says another prayer, and a fountain springs forth. Thirdly, the Dev King orders the princess to go to his aunt's house and fetch a rolling pin and a baking tray. Süllü Yusuf advises the princess how to proceed: exchange the fodder between two animals (bone for a dog, clover for a horse), open a closed door and close an open one, pass through the metal and wooden doors, get the utensils, rush back, and don't look neither right, nor left. The princess follows his instructions to the letter, gets the utensils, and rushes back, the Dev's aunt commanding the doors and animals to stop her, to no avail. Finally, the Dev king tells the princess he will use her as dowry for his daughter's wedding. Süllü Yusuf advises her to hold still, go in the ashtray and curl up, for the fire of the tandoor will not harm her. It happens thus, and the princess leaves unscathed. The Dev king then locks up his daughter wih Süllü Yusuf in their room. Süllü Yusuf tricks the Dev bride into praying with a covering, and while he is distracted, Süllü Yusuf turns himself and the princess into two doves and both fly away through an opening. The Dev king's daughter realizes Süllü Yusuf escapes and her father sends his soldiers after them. On the road, Süllü Yusuf and the princess transform into a pair of fountains, then a pair of bushes to trick the Dev army, and finally reach the princess's kingdom, where they remarry in a seven day celebration.

Iron Staff, Iron Sandals

In a Turkish tale titled Demir Asa, Demir Çarık ("Iron Staff, Iron Sandals"), from Taşeli, a padishah's three daughters throw arrows at random to choose suitors, for wherever the arrow lands on they shall find their suitors. The elder two marry human partners, while the youngest's arrow lands on an eagle's nest. Resigning to her fate, she marries the fowl husband ("gaz tavığını", in the original; "kaz tavuğu"). To her surprise, however, the fowl husband turns into a brave youth by taking off his birdskin, but he tells his wife not to tell a soul about it. The princess's elder sisters mock her for marrying the fowl, but he warns her to keep quiet, lest she has to search for him in iron sandals and walking with an iron cane until they are worn out. Some time later, fed up with their mockery, she reveals her husband is indeed human. She goes to meet her husband, but cannot find him, so she commissions the iron apparel and goes after him. After some wandering, she reaches a fountain where a servant girl is fetching water. Reminded of the girl her husband Bahdiyar gave her before he vanishes, the princess asks the servant for some water to drink and drops the ring inside the jug. Inside the house, the servant pours down water on Bahdiyar and he notices the ring, and the servant tells him about the stranger by the fountain outside and he asks her to bring them in. Bahdiyar explains his elder sister is a dev (giantess), and he has been betrothed to his cousin, his mother's niece by his mother, a dev-woman. Bahdiyar turns his human wife into a broom to hide her from his dev family, but they still sense a human scent nearby. After some days, Bahdiyar asks his family he found a girl as a new servant and makes them promise not to harm her, then turns back the princess into human form. First, the dev-woman orders the princess to sweep. Not knowing how to do it, Bahdiyar fulfills the task for her by sweeping the floor and blowing some dust. Next, since they are arranging Bahdiyar's upcoming marriage, Bahdiyar summons the birds for them to offer them their feathers, which are used for pillows. Later, Bahdiyar is married to his cousin, and tells his mother he will take the new servant girl to their chambers. Bahdiyar lights ten candles on his cousin's fingers, places two millstones on her, and escapes with the princess. The dev family goes to check on the bride and find her burning to death. Realize Bahdiyar escaped, the dev family chase after them, but they shapeshift into other people to fool them: a garden house, a man with a ladle near a fountain and a thorn bush and "Erzail" ("Azrael"). The dev-mother approaches the bush, but the Erzail wraps himself around it. The princess and her husband reach her father's kingdom, where they remarry.

Yellow Feather

In a Turkish tale collected from an informant named Fadime Erkut in Tokat with the title Sarı Tüy ("Yellow Feather"), a man has three daughters and is ready to marry them off, but one of his daughters asks to consult with her female teacher first. The teacher tells the girl to ask her father to bring "Sarı Tüy" ("Yellow Feather"), which is in a box at the market and, after getting it, she is to let the box in another room and go to sleep. The man goes to the market and brings the box of Yellow Feather to his daughter, who places it in another room and goes to sleep. At night, the box opens by itself and out emerges a youth named Yellow Feather, who the informant describes as the son of a fairy, who goes to sleep with the girl. Some night later, the girl discovers Yellow Feather, who asks her not to reveal his identity to her sisters. One day, Yellow Feather is on the girls' roof on a yellow horse and in yellow garments, and the girl keeps quiet about his identity. This repeats the following day. On the third day, the girl points to the knight on the roof and says he is her husband, Yellow Feather. Betrayed by his human companion, Yellow Feather admonishes her and says she will only find him again if she wears down a pair of iron sandals and walk with an iron cane, then vanishes.

The girl dons the iron apparel and goes after him. After much wandering, she stops by a fountain to rest and notices her shoes are worn out, and the iron cane is but a stick in her hand. Next to the fountain, there are three houses: one of silver, another of gold and the third of mother-of-pearl. The human girl sees a girl come with from the silver house to fetch water and asks her if she saw Yellow Feather. The girl from the silver house says that Yellow Feather is her brother, and returns home to inform. The next day, the girl sees another one exiting the golden house to draw water and asks her if she saw Yellow Feather; the girl from the golden house says that Yellow Feather is her aunt's son. The third day, a third girl comes from the house of mother-of-pearl to fetch water, and the human girl asks if she saw Yellow Feather. The girl from the house of mother-of-pearl knows Yellow Feather, for he is her bridegroom, and becomes jealous. Yellow Feather's mother comes to take the newcomer in and hires her as her son's bride's maidnservant. Thus, Yellow Feather's mother says she is leaving to pay a visit to another house and orders the human girl to sweep and not sweep the floor. The girl does not know what to do and weeps. Yellow Feather appears and advises her: sweep half of the house and not the other half, and she leaves the garden untouched. Yellow Feather's mother returns and suspects her son had a hand in this.

Next, his mother orders the girl to wash the dishes as if she is not washing them, and not wash them as if she is washing them. The girl cries over the impossibility of the task, when Yellow Feather advises her to wash part of it. Still, the woman suspects her son's interference. Thirdly, she asks the girl not to stay neither on the ground, nor in the sky - Yellow Feather places his human wife on a swing to fulfill the task. Fourthly, the women orders the girl to fetch a box from her sister's house, which is behind a door, but the stairs are ordered to kill her. Yellow Feather advises his human wife to raise the plain stairs and lower the elevated one, fetch the box, and come back. Despite her attempts, his mother cannot kill the girl, so he brings the bride from the house of mother-of-pearl and weds her to Yellow Feather, makes them enter the wedding chambers, and places ten lit candles on the newcomer's hands for her to hold up. Yellow Feather notices his human wife's hands are burning, kills his bride, puts out the candles and escapes with his true wife to the wilderness. The next day, his family goes after him, and he shapeshifts himself and his wife into objects to trick their pursuers: first, into a mill (her) and a miller (him) to deceive his father; then, into a fountain basin (her) and a fountain (him) to fool his own sister. Finally, Yellow Feather's mother comes after the couple, and they shapeshift into a poplar tree (his human wife) and a snake coiled tighly around the tree (him) to protect it. Yellow Feather's mother reaches the couple and wants to cut up a shard of the tree, but the snake protects it with its body, so she leaves them be. Yellow Feather and his human wife resume their human forms and return home.

Bahtiyar Ağa

In a Turkish tale collected from an informant in Kahramanmaraş with the title Bahtiyar Ağa, Bahtiyar Ağa wants to marry a girl, and asks her to walk with a pair of iron sandals and an iron cane until she finds him, then vanishes. The girl goes after him in the iron garments, and, after walking a long way, notices the iron sandals and the iron cane are worn out, and goes to rest next to a fountain. Back to Bahtiyar Ağa, he sends his maidservants to fetch water for the ablutions. The maidservants leave the house and go to the fountain. The girl wakes up and sees the girls fetching water, then asks each one for a drink, each maidservant carrying a jug (golden, silver, copper, wooden, and clay). Four of the maidservants refuse her request, for they are fetching water for Bahtiyar Ağa, save for the one carrying the clay one, which gives some water for the stranger to drink. The girl drops a ring inside the jug, which the maidservant brings to Bahtiyar Ağa. The man recognizes the ring, and goes to meet the girl outside, turning her into an apple and taking her inside his house. Bahtiyar Ağa's mother, however, smells a human scent and asks her son about it. He makes her take a vow not to devour the girl, and introduces the human girl to his man-eating mother. Later, the creature orders the girl to gather bird feathers to fill a mattress for Bahtiyar Ağa, on penalty of devouring her if she fails. The girl tells Bahtiyar Ağa about it, and he advises her to go up a mountain and shout that she is making a mattress for Bahtiyar Ağa, and the birds will come to give her their feathers. It happens thus, and the girl accomplishes the task. Next, his mother gives the girl a golden broom and her to sweep and not lose a single thread of the broom. Bahtiyar Ağa summons a gust of wind and rain to sweep the house for her. Thirdly, the girl is to fill two jugs with her tears, which she does by sprinkling water and some salt.

Still undefeated, for she tells the girl her son Bahtiyar Ağa is behind her successes, she orders the girl to get a sieve from her daughter's house - a trap, since the other creature has not made the same vow. Bahtiyar Ağa intercepts the girl and advises her how to proceed: smell a flower in a spring, drink water from a spring of pus, close an open door and open a close one, exchange the fodder between two animals (grass for a horse, meat for a dog), steal the sieve and rush back. The girl follows the instructions to the letter, grabs the sieve and runs back to the house, the creature's voice commanding the animals, the doors and the fountains to stop her, to no avail. Finally, Bahtiyar Ağa decides to escape from his mother's house, and takes the girl with him. On the road, they realize they are being chased by a cloud (which is his sister at first, then his mother), and transform into objects to fool her: a fountain (him) and a stone (her), and a snake (him) and a poplar tree (her). His mother approaches the couple and confronts her son, changed into a snake. Bahtiyar Ağa, in snake form, admits defeat and asks for a last kiss from his mother. As soon as she opens her mouth, he bites her with snake venom, killing her.

Kuru Kafa Mehmet Çağ

In a Turkish tale collected from an informant in Kahramanmaraş with the title Kuru Kafa Memmet Çağ ("The Skull Mehmet Cag"), a shepherd is working, when one day a skull appears to him from the graveyard, saying it it bored, so he decides to become the man's son and help in his chores. The man agrees and takes the skull with him to his wife. Some time later, the skull asks his adoptive mother to court the padishah's daughter on his behalf. Despite some reservation, the woman goes to the padishah's court and proposes on his behalf. The padishah agrees, but wants to see the prospective suitor in the flesh. Thus, a handsme youth comes in through the door: it is Mehmet Çağ, whom the story describes as the son of the padishah of the peris, whom his mother cursed into skull form. The padishah's daughter, the princess, falls in love with him at first sight and both marry. Later, now back to human form, Mehmet Çağ tells his wife he will return to his home village and visit his mother, and tells her not to come looking for him in case he does not come back. Mehmet Çağ departs, and the princess keeps waiting for him for weeks, and he does not come back. Thus, she commissions from a blacksmith a pair of iron shoes and an iron cane, and goes after him.

The princess goes on a long journey and passes first by a clay castle, where a maidservant is fetching water with a clay jar. She asks for a drink of water and information about Mehmet Çağ, but the girl has not seen him. She then reaches a castle of silver, where she is treated the same way by a maidservant fetching water in a silver jar. Finally, she reaches a golden castle, where she finds the iron garments are worn out, just as a maidservant is fetching water in a golden jug, but says there is no one named Mehmet Çağ in the castle. The maidservant then returns home and tells Mehmet Çağ there is someone looking for him outside. The story then explains Mehmet Çağ is to be married to a bride of his mother's choosing. He goes outside and reunites with his human wife, but admonishes her that she indeed went after him. He brings her in and his mother, reluctantly, takes her in to be another servant. Some time later, she orders the princess to fetch feathers for a new mattress for her son. Mehmet Çağ advises his wife to go to a certain place and call on the birds, saying that Mehmet Çağ sends his regards, and they will give their feathers. The princess does as instructed and brings the feathers, to the woman's consternation that her son taught her that. Next, she conspires with her sister have the princess fail: they order her to wash and clean every object in the house - Mehmet Çaga advises her to go next to the shore and summon the peris (fairies) to help her. Thirdly, the woman orders the princess to fetch a sifting sieve from a sister that lives in a distant place - Mehmet Çağ intercepts his wife and advises her how to proceed: pass by a river of blood which she is to drink from, saying it is wine; pass by a river of pus and drink from it, saying it is yoghurt; compliment a bush saying that it is a rose, exchange the fodders between two animals (meat for a dog, grass for a horse), open a closed door and shut an open one. The princess follows the instructions to the letter, gets the sieve and escapes, her mother-in-law's sister commanding her servants to stop the human, to no avail.

Mehmet Çağ is forced to marry his cousin, and both enter the wedding chambers, but he asks for his mother to let their new servant accompany them and sleep on a nearby bed. At night, Mehmet kills his cousin, arranges her body on the bed, and escapes with his human wife. The next day, his mother knocks on the couple's door and discovers his niece's body, then sends some soldiers after her son and his wife. On the road, in order to trick his mother's soldiers, he turns himself and the princess into a ladle and a fountain, then into an orchard and a garden-keeper. Finally, after the soldiers return empty-handed, Mehmet Çağ's mother run after the couple. As a final transformation, he turns the princess into a poplar ("kavak", in the original) and himself into a snake ("yilan") coiled around it. Mehmet Çağ's mother stops before the tree and threatens the couple, but Mehmet, in snake form, asks for a last kiss from his mother, which she allows. When she opens her mouth, Mehmet, in snake form, bites her and she dies. The couple then return home.

Kelle

In a Turkish tale collected from an informant from Çankiri with the title Kelle, and couple have three daughters who each do their chores. The youngest daughter goes to sweep the garden and finds a single coin, which she pockets. The next day, and in the following days, she keeps finding a single golden coin, until they stop appearing. Later, she is walking on the road, when she hears a clicking sound near her, but cannot find anything that produces such noise. Later, she goes to take some food to her father and finds a skull ("guru gafa", in the original) on the road. She then goes to sweep the garden again and finds more money this time, eight or ten coins she gives to her mother. Soon enough, the skull appears again next to the girl and turns into a handsome youth in a puff of smoke. The youth explains he is neither dev nor jinn, but a simple human like her, cursed into that form he must stay under for another forty days until he marries and his wife keeps his secret. As time passes, the girl and the youth inside the skull spend time together and she decides to marry him. Being the most beautiful of her sisters, the elder two begin to envy and mock their cadette for marrying a strange husband. There is only the skull-shaped creature home, and they mock the girl for it. As the end of the curse is approaching, the youth warns his wife to keep his identity a secret until then. However, she cannot endure her sisters' mockery again and reveals the skull's secret, prompting his disapperance.

She consults with a wise man how she can find her husband, and is advised to walk in iron shoes and with an iron cane until both are worn down. The girl's sisters are sorry for their part in their brother-in-law's vanishing and try to dissuade her, but she decides to soldier on: she commissions the iron apparel from her father and begins her long journey. One day, she stops to rest under a tree, when she notices the stick is slightly crooked and the shoes have a small hole on their soles. She also spots a bird perched on the tree who begins to talk to her: it is her husband, warning her against his mother, since he is getting married to a bride of her choosing. He turns his human wife into a bird and both fly to his mother's house. The human skull's mother knows the newcomer is her son's wife, and begins to order her around, like going to an uncle and going to an aunt to get a rolling pin. His wife intercepts her and advises her how to proceed: exchange the fodder between two animals (meat for a lion, grass for a cow). The girl follows the instructions and reaches her aunt-in-law's house to steal the rolling pin, but climbs up some steps of a rundown staircase and compliments it. She fetches the rolling pin and rushes back, the aunt commanding the staircase and the animals to stop her, to no avail. Finally, the human skull's mother ties candles to the girl's fingers, which she is to hold until they melt during the night, and places her in a corner of the room. The human skull asks his wife the reason for this, and the girl says his mother put her up to it. The youth says it is a trap, since she intends to kill her, puts out the candles and both escape. On the road, he notices they are being pursued by his family in the shape of birds, and transforms themselves into a tree (her) and a snake coiled around it (him) to fool their pursuers. His relatives pass them by, but his mother knows they are in that shape, and goes after them. However, she fells down another tree, instead of the tree, while the couple returns home and remarries.

Eşmanip

In a Turkish tale titled Eşmanip, a childless old cowherd has no son. His wife sights a donkey foal and prays to have a son like that young animal. Eventually, she gives birth to a donkey colt. One day, he begins to talk and asks his parents to take him to school for his lessons. Years later, when the donkey son is twenty years old, he asks his parents to court the padishah's daughter, and gives his mother a bag of gold. The woman goes to the padishah and explains her son's proposal. The padishah agrees, but asks for some tasks first: first, raze the mountain near the palace; next, build a palace on its place and a garden with fruits and blooms, despite being winter - each of tasks given a 40 days' time for completion. Eşmanip fulfills the tasks, for he is the sultan of the jinns, and commands his servants, demons and djinns, do it for him. He then marries the princess and, on the wedding night, takes off his donkeyskin to become a handsome youth, then puts on the skin in the morning. Time passes, and the padishah invites his daughter and son-in-law for a meal. Eşmanip takes off the donkeyskin and comes to dinner in human form. On the same occasion, the princess tells her mother about her husband's secret, and the queen urges her daughter to burn the animal disguise. The princess does it, Eşmanip turns into a dove and flies away. The princess goes after him with two bags of gold and a horse. She reaches a city and, on not finding him, builds a bakery and offers bread to people, asking them about Eşmanip. Even after she sells her mount to continue her journey, she cannot seem to find him, until she sights a house in a meadow with a garden nearby. The princess plucks an apple from a tree, and the trees chastise her, mentioning the name of Eşmanip. The princess knows she is close, and finds some djinn girls working in the garden, who take her in as night falls. The princess is hired as their cook. Months later, she prepares some soup for Eşmanip and drops his ring inside it. Eşmanip recognizes his wife's ring and they reunite. He then sends for his subjects and places them under a forty day sleeping cycle, so the couple will seize the opportunity to escape. The couple take a magic jug, a magic comb and a magic mirror, then make their escape. After their forty day cycle, the djinns realize Eşmanip is gone and taken the cook with him, then chase after the couple. On the road, the couple notice their pursuers are closing in and throw behind them the objects they brought with them: the jug creates a vast sea, the comb a forest, and the mirror a field of glass shards. Eşmanip and the princess return safely to the padishah's kingdom and remarry.

Turkish Cyprus

The Green Angel

In a Turkish Cypriot tale titled Yeşil Melek ("Green Angel"), a king has a daughter. One day, suitors gather for her choice of suitor by throwing arrows at random. The princess shoots three arrows; she misses the first two times, but the third one hits a hill in the distance. The arrow lands near a horn ("boynuzdur", in the original). The princess retrials the shoot and the arrow still lands near the horn. The princess admits it is her fate, and her father builds a house near the horn. Fortunately for the princess, a youth comes out of the horn. He tells the princess to keep quiet about him for forty days, and they can be together. After a while, there is some horse contest, and the princess is mocked for marrying the horn, but, fed up with the teasing and mockery, she tells them about the boy that comes out of the horn. The princess returns home and does not find the youth, so decides to search for him. She begins a journey and reaches the Golden Mountain in hopes of finding clues of his whereabouts. A maidservant with a golden jug tells the princess Green Angel is not there, so she continues on her journey to the Onluk mountain and finally the Ruby Mountain. The princess stops by a stream and asks for some water from a maidservant, who tells her she is bringing water to Green Angel. The princess drinks from the ruby jug and drops her ring inside it, which the maidservant brings to her master. Green Angel discovers the ring and goes to meet her outside, by the stream. Green Angel warns the princess his family (father, mother, sisters) are devs (giants), and he is set to be married to his female cousin. Despite the danger, the princess wishes to be with him, so he turns her into a pin and brings it home with him. When he enters the house, his dev mother starts to scent a human's presence, which Green Angel tries to dismiss. Eventually, Green Angel makes his mother swear an oath and transforms the princess from pin to human form. After some days, the dev mother begins to force tasks on the princess: first, to sweep and not sweep the house - Green Angel takes the broom, sweeps the room and sprinkles some dust around the room. Next, the creature orders the girl to fill vases with her tears - Green Angel uses a sieve. The creature suspects the princess is getting help from her son. The third time, knowing that she cannot renege on her vow, she sends the princess to a certain place and orders her to fetch a box of musicians from the dev mother's brother for her son's wedding. Before the princess goes, Green Angel intercepts her and advises her how to proceed: drink from a stream, exchange the fodder between two animals (straw for a donkey, bones for a dog), pass a bridge and suckle on his aunt's breasts, then ask for the box. The princess does as instructed and steals the box, as the dev aunt commands the animals and the river to stop her, to no avail. At a distance, the princess opens up the box and musicians fly out of it. The princess begins to cry; Green Angel appears and helps her lock everything back into the box by burning one of his hairs. Finally, at Green Angel's wedding to his female cousin, his dev mother lights up candles on the princess's fingers and forces her to illuminate the wedding couple. Green Angel takes some provisions for the road, then trades the candles on the princess's finger for his bride, and both escape. The next morning, the dev family discovers the couple have escape, and the bride burnt to death, then chase after Green Angel and the princess. On the road, the couple throw objects behind them to deter their pursuers: an object creates a forest, the soap creats another obstacle, and the comb creates a wall. Failing that, the dev family is still in relentless pursuit, and Green Angel decides to transform himself and the princess into other people: first, a gardener and a garden, and finally into dates (the princess) and a seven-headed snake (Green Angel) to trick his mother. Green Angel kills his mother, then resumes human shape and brings the princess to her father's land, where they celebrate their wedding.

Blue/Green Angel

In a Turkish Cypriot tale titled Mavi/Yeşil Melek ("Blue/Green Angel"), a padishah her three daughters who are of marriageable age. The monarch realizes he cannot marry them off to any suitor without angering any family, so he decides to leave it to chance: the princesses are to choose their husbands by throwing arrows at random amidst a crowd. Thus, many suitors pitch their tents, and the princesses throw their arrows: the elder two's land near tents with human suitors inside, while the youngest's lands near the door of a barn, where a lame horse lies inside. Thinking she made a mistake, she throws it twice more, and twice more it lands near the barn. The princess then moves out to the barn to live with the horse. After midnight, the horse neighs and turns into a human prince, who introduces himself as Yeşil Melek ("Green Angel"), cursed into that equine state, and the princess must not reveal his secret, lest he disappears. Some time later, the elder princesses are married in grand ceremonies that last for three days, and riding games are played with the guests. On the first day, a mysterious knight appears in red vestments and on a red horse, then a knight in blue on a blue-black horse comes on the second day. The elder princesses marvel at the knight's beauty, and mock their cadette for marrying the lame horse. On the third day, the Green Horse appears at the ceremony in human form, with green garments and a black horse. The night before, he gave the princess a ring. Back to present time, the princess reveals the green knight is the lame horse, called Green Angel. She then returns to the barn and cannot find her husband. After forty days, she asks the padishah to give her iron sandals and an iron staff, then begins a journey to find Green Angel. She wanders up and down, until she finds a maidservant climbing down the Copper Mountain and carrying a copper basin. The princess asks her if she saw Green Angel, and the maidservant says the water is for him. The princess tries to follow the girl, but loses her tracks. The next day, the princess finds another maidservant, this time climbing down the Silver Mountain and carrying a silver basin, again to fetch water for Green Angel. Again, the princess loses track of the maidservant. Finally, the princess sights a maidservant coming from the Golden Mountain carrying a golden jug, then drops her ring inside the jug. The maidservant brings the jug to Green Angel, who notices the ring and goes outside to reunite with his wife. He admonishes his wife for telling the secret, and warns that his dev-mother will devour her, so he turns her into a pin and carries her home. Inside the house, the dev-mother smells a human scent, which Green Angel dimisses. After his mother goes to sleep, Green Angel urges the princess to escape with him in the dark of night; he turns into a horse and she rides him into the wilderness. The next day, Green Angel's female relatives (aunt and mother) chase after him, and Green Angel turns himself and the princess to trick them: first, he turns the princess into a rose tree and himself into a snake coiled around it. His aunt recognizes this form as the couple and goes to pluck the rose, but the snake hisses in protest. The aunt leaves them be. Later, his own mother chases after them, and Green Angel turns himself and the princess into a fountain and a jet of water. The dev-mother leaves them be, and the couple return to the padishah's realm, where Green Angel resumes his human form in green clothes and remarries the youngest princess. According to the informant, the tale is known both as Mavi Melek ("Blue Angel") and Yeşil Melek ("Green Angel").

The Tale of the Padishah's Daughters

In a Turkish Cypriot tale titled Padişahınan Gızları Masalı ("The Tale of the Padishah's Daughters"), a wooden stick falls in the padishah's garden, and the monarch sends for a fortune-teller to divine its meaning, giving them three days to provide an answer. The fortune-teller sees a white-bearded man in his dreams, and reports to the padishah the meaning of the event: the princesses are to arm themselves with arrows and shoot them at random, and marry whoever their arrows land next to. Thus, the princesses are given bows and arrows and shoot their respective arrows: the elder two's arrows land near the grand vizier and the vizier's sons, to whom they are betrothed, while the youngest lands near a horn in a field. The elder princesses mock their cadette for having a horn for a man, but, in secret, out of the horn comes a handsome man that asks the princess not to reveal his secret. some time later, a wedding party is being held at the kingdom, and the youth from the horn advises the princess not to attend. Despite his warning, she goes to the feast, where a mysterious night joins the festivities. After the third occasion, the princess tells her elder sisters the stranger is her husband, the youth from the horn, and he vanishes into the skies. The princess goes in search for him, and finds him again.

Azeri ATU 425

The Snake and the Girl

In an Azeri tale titled İlan və qız ("The Snake and the Girl"), collected from an informant named İsrafil Teğizadə, a man named Muhammad Pahlivan finds a white-skinned and dark-haired girl under some bushes, and brings her home. He marries the mysterious girl and she bears him three girls. In time, Muhammad Pahlivan begins to grow sick and emaciated. He wanders the land until he meets a dervish, to whom he confides his medical condition that no doctor can diagnose. The dervish ponders a bit and advises to take his family out of the house, give very salty food to his wife, lock up the mirrors in the house, sprinkle some salt on his finger and stay awake all night to discover what his wife does and report back to him. Muhammad Pahlavi does as instructed: his wife begins to feel so thirsty, melts the mirror with a fiery breath and drinks it to sate her thirst. The next morning, Muhammad goes to report the findings to the dervish, who reveals the woman belongs to the race of the "əjdaha" (snake-like beings), which can acquire human form after thousands of years, but their breath is still draconic, betraying their origin. The dervish also advises the man to get rid of his wife, since it is her fault he looks sick, but heating up the oven and tricking her to bake some bread, then shoving her in to burn to death. Muhammad does as the dervish instructed and tosses his əjdaha-wife in the oven, then locks it up: the flames blaze and roar, burning the creature to cinders. Muhammad enters his house and finds his daughters in a frightened state and think of also killing them, but wishes to leave fate to Allah and raises them, despite their origin. Time passes, the girls grow up and Muhammad earns their living by reaping bushes and selling them. One day, while he is cutting some bushes, a large snake appears in front of him and threatens the man. Muhammad begs to be spared, for the sake of his children. The snake then asks which children he has, and Muhammad answers: three girls. The snake has a change of heart and demands Muhammad bring him one of his daughters as bride. Muhammad returns home and, for three days, ask each of his daughters about the snake's proposal, which the elders refuse, save for the youngest, who agrees to the proposal in order to spare her father, on the third day. Muhammad goes back to inform the snake about the cadette's agreement, and brings the cadette to the snake. The snake bids the girl follow the animal to its den, Muhammad trailing behind them all the way. After crossing mountains and forests, The couple reach a cave: inside it, a large palace filled with precious metals (gold and silver) and gems. The snake then takes off its snakeskin to become a human youth, to the girl's - and her father's - relief. Muhammad returns home and tells his other daughters about their cadette's luck. The girls begins to feel jealous and decide to destroy her happiness. Some time later, they pay her a visit and start to plant seeds of doubt in her head, questioning her snake husband's love and devotion towards her. They then convince her to ask him about the snakeskin. After her sister leave, the girl asks her snake lover how to destroy the snakeskin. The man warns her that this could lead to their separation, but reveals it anyway: burn it with an onion peel, but, if she does it, she will faint and everything they own will disappear with him. He adds that she can only find him again by wearing down a pair of iron shoes and an iron cane. Despite his warnings, she goes through with burning his snakeskin and, just as he predicted, she faints and everything vanishes. Left alone in a desert plain, the girl cries, until an old woman appears and gives her iron shoes and the iron cane. The girl begins her journey and, after forty days and forty nights, her shoes are worn out when she reaches a fountain. Suddenly, another girl is drawing water with a jug. The wandering girl asks for some water to drink, but the girl tells her the water is for her fiancé Mədəd - which the wandering girl suspects is her snake husband. The wandering then drops a ring inside the jug, which is brought to Mədəd. Mədəd notice the ring and asks his fiancée is she saw someone at the fountain. His fiancée assents and is asked to bring them in. Mədəd looks at the stranger and recognizes her: she is first wife, Hal-qəziyyə ('Hal-Gaziya'). After his fiancée leaves them alone, Mədəd tells Hal-Gaziya that, after she burnt his snakeskin, he wandered until he reached the land of seven div-brothers, who wanted to devour him, but whose div-sister fell in love with him instead. Thus, he was spared, but he is to be married to his div-fiancée - the girl who drew water from the fountain. Mədəd then tells Hal-Gaziya they must escape at once, and fetches some water, some razors and some salt, which Mədəd explains will create, respectively, a sea between them, a field of razors to hurt their feet, and salt to burn their wound. Mədəd and Hal-Gaziya take a black horse and escape, the dev-brothers going after them. In order to deter their pursuers, Mədəd throws behind his wife and himself the water (which becomes a sea), the razors (which become a field of blades that destroys some devs) and the salt (to burn their wounds). At a safe distance, they reach their home and find the same old woman sat on the stairs, waiting for them. The pair welcomes her in. Azeri scholarship classified the tale as a combination of Azeri type 411, "Əjdaha qız" ("Snake Wife"), and type 425, "İtmiş ərin axtarılması" ("Searching for a lost husband").

The Snake Son

• In another tale, the snake son hatches from an egg a woodcutter brought home with him.

In a Azerbaijani tale titled İlan oğlan ("Snake Son"), an old woman is visited by a black snake who wishes to become her son. The old woman adopts it. Later, the black snake asks the old woman to court the local king's daughter on his behalf. However, the king sets some tasks for the prospective suitor: to build a castle, plant a luxurious garden and build a road, which the snake does with ease. The black snake marries the princess, and reveals to her he is a human youth underneath the snakeskin, but asks her to keep his secret. Eventually, she tells his secret and he disappears. She walks with an iron staff and begins a search for him, finding him atop a hill grazing some cattle. His mother notices the human girl in their lands and suspects she is there to take her son away from her. The woman gives a drink with poison to the princess, which her husband slaps from her hand, then they make a run for it. On the road, the princess and the snake husband transform into objects to fool his mother: first, into a wormwood bush (the princess) and a snake hidden in the bush (the snake youth); next, into an apple tree (her) and a gardener (him). His mother cannot find neither of them in their new forms, and returns home. The princess and the snake youth then escape from that land.

The Golden Snake

In an Azerbaijani tale titled Qızıl ilan ("Golden Snake"), an old man goes to the forest and finds a box with a snake inside. The snake demands the youngest of the man's four daughters as its bride. The man escape sback home and avoids going into the woods for the next days. Some time later, the snake appears again and demands the man's youngest daughter, else it will kill the man. The man returns home and explains the situation to his daughters, the youngest agreeing to be the snake's bride. The snake meets its bride and tells her it will come out of a box in front of a hut. The girl comes to a hut where the box is lying next to, and a youth comes out of the box; it is the snake in human form. The man tells his other daughters the cadette's snake husband is a handsome youth, to the others' jealousy. The elder sisters then convince the youngest to burn the youth's snakeskin, but he warns his wife if she does that, she will have to search for him in iron shoes. Despite the warning, the girl burns the snakeskin and he disappears, then goes after him in iron shoes. She reaches a fountain where a maidservant is fetching water and asks for some to drink, then drops a ring inside the jug. The maidservant brings the water jug to her master, the snake youth, which discovers the ring, then asks the servant if there was someone outside with them. The maidservant tells him about the wanderer by the fountain and the snake youth goes to meet them: it is his human wife. They reunite.

Other tales

In an Azerbaijani tale collected by folklorist Hümmət Əlizadə with the title ,

Kazakh ATU 425

In a Kazakh tale titled Жылан қабықты жігіт ("Jigit in a Snakeskin"), a poor, lame-bodied man lives with his wife and earns his living by selling fuel to the nearby city. He sighs for nor having a son. One day, he witnesses a black dragon killing a yellow dragon, and cuts off some part of the yellow dragon's flesh. The man returns home and finds his wife in a poor health condition. She woman eats the yellow dragon's flesh and nine months later gives birth to a snake for a son, named "Шаһимардан" ("Shahimardan"). The snake son grows up and one day asks his father to court the local king's, Babakhan, daughter, on his behalf. The poor man meets one of Babakhan's men on the way who tries to dissuade him from taking such a fool's errand. Still, the poor man goes to Babakhan and makes the case for Shahimardan's proposal. Babakhan dismisses him and orders him to be quartered and his body taken to his family. It is done so, and the poor man's corpse is brought to his wife. The woman despairs at his death, but Shahimardan breathes upon his body three times to revive him, then sends him back to Babakhan. The monarch refuses to entertain the poor man twice more and twice more he orders his execution. After three times, Babakhan realizes he is not dealing with someone common, relents and orders the man to bring a herd of horses that can fill the entire city. The man returns home to tell Shahimardan of the khan's orders, and the snake son gives him a diamond-bladed sword and bids him follow him to a snake's hole. He explains that a large black snake will come out of the burrow and his father is to behead the reptile. By killing the reptile, a herd of horses appears out of the snake's head to gallop around the city and fulfill the khan's orders. Defeated, Babakhan realizes this is no normal suitor, and arranges for his daughter's wedding: yellow-head Shahimardan rides the horse to the palace coiled around the horse's neck, marries the princess in a ceremony, and enters the wedding chambers. The snake assuages the princess and asks to be caressed from head to tail; by doing this, his snakeskin falls to the ground and he becomes a handsome youth, who then asks her to hide the snakeskin. The princess takes the snakeskin and sews it into a small pocket in her clothes. People start to question the meaning of the new pocket and try to take it from her. One day, Shahimardan himself takes the snakeskin from his wife, becomes a swallow and admonishes her, saying she can only find him again by wearing a cap and wearing down an iron cane to a stick, then vanishes. She mourns for her vanished husband for three days, and even her father Babakhan tries to set her with a new suitor, but she still loves Shahimardan and decides to go after him. The princess, named Nursulu, dons the garments and begins a long journey, and sings a song. She reaches a hut on the way and meets a woman named Gulistan Marzhan, kidnapped and forcibly married to a Dev named Karadau. Gulistan hides Nursulu from the Dev and asks her Dev husband if he saw a swallow flying by. The dev assents and says the swallow flew to the ruins of the city of Mertik, once inhabitated, but now the lair of demons and fairies. The Dev returns to the hunt, and Nursulu thanks Marzhan for her help, thinking to herself to rescue the girl after she finds Shahimardan. After a three-day journey, Nursulu reaches Mertik, and climbs the walls of a golden palace. Inside, she spies Shahimardan on a throne, looking downcast; he then puts on the snakeskin and slithers away. Nursule seizes the opportunity to creep into his chambers and wait for him. Shahimardan returns as a snake, takes off she snakeskin and looks downcast again. Nursule comes out from under his bed and reunites with him after seven long years. They exchange histories and decide to return to her father's kingdom, but first pass by Karadau's hut to rescue Marzhan and take her with them.

Uzbek ATU 425B

• Gulpari: Namangan Ertaklari (1969). pp. 43-45.

Yılan Damat

In an Uzbek tale titled Yılan Damat (İlan Kuyav, "Snake Groom"), a padishah has three daughters. One day, a large dragon ("ejderha") appears and threatens to destroy the kingdom unless he is given one of his daughters. The monarch asks his daughters which will go with the dragon, and only the youngest replies. The princess marries the dragon, who is in reality a handsome youth underneath the draconic skin. She tells this information to her sisters, who, out of jealousy, advise her to burn the dragonskin. The human dragon warns his wife not do it, for he will disappear and she will only find him again by wearing down a pair of iron sandals and an iron cane. He also gives her his ring. Despite his warning, the princess goes through with the deed, and her husband vanishes. After a period or mourning, the princess dons the iron sandals and iron cane and begins her journey. She passes by herds of horses, cattle and sheep - all belonging, she learns, to her husband Şah Kamber. Finally, she reaches a spring, where a servant is drawing water for Sah Kamber, asks him for some and drops his ring inside it. The servant takes the jug to Sah Kamber, who recognizes the ring and goes to meet his human wife. Sah Kamber takes his wife to meet his mother and introduces them to each other. However, his mother soon plans to get rid of the girl, for she wants to marry her son to another female member of her family. First, she orders the girl to fetch some cotton for pillows - Sah Kember advises his wife to go the plain and shout that Sah Kamber is dead, and all the birds will give their feathers. Next, the woman orders the girl to fetch a pair of scissors. Sah Kamber intercepts his wife and advises her how to proceed: she will pass by a door that is always opening and shutting, which she is to compliment by saying it is fit for a lodge; pass by a bridge and compliment it; exchange the fodder between two animals (bone for a dog, straw for a camel), meet an old woman, greet her and agree to delouse her hair; while the old woman is disctracted, the princess is to tie strands of her hair to the pillars, get and scissors and escape. The princess does as instructed, steals the scissors, and goes to to meet Sah Kamber. Both then escape to another city. The tale was also classified as Turkish tale type EB 98, "Pferdemann".

• Yılan Ağa (=Ilon Oga)

Bashkir people ATU 425 (A?)

In a Bashkir tale titled "Ҡотлобикә һәм Ҡотлояр" and translated into Russian as "Кутлубика и Кутлуяр" ("Kutlubika and Kutluyar"), a widowed man has three daughters and goes to the forest to fetch firewood for his house, and finds a cat on the way. One day, he tells his daughters about the cat and they ask their father to bring it home. The next time he goes to the forest, he finds the cat and pets it in his arms. The cat suddenly begins to talk and asks the man if he is willing to forfeit his life or surrender one of his daughters. The cat then turns into a handsome human eget. The man answers he has three daughters, and says will go home and ask them. The man summons his three daugthers and explains the situation; the elder, Yanbika, and the middle one, Gulnisa, refuse to marry the cat, but the youngest, named Kutlubika, agrees to be the cat'a wife. The cat comes the next day and takes Kutlubika with him. They live together as man and wife, and the story explains the cat is truly a man named Kutluyar, son of Kutlubay, cursed into feline form by his stepmother. One year later, Kutlubika's sisters come to visit, but see her happiness and wish to do her harm: they place a pin in Kutluyar's seat. He goes to seat and prickles his skin. He blames his wife for this, turns into a snake, and slithers away. Time passes, and Kutlubika decides to go after him. On the way, she meets three old women who give her shining apples and tell her her husband, Kutluyar, is at the mercy of an evil woman. Kutlubika reaches Kutluyar's house where he lives with his new wife and she sings her lament for him to hear. The evil woman notices has and locks her up in a dark bathhouse, but, due to the light of the apples, Kutlubika casts a light to comfort herself. The evil woman notices a bright light shining from the bath house and goes to check on Kutlubika. She notices the shining apple in her hands and asks for a piece. Kutlubika agrees to cut her a piece, but trades for a visit to Kutluyar's chambers. She goes to his room and, despite not being able to wake him up, puts a ring on his finger and wraps a handkerchief around his arm. The evil woman takes Kutlubika out of the room. Kutluyar wakes up and asks his new wife if there was anyone in the room with him, but she denies. Kutluyar then presses forth and shows her the ring and the handkerhief. Kutlubika comes in and Kutluyar embraces her.

Tatar ATU 425

In a Tatar tale titled Cilançay, a poor old man sighs that he has no son to care for him and his wife in their old age, and leaves for a while. Back home, his old wife begins to feel she is pregnant, and she gives birth to a snake as her son. In time, the snake grows large enough to circle the whole house. The old man comes home, sees the snake and tries to stone the snake, but the snake son promises his father he can improve their situation if the man goes to court a certain sultan's daughter. The man goes to talk to sultan, who, feeling insulted, kills the man and sends the body back home. The snake revives his father and sends him again. The second time, the sultan relents and marries his daughter to the snake. On the wedding night, the snake bridegroom appears before her and she simply tells him she knows he is more than a snake. She begs him and he takes off the snakeskin to become a handsome youth, then gives her the snakeskin for safekeeping, warning her not to let it fall in the water, lest he disappears and she has to seek him out with iron shoes. One day, however, she dives in the water and accidentally lets the snakeskin touch the bottom of the pond. When the princess returns home, she cannot find her husband, and commissions iron shoes to go after him. She passes by the houses of three old women married to multiheaded dev-peris (the first six-headed, the second nine-headed, and the third twelve-headed): the first two dev-peris do not know his whereabout, and send the princess to their elder brother. The twelve-headed dev-peri tells the princess Cilançay is on the other side of a sea of fire, which can only be traversed at midnight, when the fire diminishes a little. The dev-peri's wife also lends the princess a magic horse and a magic whip, and gives her a comb, a whetting stone and a mirror. The princess reaches the sea of fire, and waits until near midnight to cross it to reach her beloved. She walks to an island and finds Cilançay asleep. She hits him with the magic whip and wakes him up, and both make their way to escape the island in the middle of the sea of fire: they mount the horse, as the flames erupt and the demons that live in the island wake up and chase after them. The princess throws behind the objects she gained to deter them, and the couple reach the sultan's realm. Safe at last, the princess's father names his son-in-law as his successor.

Iraqi Turkmen ATU 425

In an Iraqi Turkmen tale titled Odunçu qızı ("The Woodcutter's Daughter"), a poor woodcutter named Hasan chops firewood in the forest to earn his living, and it is barely enough for his wife and daughter, Golshen. The girl grows up and becomes a beautiful woman, to her parents' happiness and distress. One day, Golshen goes to the woods and finds a spring she has never seen before. The girl gathers firewood around the spring when a voice tells Gulshen she is beautiful. Gulshen runs back home in fear. The next time, Gulshen returns to the spring when the same voice wants to marry the girl and make her and her parents happy. Gulshen once again returns home and tells her mother everything, who convinces her to reply to the voice at the spring. Gulshen returns and replies she agrees to be the voice's bride, if her father agrees to it. The voice asks his bride-to-be to bring her father to the spring,a and the girl's wedding is arranged: she is to return on Wednesday morning, and the voice will fulfill her family's wishes. Father and daughter return home, and invisible servants bring them a basket with food, drinks, and wedding clothes. Gulshen's father accompanies her to the spring, where a tent is set up for their wedding. Gulshen is taken to her husband's beautiful palace, while her parents live in luxury, as the voice promised. Gulshen is very happy with her life in the palace, but the prince leaves by morning and returns at night, and warns her to not exit the palace, nor to let any stranger in. In time, she begins to feel lonely, questions if her husband even loves her, and notices she does even know his name. One day, she decides to learn it for herself, and asks him one night his name. Her mysterious husband deflects the question, and warns her that if she learns his name they will be separated and she will return to a life of poverty. Despite the warning, Gulshen tries again some days later, and repeats her question. Her husband asks if she is ready to know the answer, and she insists he tells her. Thus, he wades into a nearby river, and slowly dives in, asking if Gulshen still wants to know his name. While he is nearly submerged, he shouts that his name is Bazna, turns into a large snake and dives into the river. Gulshen stays behind, crying for her husband, and tries to make her way back to their palace, but it has also vanished. She then returns to her parents' house, who are now back to poverty, and grieves for her lost husband. Even the spring where they met is dried up. Ten years pass, the family goes back to foraging for firewood to sell, and Gulshen keeps Bazna in her thoughts and heart. One day, her father tells her he saw the same spring in his dream, and bids his daughter pays there a visit. Gulshen rushes to the spring and finds Bazna there. They embrace each other, and Bazna explains he would be free from his curse if his lover would have him in her thoughts for ten years. Hasan and his wife shed tears of joy for his return, and they live in happiness.

Uyghur ATU 425

In an Uyghur tale translated as Ejderha Yiğit (Ecdiha Yigit), a Samavi Ejderha threatens a kingdom and demands the sultan's daughter as his wife. The sultan delivers his daughter to the Ejderha and she marries the creature. The Samavi Ejderha becomes a handsome youth at night and remains a dragon-like being by day on putting his draconic skin. The princess burns the dragon skin, but he turns into a dove and flies away. She goes after him by wearing iron sandals and walking with an iron cane, until she reaches the land of the devs, where she finds him trapped inside a cage. Using the magic tricks a dev taught her, the princess rescues her husband from the cage. The couple also escape the land of the dev by shapeshifting into other people, using the magic the dev taught the princess.

Uyghur ATU 425M

In an Uyghur tale titled Ayı Sultan ("Bear Husband"), a village is located near a forest, and villagers earn their living by fetching wood and selling it. One day, some girls go to fetch wood in the forest, among which a girl named Nazigül. When Nazigül cannot find a rope to tie her bundle, a bear suddenly appears and takes her to its den, while her companions cannot find her. In the bear's den, Nazigül wakes up and sees the bear has turned into a handsome youth, who explains he is Ahmet, son of the forest padishah and has fallen in love with the girl, bringing her to his lair to marry her. The forest padishah marries the couple, and Nazigül and Ahmet live together. Years later, Nazigül goes to visit her parents' house with her children in tow, a boy and a girl. The girl meets her parents and explains her husband, the bear, gave her three days to visit her family, then return, then tells everything about her bear husband. Later that night, after Nazigül and her children are asleep, the girl's parents go to the bear's den and kill him, then return home. After the three day period is over, Nazigül and her children return to the forest and she tries to call for her husband, but he cannot answer. She ventures further into the forest and finds her dead bear husband. Nazigül then becomes a cuckoo, her son an iron-beaked bird that protects the forest and the daughter a peregrine falcon that helps the people.

Syrian ATU 425D + 425B

[] is a folktale from Syria. It belongs to the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, wherein a human princess marries a supernatural husband, loses him, and goes on a quest to find him. It is also distantly related to the Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche, in that the heroine is forced to perform difficult tasks for a witch or her mother-in-law.

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is related to the cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or the Search for the Lost Husband (tale type ATU 425). Scholar Hasan M. El-Shamy classified the tale, according to the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, as types ATU 425B, "The Son of the Witch", and ATU 425D, "The Vanished Husband".

In tale type ATU 425D, "The Vanished Husband", after betraying her supernatural husband's secret, she builds an inn, hospital or bath house to listen to passers-by's stories. One day, she listens to a person's narration about a flock of birds transforming into men in a place somewhere. The heroine recognizes it is about her husband and asks to be taken there.

Type ATU 425B, "The Son of the Witch", is considered by scholarship to correspond to the ancient Graeco-Roman myth of Cupid and Psyche, that is, the supernatural husband's mother forces the heroine, her daughter-in-law, to perform difficult and impossible tasks for her.

Motifs

According to researcher Samia Al Azharia Jahn, the supernatural bridegroom may appear as a horse, a goat or a camel in Arab variants.

According to Greek folklorist Georgios A. Megas, the main motif of tale type 425D is H11.1.1, "Recognition at inn [hospital, etc.], where all must tell their life histories". In the same vein, Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn identified among the "motifs characteristic of subtype D" the bath-house, the inn, or places where the heroine goes to hear stories or news about her husband.

Variants

Syria

In a Syrian tale collected by Uwe Kuhr with the title Seepferd ("Sea-Horse"), a king has three daughters and is gifted a wonderful horse "from the sea". The horse falls in love with the youngest, princess Lapislazuli, and one day, takes off the horseskin and becomes a youth. He reveals he is the king of ghouls. The king marries his daughter Lapislazuli to the horse. The horse takes off the horseskin and takes part in a racing contest in human shape, but his wife cannot tell the secret. He wins, but she betrays his secret in a moment of pride and he vanishes. Later, she builds a public bath house. One day, a poor woman and her daughter wake up in a moonlit night and reach a meadow, where a man's voice orders tables and chairs to be set, laments over a lost love named Lapislazuli and has a meal with some companions. The woman and her daughter go to the public bath house and tell the princess the story, who asks to be taken to the meadow. Lapislazuli recognizes her husband and sees him, but Seepferde explains that he is to be married to his cousin, that his family and friends are ghouls that may devour her, but she can earn the mother's favour by suckling her breasts. Seepferde takes Lapislazuli to the ghoul village and introduces her to his mother as a servant. Seepferde's ghoul mother forces Lapislazuli to do chores for the upcoming wedding: to sweep the floor with a tiny broom in a room full of pearls, to wash a pile of dirty clothes with a tiny bar of soap, and to get a sieve from the ghoul's sister. Seepferde summons his servants to do the chores for her, and instructs her to suckle on his aunt's breasts to avoid being eaten when she goes to get the sieve. As the wedding approaches, the ghoul mother orders Lapislazuli to hold a candle on each finger and to accompany the bride to the dressing room. During the occasion, Seepferde appears and plans with Lapizlazuli to burn the bride's hair. Lapislazuli goes back to the bride's dressing room and burns the bride's hair with the candles. While the ghouls try to put out the fire, Lapislazuli and Seepferde fly back to her kingdom, where they celebrate a new wedding.

In a variant collected from a Syrian refugee and published in 2015 with the title The Bewitched Camel, a woodcutter finds a camel that produces golden eggs in the forest and brings it home. One day, he brings the camel to the market and it falls in love with the princess. The camel asks the woodcutter's wife to ask for the hand of the princess, but the king demands he fulfills two tasks first: to bring extraordinary things and to build a castle overnight. The camel does and marries the princess. On the wedding night, the camel reveals he is a bewitched prince, and that his secret must stay between them. One day, the camel-prince fights in a war to defend the kingdom. The princess's sisters mock her marriage and she tells them the truth. The camel-prince disappears. She is advised by the minister to build a hammam (a public bathhouse), where everyone shall share stories. One day, a poor widow comes to the bathhouse and tells a story about a man coming out of the earth near a tree at night with three apples, lamenting over a lover who betrayed him. The princess notices it is her husband and goes to the place the widow described. She sees the earth cracking open and a prince comes out of it. She embraces him and he tells her that the witch cursed him to live underground. He takes her to the witch and she pretends to be a maid. The witch orders her to sweep her house with a beaded broom and not lose any bead, and to carry a heavy closed box to her sister's house in another country, which the princess accomplishes with the camel-prince's help: in the latter, while the wife rests a bit, the box opens on its own and snakes and monkeys leap out of it; her husband comes, draws the animals back into the box and closes it. Lastly, the witch decides to marry the camel-prince and orders the princess to dance at their wedding. As per the camel-prince's advice, the princess asks for a lantern and a wick to dance with, which, during the wedding, the camel-prince takes and throws it at the witch. They vanquish her and return to the princess's castle.

In a Syrian tale translated as Gomena, principe dei ginn ("Gomena, Prince of the Djinni"), a poor fisherman lives with his three daughters. After two unlucky fishing trips, he catches a large stone from the sea and, upon his third daughter's suggestion, places it as a makeshift door for their home. Later the same day, the third daughter meets a handsome stranger, they connect and she marries him. Despite a comfortable life, her husband only appears at night, so, after some convincing by some women in the hamman (bath house), she decides to come clean to him. The man tells her to get the stone, throw it back to the sea, and to wait for the sunrise. She obeys; her husband appears in the sea, slowly submerging. She insists to know his name, and shouts to him; he reveals his name is Gomena, and vanishes under the waves, and so do her palaces and every treasure, save for her jewels on her. She sells her jewelry and opens a hammam, where everyone gets to bathe in exchange for a story. One night, a woman prepares to visit the hammam, but, since it is midnight and she is afraid of the ghouls, she climbs up a tree. She then sees three ginns appear, sing a song and announce the coming of Gomena; a table is set with a meal, Gomena appears and laments his lost love. The woman goes to the bath house and tells the girl about the scene. The girl goes to the place the woman described and waits until midnight for Gomena. He appears, sings verses of yearning and sorrow, and the girl appears to him, begging for his forgiveness. Gomena explains that his parents are the rulers of the ginns, and might kill her. After some insistence, Gomena takes his human wife on a magic carpet to his parents' palace. Before he enters, Gomena gives his wife an almond, a nut, and a pistachio nut for her to plant. However, the plants do grow overnight, but are stolen. Without food, she enters the ginns' service. One day, the queen of the ginns betroths Gomena to a female ginn, and orders the girl to go to queen's sister, invite her for Gomena's wedding and get the box of the marching band. Gomena explains that this task is a trap: his aunt is a ghoul and will devour her, so he gives her two pieces of cow meat to throw to two ferocious dogs, and advises her to get the box and escape. The human girl follows the instructions and flees from the aunt's house. She opens the box on the way back and small creatures playing instruments escape from it. Gomena gets the creatures back into the box. Next, the queen of the ginns orders the human girl to go back to the aunt's house and get from her a ceremonial carpet. She gets the carpet (a small one) and unrolls it on the way back. Gomena appears to wrap it again, and concocts a plan with his human wife: she is to dance at the wedding, but she is to ask for two torches. The next day, during the wedding, the human girl dances with the torches, to the ginns' amazement. She then tosses one torch on the bride's lap, the other on the ginn assemblage, and escapes with Gomena on a winged horse.

Sâ¿i, Ladhiqiyyah, pp. 150-155 - ATU 425D + ATU 425B in Shamy

Sâ¿i, Ladhiqiyyah, pp. 124-127 - AaTh 428 in Shamy

See also

• The Golden Crab
• The Donkey's Head
• The Tale of the Woodcutter and his Daughters
• The Horse-Devil and the Witch
• Grünkappe
• The Padisah's Youngest Daughter and Her Donkey-Skull Husband

References

Category:Syrian fairy tales Category:Asian fairy tales Category:Fictional princes Category:Fictional camels Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:ATU 400-459

Indic "Animal as Bridegroom"

• Medhi, Mrinal (2015). Assamese Folktales: A Structural Analysis. Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages. pp. 341-349 ("Index of tales"). ISBN 9788173431555.
• Schmidt, Ruth Laila (2006). "A Naga-Prince Tale in Kohistan". Acta Orientalia. 67: 159–188.
• [131]

Sri Lanka ATU 425B

The tale was also translated into Russian as "Рассказ о ракшасе и принцессе" ("The Story of the Rakshasa and the Princess") and classified by its compilers as tale type AaTh 425A.

Indic ATU 425

• A Serpent Legend: It is written about a legend "in Madura district" about a certain water tank, and the story of a Raja who married a princess from a distand land who did not want to leave her homeland. In time, she begins to suspect something about her husband, and tells him she will not leave her land until he reveals his lineage to her. She insists so much he takes her to the water tank and Madura and enters the water, then questions the princess if she still wants to know the answer to her inquiry. The further he dives, he keeps asking her, and warns that she must not fear what she is about to see. He dives one last time, then comes back as a Naga. The princess shrieks at the sight and the Naga turns into stone.

• 375. The Tale of Thakur and the Barber - tales within a tale; similar to Shovona Devi's The Wax Prince.
• Sarakumar (Orissa) - according to Kunja Behari Dash, the heroine journeys to the land of snakes in search of her husband, and some frogs help her down there, warning her about the dangers that try to take her life. = Sarukumar and the Land of Cobras (Hindi: [अरबो कुमार Arabi Kumar / अरबी कुमार Arabo Kumar] और नाग नागिन)?

• Tale Python (= "Princess and Python"?)
• The Python Man (433C?)
• Shashisena

• Red Gem and Princess Sona (= Lal and Sona?), sourced to the Magahi language

Indic 433C (Champavati)

According to Praphulladatta Goswami, there are at least three published versions of Champavati:

• Praphulladatta Goswami. Asam Deshar Sadhu. 1962, Calcutta, 9-12.
• Lakshminath Bezbarua. Burhi-air Sadhu. Gauhati, 1950. pp. 128-139.
• Sri Atul Chandra Barua. Sandhiyar Sadhu. 1963, Shillong, pp. 21-25.

The Angami tale "resembles" Champavati.

Indic ATU 433

In a tale from the Panchatantra translated as The Enchanted Brahmin's Son or The Girl who Married a Snake,

[132]

In a Ladakh tale titled The Snake-Prince, a couple named Donyo Dorje and Belsa are always quarrelling against each other and fighting. One day, Donyo Dorje brings home a cloth and is vehemently scolded by his wife, who warns him never to set foot home again. The man leaves the house and falls asleep under a tree. Hours later, he is woken up by a duststorm and goes to check on his bag, finding a black snake inside. The snake hisses at him and slithers to his house, and follows the snake in. The snake hides itself in the storeroom of the house, and the couple, fering about the animal, take a peek inside the store: inside, they find a human baby boy named Tsarong, who explains he has come to live with them. The couple adopt the baby and raise him, although Tsarong crawls back into the snakeskin to sleep in the store. After a week, Tsarong reaches adulthood and asks his father to win the local king's daughter as his wife. Donyo Dorje goes to the king on his son's behalf to court princess Drolma, but he king expels him. In retaliation, every water source in the kingdom dries up overnight. The king summons the lamas to pray for a solution. They also find a large stone blocking the flow of the largest spring which they remove, to no avail. Suddenly, a voice tells them the waters will flow again if the king gives his daughter Drolma in marriage. After the king agrees to it, the water flows again. The king arranges for the wedding, but demands his prospective son-on-law brings fine presents for every guest at the ceremony. Tsarong is told of the king's last demands and tells his father to carry three bags to the wedding: one with hay, the other with broken pottery, and the third with stones. Donyo and Tsarong arrive at the wedding and the king orders the pair to produce scarves (which is produced from the bag of hay), gold and silver (which are taken from the broken pottery) and finally precious gems (which the stones turn to). Finally, Tsarong marries princess Drolma. Time passes, and there is a fair in the neighbouring country. Tsarong, in snakeskin, asks his parents and wife to go. After they depart, Tsarong comes out of the snakeskin, becomes a handsome youth and rides a white horse to the join the fair. He dazzles the guests with his beauty, then returns to his parents' house to crawl back into the snakeskin. Tsarong's parents and wife returns and comment with the reptile the stranger at the fair. This happens for a second time: Tsarong sends his family ahead of him, turns into human shape and rides the horse into the fair. One day, princess Drolma asks her mother-in-law about the mysterious youth, and Belsa reveals the rider is Tsarong, and she should burn his animal disguise while he is at the fair. Princess Drolma rushes back home and burns the snakeskin. At the same time, Tsarong, in human form, senses a burning over his body and faints. His mother sprinkles some milk on him and he comes to. Princess Drolma returns to the fair and Tsarong thanks her for releasing him from his curse by burning the snakeskin. Tsarong then assumes the throne after his father-in-law.

Stuart Blackburn collected a tale from an Apatani source. In this tale, titled The Two Sisters: A Snake-Husband, a snake comes out of a cave and becomes human by shedding its skin. Meanwhile, two girls, Biinyi and Biine, steal the fruits from a takun tree that belongs to the snake. The snake, in human form, tells them that he will marry them if they take the fruits. The girls' parents place necklace on their daughters: a rite bead on Biinyi, the good one, and one made of eggshells on Biine, the bad one. Biine slips and sinks in the mud, while Biinyi marries the snake and gives birth to a son. Her husband becomes a snake by night and human by day, and Biinyi complains about this state of affairs. One day, when her snake-son was grown up, she asks him to fetch his father's snakeskin and give it to her. Biinyi destroys the snakeskin without her husband knowing. The snake husband returns home and wants to crawl inside the snakeskin, but cannot find it. Biinyi spins a story that their son burnt in the fire of their hearth and she tried to rescue the skin, but failed. Thus, Biinyi's husband becomes human permanently, and women don't eat snake meat, nor marry snakes.

Champavati (Chandra Barua's version)

Author Sri Atul Chandra Barua published another version of Champavati in his work Sandhiyar Sadhu. In his version,

Himal Nagrai

[133] [134] [135] [136]

A line of scholarship calls Himal and Nagiray a love story of "an Aryan girl for a Naga prince", suggesting "a fusion of Naga and Aryan cultures".

The Horse of Gold

In a tale collected from a source in Mirzapur with the title The Horse of Gold, three fishermen fish a horse of gold from a riverbank and give it to the king, who hides it in the stables with a covering. One day, the princess, the king's daughter, wants to see the animal, and orders the horse groom to show her. On seeing the princess, the horse stops eating and the monarch punishes the groom, who reveals the princess saw the horse. The king consults with his pandits, who sugget the princess shall be banished with the horse to the jungle. It happens thus. However, "by the grace of Bhagwan", a palace and a city appear in the jungle to house them. The princess and the golden horse begin to live there. The tale then explains the golden horse is in fact the son of Sesá Nága, lord of the serpents and trapped in equine form by the works of a witch. The prince's mother sends spies all through the land, and one day one of her spies, in the guise of bangle seller Maniharin, meets the princess. The Maniharin reveals to the princess the golden horse is a man under the equine skin, and she should burn it the next time he takes it off to bathe in the river. The princess follows through with the suggestion and burns the horseskin, turning him into a man. Meanwhile, the Serpent Ráni, the prince's mother, sends another spy to the princess's palace, this time as a milk seller. The second spy convinces the princess to eat from the same dish as her lover. The princess does as suggested, but her lover does not allow her to do it. The princess then questions him about his caste, and he takes her to the riverbank. The man dives into the water until only his left remains visible and asks if the princess wishes to know his caste. The princess insists to know the answer, but the prince dons his snake hood and submerges out of view. The princess cries for her loss, when the "seven goddesses of the river" hear her plight and take her to Nágaloka. The princess enters Nágaloka, filled with snake citizens, and goes to search for the prince. At one time, she reaches a well and climbs a tree. Suddenly, her lover, the prince, is bathing in the same well and some snake subjects move in to kill the human, but the prince intercedes on her behalf and brings her to his mother's palace, offering her a maidservant to his mother. The snake queen places her to take care of the young snakes in the morning, which the princess performs with impressive care she gains the serpent queen's favour. Next, the serpent queen gives the princess a letter to be delivered to the house of another snake. The snake prince intercepts her and "places his mark on her body" to protect her from other snakes in their kingdom. Later, the snake prince admits to his mother he wishes to marry the human princess, who showed her devotion in braving the dangers to reach him, but his mother refuses. Thus, the snake prince takes the princess with him to the surface world and both return to their palace in the jungle. The tale was provided by an informant named Saligram, Mahapatra, of Karmi.

Lal and Hira

In a tale titled Lal and Hira, collected from a Buxa source, a couple has no children, so the wife asks her husband to go to a Mahatma and pray for one. The man goes to a Baba, who meditates to Bhagwan, who directs him to Raja Wasak to provide the couple with a child. Raja Wasak distributes babies; however, at this time, he is lacking a human one at the moment, so, after much insistence on the couple's part, decides to provide them with a cobra baby, with the consent of its cobra parents. Raja Wasak gives a cardamon to the Baba, who gives it to the man, for his wife to eat. Nine months later, a human baby is born to the couple. He grows up and is married to a young woman. The woman wants to show her devotion to her husband and tries to eat his leftovers from his plate, but he eats the whole dish and does not allow her to do so. Still, she insists to eat as proof of her devotion, and one day he allows her to eat his leftovers, then bids her accompany him to the river. By the river bank, the woman, named Hira, eats his thali, while he jumps into the river. After she finishes the meal, she turns to look at her husband and finds a cobra in his place. Still, Hira jumps after the cobra, who is her husband Lal, into the river-bed, where Lal's cobra family leaves. Lal discovers that his human wife is there and warns her that his cobra family may devour her, but she insists to be with him. Thus, Lal hatches up a plan to protect her: he introduces Hira to his cobra mother as his human wife. The cobra mother takes an instant dislike to her and orders her to find a broom and sweep the place. Hira tries to sweep the place, but there are snakes everywhere hissing at her. Fortunately, Hira utters that she is under Lal's protection, and fulfills the task unharmed. The cobra mother-in-law thus blesses Lal's marriage to the human Hira.

Nagakumar (Orissa)

In an Orissan tale titled Nagakumar, Nagakumar, the son of Nagaraja, ruler of the nether world, decides to join mankind during the Chaita festival, snakes from the nether world from an anthill and takes on a human appearance to mingle with mortals. After seven days, he wants to return to his home world, turns back into a snake and tries to look for an opening, but does not find anything and takes refuge in a temple. The next day, the priest who overseers the temple goes to make the puja and finds the snake, then leaves her there. The snake is still at the temple, and people gathered at its doors find its presence inauspicious. The priest and his wife then decide to kill the reptile. One night, the snake appears in a dream to the priest, bidding it to back it in two pieces and planting its head in the east and its tail in the north; two plants with flowers will spring, one with red flowers and the other with white ones; a red flower is to be given to be king and the white flower to the minister. The priest does as the snake instructed and thus two flowers sprout, the red and the white, just as the reptile predicted. The priest then gives the flowers to the king and queen, and the minister and his wife. The women wear the flowers in their hairs, and some time later each bear a child: a son is born to the Queen and named Nagakumar, and a girl to the minister's wife and given the name Phulamati. Both children grow up together and even study together. When they reach marriageable age, Prince Nagakumar wants to marry Phulamati, but his father objects to their marriage due to their closeness. For this, Nagakumar tales Phulamati with him and both elope to another kingdom (rajya). The couple stop to rest in a forest, Nagakumar leaves Phulamati near a banyan tree and goes to look for a fire source. The prince reaches the house of a demon-woman who feigns innocence and lets the prince take some coals from her, all the while planning to eat him after her sons arrive home. The demon-woman recites some mantras and makes the prince smell a black flower, which turns him into a black sheep. Back to Phulamati, she suspects something happened to Nagakumar, makes a pray to the palace goddess, assumes a male identity and enters the nearby kingdom. Once there, she learns about the local king's daughters, princesses Haladimundi and Sinduramundi, who have organized a svayamvara: they shall marry the suitor able enough to shoot an arrow at a fish's eye. Many princes at the svayamvara try and fail, to the princesses' father's consternation. His minister assures the king and goes to find princes from other rajyas, to no avail. Phulamati, as a beggar, is noticed by the minister and is encouraged to try it: she succeeds in piercing the fish's eye with an arrow and is set to marry both princesses. However, she delays the wedding by saying her vow impels her to wait fourteen years, and the princesses shall be married to the arrow. It is done so. While this happens, Phulamati worries about Nagakumar and knows he is under the demon woman's clutches, so she makes a plan: she says she will fulfill the vow by performing a Baliyatra with a black sheep. Phulamati goes with some soldiers to find a black sheep, and goes to the demon woman's house, ordering her to produce a black sheep as the sacrifice. The demon woman tries to trick Phulamati with a generic black sheep, but the princess knows Nagakumar is the only one tied with a golden chain, which she demands to be given to her. The demon woman surrenders the black sheep, and Phulamati orders her to restore Nagakumar: he smells another black flower and reverts to human form. Phulamati takes Nagakumar to the palace, where he marries Phulamati and the two princesses Haladimundi and Sinduramundi.

Sarakumar and the Land of Cobras

In an Orissan tale titled Sarakumar or Sarukumar and the Land of Cobras, a king rules over a rajya. One day, he tells his wife, the queen, he wants to plant saru (a vegetable that grows underground) in their lands. The queen gives the go ahead, and saru are planted in their fields, so much so the king suggests they sell it, but the queen says to let people take however much they want for free. Thus, the king announces his subjects can come and fetch saru for themselves, which is extracted in two days. Later, a shepherd boy appears last and asks the king if he can fetch some. The king allows it and the boy plucks the last saru bush and takes it home. The boy asks his mother to prepare a meal of curry with it; when the woman goes to cut up the saru, a voice inside the bush begs to be spared and to keep the bush inside a pot for twenty-one days, for the woman will become rich if she does so. The shepherd boy's mother places the saru inside the pot and waits twenty-one days, then goes to check inside the pot: a human baby boy has appeared inside the pot. The woman mutter aloud that, due to her poor situation, she cannot afford to feed and cloth another child. Suddenly, gold coins rain down for two hours inside the woman's hut, and her hut turns into a palace. The shepherd boy and his mother call the baby Sarukumar, for he was born from the saru vegetable. Sarukumar grows up a strong and handsome youth. One day, when he is riding a horse near the ghat, the princess sees him and falls in love with him at once. The princess then locks herself up in her room, and tells her parents she wants to marry Sarukumar, from the shepherd family, and no one else, or she will kill herself. The princess's parents recognize that Sarukumar is indeed from a shepherd family, despite their riches, but agree to her daughter's marriage. Sarukumar marries the princess and moves out to the palace.

Time passes. During a hunt on a hot day, Sarukumar enters a deep forest of sal trees (Shorea robusta) and becomes thirsty. He sends his soldiers to search for a water source, and one finds a pond in the distance. The soldier goes near the pond, but it turns into a dry cave as soon as he approaches it. Sarukumar sends his soldiers to investigate and a voice echoes from the cave, telling they want Sarukumar in exchange for providing them with water. The soldiers report to Sarukumar, and he goes with them to the cave. The cave overflows with water and washes Sarukumar away to its depths. The soldiers return to the palace to inform the king and the princess, who falls into a state of despair for her vanished husband. Then, drawing strength, she dons male clothes and rides a horse in search of her husband. She passes by a farmer ploughing a field and asks him if he saw Sarukumar anywhere, but he answers negatively. She then passes by a man guiding a bullock cart, and finally by a drummer and asks each of them the same question, and they answer they did not see him. Past the men, the princess reaches a cave and notices her husband's horse is tied to a tree, suspecting he is nearby, but, on seeing the flooded cave, does not know how to advance further and cries. Suddenly, some frogs appear from inside the cave and comfort the princess, promising to help her if she feeds them some fried paddy. The princess fulfills their request and they place her on their raft, then explain Sarukumar is a prisoner of the cobras. The frogs also warn the princess the dangers she will find in the realm of the cobras: the snakes will serve her boiling water to bathe, give her a paste of red chilly they will pretend is turmeric to be applied on her body, offer her a python to use as a pillow, but the ropes of the bed will cut off if she lies on it. The frogs then advise the princess on how to avoid such dangers: place the frogs in the boiling water so that they will cool it with their urine, avoid the red paste and use her own kumkum, sleep on the floor and throw one of the frogs inside the python's mouth to gag it. The frogs take the princess with them to the land of the cobras, and she finds Sarukumar, with whom she communicates with signs. Sarukumar lies to the snakes he is unmarried, and their captors welcome the human princess with water and a bed, but she follows the frogs' warnings and survives. Some time later, the cobras decide to marry Sarukumar to the princess, celebrate a sham wedding, and see them off to the upper realm. Suddenly, one of the cobras remembers they have forgotten the newlyweds' gift, and decide to go after them to deliver it. Sarukumar takes the princess on a horse. They pass by a washerman whom they bribe with a gold necklace to indicate that the fleeing couple entered a fire hearth. The snakes chase after the couple and meet the washerman, who points to the fire hearth as their destination. The snakes enter the fire and burn to cinder. As for the couple, Sarukumar and the princess return home, and her father makes him his successor.

Sasisena Kavya

शशिसोणा - Shashisona

সখীসোনা (Sakhisona) or শশিসোণা (Shasisona) "is the Islamic adaptation of the story".

সখীসেনা (Sakhīsēnā); সখীসোনা (sakhīsōnā ); শাশসেনা (śāśasēnā)

According to Indian scholars, "Sasisena" is a version of the name "Sakhi-Sona" (Bengali: "সখী-সোনা"), and versions of the tale exist with titles Sashisona, Sakhisona, and Sakhisena by author Fakirram Kavibhusan.

According to Bengali researcher Dinesh Chandra Sen, the tale of Sakhi-sona was put into verse by 16th century Bengali poet Fakir Ram Kabibhusana, derived from an earlier ballad. In this version, princess Sakhi-sona goes to school with Kumara, a kotwal's son, with whom she falls in love with; they elope and, after some adventures, Kumara is turned into a goat by a flower-woman named Hira.

The Story of Halahal Kumar or The Snake-Prince

In an Orissan tale collected by author Upendra Narayan Dutta Gupta with the title The Story of Halahal Kumar or The Snake-Prince, a beggar that belongs to the Chakulia-Pandas order is childless. His wife also sighs over not having a child. Meanwhile, Halahal Kumar, the prince of the Nether-world where Vasuki lives, goes to the human world as a little snake, wanting to learn the ways of mankind. He slithers in a river next to the place where the beggar was drawing water in a pot, and is brought home with him. When the beggar goes to fetch the water, he finds a newborn human baby, who is the transformed snake-prince. Years pass, the baby, named Abhimanyu, grows up and goes to school with Sasisena, the king's daughter. They begin to develop an interest in each other, and Abhimanyu suggests they elope to another country. The pair take some horses and depart from her father's kingdom until the reach the cottage of an Asuruni with many sons. The Asurani, a man-eating giantess, welcomes the couple into her abode, and Sasisena, suspecting something, overhears her conspiring with her children to devour her and Abhimanyu. Sasisena and Abhimanyu gather some tools and objects from the jungle and trick the giantess's sons by pretending to be her Swasura (father-in-law). Fooling the monsters, the pair take their horses and flee from the Asurani. The Asurani orders her children to pursue the escaping pair, by following a trail of mustard seeds she tied to their horses. On the road, Sasisena and Abhimanyu realize they are being chased, and the youth throws behind some rattan seeds (which become a forest of thick vines), some coals (which create a conflagration) and finally he lets out some breaths behind him to create a mist. The magical obstacles do not deter their pursuers, so Abhimanyu brandishes his sword and kills six of the seven Asurani's sons, save for the youngest, named Tima, whom they spare and make their servant. After a while, they stop to rest: Sasisena prepares their food, while Abhimanyu goes for a swim in a pond. Tima, pretending to help him, kills him with a sword, then puts on his clothes and goes to eat Sasisena's food. The princess notices that the vocacity of her companion was strange, and ordered Tima to lead her to Abhimanyu. Tima guides her to his corpse, and is promptly beheaded for his treason. Sasisena cries over the body of her fallen lover, which Durga and Siva hear and come to her aid: Siva sprinkles his body with flower and water, and revives Abhimanyu. Later, the duo go to another city, where Abhimanyu is transformed into a ram by the workd of a Maluni girl, and Sasisena, pretending to be a man, kills a rampaging Gayal (Gandagayal) and wins the hand of the local king's daughter. Still in male disguise, Sasisena says she made a vow not to consumate the marriage until after twelve months, while she tries to buy time to search for Abhimanyu: she tells the king a story that Siva decided that people from nearby regions should come to his shrine on Baruni-day for purification, a lie that the Raja believes. This eventually leads to Sasisena rescuing Abhimanyu and the killing of the Maluni witch-girl. Abhimanyu then marries the two princesses and the live together. However, after some time, one of his serpent-wives, from the Nether-world, missing her husband, changes shape to that of a Savari woman who has come to sell Amama fruits to the princess's household. The false Savari says the fruits can grant immortality, but their husband is already immortal - a thing they should ask Abhimanyu themselves. The princesses ask Abhimanyu to tell them the truth, and he takes them to the riverbank. He warns them not to question the truth of his name, but they insist and press on the matter. Thus, he goes near the water, says his name is Halahal Kumar from Patala, and vanishes into the water as a snake. The princesses cry for him and, noticing they ate the Amara fruits, swim after him and reach the Nether-world, the domain of king Vasuki. Down below, they realize they must earn Vasuki's favour, and do so by ingraining into their court with their dancing prowess. They do a dance number before Vasuki and his court, which greatly impresses the monarch he proposes to reward both women. Sasisena then asks for the prince as reward. Vasuki agrees, but sets a condition: Halahal Kumar shall alternate between his human wives and serpent spouses six months each. His terms are agreed upon, and the human princesses depart Patala with Abhimanyu. The princesses' kingdoms are united as one, and the girls look forward to spending six months with their co-husband.

Tale of Sasisena

In an Orissan tale titled Tale of Sasisena, sourced from the Paraja people from Nabarangpur district and Koraput district, a king lives in a palace in the forest, and the queen gives birth to a beautiful daughter named Sasisena. When she reaches marriageable age, the king arranges many suitors for Sasisena, but she rejects them. As she grows older, her parents worry about her lack of husband, even Sasisena worries about her situation, when, one day, a maid suggests Sasisena prays to the jungle Goddess for a bridegroom, for the deity will surely help her. Following the maid's advice, the princess enter the jungle and prays to the Goddess for a while. Some time later, and thinking she will have no answer, Sasisena tries to take her own life, when the Goddess appears to her alongside a large serpent, which the deity indicates is the princess's bridegroom. Sasisena is frightened at the serpent, but the Goddess sprinkles some water on the reptile and it becomes a handsome youth. They marry in the jungle, then decide to make their way to distant lands on horseback. They ride into the wilderness and stop to rest, the former serpent man goes to look for food and shelter and finds a florist woman's house in a nearby village. The florist asks the youth about his presence there, and, after hearing his tale, agrees to welcome him and Sasisena into her home. Sasisena and her husband spend the night there, but the florist woman creeps into their room at night and sprinkles some enchanted water on the youth to turn him into a sheep, so she could keep him forever. The next morning, Sasisena wakes up and cannot find her husband, and asks the florist woman if she saw him. The florist lies that she was asleep and saw nothing. Sasisena leaves the florist's house and goes to look for her husband, while her husband is under the whims of the woman, becoming a sheep during the day and a man at night. Back to the princess, she cannot find her husband anywhere, and prays to the jungle Goddess. The deity reveals the princess's husband is under the power of the florist woman, gives her a boon, and vanishes. Sasisena dons a male diguise and goes in search of her husband, eventually reaching a kingdom where people are runnin about, since a tiger captured the local princess. Sasisena uses the boon given by the jungle Goddess, kills the tiger and rescues the princess, then takes her to the local king. Sasisena becomes friend with the princess's brother, and lives in the palace. One day, the queen loses her speech and only babbles due to the spirit of a witch, and Sasisena, cunningly, mentions the florist woman who knows witchcraft. The soldiers forcibly take the florist woman to the palace and she heals the queen's speech, but the witch's spirit takes hold of the queen's body and demands the flesh of a sheep, in exchange for releasing the king's wife. Noticing that the florist woman is worried about the sheep back at her house, Sasisena asks the soldiers to bring the sheep from the florist's house to be sacrificed. The king's soldiers bring the florist's sheep, and Sasisena tells the monarch that, as she saw in her dream, the queen can return to normal if the florist turns the sheep back into a man. The king orders the florist to restore the sheep to human form and he becomes Sasisena's husband. Sasisena then turns back into her normal form. The pair reunite and tell everything to the king, who punishes the florist by hanging. The tale was described as a "very popular folk tale" in Koraput.

Seychellois ATU 425D

Saint Passaway

In a Seychellois tale titled Sen Disparet ("The Disappearing Saint"), collected from teller Edméa Crispin, from Grand'Anse Praslin, and translated by folklorist Lee Haring as Saint Passaway, a couple live together. One day, the wife asks her husband, a hunter, if he can find them a son. The man agrees, meets a snake in the woods and brings it home on a leaf which he hids under a basket. The man then tells his wife to look into the basket for his gift, but she finds a beautiful pearl necklace instead of a reptile. The man is astonished at this, and thinks the necklace must have come from the princess, who lost it in the river. The hunter says they, husband and wife, argue a lot, so they place the necklace on the bed between them. When the woman rolls around on bed, she reaches not for her husband, but for a baby boy who has appeared. The couple raise the boy, and he says his name is Prens Kolyé (Prince Necklace). Years later, Prince Kolye marries a human woman and they move out to another house, him becoming a hunter just like his adoptive father. One day, he warns his wife not to hire anyone while he is away from the house. After he leaves on a hunt, an old woman comes to their house and asks for a job and a place to stay. Prince Kolye's wife takes her in out of pity. Kolye returns and, on seeing the stranger, admonishes his wife, saying she will bring then misfortune.

Some days later, the old woman tells Prince Kolye's wife he has another name which he has never revealed to her. The girl confronts Prince Kolye about this information; at first he deflects the question, but promises to tell her by eight o'clock in morning. The next morning, his wife insists to know his true name, which he warns will cause them to separate and she will never see him again. Still, he gives her his ring, and says he will become a large snake. He then says his name is Sen Disparet (Saint Passaway, in Haring's translation), he turns into a large serpent and snakes back to the forest. His wife stays with their two sons in their house, sends a "lazeneral" ('alarm call') and promises to pay a large sum of money to anyone that can tell news of her husband.

People flock to her place and are given food and drinks, but none can tell anything of her husband's location. Elsewhere, a Malbar ('Indian') is cutting haygrass when he sights a cow and a goat. Suddenly, the animals utter a command, and an opening appears on the ground, through which the cow and goats enter. The Malbar trails behind the animals and reaches a subterranean room, where a table is being set by a pair of hands, a man appears and opens a newspaper, then asks a candlestick and a bouquet about his wife and sons; the objects answer they are doing well, but his wife is spending money to locate him. The man then eats his meal and prepares to leave, when a voice asks if he, Sen Disparet, is ready. Sen Disparet answers positively, then four girls appear to carry him away. The Malbar leaves the underground room and goes straight to Prince Kolye's wife to tell her he found him. Prince Kolye's wife asks to be taken there, and the Malbar explains they will follow the animals as soon as they enter the underground chamber. It happens thus and the girl finds her husband down there, but the Malbar tells her to wait.

The scene repeats and Sen Disparet asks the candlestick and the bouquet about his wife, and they reply she is fine, but the chamber now has seven people inside it. After the meal, his wife goes to talk to him, but he still blames her for causing their separation. Still, he advises her on how to rescue him: four angels will come to take him, so his wife should grab onto him; they will reach another place, where he will play the violin and do a dance to entertain the angels while his wife hides behind a gate, until the song stops and she will reveal herself; the angels will cry out in despair about a living being in the land of the dead, which will alert God Himself, Whom she is to tell she is looking for her husband.

Soon enough, four angels come to take Sen Disparet by his feet and his arms, and his wife holds onto his body. The angels notice their passenger is heavier, which he dismisses as having eaten too much. They fly to the land of the angels, and his wife hides behind a gate, while he plays the violin, then dances to entertain the angels. After he finishes playing, his human wife comes out of hiding, to the angels' despair, who cry out that a living being is there in the realm of the dead. God Himself appears and asks who is the living one; the girl introduces herself and says she is looking for Sen Disparet. God chastises the woman for disobeying her husband. The couple stands before God, Who slaps both of them so they fall asleep. When they wake up, they find themselves on bed, reunited at last. Back to the Malbar, God withdraws his belongings from the cave where Sen Disparet was, and the Malbar dies without getting his reward.

Sen Disparet

In a Seychellois tale collected from teller Jeanne Lemiel with the title Sen Disparet, a poor malbar ('Indian') earns his living by chopping trees in the forest and selling them to make charcoal. One time, he cuts down a tree and finds a box inside it, which holds a necklace. The malbar sells the ring to the king, who gives it to his daughter, the princess. She wears it during the day and takes it off at night. One night, she lies on her bed with the necklace still around her neck, and suddenly a youth appears besides her. The princess questions the presence of the youth, and he mentions the necklace. The girl cannot find the necklace neither around her neck nor in the box, and the youth explains he is the necklace, which the king bought her.

The princess falls in love with the youth, and in time she gives birth to three children: two sons and a daughter in three consecutive pregnancies. The queen realizes her daughter gave birth to her grandchildren, but she has not married anyone. She notices some children playing ball in the royal gardens and inquires whence they come from. A boy points to the princess, who is nursing another of her children. The princess tells her mother the king and queen brought him there, for they bough the necklace for the princess. The monarchs learn of the whole story and marry the princess to the mysterious boy, who asks his parents-in-law never to ask for his real name. The royla couple agree to his terms.

The princess marries the mysterious boy. Time passes, the queen begins to pester her daughter to ask her husband's name. She even supposes he must be hiding his name due to something he did in his past. Eventually, the princess decides to ask her husband his true name, since everyone has a birth name. The princess's husband warns him that she may never see him again if she insists to know this piece of information about him. Still, he relents and tells her: his name is Sen Disparet ("Disappearing Saint"). On saying this, he vanishes in front of his family. The princess cries for the loss of her husband, and the king makes an announcement: whoever bring news of the princess's husband shall gain half of his riches. However, in time no one knows of his whereabouts.

Back to the poor malbar, while he is in the forest, he spots a cow and a goat eating grass, when the animals begin to walk down an underground path underneath a stone. The malbar trails behind the animals until they all reach an underground room. The stone closes the entrance to the room, and the malbar is locked inside. He hides in a corner, and, by nightfall, Sen Disparet comes in the room and asks a candlestick about his wife and three children. The candlestick replies she is crying for him, and there are five people in the room, instead of four, as usual. Sen Disparet dimisses the last information as some animal that followed his cow and goat, while the malbar escapes the room the following morning.

The malbar goes straight to the princess and tells her he found her husband, Sen Disparet, and takes her to his location. They wait until the animals appear, then the goat and cow go the underground room, followed by the malbar and the princess. Down there, she finds her husband. Sen Disparet makes his prayers, then asks his chandelier about his wife and family. The candlestick answers that his family is fine, and his wife is happier still, for she is closer than ever, and that, tonight, there are six people in the room. Sen Disparet repeats the question to the candlestick, whose reply is the same.

The princess comes out of hiding and goes to meet her husband. Sen Disparet asks her what is she doing there and says he will depart the following day back to Heaven; an fiery <armchair> will appear, which he will sit on; his wife is to grab onto the armchair and be carried up to Heaven, where the angels will hold a feast to celebrate his return; she is to hide under the armchair and wait until they dance a waltz, when she is to finally appear and dance with him.

Prince Lal Maluk (Pakistani folktale) / Pakistani ATU 425 (= Ruby Prince)

Prince Lal Maluk (Sindhi: "شهزادو لال ملوڪ") is a Pakistani folktale from Sindh and published by Sindhologist Nabi Bakhsh Baloch. The tale is a local form of the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom or The Search for the Lost Husband, in that a woman marries a man of supernatural origin (a snake or serpent), loses him and must regain him.

Summary

In a certain land, a woodcutter earns his living by selling wood and herding cattle, and is endlessly hounded by his nagging wife about their poor situation. One day, some people from his village are leaving to seek new jobs elsewhere, and the woodcutter's wife forces him to accompany the others. At a point in the journey, the group stops to rest. The next morning, the woodcutter wakes up and notices a snake crawled into his satchel, and he decides to return to the village and use the snake to mercy kill his wife and children. He goes back home and places the snake inside a pot of flour, then leaves not to watch the deed. His wife goes to fetch some flour and finds a shiny necklace inside it, instead of the snake. The woman takes the necklace to a jeweler, and is paid handsomely for it. The woodcutter, meanwhile, is waiting for news of his wife's death, but, instead, he is visited by his children, who are trying to call him for dinner. After the children come and go, he decides to check for himself if his wife is dead, and finds his house furnished with food, clothes and tools. Suspecting some cheating on her part at first, the woodcutter is told of the necklace his wife sold to the jeweler, and goes to talk to him. He lies to the the jeweler the necklace was to be a gift for the king, and threatens to tell the king about it. The jeweler pays for his silence and himself goes to give the necklace to the king.

The king gives the necklace to his queen, which she uses and puts it away. Days later, she orders for a servant to fetch the necklace, and the servant tells the queen the necklace is gone, and a baby boy is in its place. The queen goes to check for herself and cradles the baby. The kinh appears soon after and sees the baby for himself. The royal couple decide to adopt the baby and name him Lal Maluk. Years later, the king sends his ministers to arrange a marriage to a prospective bride on behalf of the prince, but the king dies while the minister is on the road. Lal Manuk assumes the throne and is warned by a fakir that his minister has traitorous intentions and wants to usurp marry Lal Maluk's fiancée. Lal Maluk rushes to his fiancée's side and shows him a letter with his picture, while the traitorous minister tries to arrange a marriage between his own son and the princess who is to be Lal Manuk's wife. Lal Manuk and the princess saddle some horses and flee the kingdom.

The couple make way to another city and Lal Manuk advises his fiancée to put on male attire, while he goes to buys provisions for the road. He enters a shop to buy some food, when the shopkeeper does something to him. Back to the princess, she senses something wrong happened to Lal Maluk and enters the city disguised as man. She soon learns there is an archery contest for the hand of the local princess. Lal Manuk's fiancée wins at the archery contest and marries the princess, introducing himself as "Prince Lal Maluk". Husband and wife live together, but cannot consumate the marriage. The she-prince goes to buy a parrot in the market to keep her company in the palace, as suspicions of her true gender start to mount, due to the minister poisoning the king's ear with suspicions. The minister tries to unmask her gender by setting tests (choosing a flower, preferring sweet food to salted one, undressing to take a bath in the river, and patrolling the streets near the shops of women's wares), which she passes with the help of the parrot. Deafeated, the minister betrothes his own daughter to "him".

The she-prince buys a lamb which she finds in a store, and undoes the magic on the real Lal Maluk by pulling a thread from the lamb's neck. They trade places, and Lal Maluk goes to marry the local princess and the local minister's daughter as his co-wives, who, after being told of the whole event, decide to keep a secret between them. Life goes on, until one day, while Lal Maluk is away, an old woman appears at the palace - Lal Maluk's snake mother in human disguise - and convinces them to ask Lal Maluk's caste. After the woman leaves, the princess asks Lal Maluk his caste. He deflects the question in an anger. The next day, she repeats the question, and Lal Maluk takes both girls to the riverbank, and questions the girls' insistence to know his caste. He dips his feet in the water and warns them that what they will see is him: he turns into a snake and swims away. The palace tries to cover the fact by saying that Lal Maluk is on a hunt, and try to capture his snake shape, while the princesses mourn for the loss of their husband.

Later, Lal Maluk's first wife learns that on a certain night, in a certain day, some music begins to sound underneath a tree, and decides to see it for herself. She goes to the tree and finds a little snake. The reptile turns into Lal Maluk, and explains his spiritual guide is preventing him from escaping, but she can save him: she is to come to the place on the fourteenth day of the month, when his spiritual guide comes with his retinue, clean up the path and serve sweet milk, and beat the drum ("tabla", in the original) in front of his spiritual guide; in gratitude, his spiritual guide will be pleased and ask her for a reward, to which she is to ask for Lal Maluk. The princess does as Lal Maluk has asked: she waits for the 14th day, prepares the place for the coming of the retinue, and joins the others musicians in the presentation they make for the "spiritual guide" (who is described as a jinn in the text). The princess goes to fill in for the previous drummer and does a number in front of the spirit, who is delighted and pleased by the music and allows the princess to ask for a reward. She asks for the hand of Lal Maluk, which is agreed upon: the prince resumes his human form and departs with his human wife.

Reunited with his three co-wives, Lal Maluk misses his mother and plans to return with his fathers-in-law's armies to his home kingdom. He sets up a tent on the outskirts of town and inquires the citizes about the minister's rule; they answer they want their rightful king. Lal Maluk threaten to make war with the minister lest he surrenders the throne. The minister renounces and flees the city with his son, while Lal Maluk regains his kingdom and reunites with his mother.

Analysis

Tale type

The tale belongs to the international cycle of the "The Search for the Lost Husband", according to the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, catalogued under the umbrella tale type ATU 425. In Stith Thompson and Warren Roberts's Types of Indic Oral Tales, the tale is classified under its own Indic type, 425D Ind, "Search for Serpent Husband".

Motifs

The protagonist's name, Lal, means "ruby".

According to Stith Thompson and Jonas Balys study of motifs of Indian literature and oral folklore, the tale contains the motif B604.1 "Marriage to snake".

The husband's transformations

According to Stith Thompson and Jonas Balys study of motifs of Indian literature and oral folklore, the tale contains the motif D432.3.1 "Transformation: ruby to person".

Professor Laila Schmidt noted that the hero in the Kohistani tale The Button Prince was changed into a ram by the witch, a motif that also appears in the Kashmiri tale Himal and Nagaray. In addition, while comparing the tale The Button Prince to Himal and Na

The husband's vanishing

In his work about Cupid and Psyche and other Animal as Bridegroom tales, Swedish scholar Jan-Öjvind Swahn identified that, in certain tales, the heroine causes her supernatural husband's disappearance by inquiring his name. Swahn named this motif The Name Taboo and surmised that it occurred "primarily in India". In Thompson and Roberts's Types of Indic Oral Tales, this motif appears in Indic type 425D Ind, "Search for Serpent Husband": the heroine insists to know her husband's caste or name, and he, in return, gives her an answer, but vanishes in the water like a snake.

Variants

Prince Lal and Princess Hira (Sindhi)

In a Sindhi tale published by Sindhologist Nabi Bakhsh Baloch with the title "Prince Lal and Princess Hira" (Sindhi: "لعل بادشاھ ۽ هيرا راڻي"), a poor woodcutter is walking home, when he is attacked by a snake. He throws a bundle of wood at it to kill it, and his wife finds a ruby necklace under the wood, which they sell to the king the next morning. The king, Gharib Kathir, gives the necklace to his wife to wear, which she keeps in a golden purse. One day, the king asks his wife to see the necklace, and the queen goes to retrieve it, but finds a human baby in its place. They decide to adopt the baby whom they name 'Lal' (ruby) Shahzad and raise him.

Years later, Prince Lal grows up a handsome youth, and decides to marry one as beautiful as himself, but rejects many prospective brides. A princess named Hira, in another land, beautiful as she is, also rejects her suitors, and learns of Prince Lal, who is himself in a similar situation. Princess Hira is introduced to Lal, both develop a fondness for each other and are eventually married. However, their happiness is short-lived, for an one-eyed girl named Kani, spurned by Prince Lal, plans to hinder their lives: she knows Lal's true origin as a snake, and pays Hira a visit. She then convinces the princess to ask Lal about his caste.

Princess Hira asks her husband Lal about his caste, but he dismisses the question, knowing it will only bring her misfortune. Still, she continues to ask him about his origins, and he decides to tell her. He brings her next to a river and bids her to drop her inquiries, but jumps into the water, turns into a snake, and slithers away. Princess Hira cries for her vanishing husband, and her grief is heard by an overflying Noor Pari. The fairy descends to comfort Hira and says she will search for clues about Prince Lal's whereabouts.

Some days later, Noor Pari flies back to Princess Hira and reveals the intel she has gathered: Lal is the son of the king of snakes who has fled home to the human world in a human shape, and the king of the snakes, in human form, goes to a certain place in order to enjoy dance and music. Hira can rescue her husband by doing a number in front of the human king of the snakes and asking for Lal as reward. The fairy then walks Princess Hira to the place where the snake husband and his retinue gather, and they watch the scenes unfold before the monarch. Hira walks into the event and asks the snake if she can perform a song and dance for him. The snake king consents and the princess performs with such talent it moves the snake king, so much so he asks Hira what she wants as a reward. Hira dismisses the request for the time.

The snake king appears with his retinue for a second event on a later day, Hira dances for him again, and the snake king asks her again. Some time later, the snake king appears for the third time to watch Hira's dance, and finally Hira answers truthfully. The snake king then takes the human princess to his palace to show her Prince Lal, lying on a bed. Lal and Hira reunite, and the snake king sends them back to the human realm for good.

• "لال بادشاہ اور ہیرا رانی"
• "لعل شہزادہ" = Lal Shahzad (Ruby Prince)
• "ہیرا رانی" = Hera Rani (Princess Diamond)

The Ruby Prince (Pakistani Punjabi)

Pakistani writer and poet Shafi Aqeel published a Pakistani Punjabi tale titled Laal Shahzada in Urdu, which was translated into English as Prince Ruby by writer Ahmad Bashir. In this tale, a poor woodcutter forages for berries for his family and finds a large and shining one (a ruby), which he takes home. His family eats the edible berries, while they notice the shine of the large ruby (which the story keeps referring to as a "berry"). His wife suggests he shows it to the king, who notices that it is a rare ruby and buys it from the woodcutter as a gift for the queen. At night, she places the ruby under her pillow, but, in the morning, the gem has vanished, and in its place a baby has appeared. The royal couple adopt the baby. At the same time, the vizier's wife gives birth to a baby daughter, and it is decided to marry them to each other when they come of age. Both grow up together and later marry, the king's son, named Prince Ruby, assumes the throne when his father dies. Some time later, an old hag comes to the palace and sells curds for the princess. However, Prince Ruby comes in the same time and expels the old hag, warning his wife to not see her again. Time passes, and the old hag returns, this time with beautiful bangles to sell. The princess buys some which the hag helps her put on, but the ornaments drop to the ground and break apart, which saddens the princess. The hag notices this and poses a question to her about her husband's caste. The princess tries to deflect the question, but the hag presses the issue, mentioning that Prince Ruby keeps the girl at a distance at night. Moved by her words, the princess's mind wanders to her husband's strange behaviour (eating separately, placing a naked sword between them at night). When Prince Ruby comes back, she asks him about his caste, which he answers and tries to close the matter, but she keeps insisting. Days pass, and the princess falls into a deep state of sadness. The prince tries to comfort her, and she takes the opportunity to ask him again about his caste, otherwise she will kill herself. Prince Ruby then takes her to the bank of a river and asks if she does indeed want to know of his caste. She insists to know the answer; he enters the water until he is seen no more, and a snake emerges from where he stood: the snake is the prince, named Raja Hari Tarang, who has quarreled with his grandfather in their snake realm, and has come to the human world as a ruby; the hag was his grandfather's servant, and now he must go back to his kingdom. After saying this, the snake dips into the waters and disappears. The princess is distraught at the loss of her husband, and returns to the palace to mourn him.

The viziers notice that matters of the state are being neglected, and issue an edict for people to come tell her untold stories in exchange for a gold coin. One time, an old man comes and tells the princess a story, which intrigues the princess so much he returns the following nights: the man himself had tried his luck in the North, and entered a dark forest; with nowhere to go, he climbed up a tree and slept there, when he saw some snakes appear and turn to men, prepare a fire and sweep the ground for the arrival of their master, a large cobra with a smaller golden snake on its head; the large cobras turn into an old king and a young prince; they watch some dancer girls perform, then leave at dawn; the young prince, in human form, utters some words to a princess about the consequences of her question. The princess realizes the golden snake is her husband, Raja Hari Tarang, rewards the old man with rubies and golden coins, and asks to be taken to that exact spot. The old man takes the princess to the location, they climb up a tree and see the events repeat: the snakes come and turn into men to prepare the arrival of their master; the girls perform until dawn, and the young prince, the last to leave, utters the same words to his lost love about the results of her curiosity. Before he turns into a snake again, the princess, his human wife, climbs down the tree and grabs a corner of his robe. The prince warns her of his grandfather, and advises her the only way to rescue him: she is to come to the ceremony the next evening, and serve milk to the snakes; his grandfather will thank her for the hospitality and ask her about a reward; she is to answer twice she is satisfied with what God gave her, and on the third time the snake king, infuriated, will ask her what she wants; she is then to take the opportunity to make him promise not to harm her, and say she wants the prince back. The next evening, the princess follows her husband's instructions to the letter and stands face to face with the snake king; after the third time, the princess asks for the young prince, the king's grandson, as her reward. The snake king agrees to her terms, kisses his grandson goodbye, and leaves with his snake court. The princess and prince return to their kingdom.

The Button Prince

In a Kohistani tale collected from a Shina teller in Rawalpindi and translated as The Button Prince, a poor man goes to the forest to chop wood and a snake appears to him, begging to be hidden. The man hides the snake in a shawl, then returns home. The man's wife finds a shining button in the man's shawl, which he sells to the king for a hefty sum. The king gives the button to his daughter, who lives in a distant bungalow. the button turns into a young child at the princess's house, and the princess decides to raise him. The king learns of the mysterious child and decides to banish his daughter for having a child born out of wedlock, and she leaves with the child to her fiancé's house. The princess's fiancé, on seeing the duo, refuses to take them in, and the princess builds a home for herself and the Button Prince, whom she raises. When the Button Prince comes of age, the princess marries him, but complains that her new husband has nothing on his name. Since her kingdom knows she married a prince she raised herself, the princess decides to go with her husband to another kingdom to search for fortune. However, the Button Prince is turned into a ram by a witch, and loses sight of the princess. As for the princess, she dons a male disguise and is set to marry the local king's daughter and the minister's daughter. The vizier tries to unmask her, but she earns the trust of the other girls to hide her secret. In time, the princess arranges a tournament between every ram of the city, which draws the witch and the transformed prince. The witch is brought before the princess, who threatens her to reverse the Button Prince's transformation. The Button Prince is restored to human form, kills the witch, and takes part in a wrestling competition against the local males. The Button Prince marries the princess, the king's daughter and the vizier's daughter, and they live together. One day, the minister's daughter makes a remark about the Button Prince, who turns back into a snake, then slithers off. After losing her husband, the princess who raised him goes to a crossroads and pays ashrafis for people to share stories, in hopes of locating the Button Prince. At one time, an old man and his son wish to meet the princess at the crossroads, but finds a gathering of snakes dancing in a meadow, then go to report to the princess. The princess notices the duo's story gives her the whereabouts of the Button Prince, and she goes there. In the meadow, a little snake, who is the Button Prince, recognizes the princess, turns her into a needle, and takes her back to the place of snakes, Snake Town (judroó xáaraŗ), a lacustrine and rainy underworld. The Button Prince's serpent mother notices the human smell and discovers her daughter-in-law, but decides to protect her by disguising her as a needle for weeks on end, whenever her other snake sons sense a human smell nearby. The Button Prince's snake brethren like to take him along, while the princess talks to her snake mother-in-law, until one day the snake mother asks for her sons to leave the Button Prince at home with her. On this occasion, the snake mother advises the Button Prince and his human wife how they can escape from their kingdom, and gives them objects to stop any further pursuit (in a "Magic Flight" sequence): soap for precipices, combs for forests, needles into thorny bushes, ashes to toss into his brothers' eyes, dung cake for piles of dung, beads to distract the snakes and finally bread. The pair escapes while she holds his brothers off, but they trail behind the couple, so the Button Prince throws behind the objects to stop the chase. Safe at home, the Button Prince divorces the other wives and remains with the first princess, as they leave for more adventures.

See also

• The Ruby Prince (Punjabi folktale)
• Sasisena Kavya (Orissan folktale)
• Princess Himal and Nagaray
• The Snake Prince
• Tulisa, the Wood-Cutter's Daughter

References

Category:Asian fairy tales Category:ATU 400-459 Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Fiction about shapeshifting Category:Fictional princes Category:Fictional snakes Category:Gemstones in culture Category:Pakistani fairy tales Category:Male characters in fairy tales

Indic ATU 707 The Three Golden Children (Indian oikotype)

These tales are classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 707, "The Three Golden Children". These tales refer to stories where a girl promises a king she will bear a child or children with wonderful attributes, but her jealous relatives or the king's wives plot against the babies and their mother. Many variants of the tale type are registered in India, although they comprise specific cycles in this country.

Analysis

Tale type

According to Stith Thompson' and Jonas Balys's index of Indian tales, the tale type ATU 707 shows 44 variants across Indian sources.

Motifs

Folklorist Christine Goldberg, in the entry of the tale type in Enzyklopädie des Märchens, noted that in Indian variants of tale type 707, the children may entice their father to the truth by trying to feed a wooden horse. In others, the children die and are reborn as plants, and only their mother may pluck fruits or flowers from the trees. Likewise, researcher Noriko Mayeda and Indologist W. Norman Brown divided Indian variants of type 707 in five groups: (1) quest for wonderful items; (2) reincarnation into flowers; (3) use of wooden horses; (4) children sing a song; (5) miscellaneous.

According to Stith Thompson and Jonas Balys study of motifs of Indian literature and oral folklore, the tale contains the motif T511, "Conception from eating"; T511.1, "Conception from eating fruit", and specific motif T511.1.3, "Conception from eating mango".

Variants

Folklorist Ashraf Siddiqui argued that variants of the tale type were "borrowed" into the oral corpus of the Santals, the Hos and the Birhors from the Hindus.

India

Bengali folklorist Saratchandra Mitra published a tale from the Ho people, "of the wicked queens type": a raja is married to 7 ranis, but has not yet fathered a son. A bramahna tells him to take a stick and beat a tree for 7 mangoes and to give the fruits to his 7 wives. They eat the fruit, but the seventh eats a partly eaten fruit and gives birth to a "beautiful boy with the face of a mongoose". The other queens replace the boy for a stone and a broom, and later in the story his six half-brothers kill and bury him. A bamboo and a shrub with a beautiful flower sprout. The raja plucks the flower and cuts down the bamboo, and his son reappears.

Indian ethnographer Sarat Chandra Roy collected and a published a tale from the Birhor people. In this tale, titled How the dead and buried children of the Raja were restored to life, a childless rajah is married to seven ranis, but has no son. A Brahman advises him to strike a mango tree with his sword, get as many mangoes as he can and give to his seven wives. He does that, but manages to get one. Six of the ranis eat the fruit and leave the rind to the seventh. The ones that ate the fruit bear no son, while the seventh becomes pregnant. The king gives her two drums to announce the child's birth: golden for a boy, silver for a girl. She gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, who are replaced for a broom and a piece of burnt firewood. The twins are thrown in a pit and found by pot-makers, who raise them as their children. Years later, the six ranis notice that the children are alive and give them poisoned bread. The twins eat, die and are buried by the potmakers in the jungle. From the boy's grave, a plantain tree sprouts, and from the girl's a pinjār tree. One day, a king's woodsman tries to pluck a flower from the pinjar tree, but both it and the plantain extend their trunks. The woodsman reports to the king, who goes to the trees and tries to pluck the flower. The same event happens. The king summons his six queens, who also fail to get the flower. The rajah summons the seventh queen, who tries to get the flower and both trees return to human form. The rajah learns of the co-wives' deceit and buries them alive in a hole.

In another tale from the Ho people, published by Sukumar Haidar with the title The Trials of a Rani, a childless Raja with three wives is visited by a Brahman, who advises him to get a mango from a mango tree and give it to his three wives. Two of them eat the fruit, while the third rani eats the skin and the stone. The latter is the only one to bear a son to the king. The other two ranis, jealous of the luck of the other co-wive and replace the boy for a piece of wood, while dropping the boy in a clay pit next to a lake from where potters take clay from. The Raja sees the piece of wood and banishes his third queen. Meanwhile, the third queen's son crawls out of the pit and falls into the lake, becoming a lotus flower (Kamal-bā). The gardener's wife sees the lotus flowers and tries to get it, but it floats away in the lake. Some time later, the ranis try to get the lotus, but the flower questions them about their misdeed. The Raja himself tries next, but the lotus flower floats away. Lastly, the banished queen goes to retrieve the flower. Jets of milk escape from her breasts and shoot at the flower, which moves closer and closer to the shore of the lake. The lotus flower turns back into a human boy and the Raja discovers the ruse.

In a tale collected by Alice Elizabeth Dracott from Simla, The Real Mother, a Rajah has no son, despite being married to seven wives, six who dwell in the palace and the seventh who dwells in a poor mud hut. The Rajah meets a fakir, who orders him to shake up a tree, gather however many mangoes fall, and give them to his ranees. The rajah follows the instructions and give the fruits to the six ranees, but forgets his seventh wife. The poor ranee asks a servant to bring her the mango husks, eats them and becomes pregnant. She gives birth to six sons and one daughter, but the other ranees blindfold her eyes, take the children and cast them in a potter's field to die. The potter finds the children and raises them. The six ranees learn of this and send an old midwife to give the children chapatis laced with poison. The children eat the chapatis and die, but the Fakir resurrects them with his own blood. The six ranees send the midwife again to poison the children. They die again, and the Fakir orders the potter to dig eight graves, for the children and him. After they are buried, a mango tree sprouts on each brother's grave, a rose tree on the girl's and a chumpa tree on the Fakir. One day, the Rajah's servants try to pluck the roses from the tree, but a voice from the fakir's grave warns that it is only for their mother. The Rajah goes to the graves and tries to pluck the flowers, and the same voice warns hem. He brings the six ranees to try to pluck them, but to no avail. Lastly, the poor ranee is brought to the trees, and the rose branches spread to cover her with flowers. The Fakir rises from his grave with the seven children and tells their story.

Verrier Elwin collected a tale titled The Jealous Queens, from a Dora-Kurk source in Kaknar, Bastar State. In this tale, a Rani has three children, a son and two daughters. The boy proclaims he wants to marry his sisters. To avoid such a wedding, their mother arranges the boy's marriage to another woman. Even so, he insists he will marry his sisters. Both girls escape to the woods. They beg to a sarai tree to lower its branches for them to climb, then to lead them to a nearby lake to drink water. However, the lake has dried up, so the younger of the two sisters throws her ring in the lake to fill it with water. She then asks her elder sister to get the ring for her. The elder sister dives into the lake and bring the ring to her, but drowns in the process. The girl is now all alone. Some time later, a Raja goes to the lake to shoot some birds and finds the girl atop a mango tree. The Raja takes her as his seventh Rani, since his other six wives haven't born him a son. The seventh queen becomes pregnant and the Rajah gives her a flute of sorrow and a flute of joy to announce the birth of the royal heir. The six cowives blindfold the girl, take the boy as soon as he is born and throw him with cord and placenta in the lake, and announce she gave birth to a broom. Deep in the lake, the boy is rescued by his mother's elder sisters, and his placenta becomes a flower on the surface of the lake. A Brahmin sees the flower and tries to get it, but it retreats to the middle of the lake. The Brahmin tells the Raja. The Raja Saheb, Kuar Saheb and Diwan Saheb go to the lake to get the flower. The boy asks his aunt underwater, who tells him to only give the flower to his mother. The six ranies come and try to get it. Lastly, the seventh rani, who was expelled from the palace, is bathed and brought to the lake. She asks the boy to give her the chapa flower, the dondera flower. The boy comes with the flowers and sits on the rani's lap. The Raja begs for an explanation and the boy reveals she is his mother, the Raja is his father and the six cowives have tried to get rid of him. The Raja asks the boy to come live with him. The boy declines, so the Raja kills the six ranis.

In a Dogri tale titled A Fragrant Flower or Jasmine Flower, a king has seven queens, the youngest of which he favours the best, and still no son, so he prays and worships. One day, his pleas are answered, and the youngest queen is pregnant, to the dismay of the other co-wives. The king gives the queen a drum for her to beat whenever she needs something. However, the jealous co-queens trick their rival into beating the drum many times to annoy their husband and leave her on her own at labour. When the time comes, the seventh queen gives birth to twins, a prince (named Rajkumar) and a princess (Rajkumari), who are replaced by rats, hidden in an earthen pot and buried under a pot of dung. The king returns and, seeing the animals, banishes the young queen to the menial position of scaring crows. Meanwhile, on the dung heap, two trees sprout: a mango tree (representing the boy) and a bush of chameli flowers, or jasmine creeper, in another translation (representing the girl). Sometime later, the king's sepoys see beautiful chameli flowers on the bush and try to pluck them, but, on the advice of the mango tree, the bush rises its height. The sepoys inform the old vizier, who comes to the dunghill to try and pluck the flowers, but the same thing happens. Next, the king himself comes to take the chameli flowers, but the tree rises even higher. Finally, the disgraced junior queen comes to the trees; they embrace the woman and ask her to be dug out of the dunghill. The twins are rescued from the dunghill, still alive; the king then restores the junior queen to her rightful place.

In a Kol tale titled Die Zwillinge ("The Twins"), a king has seven wives. One day, the seventh wife gives birth to a boy and a girl, who are taken by the jealous co-queens and cast in a clay pit, while they replace them for a stone and a broom. A clay potter finds the children and raises them. Years later, he fashions a clay horse for the boy and a clay bird for the girl. The children play with their toys next to a pool where the co-queens are bathing and try to have their toys drink water. The co-queens tease the twins about their strange play, and they retort so is strange for a woman to give birth to a stone and a broom. The co-queens realize the children are their rival's twins, and, feigning illness, ask for their blood. The king then kills the children and buries them; from their graves, a vine sprouts with beautiful flowers. Some time later, the co-queens try to pluck the flowers, but the vine rises its height. Next, the king tries to pluck them, and the children come out alive of the vine and sit on the king's lap.

Author Praphulla Mohanti published a tale titled The Seven Sisters, which he sourced "from the coastal villages of Orissa". In this tale, a Brahmin lives in poverty with his wife and their seven daughters, and begs for alms for a living. One day, the Brahmin's wife prepares cakes for her and him, but their daughters eat the food. That same night, the Brahmin and his wife decide to abandon the girls in the forest since they can afford to support a family of nine. With an excuse to take the girls to their maternal uncle's house, the Brahmin takes them through the woods and gives each of them a bag of rice. After the girls are distracted, the man makes his way back home, and leaves the girls to their fates. Realizing they have been abandoned by their parents and that there isn't much food in the bags, the girls take refuge on a treetop. Some time later, a passing king feels a drop of water falling from the tree and look up; he notices the seven girls and orders them to climb down the tree. He inquires each about their skills: the first promises to feed the whole court with a pot of rice; the other that they can make delicious cakes and curry; finally, the seventh promises to bear "seven handsome sons and a beautiful daughter". The king chooses the seventh sister as his wife and marries her. When she is pregnant, he gives her a flute to blow if there is something she needs; on her sisters' goading, she blows on the flute many times, which irritates the king. She then gives birth to her promised eight children, whom are taken from her by her sisters and replaced for wooden dolls. The sisters bury the children in a dung heap, but they are found by a dog and taken to a lake where a Goddess of Waters live. The goddess raises the children and gives them wooden horses to play with. They then play before the king's gardener, trying to make them drink water, and the latter questions the purpose of their playtime, since a wooden being cannot drink. The children retort that so is a human woman giving birth to wooden images. Later, the Goddess of Water turns the boys into seven trees and the girl into a flower bush. The gardener, the king's minister and the king himself try to pluck their flowers, but the trees rise their branches out of their reach. Lastly, when the disgraced queen, banished to the stables, come to fetch the flowers. The trees approach the queen and the children come out of it. The king learns of his sisters-in-law's ruse and punishes them.

In another Goan tale, titled Seven Sons and a Daughter, a king is married, but has no heir. Thus, he gets married to other women in subsequent years, but his spouses are unable to bear children. One day, a princess from another kingdom announces that, if the king marries her, she will bear him seven sons and a daughter. The king agrees to her terms and marries her, to the elder six wives' jealousy. The king departs for business in another land, and leaves his seventh wife in the care of the other six spouses. Before he leaves, the seventh queen tells him that rain will mark the boys' birth, and a rain of pearls the girl's. The king departs. When the time comes, the queen gives birth to her eight children, but the jealous co-wives cast the children in the dung pit and replace them lie to the king she gave birth to seven dogs and a cat. Humiliated, the king orders the seventh queen to be cast in a pit, with only her head visible. Some time later, the six co-wives sight the children near the dung pit and hurriedly throw them in the well near the palace to finally kill them. However, the boys become a tall mango tree and the girl a plantain tree. The king's washerman goes to do his chores and sees the large leaves of the plantain tree, so he wants to use them as clothes hanger. He tries to cut off a leaf, but the tree moves its branch away from the washerman. Then, the plantain tree asks the mango tree if it can allow the washerman to have some of its leaves, but the mango tree says he cannot, until they see their mother's face. The washerman reports the strange occurrence to the king, and the monarch tries to pluck the leaf himself, but the situation repeats. He then sends for the six co-wives and the midwife, who also try to pluck the leaves, but the trees sing the same verses. The king then orders his seventh wife to be dug out of the pit and brought to the well. The trees recognize they have seen their mother, and lean forward on her shoulders. The king realizes the trees are his children, rubs his ring, washes it with water and sprinkles some drops on the trees to restore the children to human form. The family reunites, and the king executes the wicked co-wives and the midwife.

Nepal

In a Nepalese tale titled From the Mango Tree, a king has seven wives, but none have given birth to a son yet. He laments the fact to a sanyasi, a religious old man, who gives him a magic stick and advises him to beat it against a certain mango tree on a certain place, pluck the fruits that will fall and give them to his queens. The king beats the stick against the mango and gathers six mangoes. He brings the fruits home and gives them to his eldest queen, with a request to share the fruits with the other co-wives. The eldest queen summons five of their co-queens, save for the youngest and seventh, and the sextet eat the fruits, leaving nothing for the seventh queen, out of jealousy for the king's attention on her. The seventh queen learns of the king's quest, and goes to eat the mango pits and whatever was left of fruit. In time, the youngest queen becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, whom the other queens throw through the window into some bushes and place a musli (a pestle) and a broom next to the queen. The king falls for the trick and reduces the seventh queen to being a servant to the others. As for the children, a poor water-carrier woman finds the twins in the bushes and takes them to raise. Years later, when the twins are playing next to a well, one of the other queens sights the pair and asks about their parentage. This motivates the twins to ask their adoptive mother, who reveals they are not her children. The queens learns the children are alive and conspire to eliminate them: they dig up a hole in the garden, shove the twins in and bury them. However, two trees sprout bearing blossoms. Later, each of the queens try to pluck a flower from the trees, but their branches move away.

See also

• Saat Bhai Champa

References

Category:Indian fairy tales Category:Indian literature Category:ATU 700-749

The Dead Prince and the Talking Doll (Indic AaTh 437 "The Needle Prince")

Bradley-Birt "A True Friend" (tale nr. XIII) ~ Der König und der Kuhhirt (Heinz Mode, Arun Ray; pp. 100-106) ~The Prince and the Shepherd (collected in 1967)

Bangladesh

In a ballad from Mymensingh, Bengal with the title Kajalrekha,

Nepal

In an Nepalese tale collected from an informant in Nagarain, from Mithila, with the title Second Wife (Dutti Bar),

Ro-sgrung Vs. Vetala

According to Tímea Windhoffer, the introduction of the compilation into Tibet is attributed to Atisa, a Buddhist monk that lived in the 11th century. Its versions from Inner Asia differ in the quantity of chapters: one with twenty-one, the other with thirteen tales, and both differing from the original Vetala from India. Windhoffer argues that the discrepancies between the Indian original and the Central Asian ones are due to differences in religious background. The 21-tale version is "only known" in Tibet, while the 13-tale version is common in Central Asia. <More general subject>

[137]

Khampui Flowers / The Python (Tripuri folktale)

Raima Saima Khumpui Python

Summary

In a Tripuran tale from the Kalai people with the title Meislesani Kereng Koktwoma, translated as Story of Python, a man named Sardeng Singh, also called Sardeng Achai, has two daughters. They live in a tong and work in their jhum fields. Since he cannot pay the rit, the rain dripped through their roof during rainy season. One day, his elder daughter promises to marry anyone who can fix their tong house. The next morning, they find the roof repaired, and discover the one that did it was a python. The elder sister fulfills the vow and marries the python, and asks her younger sister to invite the snake for a feast. This goes on for some time, until one day the elder sister, the python's human lover, is working at another jhum field, and Sardeng learns from his youngest his elder's dalliance with the animal, and goes to the jhum field to kill it. He orders his youngest to call for her brother-in-law (kumui): the python appears to them and he cuts off its head. The head rolls over to a lunga (a type of valley), while Sardeng takes the body to his house for his daughter to cook it. After they feast on the snake, they save some for the elder daughter, who comes home with a strange feeling of grief. The pair of sisters returns to the jhum field and the younger calls on the python, but it does not answer. The elder sister begins to call for him with a melancholy voice, and tries frantically to search for her lover. She finds a stream filled with many khumpui flowers, where her father threw the python's head. The elder sister plucks a flower and places it in her ear, then begins to sing a song and gradually sinks into the river, believing that her husband is in the water. The younger sister cries for her elder abandoning her, but the girl says the cadette can find a six-branched banyan tree on the road where she can find shelter, which she is to climb and say she is beautiful and fit to be queen, then a king will marry her. The cadette does as instructed, while the elder sinks into the river and finds a palace there with her husband. Back to the cadette, she climbs the tree and is found by a passing bindias (royal hill force). The king takes the youngest sister and marries her. Months later, she becomes pregnant, to the jealousy of the king's other queens. While the king is away on a hunt, the co-queens blindfold her with seven folds and arrange her labour near a stream. Helpless to do anything, the new queen gives birth to six sons and a daughter, who the co-queens replace for woods and stones and throw in the river. After the king returns, the co-queens trick him into believing his new queen is a witch, orders for her nose and ear to be cut off and banishes her from the palace to take care of goats in the jungle. As for the children, their aunt, who is living with her husband down in the river, rescues her nephews and niece and raises them. Years later, the girls from a nearby village come to fetch water from the stream, when they discover their earthen pots are broken. They inform the king, who sets up a boat racing contest in the stream. The river-aunt tells her nephews of the event and the siblings attend the contest. The king is there also, notices the children and goes to touch them. The children rebuff him, and say they are princes and a princess. The king takes the septet to the palace and bids them identify their mother. The children say their mother is the one grazing the goats. The king brings her back, and the children tell their whole story. The king learns of the co-queens' conspiracy and punishes them, then restores the children's mother as his wife. The king divides the kingdom into seven parts, each for one of his children. The tale explains this land is ancient Tripura, the Gumati river the place where the elder sister lives with her python husband, and the Dombur a sacred shrine.

Also translated as Sacred River.

Analysis

Tale type

Choudhury, Kamal Narayan (2009). Tribal Culture of the North-East. Punthi-Pustak. pp. 114–115. [138]

According to folklorists Stith Thompson and Warren Roberts's Types of Indic Oral Tales, in some variants of type 707, there are two girls lost in the jungle: a king finds one and marries her, and the other becomes the children's rescuer later in the story.

• Jason, Heda [in German] (1989). Types of Indic Oral Tales: Supplement. Academia Scientiarum Fennica. ISBN 9789514105968.

functions as an etiological tale for the origin of the Tripura state.

Motifs

• N 711.1. Prince finds maiden in woods and marries her
• S 451. Outcast wife united with husband and children

Variants (Tripura) (Khumpoi)

Khumpai Bāruru

In a tale from Tripura with the title The Khumpai flower (Khumpai Bāruru), in a village in Tripura, an Acai, a priest (or Achāiung, in another translation), has two daughters. Both daughters go to the jum field and eat food at noon. One day, the sky becomes overcast with storm clouds. Fearing for their lives, the elder sister promises to marry whoever helps them. A snake appears and builds them a shelter, then vanishes into the jungle. The two sisters take shelter and wait for the storm to pass, then return home. The next day, the elder sister chooses to remain true to her word, and her younger sister invites the snake to share their food. This goes on for some time, until their parents notice the girls looking slimmer and discover the incident. The father goes with the younger sister and kills the snake. The next time both sisters go to meet the snake, the elder finds out that the snake was killed and follows its usual path to a precipice. She finds the head of the dead snake and a Khumpai flower nearby. As she stands near the flower, a gush of water begins to flood a waterfall and drowns the elder sister - forming the Gomati river. As the elder sister drowns, she tells her younger sister not to cry over her, since the snake was a god; and she advises her to wander to a crossing of seven paths, climb a banyan tree with a loom on top, and proclaims she will become queen. The younger sister goes to the seven paths, finds a golden loom inside and earns her living by spinning, weaving and selling her exquisite designs. One day, Raja Subrai of Tripura announces he will marry the girl whose clothe will be judged excellent. Many candidates try, but in the end the king chooses the "lady of the tree" (the younger sister) as his new queen. The girl cries tears of joy and creates the Haora river. Raja Subrai is already married to other queens. When the newest queen gives birth to their children (in seven consecutive pregnancies), the co-queens replace the children for animals (the first son for a toad) and cast them in the Gomati river. Raja Subrai, tricked by the jealous queens, exiles her from the palace. As for the children, the seven brothers are rescued by their aunt and raised in the river. After some time, the seven brothers decide to take revenge on the queens: they go to a ghàt and break the jars of the queens' maidservants. As soon as he situation escalates, the king and a crowd assemble to solve the altercation. The exiled queen is brought to them and the seven brothers leave the river castle to embrace their parents, and the co-queens are executed.

Chibuksane (The Snake)

In another tale sourced from the Rupinis of Tripura with the title Chibuksane (The Snake), an ojha (witch-doctor) has many houses and two daughters that work in the jhum fields. On one hot day, the elder sister wants to have a protection from the sun (a tong ghar) and will marry anyone that can make it, even a snake. While the younger sister goes to make water and returns, she sees a snake next to her sister and despairs, but the elder sister explains the animal is her kumoi (brother-in-law) who made her the tong ghar. The younger sister goes back home and tells her father about the marriage with the snake. The ojha goes to meet the snake son-in-law, kills it with a dao and throws the remains in a cherra (streamlet). The elder sister goes to look for her snake husband, when a little bird sings that Kumoi is dead. She follows the bird to the streamlet and finds a bed of khumpoi flowers nearby, whose root she pulls up and discovers the snake's remains. In her grief, she wishes for the streamlet to become a lake and the flowers spread as a tribute to the snake. It happens thus, and the elder sister drowns. Back to the younger sister, the girl discovers her elder dies and mourns for her loss, when the elder sister's voice tells her to climb up a tree with seven branches where seven roads meet; up there she will find a Charkha (spinning wheel), which she is to use for she will marry the king, she predicts. The younger sister follows her elder's instructions, climbs up the tree and spins on the wheel, while singing that she wants to marry the king and bear him seven boys. The king learns of this and takes the ojha's younger daughter as his wife. In time, she becomes pregnant with seven boys, and, while the king is away, she cannot find a place to give birth to her children. Eventually, she goes to the edge of the lake and gives birth to her seven children. The boys fall in the water and are saved by their aunt, who is living in the lake with her husband. The girl returns to the palace and places stones in her children's place to trick the king, but he discovers he ruse and punishes his wife. Back to the children, they are alive and grow up in the lake. One day, they sail boats to their father's ghat to sing verses about their mother, then dive back into the lake. The king is told about the event and goes to confront the seven boys, asking them about their mother. The boys reply they will tell him after the king brings them their mother. Every woman is brought to the lake, but none is their mother. Finally, their mother appears and drops seven drops of her breastmilk on the water. On this, the boys come out of the water.

Khumphoibarukma

In a Tripuri tale sourced to the Riang people with the title Khumphoibarukma or Khumphoibarukma Riang Krinkoutma Payha, two sisters work in their jhum fields, the elder marries a snake after the animal brings them a bit of fire to warm them. The girls' father discovers the illicit affair and kills the snake while the elder daughter is away from the jhum fields. Some time later, the elder girl goes to meet her snale husband on their designated spot, and, noticing his tardiness, asks her younger sister if she brought him his meal. The younger sister knows the snake is dead, however. Suddenly, a dog barks and points to a bed of blood coloured khumphoi flowers near to some water that is flowing from underground. The elder sister calls for her husband in tears, as the water flow increases to the point it washes her away with the strong stream. The younger sister watches the whole scene from afar and cries for her vanishes elder sister. After a long while, some of the king's troops on a ferry boat spot her near the river and take her with them to be their king's newest wife, since the king wanted a son and none of his six co-queens had any luck. The king marries the girl as his seventh co-wife and dotes on her, to the jealousy of the other six. In time, she becomes pregnant, and the king leaves the palace to buy a Rangjak Oiyen ('cradle made of gold') for his first child, despite the pregnant queen's fears about the others. After the king leaves, the queens give their newest member a yastyam (a magic ring) that can summon the king from wherever he is. To test the ring's powers, she throws it on the ground and the king appears. She does it again twice more, and the king says he will not appear any longer. Some time later, when the king is buying the cradle, the pregnant queen begins to feel labour pains and tries to summon the king to her side, to no avail. Plotting to get rid of their rival, since she would be the king's favourite, the co-queens trick her, put a blindfold in her eyes and order the maidservants to beat drums to silence the baby's cries, pretending this is customary in their kingdom. The queen gives birth to six boys and a girl, whom the co-queens slay and replace for bamboo shoots, then mock her for the delivery. The king comes back with the golden cradle, learns of the "birth" of the bamboo shoots and orders his queen to be banished, after having her ears, nose, hair and breasts cut off. The babies' remains are thrown in the Gomati river, while the disgraced queen, renamed Takhambeingyamo ('a woman that looks after the ducks') moves out to a hut in the forest to look after the ducks. As for the babies, their remains are retrieved by their aunt, Khumphoibarukma, who raises them in the river and feeds them with milk. Seven months later, the king's sentries, on a hunt in the forest, begin to listen to some voices coming from a tree, and find six boys up a tree and a girl singing about making turbans to her brothers. The sentries return to the palace to inform their king, and the monarch sends other group to confirm the story. The third time, the king himself decides to see the children by himself, and he goes to the jungle, but the children hide from him. The king, not finding the children, decides to wait under the tree in some sort of ascetic mood (not eating, no talking, and remaining still), causing the children to feel sorry for their father. A boy appears and tells the king to bring them their mother. The king agrees to do it, but cannot know who is the mysterious children's mother, thus he brings the six co-queens, whom the children deny, then summons for every woman in the land, who all have the same luck. Finally, the king orders his noseless, hairless former queen to be brought there. It is done so, and the children recognize their mother, but reproach the forceful way she has been brought. The king orders his soldiers to treat her gently, and the children, hiding in the tree, rejoice that their mother is with them. A golden ladder appears before the tree and the queen climbs it to be with her children, her body restored to full health. The king then asks how he can regain his family, and the children request him to kill the six co-queens, explaining they were the ones responsible for their misfortune. The children's request is carried out, the king takes a bath in the river, and the children and their mother appear at the foot of the tree. The royal family is reunited at last, and the king learns the river Gomati is his sister-in-law, and he should respect a "rule of avoidance" on it - which the Tripuri kings follow to this day.

Other tales

French anthropologist Lucien Bernot translated to French a similar tale he obtained from a Tipera (Tripura) informant from Bangladesh. In this tale, titled Le mariage avec le serpent ("The Marriage with the Snake"), there is a place near the Gumti river with a waterfall named dom bur. One day, two sisters work in their fields on a cold, rainy day, and the elder sister declares that she wants to marry anyone who can provide her and her sister some shelter from the rain. A snake (which Bernot explains it is named mui re boy, referring to a voracious serpent) appears and builds a shelter for both girls. Days pass, and the girls' parents miss their daughters and go to the fields, finding they look very emaciated, since they are sharing most of their food with the snake. The parents ask the younger sister about their situation, and she reveals everything. Meanwhile, the elder sisters cries out for Chubala raja for help. As for her family, the younger sister takes her father to the shelter and summons the snake, by calling him her elder sister's husband and saying there is food and drink for him. The snake appears and her father cuts the animal in two. The snake's human wife realizes something is wrong when her ornaments fall from the body to the ground, and rushes to her shelter. Once there, she tries to call out for her snake husband, to no avail. Aided by a dog, the elder sister finds the snake's remains, and begins to cry nonstop. Her younger sister finds the elder and asks what is to become of her. The elder sister tells the girl to reach a little rivulet, climb up a tree and begin spinning on a spinning wheel, for the rivulet will become the Gumti river. It happens thus, and the younger sister settles up a tree. Some time later, a passing raja finds the girl on the tree and decides to make her his next wife. He takes him to the palace and marries her, then she becomes pregnant, to the older concubines' and the elder queen's jealousy. When the girl is in labour, the concubines replace the children, five sons and two daughters, are cast into the Gumti river and replaces for pots. The raja returns home and, falling for the deception, banishes his wife to herd ducks and to dress only in shabby rags. As for the children, their aunt, who lives in the Gumti river, rescues them from the water and raises them. When they are five years old, they come to the river margin to sing and draw in the sand, and, whenever people try to catch them, they rush to the river. The raja leads an expedition to capture the children and the soldiers grab them. The children say that they were raised by their ayōṅ sok (their mother's elder sister), and do not know their mother, but they can recognize her if the woman presses her breast and seven jets of milk squirt from it. The king them brings the concubines to test their parentage, but none produces the jets of milk. The monarch then remembers about his disgraced wife, and sends for her. When the girl comes to see the children, seven jets of her breastmilk squirt. The raja then takes her back as his wife.

See also

• The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead
• The Story of Lalpila (Indian folktale)
• Saat Bhai Champa
• Kiranmala

References

Category:Asian fairy tales Category:Indian fairy tales Category:Indian literature Category:Indian folklore Category:Indian legends Category:Tripuri culture Category:ATU 700-749

Sọ Dừa (Vietnamese folktale)

Sọ Dừa (English: "Coconut Skull" or "Coconut Shell Boy") is a Vietnamese folktale attributed to the Kinh people. It is a form of the international cycle of the Animal as Bridegroom that exists in Vietnam.

Coconut Skull (Vietnamese folktale)

Summary

A poor couple lives in a village and works for a local rich lord. On one hot day, the wife goes into the forest to gather firewood, she becomes thirsty. Unable to find any water source, she notices a human skull filled with water which she drinks from. In time, she becomes pregnant, despite her old age, and her husband dies. While pregnant, she does the heavy lifting in the lord's house, and nine months later gives birth to a round, bodiless creature with a face. She tries to destroy whatever she gave birth to, wraps it in a cloth and goes to a river to drown it, but the creature pleads to be spared, since he is her son. The old woman brings the round boy home and raises him. Still, her employer banishes her and her son to a hut in the forest, since he believes the boy's birth was the work of evil spirits.

Despite his strange appearance, the spherical, bodiless son, named Sho Zya (which means 'coconut'), is intelligent. One day, his mother asks him to stay home, while she brings them some food and rice to eat. After she leaves, So Dua changes his appearance from a round coconut to that of a normal human youth, and does the chores at home, then returns to his coconut shape. His mother notices all chores are done by the time she comes back, but does not suspect anything. Later, after hearing his mother sighing about the local children herding buffalo and goat cattles in the village and the local lord offers similar job opportunities, So Dua offers to be the lord's shepherd to bring food home. Despite some reservations, his mother talks to the local lord of her son's decision, and So Dua is soon hired to the position: he is to take the cattle to graze in the mountains and return at night.

So Dua herds the goat cattle, come rain, come sunshine. The tale then explains that the lord's three daughters are tasked with bringing food to their goatherd during harvest time, while the servants are busy elsewhere. One day, the youngest daughter, kind and beautiful, unlike her elder sisters, goes to bring food to So Dua, and hears a sweet melody played on a flute. She looks for its source, and finds a handsome youth lying on a hammock and playing the tune. The girl is struck by the melody and the youth's beauty, and accidentally snaps a twing. Suddenly, the stranger stops playing and turns back to the round, bodiless So Dua.

The girl is glad to have discovered his secret, and looks forward to her turns to bring him food.

Some time later, So Dua senses it is time to get married, and asks his mother to propose on his behalf to one of the lord's daughters.

Translations

The tale was also translated to Russian as "Человек, круглый, как кокосовый орех" ("A man round as a coconut"), wherein the coconut husband's name is given as Sho Zua.

Online paper Saigoneer: a poor couple has a deformed boy in the shape of a coconut; the coconut boy grows up and marries the local lord's third daughter, and reveals himself to be a handsome man. One day, he has to go on a journey, and gives two eggs to his wife, then departs. The girl's jealous elder sister try to get rid of her by tossing her in the sea, but she survives and floats to an island. The eggs hatch and out come a rooster and a hen. Some time later, her husband's ships are sailing nearby, and the rooster crows to warn the human Coconut Skull to come rescue his wife.

Analysis

Heroine gets rooster's egg; jealous sisters throw her overboard (= cycle of Indonesian King Iguana)

Birth of abnormal being with uncanny appearance, but becomes a normal human person in the course of the story.

The tale of the legless, armless son that becomes a handsome youth is "very popular" in Southeast Asia. [139]

[140]

See also

• Animal as Bridegroom
• King Iguana

Bibliography

• Nguyen, Xuan Thuy (2015). "Disability and Institutional Policy in Vietnam". The Journey to Inclusion. Studies in Inclusive Education. Rotterdam: SensePublishers. pp. 23–48. doi:10.1007/978-94-6300-304-9_2. ISBN 978-94-6300-304-9.
• Tran Quynh Ngoc Bui (2012). "Subjectivity and Ethnicity in Vietnamese Folktales with Metamorphosed Heroes". In John Stephens (ed.). Subjectivity in Asian Children's Literature and Film. Routledge. pp. 151–162. ISBN 9780203098646.

Category:Vietnamese fairy tales Category:Fiction about shapeshifting

Other tales

Chinese 707

[141] Chinese scholars trace back the "Prince Golden Calf" tale in Chinese literary history

• Idema, Wilt L.; Olof, Allard M. The Legend of Prince Golden Calf in China and Korea. Cambria Press, 2021. pp. xiff (Introduction); pp. 175-210 (Chapter 5: Folktales of type "Calf Takes a Wife"); pp. 229-242 (Appendix 2: Summaries of Some Examples of ATU 707 (The Three Golden Sons) outside China and Korea).ISBN 9781621967019.

History of Fairy Tales

1. * Anderson, Graham. "Forms of the Marvelous: Prodigies and Wonders in Antiquity". In: A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity. Vol. 1 – Antiquity (500 BCE to 800 CE. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021 (Chapter 1).

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2. * Lelli, Emanuele. "Adaptations: Transmission, Translation, and Diffusion of Ancient Tales". In: A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity. Vol. 1 – Antiquity (500 BCE to 800 CE. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021 (Chapter 2).

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3. * Young, Serinity. "Gender and Sexuality: Reading Females, Males and Other in Asian Folktales." In: A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity. Vol. 1 – Antiquity (500 BCE to 800 CE. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021 (Chapter 3).

Swan maiden as beneficial partner: [142]

Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould collected an English variant titled The Golden Bull: a princess is forced by her father to wed a prince from a remote country for political reasons. Disagreeing with the marriage, she asks her father for three dresses (the first depicting the night sky "besprent with stars"; the second one a sky with clouds and the third "embroidered all over with birds") and for a hollowed out metallic golden bull, which she intends to use as a hiding spot.

Horálek, K. (1974). "Folk Poetry: History And Typology". In Arthur S. Abramson (ed.). Linguistics and Adjacent Arts and Sciences: Part 2. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 741-808 [754]. doi:10.1515/9783110821659-004. In the light of our experience with the ancient Egyptian tale of the two brothers [type AT 318] and its modern parallels we can say that von Sydow's theory in no way contributes to the explanation of the history of the tale. This tale (as well as other tales that are preserved in ancient Egyptian versions) nevertheless remains as an important piece of evidence for old fantastic fairy tales. Other important evidence in favor of the great age of fairy tales are those which have been preserved in ancient Babylonian records (e.g. the mythical tale of Etan[a] in which the hero helps an eagle wounded by a snake and is then flown by the bird across the ocean). Remarkably close parallels to the Etan[a] account are found in the European fairy tale tradition (mostly as a part of longer tales), and more distant parallels are found in other parts of the world.

Horálek, K. (1974). "Folk Poetry: History And Typology". In Arthur S. Abramson (ed.). Linguistics and Adjacent Arts and Sciences: Part 2. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 741-808 [787-788]. doi:10.1515/9783110821659-004. We encounter traces of the oral tradition in the old Indian Veda; here we have authenticated material about the girl-bird that we know from various European fairy tales (AT 313, 400, etc.). The very oldest literary records that exist from the literature of Ancient Babylonia, Sumeria, Egypt, Greece, Persia, and also India developed from the oral tradition. For instance, the Babylonian myth about Etana (cf. AT 537) is based on the oral tradition, as is the epic about Gilgamesh. The link of several Ancient Egyptian tales to the oral tradition is indisputable, particularly the tale about the two brothers (AT 318), and about truth and falsehood (AT 613). The story of the two brothers contains material from the Biblical tale of Joseph and Potiphar's wife. Folklorists believe for the most part that the structure of this subject is too simple to allow indisputable classification but a more detailed analysis of the Old Egyptian tale leads to a very clear conclusion. The old Egyptian version has striking similarities only within the North African tradition; a genetic connection is certain and can be explained by the oral tradition alive in North Africa today.

Jason, Heda; Kempinski, Aharon (1981). "How Old Are Folktales?". Fabula. 22 (Jahresband): 1–27. doi:10.1515/fabl.1981.22.1.1.

Other Tales of ATU 707

Analysis

Tale type

The tale is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as type ATU 707, "The Three Golden Children". According to folklore scholar Stith Thompson, the Latin American variants represent one of three traditions of tale type 707 that occur in America, the others being the Portuguese and Franco-Canadian.

Variants

Americas

North America

United States

Professor and folktale collector Genevieve Massignon collected the tale titled Les Trois Sœurs abandonnées, part of a collection of 77 stories obtained from fieldwork from Madawaska, Maine.

A few versions have been collected from Mexican-American populations living in U.S. states, such as California and New Mexico, and in the Southwest.

In a variant collected around Los Angeles area, there are two sons, one golden-haired and the other silver-haired, and a girl with a star on her forehead, while a second variant mixes type ATU 425A ("Search for The Lost Husband") with type ATU 707.

A variant was collected from a Spanish-descent fifteen-year-old named Philomene Gonzalez, from Delacroix Island, Louisiana, in 1941. In this variant, titled Golden Star, a maiden wishes to marry the prince and to have a boy with white and golden hair and with a star on the forehead. She gives birth to this boy and a girl with the same traits the following year. An old woman replaces the children for puppies and throws them in the river, but God rescues them. This version lacks the quest for the items, and concludes when God sends them to a feast with the king.

New Mexico

A second version from New Mexico was collected by Professor R. D. Jameson, titled The Talking Bird, The Singing Tree, and the Water of Life, first heard by the raconteur in his childhood. In a second version by R. D. Jameson, the princess promises to give birth to twin boys: one golden-haired and one silver-haired.

Mexico

A variant was collected from Tepecano people in the state of Jalisco (Mexico) by J. Alden Mason (Spanish: Los niños coronados; English: "The crowned children") and also published in the Journal of American Folklore. A version from Mitla, Oaxaca, in Mexico (The Envious Sisters), was collected by Elsie Clews Parsons and published in the Journal of American Folklore: the siblings quest for "the crystalline water, the tree that sings, and the bird that talks".

In a Yucatec Maya variant, Ooxtuul kiktsilo'ob or El Rey y Las Tres Hermanas ("The King and the Three Sisters"), the king marries the youngest sister and the elder ones replace the children for dead animals.

Central America

The tale type is also present in the folklore of Puerto Rico (amounting to 9 local versions), and of Panama.

Anthropologist Elsie Clews Parsons recorded a tale from Martinica (L'arbre qui chante, l'oiseau qui parle, l'eau qui dort; English: "The singing tree, the talking bird, the sleeping water"), Guadalupe (De l'eau qui dort, l'oiseau dite la vérité; English: "About the water that sleeps, the bird that tells the truth") and Haiti (Poupée caca la: Trois sé [soeurs] la). The version from Guadalupe begins like Snow White (ATU 709), a mother's envy of her daughter's beauty, and continues as ATU 707.

A version from Jamaica was collected by Pamela Colman Smith, titled De Golden Water, De Singin' Tree and De Talkin' Bird.

Douglas Taylor collected a tale from British Honduras (modern day Belize), in the Island Carib language, translated as Tale of a woman's three children, Hero is the eldest sister's name, Juana the intermediate one, Jessie the youngest,-three girls. In this tale, the king's son, the baker's son and the butcher's son pass by the girls' verandah, and the three sisters express their wishes for a husband: Jessie the king's son, Juana the baker's son and Hero the butcher's son. Their mother, Mrs. Willy, goes to the king, who arranges their marriages. Jessie marries the king's son and he becomes king. He announces during an assembly of the people that he shall have three children, two boys and a girl, thet girl with a star on the forehead, one of the boys with a moon and the other with a sun. The elder sisters deliver the children, cast them in the water and replace them for a cat, a goat and a dog. The children are saved by a poor couple that lived by the river. After his adoptive father dies, the youngest son dreams that his father told him to seek the world's riches. The youngest goes and fails, his elder brother goes as well and fails, both turning to stone. The elder sibling, the girl, goes after them and captures a talking bird. The bird tells her to get a golden water, a branch of a singing tree and to sprinkle a bit of the water to restore her brothers.

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The Three Golden Children

The story is the prototypical example of Aarne–Thompson–Uther tale-type 707, to which it gives its name. Alternate names for the tale type are The Three Golden Sons, The Three Golden Children, The Bird of Truth, Portuguese: Os meninos com uma estrelinha na testa, lit. 'The boys with little stars on their foreheads', Russian: Чудесные дети, romanized: Chudesnyye deti, lit. 'The Wonderful or Miraculous Children', or Hungarian: Az aranyhajú ikrek, lit. 'The Golden-Haired Twins'.

According to folklorist Stith Thompson, the tale is "one of the eight or ten best known plots in the world".

Variations

Folklore scholar Christine Goldberg identifies three main forms of the tale type: a variation found "throughout Europe", with the quest for the items; "an East Slavic form", where mother and son are cast in a barrel and later the sons build a palace (The Tale of Tsar Saltan and variants); and a third one, where the sons are buried and go through a transformation sequence, from trees to animals to humans again (The Boys with the Golden Stars and variants).

Russian folklorist Lev Barag also noted two different formats to the tale type: the first one, "legs of gold up the knee, arms of silver up to the elbow", and the second one, "the singing tree and the talking bird".

The Brother Quests for a Bride

In some regional variants, the children are sent for some magical objects, like a mirror, and for a woman of renowned beauty and great powers. This character becomes the male sibling's wife at the end of the story. For instance, in the Typen Turkischer Volksmärchen ("Types of Turkish Foltkales"), by folklorists Wolfram Eberhard and Pertev Naili Boratav. Type 707 is known in Turkey as Die Schöne or Güzel ("The Beautiful"). The title refers to the maiden of supernatural beauty that is sought after by the male sibling.

In an extended version from a Breton source, called L'Oiseau de Vérité, the youngest triplet, a king's son, listens to the helper (an old woman), who reveals herself to be a princess enchanted by her godmother. In a surprise appearance by said godmother, she prophecises her goddaughter shall marry the hero of the tale (the youngest prince), after a war with another country.

Another motif that appears in these variants (specially in Middle East and Turkey) is suckling an ogress's breastmilk by the hero.

Alternate Source for the Truth to the King (Father)

In the description of the tale type in the international index, the bird the children seek is the one to tell the king the sisters' deceit and to reunite the family. However, in some regional variants, the supernatural maiden whom the brother and the sister seek is responsible for revealing the truth of their birth to the king and to restore the queen to her rightful place.

Very rarely, it is one of the children themselves that reveal the aunts' treachery to their father, as seen in the Armenian variants The Twins and Theodore, le Danseur. In a specific Persian version, from Kamani, the Prince (King's son) investigates the mystery of the twins and questions the midwife who helped in the delivery of his children.

Distribution

Late 19th-century and early 20th-century scholars (Joseph Jacobs, Teófilo Braga, Francis Hindes Groome) had noted that the story was widespread across Europe, the Middle East and India. Portuguese writer Braga noticed its prevalence in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and in Russian and Slavic sources, while Groome listed its incidence in the Caucasus, Egypt, Syria and Brazil.

Russian comparative mythologist Yuri Berezkin (ru) pointed out that the tale type can be found "from Ireland and Maghreb, to India and Mongolia", in Africa and Siberia.

Europe

Iberian Peninsula

There are also variants in Romance languages: a Spanish version called Los siete infantes, where there are seven children with stars on their foreheads, and a Portuguese one, As cunhadas do rei (The King's sisters-in-law). Both replace the fantastical elements with Christian imagery: the devil and the Virgin Mary.

Portuguese writer, lawyer and teacher Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo published a versified variant from the Madeira Archipelago with the title Los Encantamentos da Grande Fada Maria. Portuguese folklorist Teófilo Braga cited the Madeiran tale as a variant of the Portuguese tales he collected.

Folklore researcher Elsie Spicer Eells published a variant from Azores with the title The Listening King: a king likes to disguise himself and go through the streets at night to listen to his subjects' talk. He overhears the three sisters' talk, the youngest wanting to marry him. They do and she gives birth to twin boys with a gold star on the forehead. They are cast in the sea in a basket and found by a miller and his wife. Years later, they find a parrot with green and gold feathers in the royal gardens.

Portugal

Brazilian folklorist Luís da Câmara Cascudo suggested that the tale type migrated to Portugal brought by the Arabs.

Portuguese folklorist Teófilo Braga published a Portuguese tale from Airão-Minho with the title As cunhadas do rei ("The King's sisters-in-law"): the king, his cook and his butler walk through the streets in disguise to listen to the thoughts of the people. They pass by a verandah where three sisters are standing. The three women notice the men and the elder recognizes the cook, wanting to marry him to eat the best fricassees; the middle one sees the butler and wants to marry him to get to drink the best liquors; the youngest sister wants to marry the king and bear him three boys with a golden star on the front. The youngest sister marries the king and bears him twin boys with the golden stars, and the next year a little girl with a golden star on the front. They are replaced for animals and cast in the water, but are saved by a miller. Years later, their aunts send them for a parrot from a garden, for the tree that drips blood and the "water of a thousand springs". The Virgin Mary appears to instruct the sister on how to get a branch from tree and a jug of the water, and how to rescue her brothers from petrification.

United Kingdom and Ireland

According to Daniel J. Crowley, British sources point to 92 variants of the tale type. However, he specified that most variants were found in the Irish Folklore Archives, plus some "scattered Scottish and English references".

Scottish folklorist John Francis Campbell mentioned the existence of "a Gaelic version" of the French tale Princesse Belle-Étoile, itself a literary variant of type ATU 707. He also remarked that "[the] French story agree[d] with Gaelic stories", since they shared common elements: the wonder children, the three treasures, etc.

Ireland

Scholarship points to the existence of many variants in Irish folklore. In fact, the tale type shows "wide distribution" in Ireland. However, according to researcher Maxim Fomin, this diffusion is perhaps attributed to a printed edition of The Arabian Nights.

One version was published in journal Béaloideas with the title An Triúr Páiste Agus A Dtrí Réalta: a king wants to marry a girl who can jump the highest; the youngest of three sisters fulfills the task and becomes queen. When she gives birth to three royal children, their aunts replace them with animals (a young pig, a cat and a crow). The queen is cast into a river, but survives, and the king marries one of her sisters. The children are found and reared by a sow. When the foster mother is threatened to be killed on orders of the second queen, she gives the royal children three stars, a towel that grants unlimited food and a magical book that reveals the truth of their origin.

Another variant has been recorded by Irish folklorist Sean O'Suilleabhain in Folktales of Ireland, under the name The Speckled Bull. In this variant, a prince marries the youngest of two sisters. Her elder sisters replaces the prince's children (two boys), lies that the princess gave birth to animals and casts the boys in a box into the sea, one year after the other. The second child is saved by a fisherman and grows strong. The queen's sister learns of the boy's survival and tries to convince his foster father's wife that the child is a changeling. She kills the boy and buries his body in the garden, from where a tree sprouts. Some time later, the prince's cattle grazed near the tree and a cow eats its fruit. The cow gives birth to a speckled calf that becomes a mighty bull. The queen's sister suspects the bull is the boy and feigns illness to have it killed. The bull escapes by flying to a distant kingdom in the east. The princess of this realm, under a geasa to always wear a veil outdoors lest she marries the first man she sets eyes on, sees the bull and notices it is a king's son. They marry, and the speckled bull, under a geas, chooses to be a bull by day and man by night. The bull regains human form and rescues his mother.

In Types of the Irish Folktale (1963), by the same author, he listed a variant titled Uisce an Óir, Crann an Cheoil agus Éan na Scéalaíochta.

Scotland

As a parallel to the Irish tale An Triúr Páiste Agus A Dtrí Réalta, published in Béaloideas, J. G McKay commented that the motif of the replacement of the newborns for animals occurs "in innumerable Scottish tales.".

Research Sheila Douglas collected from teller John Stewart, from Perthshire, two variants: The Speaking Bird of Paradise and Cats, Dogs, and Blocks. In both of them, a king and a queen have three children (two boys and a girl), in three consecutive pregnancies, who are taken from them by the housekeeper and abandoned in the woods. Years later, a helpful kind woman tells them about their royal heritage, and advises them to seek the Speaking Bird of Paradise, which will help them reveal the truth to their parents.

Wales

In a Welsh-Romani variant, Ī Tārnī Čikalī ("The Little Slut"), the protagonist is a Cinderella-like character who is humiliated by her sisters, but triumphs in the end. However, in the second part of the story, she gives birth to three children (a girl first, and two boys later) "girt with golden belts". They children are replaced for animals and taken to the forest. Their mother is accused of imaginary crimes and sentenced to be killed, but the old woman helper (who gave her the slippers) turns her into a sow, and tells her she may be killed and her liver taken by the hunters, by she will prevail in the end. The sow meets the children in the forest. The sow is killed, but, as the old woman prophecizes, her liver gained magical powers and her children use it to suit their needs. A neighbouring king wants the golden belts, but once they are taken from the boys, they become swans in the river. Their sister goes to the liver and wishes for their return to human form, as well as to get her mother back. The magical powers of the liver grant her wishes.

Mediterranean Area

Malta

German linguist Hans Stumme collected a Maltese variant he translated as Sonne und Mond ("Sun and Moon"), in Maltesische Märchen (1904). This tale begins with the ATU 707 (twins born with astronomical motifs/aspects), but the story continues under the ATU 706 tale-type (The Maiden without hands): mother has her hands chopped off and abandoned with her children in the forest.

Bertha Ilg-Kössler published another Maltese tale titled Sonne und Mond, das tanzende Wasser und der singende Vogel ("Sun and Moon, the dancing water and the singing bird"). In this version, the third sister gives birth to a girl named Sun, and a boy named Moon.

Cyprus

At least one variant from Cyprus has been published, from the "Folklore Archive of the Cyprus Research Centre".

Western and Central Europe

In a variant collected in Austria, by Ignaz and Joseph Zingerle (Der Vogel Phönix, das Wasser des Lebens und die Wunderblume, or "The Phoenix Bird, the Water of Life and the Most beautiful Flower"), the tale acquires complex features, mixing with motifs of ATU "the Fox as helper" and "The Grateful Dead": The twins take refuge in their (unbeknownst to them) father's house, it's their aunt herself who asks for the items, and the fox who helps the hero is his mother. The fox animal is present in stories of the Puss in Boots type, or in the quest for The Golden Bird/Firebird (ATU 550 – Bird, Horse and Princess) or The Water of Life (ATU 551 – The Water of Life), where the fox replaces a wolf who helps the hero/prince.

A variant from Buchelsdorf, when it was still part of Austrian Silesia (Der klingende Baum), has the twins raised as the gardener's sons and the quest for the water-tree-bird happens to improve the king's garden.

In a Lovari Romani variant, the king meets the third sister during a dance at the village, who promised to give birth to a golden boy. They marry. Whenever a child is born to her (two golden boys and a golden girl, in three consecutive births), they are replaced for an animal and cast into the water. The king banishes his wife and orders her to be walled up, her eyes to be put on her forehead and to be spat on by passersby. An elderly fisherman and his wife rescue the children and name them Ējfēlke (Midnight), Hajnalka (Dawn) - for the time of day when the boys were saved - and Julishka for the girl. They discover they are adopted and their foster parents suggest they climb a "cut-glass mountain" for a bird that knows many things, and may reveal the origin of the parentage. At the end of their quest, young Julishka fetches the bird, of a "rusty old" appearance, and brings it home. With the bird's feathers, she and her brothers restore their mother to perfect health and disenchant the bird to human form. Julishka marries the now human bird.

Germany

Portuguese folklorist Teófilo Braga, in his annotations, commented that the tale can be found in many Germanic sources, mostly in the works of contemporary folklorists and tale collectors: The Three Little Birds (De drei Vügelkens), by the Brothers Grimm in their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (number 96); Springendes Wasser, sprechender Vogel, singender Baum ("Leaping Water, Speaking Bird and Singing Tree"), written down by Heinrich Pröhle in Kinder- und Völksmärchen, Die Drei Königskinder, by Johann Wilhelm Wolf (1845); Der Prinz mit den 7 Sternen ("The Prince with 7 stars"), collected in Waldeck by Louis Curtze, Drei Königskinder ("Three King's Children"), a variant from Hanover collected by Wilhelm Busch; and Der wahrredende Vogel ("The truth-speaking bird"), an even earlier written source, by Justus Heinrich Saal, in 1767. A peculiar tale from Germany, Die grüne Junfer ("The Green Virgin"), by August Ey, mixes the ATU 710 tale type ("Mary's Child"), with the motif of the wonder children: three sons, one born with golden hair, other with a golden star on his chest and the third born with a golden stag on his chest.

In a Sorbian/Wendish (Lausitz) variant, Der Sternprinz ("The Star Prince"), three discharged soldier brothers gather at a tavern to talk about their dreams. The first two dreamt of extraordinary objects: a large magical chain and an inexhaustible purse. The third soldier says he dreamt that if he marries the princess, they will have a son with a golden star on the forehead ("słoćanu gwězdu na cole"). The three men go to the king and the third marries the princess, who gives birth to the promised boy. However, the child is replaced by a dog and thrown in the water, but he is saved by a fisherman. Years later, on a hunt, the Star Prince tries to shoot a white hind, but it says it is the enchanted Queen of Rosenthal. She alerts that his father and uncles are in the dungeon and his mother is to marry another person. She also warns that he must promise not reveal her name. He stops the wedding and releases his uncles. They celebrate their family reunion, during which the Star Prince reveals the Queen's name. She departs and he must go on a quest after her (tale type ATU 400, "The Quest for the Lost Wife").

Belgium

Professor Maurits de Meyere listed three variants under the banner "L'oiseau qui parle, l'arbre qui chante et l'eau merveilleuse", attested in Flanders fairy tale collections, in Belgium, all with contamination from other tale types (two with ATU 303, "The Twins or Blood Brothers", and one with tale type ATU 304, "The Dangerous Night-Watch").

A variant titled La fille du marchand was collected by Emile Dantinne from the Huy region ("Vallée du Hoyoux"), in Wallonia.

Switzerland

In a version collected from Graubünden with the title Igl utschi, che di la verdat or Vom Vöglein, das die Wahrheit erzählt ("The little bird that told the truth"), the tale begins in media res, with the box with the children being found by the miller and his wife. When the siblings grow up, they seek the bird of truth to learn their origins, and discover their uncle had tried to get rid of them.

Swiss author Johannes Jegerlehner published a variant from Oberwallis (canton of Valais) with the title Die Sternkinder. In this tale, the police knock at a illumniated house and aks its occupants why the lights are on. One of the residents, a spinning girl, explains that she dreamt of having two children, one with a golden star on the chest, the other with a silver one. The police take her to the king and she marries the king's son.

In a variant from Surselva, Ils treis lufts or Die drei Köhler ("The Three Charcoal-Burners"), three men meet in a pub to talk about their dreams. The first dreamt that he found seven gold coins under his pillow, and it came true. The second, that he found a golden chain, which also came true. The third, that he had a son with a golden star on the forehead. The king learns of their dreams and is gifted the golden chain. He marries his daughter to the third charcoal burner and she gives birth to the boy with a golden star. However, the queen replaces her grandson with a puppy and throws the child in the river.

Karelia

See also: The Tale of Tsar Saltan § Karelia

In a Karelian tale, "Девять золотых сыновей" ("Nine Golden Sons"), the third sister promises to give birth to "three times three" children, their arms of gold up to the elbow, the legs of silver up to the knees, a moon on the temples, a sun on the front and stars in their hair. The king overhears their conversation and takes the woman as his wife. On their way, they meet a woman named Syöjätär, who insists to be the future queen's midwife. She gives birth to triplets in three consecutive pregnancies, but Syöjätär replaces them for rats, crows and puppies. The queen saves one of her children and is cast into a sea in a barrel. The remaining son asks his mother to bake bread with her breastmilk to rescue his brothers.

Zaonezh'ya

See also: The Tale of Tsar Saltan § Zaonezh'ya

Veps people

See also: The Tale of Tsar Saltan § Veps people

Baltic Region

Latvia

The work of Latvian folklorist Peteris Šmidts, beginning with Latviešu pasakas un teikas ("Latvian folktales and fables") (1925–1937), records 33 variants of the tale type. Its name in Latvian sources is Trīs brīnuma dēli or Brīnuma dēli.

According to the Latvian Folktale Catalogue, tale type 707, "The Three Golden Children", is known in Latvia as Brīnuma bērni ("Wonderful Children"), comprising 4 different redactions. Its second redaction is the one that follows the siblings' quest for the treasures (a tree that plays music, a bird that speaks and the water of life).

Estonia

See also: The Tale of Tsar Saltan § Estonia

Lithuania

The tale type is known in Lithuanian compilations as Trys nepaprasti kūdikiai, Nepaprasti vaikai or Trys auksiniai sûnûs.

Lithuanian folklorist Jonas Balys (lt) published in 1936 an analysis of Lithuanian folktales, citing 65 variants available until then. In his tabulation, he noted that the third sister promised children with astronomical birthmarks, and, years later, her children seek a talking bird, a singing tree and the water of life.

According to professor Bronislava Kerbelyte, the tale type is reported to register 244 (two hundred and forty-four) Lithuanian variants, under the banner Three Extraordinary Babies, with and without contamination from other tale types. However, only 34 variants in Lithuania contain the quest for the bird that talks and reveals the truth, alongside a singing tree.

Jonas Basanavicius collected a few variants in Lithuanian compilations, including the formats The Boys with the Golden Stars and Tale of Tsar Saltan.

German professor Karl Plenzat (de) tabulated and classified two Lithuanian variants, originally collected in German: Goldhärchen und Goldsternchen ("Little Golden-Hair and Little Golden Star"). In both stories, the queen replaces her twin grandchildren (a boy and a girl) for animals. When she learns they survived, she sends them after magical items from a garden of wonders: little bells, a little fish and the bird of truth.

In a variant published by Fr. Richter in Zeitschrift für Volkskunde with the title Die drei Wünsche ("The Three Wishes"), three sisters spend an evening talking and weaving, the youngest saying she would like to have a son, bravest of all and loyal to the king. The king appears, takes the sisters and marries the youngest. Her son is born and grows up exceptionally fast, to the king's surprise. One day, he goes to war and sends a letter to his wife to send their son to the battlefield. The queen's jealous sisters intercept the letter and send him a frog dresses in fine clothes. The king is enraged and sends a written order to cast his wife in the water. The sisters throw her in the sea in a barrel with her son, but they wash ashore in an island. The prince saves a hare from a fox. The prince asks the hare about recent events. Later, the hare is disenchanted into a princess with golden eyes and silver hair, who marries the prince.

Romania

Professor Moses Gaster collected and published a Romani tale from Romania, titled Ăl Rakle Summakune ("The Golden Children"). In this tale, the prince is looking for a wife, and sees three sisters on his father's courtyard. The youngest promises to give birth to "two golden children, with silver teeth and golden hair, and two apples in their hands all golden". The sisters beg the midwife to substitute the twins, a boy and a girl, for puppies and throw them in the water. Years later, the midwife sends them for the "Snake's crown", the fairy maiden Ileana Simziana, the Talking Bird and the Singing Tree. The collector noted that the fairy maiden Ileana was the one to rescue the Brother, instead of the Sister.

In another Romanian variant, A két aranyhajú gyermek ("The Two Children With Golden Hair"), the youngest sister promises the king to give birth to a boy and a girl of unparalleled beauty. Her sisters, seething with envy, conspire with the king's gypsy servant, take the children and bury them in the garden. After the twins are reborn as trees, they twist their branches to make shade for the king when he passes, and to hit their aunts when they pass. After they go through the rebirth cycle, the Sun, stunned at their beauty, clothes them and gives the boy a flute.

Russia and Eastern Europe

Slavicist Karel Horálek published an article with an overall analysis of the ATU 707 type in Slavic sources. Further scholarship established subtypes of the AT 707 tale type in the Slavic-speaking world: AT 707A*, AT 707B* and AT 707C*.

Russia

See also: The Tale of Tsar Saltan § Russia

Belarus

See also: The Tale of Tsar Saltan § Belarus

Ukraine

See also: The Tale of Tsar Saltan § Ukraine

Bulgaria

The tale type 707 is attested in the Bulgarian Folktale Catalogue, by Liliana Daskalova, with at least 23 variants registered. Some of the tales show the character of the wise maiden (named Dunya Guzeli) that replaces the bird as the teller of truth.

Bosnia

In a Bosnian version, Die Goldkindern ("The Gold-Children"), the youngest sister promises to give birth to a daughter with golden hair, golden hands and teeth of pearl, and a son with one golden hand, prophecizing her son will become the greatest hero that ever was. Years later, the emperor's first wife tries to get rid of the brother by telling him to kill some Moors that were threatening the realm; by sending him to tame a wild horse, Avgar, which lives in the mountains; to fetch an enchanted flowery wreath from the Jordan River; and to find an all-knowing young maiden whom "hundreds of princes have courted".

In a Bosnian-Romani tale, E Hangjuzela, Jal e Devlehki Manušni ("Hangjuzela, or the Heavenly Woman"), collected by professor Rade Uhlik from an 80-year-old woman named Seferovic Celebija, two sisters are washing their clothes in the river. The younger one says she wants to marry the king and bear a golden-toothed son and a golden-haired girl. She marries him and gives birth to the twins, who are replaced for puppies and thrown in the water. They are rescued by a fisherman. They grow up and sent on a quest for self-playing instruments (mandolins) from the giants and for Hangjuzela, the Heavenly Woman.

North Macedonia

In a tale collected by Bulgarian folklorist Kuzman Shapkarev from Ohrid, modern day North Macedonia, "Три сестри прельки, най-малата - царица или "праината и невинността секога надвиват, а злобата опропастяват", the youngest of three sisters promises that, if she marries the tsar's son, she will give birth to a boy with a star on his forehead and a girl with a moon on her neck. The tsar's son marries her and she gives birth to the boy and to the girl the next year, but her sisters replace the children for a puppy and a kitten. They put the siblings in a casket and throw them in the river. The box washes up at a mill and the miller rescues and raises both. Their foster father advises him to cover his astral birthmark, and thus the boy becomes known as "Kelesh". After a fracas between the boy and some children, the king takes notice of the star mark and begins investigating into the matter.

Bashkir people

According to Russian scholarship, the tale type is also "well-known" in the Bashkir tale corpus.

In a Bashkir tale, Санай-батыр ("Sanai Batyr"), Ulmes-Bey Batyr, an old hunter, falls ill during a hunt. His son, Kusun-batyr, journey through the whole "white world" for a cure for his father. He comes near a tree where a nest of vipers is attacking a wolf den. For three nights, Kusun Batyr kills the serpents with his sword and the wolf, as a token of gratitude, leads the youth to three birch trees, where three maidens are weaving with birch leaves and with a bird claw. From these claws three remedies will spring: kumis, spider silk and honey. The wolf explains that a mixture of these three substances will heal his ailing father. The youth also learns that the three maidens wish to marry Kusun Batyr: the first, daughter of Toygonbeya-batyr, promises to make him the most delicious kumis; the second, daughter of Targynbea-batyr, promises to weave very light outfits of a white colour, and the third, daughter of a wise aksaqal (a village elder), promises to give birth to a son stronger that his father (Sanai Batyr). Kusun Batyr gets the remedies, saves his father and marries all three, designing tasks for them: the first wife shall cook, the second shall weave and the third shall bear him the fabled son. The first two wives, jealous of the third, conspire with a wtich midwife to replace the boy with a dog and abandon him in the woods. The boy, Sanai Batyr, is rescued by the wolf who helped his father and grandfather and grows to be a fine youth. He goes to the mountains, sees a duck become a maiden and captures her, making her his wife. Despondent, Sanai Batyr wishes to travel and see the whole world, and the wolf gives him the ability to become a wasp. In wasp form, he travels to his father's lands to listen to a caravan of travellers narrate the wondrous sights they have seen. Inspired by the fantastical stories, Sanai Batyr decides to have them in his own yurt.

In another Bashkir tale, "Черный щенок" ("The Little Black Dog"), a man named Bai has four wives. He tells them he will go on a long journey and asks them what they will give him when he returns. The first says she will hunt 40 partridges to feed his 100 servants; the second - she will weave boots made of sand; the third will sew gloves made of louse skin, and the fourth says she will give birth to two sons with golden heads, teeth of pearls and silver hair. All four wives fulfill their promises, but the first three wives at first try to kill the children by placing them under cow and horse hooves to be trampled, but they are left unscathed. They decide to cast them into the water and replace them with a little black dog. When Bai returns, he banishes the fourth wife with the little dog to a windowless hut in the woods. In exile, the little dog acquires human speech and helps his "mother", by fetching the wonderful things a traveller tells Bai. At the end of the tale, the little black dog rescues the human children by using four cookies baked with their mother's milk.

Gagauz people

In a variant collected from the Gagauz people by Moshkov, "Три сестры: дѣвушка обѣщавшая царевичу, если онъ возметъ ее замужъ принести сына съ солнцемъ во лбу, а дочь съ мѣсяцемь" ("Three Sisters: the youngest said that, if she were to marry the prince, she would give birth to a son with the sun on the forehead, and a girl with a moon"), the youngest sister gives birth to her promised wonder children, but an evil old witch casts them in the river. The son of the king orders her to be interred to the chest and for everyone who passes by to spit on her. The children, raised by a miller, pass by their mother, who recognizes them. This tale was translated into English as Three Sisters by Charles Fillingham Coxwell.

Kalmyk people

See also: The Rich Khan Badma § Kalmyk people

Crimean Tatars

According to scholarship, at least 4 variants have been collected from Crimean Tatar sources: Uch Kyz ("Three Girls"), Ak Kavak Kyz or Akkavak Kyz ("The Maid of the Eternal Tree"), Ay man Yildiz and Tuvarchynyn Uch Kyz (Crimean Tatar: "Туварджынынъ уч къызы"; Russian: Три дочери скотника, romanized: Tri docheri skotnika, lit. 'The Cattleman's Three Daughters'). In Uch Kyz, the third sister promises twins with uncommon hair color; in Akkavak Kyz, she promises twins, a boy and a girl, more beautiful than the Sun and the moon; in Ay man Yildiz, the male twin is born with a moon on the front and the female one with a star on the forehead; lastly, in Tuvarchynyn Uch Kyz, she gives birth to twins, the boy named Сырма ("Syrma"), and the girl Сырлы ("Syrly").

Kazan Tatars

In a tale from the Kazan Tatars, translated into Hungarian with the title Aranyfejű, ezüstkezű ("Golden Heads, Silver Hands"), a padishah's golden bird lands in a garden. Three maidens find the bird and will only return it if the padishah marries all three of them. First, however, he asks them about their skills: the first two focus on skills on weaving and sewing, but the third maiden promises to bear twin boys with golden hair and silver hands. The padishah marries all three; the first two do not deliver on their promises, while the third bears the twins. The boys are taken from her and cast into the water in a box that is found by a poor couple. Years later, one of the twins decides to travel the world and reaches another kingdom. The tale continues as tale type ATU 303, "The Twins or Blood Brothers", with the dragonslaying episode of type ATU 300, "The Dragonslayer". Finally, the tale concludes when the twins return to their father's court and reveal their life story.

Dagestan

See also: The Children with the Golden Locks (Georgian folktale) § Dagestan

Ossetia

See also: The Children with the Golden Locks (Georgian folktale) § Ossetia

Dargin people

At least two variants are reported to have been collected from Dargin sources: "Шах и бедная девушка" ("The Shah and the Poor Girl") and "Арц-Издаг" ("Silver Izdag"). In the first tale, the girl bears twins, a son with golden hair and a daughter with silver hair, and the hero is sent for a magic tree and a magical woman. In the second, only a golden-haired boy is born, and he has to seek a cat playing zurna, a tree with honey sap and a beautiful woman named Arts-Izdag, who can petrify her suitors.

Caucasus Mountains

A variant in Avar language is attested in Awarische Texte, by Anton Schiefner. In this tale, Die schöne Jesensulchar ("The Beautiful Jesensulchar"), three sisters talk what they would do if the king chose one of them as his queen, the third promising to give birth to a boy with pearly teeth and a girl with golden locks. They are replaced by a puppy and a kitten and thrown in the water. Years later, they are set on a quest for an apple tree that talks with itself and dances when applauded, and a maiden named Jesensulchar as a friend for the Sister.

Armenia

See also: Silver Hair and Golden Curls

Georgia

See also: The Children with the Golden Locks (Georgian folktale)

Adyghe people

See also: The Children with the Golden Locks (Georgian folktale) § Adyghe people

Azerbaijan

See also: The Children with the Golden Locks (Georgian folktale) § Azerbaijan

Ingush people

See also: The Children with the Golden Locks (Georgian folktale) § Ingush people

Abaza people

See also: The Children with the Golden Locks (Georgian folktale) § Abaza people

Abkhazian people

In a tale from the Abkhazians titled "Младшая дочь князя" ("The Youngest Daughter of the Knyaz"), a knyaz has three daughters and an apple tree with reddened fruits in his garden. He sets a challenge for his daughters' suitors: whoever shoots the apples with an arrow may marry one of his daughters. The son of a neighbouring king tries his luck and shoots an apple. The youngest daughter picks it up from the ground. The prince tries his luck again and shoots the other two fruits. All three sisters introduce themselves to him, who asks them about their skills: the elder two claim to be masters at any skill, while the youngest promises to give birth to a son whose half is of gold and another of silver. The prince marries the youngest. Some time later, he departs to fight in a war and leaves his wife in her sisters' care. Her son is born, but the jealous sisters take the boy and replace him for a puppy, cook him in a cauldron and pour out the liquids in the garden. The prince returns and, seeing the puppy, banishes his wife to the stables. Meanwhile, an aspen tree sprouts on the spot where they poured out the cauldron. The prince fells it down and uses it as beam in his house. His wife gets some splinters of the aspen to make a fire to warm herself. A coal jumps out of the fire and turns into a gold coin. She takes the gold coin and puts it into a chest. Some time later, she hears a voice coming from the chest: it is her son, half of silver and half of gold, now reborn. Mother and son return to the prince to reveal the truth, and he banishes his sisters-in-law.

In another Abkhazian tale titled "Как украли детей Багдажва" ("How Bagdazhva's children were stolen"), a man named Bagdazhv likes to travel the world. One day, he hears a mournful song being played in an instrument and follows the sound to its source: three women playing and mourning. Bagdazhv asks the girls what they are doing there; the three girls answer that they are orphans who only have each other. Bagdazhv brings the girls with him to a friend's house. Some time later, Bagdazhv asks the sisters about their skills: the eldest claims she can weave clothes for 10 people with sheep's wool; the second claims she can make a meal with bread and a bottle of vodka; the youngest promises to bear twins, a child of gold and a child of silver. Bagdazhv marries the elder sisters to friends and makes the youngest his wife. While he is away at war, the jealous sisters and a midwife replace the children for animals and cast them in the water. The twins are found by an old shepherd when he is grazing his she-goat, while their mother is banished to a seven-way crossroad. Years later, they grow up "different from anyone in the village". The midwife goes to the twins and persuades the brother to find as his wife the daughter of a prince who can petrify people. He passes the prince's test and marries his daughter. His sister also marries a prince and gives birth to a son. The brother's wife, a woman with all-knowing powers, sends the youth to rescue his mother from the crossroads. Bagdazhv then welcomes the twins and their spouses to a feast and the youth reveals the whole truth.

Kabardian people

In a tale from the Kabardian people titled "Чудесная гармошка" ("The Magical Garmon"), three brothers hunt in the forest at night and see a light in the distance coming from a cave. They reach the cave and see inside three women. The women explain that they are three sisters from a nearby village who were kidnapped by a man and taken to the cave, but now their captor has died and since then they have lived in the cave. The three brothers decide to marry the three women: the eldest promises to her husband that she will bear twins, a boy and a girl; the middle sister promises her spouse that she will bear a girl with half of her hair made of white gold and the other of red gold; and the youngest sister promises her man that she will bear a son to him, a Nart. Only the eldest gives birth to her promised children, who are "of extraordinary beauty", to the jealousy of her younger sisters. The two sisters take the children and cast them in the water in a box. The box is found by an old couple, while their mother is exiled in the barn. The old couple raises the twins and names the girl Babukh and the boy Cherim. The boy becomes a fine and skilled hunter and the girl grows up to be a beautiful woman. Cherim kills a deer, to the amazement of the hunters (his father and uncles). Cherim is brought to the hunters' house and his mother, from the barn, notices him. The father discovers the truth and punishes the sisters-in-law. Later, a witch, sister to the punished sisters-in-law, goes to the twins' house and tells Babukh about a magical and golden garmon between two rocks, and about a magical apple tree that blooms during the day and yields fruit at night, tended by a maid, sister of seven brothers. Cherim obtains the magical garmon, but is captured by the maid's brothers when he tries to get the apple tree. Cherim's "альп" ("alp") returns to their house and advises Babukh to take the garmon with her and ride to the house of the seven brothers to save Cherim.

Chechnya

In a tale from Chechnya titled "Зависть" ("Envy") or "Золотой мальчик и золотая девочка" ("Golden Boy and Golden Girl"), a mullah and two knyaz live in a village. The first knyaz has three daughters, and the second knyaz wants to marry one of them, so he inquires them about their skills: the elder sister says she can sew garments for 63 people with only a quarter of soft leather (maroquin); the middle one that she can make bread for 63 men with a single dish of flour; and the youngest that she will bear him a golden son and a golden daughter. The second knyaz marries the third sister, to the envy of the elders. After the knyaz leaves, his wife gives birth to a golden son and a golden daughter. The mullah, who feared that the knyaz would become even richer, advises the envious aunts to take the children and replace them for puppie, then to put the twins in a box and cast them in the water. The envious sisters carry out the mullah's plan, but the twins are found by a childless couple. The children grow up and leave their adoptive parents' house. They build a hut for themselves: the boy grazes the sheep in the forest and the girl stays home and prepares the food. The father, the second knyaz, sees the boy, which alerts the envious sisters. They confabulate with the mullah about a plan to get rid of them. The mullah goes to the twins' hut and convinces the sister to seek a golden goat that dances and grazes beyond seven mountains, a wonderful apple tree that never loses its golden apples, and a maiden named Малха-Азани (Malkha-Azani), who lives beyond nine mountains, as wife for her brother. The golden boy goes to Malkha-Azani on his horse and forces her to restore the petrified men near her palace, which she does by taking out her enchanted mirror. Malkha-Azani becomes the male twin's wife and lives with them. One day, the knyaz, their father, tells the two sisters that he will invite the twins for a feast, but he will dig up a hole in the forest and cover it with a carpet. Malkha-Azani warns the twins of the danger and they go to the knyaz's palace through another path. Malkha-Azani and the twins arrive at the palace, but she tells the knyaz they won't join them until the knyaz brings the woman he expelled. Malkha-Azani then explains that the golden twins are his sons.

Asia

Turkey

See also: The Golden-Haired Children (Turkish fairy tale)

Israel

According to an early analysis by Israeli folklorist Dov Noy (de), the Israel Folktale Archive (IFA) contained at first two variants of the tale type, one from a Yemeni source, and another from a Turkish source. A later study by scholar Heda Jason showed 7 variants in the Jewish Oriental tale corpus.

Middle East

The tale type appears in fairy tale collections of Middle Eastern and Arab folklore. Scholar Hasan El-Shamy lists 72 variants of the tale type across Middle Eastern and North African sources. He also stated that variants were collected "in the Eastern part of the Arab culture area", namely, in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

A second variant connected to the Arabian Nights compilation is Abú Niyyan and Abú Niyyatayn, part of the frame story The Tale of the Sultan of Yemen and his three sons (The Tale of the King of al-Yaman and his three sons). The tale is divided into two parts: the tale of the father's generation falls under the ATU 613 tale type (Truth and Falsehood), and the sons' generation follows the ATU 707. A third version present in The Arabian Nights is "The Tale of the Sultan and his sons and the Enchanting Bird", a fragmentary version that focuses on the quest for the bird with petrifying powers.

In an Arab variant, "Царевич и три девушки" ("The Emperor and the Three Girls"), three poor weaving sisters work late at night by candlelight, when the prince comes and spies on them. He overhears the oldest boasting that she would weave a carpet for the entire army to sit, the middle one that she would cook enough food to feed his army, and the youngest that she would bear "a bar of gold and a bar of silver". The prince summons them to his presence, and the youngest explains she meant a son (gold) and a daughter (silver). Her sisters replace them for puppies, and she is banished from the palace. The twins are found by a fisherman. In this version, the prince simply meets the twins while walking through the city, and remarries his own wife, without knowing it at first.

Lebanon

In a Lebanese variant, Die Prinz and seine drei Frauen ("The Prince and his three Wives"), a farmer's three daughters wish to marry the prince, the youngest promising to give birth to a girl with golden hair and a boy with silver hair. The prince marries all three, and the elder sisters replace the children for a cat and a dog. They are saved by a fisherman and his wife, who sell the children's metal-coated hair in the market. They become rich, their parents die and they move out to a palace in the prince's city. Their aunts send them on a quest for a tree with drums and music and a bride for his brother. The bride, with her omniscient knowledge, narrates the twins' story to the king during a dinner.

Syria

In a Syrian variant from Tur Abdin, collected by Eugen Prym and Albert Socin, Ssa'îd, the king of grasshoppers, has three wives, but no children yet. The third wife, also the youngest, gives birth to a boy and a girl, who are replaced for cats and thrown in the water. They are rescued by a fisherman and his wife, and whenever they are bathed, gold and silver appear in the bathwater. One day, when the brother is insulted for not knowing his true parentage, he leaves his adoptive parents with his sister. They then move to a hut near the king's residence, which they demolish and build a palace. The brother is the one to reveal the whole truth to his father, the king.

In a Syrian tale collected by Uwe Kuhr with the title Die drei Schwestern ("The Three Sisters"), one night, three sisters confess their innermost desires: the eldest wants to marry the king's cook to eat the best dishes; the middle one the king's pastrymaker to eat the finest sweets; and the youngest the king himself, for she wants to bear him a brave and clever son. The king overhears their talk and summons them the next morning to his palace. The king marries the youngest, to the sisters' jealousy. When their sister gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, they cast the children in a box in the river and tell the king the babies were stillborn. The box is saved by a childless sheik, who adopts the twins and names them Jamil (the boy) and Jamila (the girl). Years later, when the sheik dies, their jealous aunts send them for the silver water, the golden tree and the truth-telling peacock, located in the Mountain of Wonders.

Palestine

Scholars Ibrahim Muhawi and Sharif Kanaana collected a Palestinian Arab variant titled Little Nightingale the Crier (blebl is-sayyah). In this tale, the third and youngest sister promises to give birth to three children, 'Aladdin, Bahaddin and Šamsizzha, who, if she smiles, the sun will shine when it is raining, and if she cries, it will rain when it is sunny. The children are replaced for animals by their jealous aunts to humiliate their mother. Year laters, the children build a palace for them, and an old crone tells them that their garden is missing a bird called Little Nightingale the Crier.

In a Palestinian version from Birzeit, Die ausgesetzten Zwillingskinder ("The abandoned twin children"), the third and youngest sister promises to give birth to twins, a boy and a girl with silver and golden hair, but the girl shall have three teeth: one to quench the thirsty, the second to satiate the hungry and the third to feed the tired. The twins are still set on a quest for a bird that flaps its wings and sings.

Iraq

Novelist and ethnologist E. S. Drower collected an Iraqi tale titled The King and the Three Maidens, or the Doll of Patience. This tale focuses on the mother's plight: the youngest sister promises children born with hair of gold on one side and silver on the other, but, as soon as they are born, the children are cast into the water by the envious older sisters. She is told she must never reveal the truth to her husband, the king, so she buys a doll to confide in (akin to The Young Slave and ATU 894, "The Stone of Pity").

In a dialectal variant collected in Baghdad with the title The Nightingale, a sultan's son camps out with his army near the grand vizier's three daughters. Each of the girls announce their wishes to marry the sultan's son by performing grand feats: the oldest by baking a loaf of bread to feed the sultan's son and the army, the middle by weaving a carpet large enough for everyone to seat, and the youngest by bearing twins, a boy with gold locks and a girl with silver locks. The sultan's son marries the elder girl first, but when she states she cannot bake a loaf of bread as she described, she is downgraded to the kitchen. The same happens to the second sister. When the third sister does bear her twins, her sisters replace the children for puppies and throw them in the river. The twins are saved by a fisherman and his wife; whenever they bathe the twins, a bar of gold and a bar of silver appear. His aunts send them after the clapping apples, the ululating pomegranates, and the singing nightingale.

Assyrian people

In a tale from the Assyrian people, "Царь Шах-Аббас и три девушки" ("Tsar Shah-Abbas and the Three Girls"), Emperor Shah Abbas spies on three sisters talking, the youngest promising to bear male twins with curls of pearl. After their birth, the sisters replace them for puppies and puts them in the water in a box. Both boys are saved by a miller. When they are nine years old, they wreck their adoptive father's mill and decide to leave home. They settle in a house in the wood that belong to their biological father, Shah-Abbas. One of his messengers scolds the boys and orders them to appear at the king's presence. They pass by a woman and do not spit on her. The twins wonder why she is in a sorry state, and a jet of milk from her breasts enters their mouths. The guards send them to the king, who asks about their life story, and summons his disgraced wife, who confirms the twins' narration.

Saudi Arabia

As part of fieldwork in Jizan region, researcher Waleed Ahmed Himli collected in 2008 a tale from 88-year-old teller Nema Amshanaq. In her tale, titled El-Bolbol El-Saiyyah ("The Singing Nightingale" or "The Warbler Nightingale"), a king is going to the hajj, and tells his mother to look after his pregnant wife. The wife gives birth to "beautiful" twins, a boy and a girl, who are taken from her by the queen mother and cast in the water in a box. The twins are saved by a fisherman and his wife, who give the boy a magical ring. Years later, the queen mother visits the twins and convinces the girl to ask her brother for a flowing river beside their palace, fragrant roses and a singing nightingale - which the brother obtains by using the magic ring to wish for them. Lastly, the boy searches for the "China China Girl" as his bride, and goes on a journey to find her. Himli also indicates that the tale type is "widely reported ... [from] various parts of Saudi Arabia".

Kurdish people

In a Kurdish tale, Мирза-Мамуд и Хезаран-Больболь ("Mirza-Mamud and Khezaran-Bolbol"), the padishah marries three sisters, the yougest promising to give birth to golden-haired twins, a boy and a girl. Her envious sisters replace the children for animals and cast them in the sea in a box. The box is rescued by a miller, who saves the twins and names them Mirza-Mamud (the boy) and Golizar (the girl). Years later, they move to a new house and the boy meets his father, the Padishah, in a deer hunt. The queen's sisters despair and send an old woman to convince Golizar and Mirza-Mamud to go on a dangerous quest for a maiden named Зардухубар (Zardukhubar). Mirza-Mamud rescues Zardukhubar and they escape from an ogress (tale type ATU 313H*, connected to The Magical Flight or The Devil's Daughter). Zardukhubar becomes Golizar's house companion. Later, the old woman tells the siblings about a magical bird named Khezaran-Bolbol. Mirza-Mamud fails the quest and is petrified. Noticing his long absence, Golizar and Zardukhubar seek him out. They meet an old hermit on the way who tells them how to safely capture the bird. Both women rescue the youth and a whole garden of petrified people. On their way back, the hermit asks them for a prayer, which the trio do and disenchant him into a handsome young man. The quartet is invited to a feast with the king, but the bird warns them their food is poisoned. As instructed by the bird, the siblings invite their father, the padishah, to their house, where the whole truth is revealed.

In another Kurdish tale, "Златокудрые" ("Golden-Curls"), collected in 1976 from informant Osei Shababa, a padishah forbids lighting up a source of light in any house at night, but one house's residents break the prohibition. The padishah and his vizir visit the house and overhear the conversation of three spinning sisters: the eldest promises to make a grand meal for the padishah if he takes her for wife; the middle one promises to weave a unique and singular carpet and the youngest promises to bear him a boy and a girl with golden curls. The padishah marries the youngest and goes to war; a wtich takes the children, replaces them for puppies and casts them in a box in the sea. The box with the children washes ashore; a deer sees the twins and nurses them. Years later, the boy, named Hussein, and the girl, named Gulizar, build a house for them and make garments made of gazelle skin. One day, the padisah hunts some gazelles and is led to the twins' house. He admires the boy's golden curls and imagines what his son could have been. The sisters-in-law send the witch to the twins' house. The witch passes herself as a devotee on a hajj and sends them, first, after a magical tablecloth that produces food with a magical wand, and, later, for a maiden named Шарихубар (Sharikhubar). When Hussein goes for her, her powers petrify him, so his sister Gulizar is the one to rescue him and get Sharikhubar back home. At last, Sharikhubar helps them reveal the truth of their origin.

Researcher Sara Belelli collected and published a Kurdish variant in the Laki language from Kermanshah, with the title Mā(h) pīšānī ("Moon-forehead") (tale types ATU 480 and ATU 707): a girl meets by the riverbank an old ugly woman and compliments her head. When the river water becomes yellow, the old woman throws the girl in the river and she comes out with a moon and a star on her forehead. When the girl's stepsister meets the old woman, she insult her and becomes ugly. The tale then focuses on a prince, who meets Māh pīšānī and her two elder sisters: the elder promises to cook a man of rice to feed 500 people; the middle one that she can weave a carpet large enough for a thousand people, and Māh pīšānī promises to bear him a boy who can cry tears of pearl and a girl whose laughter produces flowers.

Pamir Mountains

In a tale from the Pamir Mountains, from the collection of Ivan Zarubin, "Три сестры" ("Three Sisters"), the royal vizier overhears the three sisters' talk while they are getting water, the youngest promising to bear a golden-haired boy and a beautiful girl if she marries the king. The vizir reports his findings to the king and he marries the third sister. When the twins are born, they are replaced by two puppies, but are found by the gardener. Years later, they are sent after a dress made by the claws of a fox, a magic mirror that can see the whole world and the talking parrot. The parrot stops an accidental marriage between the king and his daughter, and the gardener tells the twins the truth of their adoption in a banquet with the monarch.

Iran

Professor Ulrich Marzolph, in his catalogue of Persian folktales, listed 10 variants of the tale type across Persian sources, which he classified as Die gerechtfertigte verleumdete Frau ("The calumniated girl is vindicated"). These stories vary between the quest for the usual treasures and the Fairy Maiden.

Regional tales

In a variant titled The Story of the Jealous Sisters, collected by Emily Lorimer and David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer, from Kermani, a father abandons his three daughters in the woods. A prince finds them and marries the youngest sister. After she becomes his wife, she gives birth to twins: "a son with a tuft of golden hair and a daughter with a face as beautiful as the moon". Her jealous sisters throw them in the stream. The prince condemns his wife to be trapped in a lime pillar and for stones to be thrown at her. Years later, when the brother passes by her, the youth throws a rose leaf at her, which prompts the king to summon his sisters-in-law.

In a tale collected from a teller in Isfahan and published by professor Mahomed-Nuri Osmanovich Osmanov (ru) with the title "Мельник с золотыми кудрями" ("The Boy with Golden Curls"), three sisters are talking through the night, and the youngest says she will give birth to a boy with golden curls she will name Kazolzari: when he cries, diamonds and pearls will appear; when he laughs, roses will fall from his mouth, and with every step he takes, he leaves behind a trail of bars of gold and silver. The shah listens to their conversation and brings them all to his presence; he marries the sisters off to the vizier and a courtier, and the youngest becomes his queen. The queen's jealous sisters replace the boy for a puppy, and throws him in the water. The boy is saved by an elderly couple who owns a bathhouse. His aunts feign illness and send him to a get milk from a lioness, a mare that gave birth to 40 foals, and a self-swinging cradle. At the end of the tale, Kazolzari takes a wooden horse to eat hay in front of the king, who notices the absurdity of the situation. The youth answers that it is no more absurd with a human woman giving birth to a puppy.

In a variant from Bushehr Province, published in 2003 with the title شاه و هفت زن (English: "The Shah and the Seven Women"), a childless king hasn't fathered a son, despite being married to six co-wives. During a hunt, he sights a beautiful peasant maiden and asks her father for her hand in marriage. She becomes the seventh queen and gives birth to a boy and a girl. The other six wives, jealous of her, bribe the midwife to get rid of the babies in a wooden box and to replace them for puppies. The wooden box with the twins is cast in the sea, but they are rescued by an old woman. Years later, they move out of the old woman's house to another home in the woods, where the king sees them. He tells the other queens about the encounter and the six women, fearing the king might discover the truth, send the midwife to convince the twins to seek Manni Chen (a magical harp that sings) and a shining scarf from the ghouls.

India

See also: The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead

Bangladesh

At least one variant of tale type 707 is attested in the academic literature of Bangladesh.

Lapcha people

In a tale collected from the Lapcha people in Sikhim, The Golden Knife and the Silver Knife, King Lyang-bar-ung-bar-pono goes on a hunt with his two dogs. The dogs follow two stags. The animals turn into she-devils and kill the dogs. The king discovers their corpses and follow a trail into a second realm, Lung-da. He goes to the king's palace and meets two fairies: Se-lamen and Tung-lamen. Se-lamen spends a night with the king and promises to feed the entire palace with a grain of rice. Tung-lamen spends the next night with him and promises that she can clothe the king down to the poorest person with only one roll of cloth. The king Lyang-bar meets Ramit-pandi, the daughter of the king of Lung-da, who promises to give birth to a golden knife and a silver knife. They marry and Ramit-pandi gives birth to twins, who are replaced for puppies by the fairies. The evil fairies put the twins in an earthen pot and bury it deep in the ground at a crossroads. The twins' mother is killed, but her corpse floats upstream. The boys are found by a poor old couple. Years later, king Lyang-bar summons the twins to his presence to inquire them about their origins, and the evil fairies convince the king to send them after the golden and silver flutes of the demon Chenchhyo-byung-pono. The twins steal the flute and a pair of tusks and make peace with the demon, returning soon after to their father's kingdom to reveal the whole truth and to resuscitate their mother.

In another tale, The King of Lyang-bar and the two witch nurses, the queen of the king of Lyang-bar has two nurses who are witches in disguise. While bathing in the sea Jam-chi-chume-der, they fill their wooden bowls with flowers, while the queen plays with her golden plate. It was all a ruse to make the queen flee her home once she sets the golden plate on the water and loses it. The trio journeys to another realm, the Sachak-lat land, whose king dreamt his future wife was coming to him. He finds the three women and tests their abilities, by asking them to wash his head and brush his hair. The two witches act in a forceful manner, but the queen does it gently. They marry and she is expecting three sons. The children are born and put in a box in the water. The three children, a girl and two boys, are saved by an old fisherman and his wife. One day, they carve a wooden horse and ride it to the fountain where the queen and the witches were bathing, and taunt them that a wooden horse drinking water is the same absurd notion that a human woman gave birth to animals. Enraged, the witches feign illness and try to convince the king to kill the children and take their livers as remedy. The assassination plot is averted by the children, who each go their separate ways. Then, the elder brother tries to find their siblings, but only finds their remains. He builds a pyre to burn it, but falls in the flames, perishing also. After three days, a fir-tree springs out of the ashes with the reborn three siblings. The king's syce finds the fir-tree and reports to the king, who goes to the tree with the queen to convince the children to climb down the tree. The children agree, after their parents promise to punish the two witches.

Tibet

Two other Asian versions were recorded by M. Potanine (Grigory Potanin): one from Amdo, in northeast Tibet, from an old "Tangoute" that hailed from Lan-tcheou (in Kan-sou); and a second one that he heard in Ourga (ancient French language name for the city of Ulaanbaatar). The Amdo/Tangut story begins largely the same: two princesses, Ngulyggun ("silver queen") and Kserlyg gun ("golden queen") play the basin game with the king's maid, Yog-tamu-nzo. The princesses lose a silver and a golden basin, the maid returns to the king to inform him, and goes back to the princess with the false story about them being expelled from the kingdom. The maid forces the princesses to exchange places on their way to another realm. They meet a prince; he shoots three arrows to choose his cook and they fall near Kserlyg. On their way to the prince's palace, the maiden Yog-tamu pushes Kserlyg into a lake to drown, forces Ngulyggun into menial service and becomes queen. Ngulyggun, while taking the sheep to graze, receives the visit of her sister's spirit, who gives her bread and food. Yog-tamu discovers this situation and kills Kserlyg's spirit. Ngulyggun gives birth to a half-silver, half-golden child, and Yog-tamu orders the baby to be trampled by sheep, but they scatter. She orders to be trampled by cows and horses, but the baby is spared. Then she orders the baby to be buried in a hole and for it to be filled with manure. A flower sprouts. A sheep eats it and gives birth to a piebald sheep, who talks to its human mother, Ngulyggun. The false queen orders the sheep to be slaughtered and its bones gathered by Ngulyggun. The maiden takes the bones to a cave and, for three times, the bones become a lama. The lama asks his mother to summon the false queen to the cave, where the whole truth is revealed.

Northern Asia

Mansi people

In a tale from the Vogul (Mansi people) published and translated by Finno-Ugricist János Gulya (de) with the title A legkisebb nővér fiacskája ("The Little Son of the Youngest Sister"), each one of three sisters leave home and are forced to marry the same man, an old man who lived in a hut in the woods. One day, before he goes on a hunt, he asks his three wives what they will give him when he returns. The oldest answers she will weave a great linen for him with 100 fathoms, the second that she will weave a heavy 100-pound net, and the third that she will bear him a son with silver arms, golden legs, a sun on the front and the moon on the back of the neck. The boy is born, but cast in the sea and replaced for a little dog. The husband is furious with the third wife, breaks her arms and throws her in the sea with the little dog. They wash ashore on a beach, she heals herself with dew and lives with the little dog in a small cave. The petit animal rescues the little boy with wooden bowls of her breastmilk and takes him to his mother, who confirms their relationship by jets of her breastmilk. The boy grows up in days and builds a house for them on the beach. Sailors come to visit the house and report to the old man their findings. The old man's two wives try to dismiss the sailors' story by telling about even more extravagant sights: a bull with a sauna between its horns, and a birch tree with a cuckoo that produces silver when it sings. The man's son learns of this by a looking glass and commands his servants to have these things on his house.

Khanty people

In a tale collected by Serafim Keropowitsch Patkanov (de) from the Ostyak (Khanty people) with the title The Story of a Wise Maiden, three princes seek wives for themselves. When walking through a city in the dark of night, they see a light in the distance coming from a house. They get a ladder and peer into the illuminated room. Three sister are talking: the eldest wants to marry the elder prince and bear him two daughters, the middle one the middle prince and bear him a daughter and a son; and the youngest wants to marry the youngest prince, and she shall bear him a daughter and two sons, each of them with shining heavenly stars on the crown on their heads, the sun on the forehead, a moon on the back on the neck, and the youngest son shall have the joints of his right hand and right foot in a golden color. She marries the younger prince and bears the three children. Each time, her sisters take the baby to be eaten by "an upper and a lower shade", but, failing that, replace them for puppies. Their mother is nailed to the church door, while the children are reared in a moos. The sisters learn of this and throw the babies in the water to die, but they are saved by a poor fishing couple. Years later, the siblings, now adults, talk to coming traders, and the girl gives them a dog (the younger brother). When the traders depart and reach another town, the brother-as-dog overhears their conversation about wondrous things: a birch tree with small bells and tambourines that when shaken produces silver, a reindeer stag whose antlers hold tinkling silver bells, and a girl with heavenly stars on the crown of her head, a sun on the forehead and the moon on the back of her neck that lives in an iron house at the end of the world. The two brothers get the first two objects and decide to make the woman the bride of one or the other. The brothers fail to get the maiden from the iron house, but their sister visits her and convinces her to resurrect her brothers. The four return to their adoptive parents' house. Some time later, the girl from the iron house tells them about their birth mother, and goes with the sibling to a dinner with the king. The mother is taken off the church door, clothed and bathed and presented to the dinner. The girl from the iron house tells her to squeeze her breasts, so that her breastmilk flows into the mouths of the siblings, proving their relationship.

Yukaghir people

In a tale collected by ethnographer Vladimir Jochelson from the Yukaghir people with the title "Сказка о стучащей ягодъ девушки" ("The Tale about the Berry-Picking Women"), a man has two wives. When he goes to a hunt, his elder wife promises to give him new clothes when he returns, while the younger wife promises to give birth to a son with the sun on the forehead, the star on the top of his head, and a moon on the neck.

Buryat people

See also: The Rich Khan Badma

Torghut people

In a tale from the Torghut of Karasahr, colllected by Adam Benningsen with the title "Сказка о Буджин-Дава-хан" ("The Tale of Budjin-Dava-Khan"), Budjin-Dava-Khan has 500 wives, but no son yet. He has a hound named Khasar, which he sets lose one day and follow its trail. He reaches a large house; inside, a mother and her three daughters. He spies on their conversation: the elder sister promises that, if she marries Budjin-Dava-Khan, she will prepare a 9 course meal for 500 people with a single egg; the middle sister that, with the wool of a single she-goat, she can weave a carpet large enough for the Khan and his retinue, and the youngest promises to bear him a son of gold and a girl of silver. The Khan decides to marry all three women. The elder sisters fulfill their boasts and become co-wives of the khan and conspire with the other 500 wives to replace the khan's children with puppies. They seek the services of Цок-Тырыл тушмыла (Tsok-Tyryl tushmyla), who places the twins in a golden box, in a silver box, in a copper box, in an iron box, in a wooden box and wraps it in a leather bag. The boxes float downstream and are found by a fishing couple. After 11 years, the fisherman dies, but asks the golden boy to visit his grave one night. The boy goes and gains a mighty gray horse, equipped wih weapons and armor. He eventually meets Budjin-Dava-Khan, who notices the boy's extraordinariness. The eldest khatun, named Mani-Dara, goes to the twins' house and convices the silver girl to seek a branch of the tree saikhan-saglar (guarded by three many-headed Mangyt-khais) and a maiden named Saikhan-Sarane, daughter of Zandan-tengir, as a wife for her brother. Saikhan-Sarane restores petrified people to life, and resurrects the twins' mother.

Central Asia

Folklorist Erika Taube stated that the tale type was "widespread" in Turkic-Mongolian traditions. The tales may vary in the number of the khan's wives (none, at first, or 1, 2, 3, 12 and even 108); the number of children (a son, two sons, a son and daughter pair or three sons), all born with special attributes (golden chest, silver backside, or legs of gold or silver).

Following professor Marat Nurmukhamedov's study on Pushkin's verse fairy tale, professor Karl Reichl argues that the dastan (a type of Central Asian oral epic poetry) titled Šaryar, from the Turkic Karakalpaks, is "closely related" to the tale type of the Calumniated Wife, and more specifically to The Tale of Tsar Saltan.

In a Kyrgyz tale, A kán fia ("The children of the khan"), a khan has 40 other wives, but marries a maiden he meets in his travel who promises to give birth to twins, a boy and a girl with golden chest and silver back. They are born, replaced by puppies and adopted by a man named Akmat. The brother searches for a white apple tree that always bears fruit, a talking parrot and a woman of great beauty named Kulanda.

Kazakhstan

Kazakh literary critic and folklorist Seyt Kaskabasov stated that type 707 is among the 15 tale types of the international index that are present in both Kazakhstan and elsewhere. Type 707 is reported to register 8 or 9 variants, and Kaskabasov supposes that, apart from tale "Алтын Айдар" ("Altyn Aidar"), at least 6 variants derive from qissa (ru) (Kazakh epic oral poetry) "Мунлык-Зарлык" ("Munlyk-Zarlyk").

In a Kazakh tale, "Три сестры" ("Three Sisters"), a prince, the khan's son, is looking for a bride, when he stops by a tent, where he hears three womanly voices talking about their marriage wishes: the oldest sister says she will weave a golden carpet for his throne; the middle, that she will cook a feast for everyone with only an egg, and he youngest that she will bear the khan's son a boy with golden head and a girl with silver head. The prince decides to marry all three women, the first two accomplishing their promised feats. When it is time for the youngest queen to bear the fabled twins, her elder sisters convince a witch to throw the twins in the sea as soon as they are born and to replace them for animals. It just so happens and the twins are cast in a box that is saved by a poor old couple. They raise the twins and name the boy Kudaibergen ("given by God") and the girl Kunslu ("solar beauty"). Twelve years pass, the old man dies. The boy finds a powerful horse and begins to hunt, when he meets the king during a hunt. The sisters notice and send the witch to convince Kunslu to send her brother on dangerous quests: to get a self-playing dombra, a mirror that can see the whole "white world", and to seek Toshilar's daughter, Aislu ("lunar beauty") as his zhenge (the older brother's wife in the Kazakh familial system). Kudaibergen is advised by a helpful witch named Zhalmauyz Kempir, who, in regards to the second object (the mirror), tells the youth to seek the aid of the bird Samruk. When the boy tries to court Tolishar's daughter, her father shouts a magic spell to slowly petrify the youth. The prince, now khan himself, after seeing in the mirror his wife, tending to two dogs in the desert, orders his viziers to bring her back and learns of the whole plot.

Tajikistan

In a Tajik tale, A beszélö pagagáj ("The Talking Parrot"), the padishah marries the youngest sister, who promised to give birth to a boy and a girl with hair bright like fire, faces bright as the sun and with a beauty mark on their brow. The padishah's other three wives bribe an old nurse to dispose of the children. The old nurse, however, takes them to a shepherd to raise. Years later, they are sent on a quest for a magical mirror that can see the whole world and a talking parrot.

Russian scholar I. M. Oranksij collected a variant in the Parya language from kolhoznik Ašur Kamolov in 1961, in Hissar district. In his tale, a padishah with two wives goes in search of a third one. He meets three women talking: the daughter of the vizir, the daughter of the bey and the daughter of the shepherd. The daughter of the shepherd says that she will bear a boy and a girl "as have never existed in the (whole) world". They marry. After the birth of the twins, they are replaced by the other co-wives by puppies and abandoned in the steppes, but a gazelle nurses the babies. Years later, they are sent for a talking nightingale.

Tuva

Russian ethnologist Grigory Potanin recorded a variant from Uryankhay Krai, modern day Tuva, with the title "Мынг хонгор атту Тюмендей и его сынъ Ерь Сару". In the first part of the tale, a being named Tyumendey, under the guise of a Dzhelbag, forces an old man to surrender his three daughters in exchange for his freedom. The old man and his wife convince the girls to fetch fruits in the woods. They return to the yurt and see Dzhelbag. The girls escape by using objects to create magical obstacles to their pursuer. They meet a beaver near a river that carries them across the water. The beaver tells the girl to toss some stones in the river; Dzhelbag drowns. The animal advises them to climb up three fir trees and wait there. In the second part of the story, as the three sisters are sitting on treetops and playing musical instruments, three hunters pass by the trees when water pours down on them. Thinking it rain, they look up and see the maidens. The three sisters marry the three hunters. One day, the third hunter goes away with his brothers-in-law, and asks his wife what she will do for him when he gets back: she will bear a boy with silver neck and golden head. Her sisters become envious, replace the boy for an animal and throw him in the lake. The hunter returns and, seeing the animal, maims, blinds and abandons his wife. The woman regains her limbs and sight by use of a magical herb. She then prepares to rescue her son from the lake. She tries three times, and is successful on the third occasion. She feeds the boy her milk and rubs her tears on his eyes. He recognizes him as his mother and calls himself Er-Saru (Ер-сару).

Folklorist Erika Taube collected another Tuvan tale from a 69-year-old informant in 1969. In this tale, titled "Он ийи гадынныг хаан" or "Хан с двенадцатью женами" (The Khan with Twelve Wives), a khan has 12 wives, but laments that none has given birth to any son. He goes on a journey and finds at first a woman, which he thinks is ugly. He returns to his travels and finds three sisters talking inside a hut, the youngest wishing for a husband that has looked for her, travelled all over the world and suffered all travails. He marries the third sister and she gives birth to twin boys. The other co-wives replace the boys for animals and cast them in the water. The khan returns and, seeing the animals, banishes the thirteenth wife to an island. The boys are found by a childless couple. Years later, the khan sends his eagle to the skies and, when it does not return, he rides on his horse to the island and meets a deep-wrinkled old lady. The old lady says she is a "lady or ruler of fate" and sets the khan on a quest to redeem himself and restore his family. Taube argued that the old lady character as the ruler of fate was "an ancient element" present in this tale, and compared it to similar motifs and figures of Central Asian faiths.

Tofalar people

In a tale from the Tofalars titled "Три мальчика" ("Three Boys"), an old god wanders the Earth and seek a woman to marry. He finds three women and inquires about their skills: the first tells she can bake bread for 300 people and there will still be some bread left; the second that she can plant 99 aspens to make skis for the people, and the third that she can bear three sons, the first two will have golden chest and the third a normal human chest. The god marries the third woman and has to go on a hunt. His wife gives birth to a boy with golden chest, who is replaced for a puppy by an evil midwife. The next year, the same happens to her second son. On the third year, she gives birth to a normal human boy, and the god, seeing that his wife failed in her promise, orders her and the son to be sewn inside a cow's hide and thrown in the sea. The cow's hide lands on a island. Mother and son live in the island, and the woman sews the boy a nice hat. The boy gives his hat to a man on the island and gains an ax, an iron stick and a bag. He reads in a book about a rich man who lives with two sons with golden chest. He recognizes that the boys are his elder brothres and goes to save them.

Uzbekistan

Similarities have also been noted between the tale type and the Uzbek tale of Хасан и Зухра (Hasan and Zuhra). In this tale, despite being married to 40 wives, the shah still hasn't fathered a son. In his wanderings, he finds three sisters, daughters of a shepherd, talking among themselves: Nasiba, Gulbahor and Sulfiya. The youngest, Sulfiya, promises to give birth to twins, a boy named Hasan and a girl named Zuhra, both beautiful and smart. The midwife replaces them with two goats, puts the twins in a bag and abandons it on the road. Thankfully, they are saved by a coming caravan. Twelve years pass, and Hasan, now a youth, meets his father, the shah, during a hunt. The shah convenes with a wise old woman, who discusses with the monarch the truth of what happened to his twin children.

In another Uzbek tale with the title "Блестящая глиняная чаша" ("A Shining Pottery Bowl"), a tsar has 40 wives, but no son yet. His viziers suggest he take another wife. He does and she is expecting a son. The other 40 wives feel threatened by the newcomer and bribe the midwife to get rid of the child as son as they are born. The midwife takes the royal children, a boy and a girl, replaces them for puppies and abandons both in the wilderness to die. The youngest queen is banished to the steppe with the puppies, while her children are raised by a she-bear in a cave. The midwife sends them for a shining pottery bowl and a magic mirror. To get the second item, the boy saves a nest of Simurgh birdlings and takes a journey to another kingdom on its back.

In the tale "Золотая косичка" ("The Golden-Braided [Boy]"), a padishah and his viziers sight a giant red rose, where three peri women are weaving. The peris are asked about their abilities, the youngest promises to bear the padishah a golden-braided boy. The padishah marries the third peri woman, and the viziers the other two. The padishah's other co-wives bribe a midwife to get rid of the boy and replace him for puppies. The midwife throws the boy into the steppe, but he is found and suckled by a hart. The boy returns to his father's palace and the co-wives take the boy, lock him up in a chest and cast him in the sea. He survives this second attempt and is found by a fisherman. Years later, the co-wives and the midwife send the boy for a flower gulikakhkakh, forty magical cauldrons and a magic mirror.

A fourth Uzbek tale was collected in 1999 from local teller, Dr. Ibodulla Iliasov, professor of German studies, in Bulungur, Samarqand, with the title Die goldhaarigen Zwillingskinder ("The Twin Children with Golden Hair").

East Asia

Japan

Folklorist D. L. Ashliman, in his 1987 study of folktales, lists The Golden Eggplant (黄金の茄子 <<Kin no nasu>>) as a Japanese variant of the tale. Other variants of this tale were listed by Japanese scholar Kunio Yanagita.

Scholar Seki Keigo remarked that the Japanese story "show[ed] much similarity" to the tale type, albeit lacking the usual reason for the wife's banishment. He also reported 8 variants, found "chiefly in the southern part of Japan", and cited a local Okinawan legend with similar events. In the Okinawan tale, the lord's wife is cast with her child in a boat because she was accused of breaking wind in public.

Hiroko Ikeda, in his own index of Japanese tales, classified the story as type 707, with the name "The Gold Bearing Plant" (Japanese: Kin no Nasu, Kane no Naru Ki) and listed 25 variants of the story.

Russian scholar Khemlet Tat'yana argues that The Golden Eggplant is an example of the phenomenon where the more fantastical variants of the tale type give way to more realistic stories that treat the extraordinary elements as unreal or a factual impossibility: in the story, the lord's son returns to his father's court with seeds of a gold- and silver-producing tree, which can only be watered by a woman who has never broken wind.

China

See also: The Pretty Little Calf

Chinese folklorist and scholar Ting Nai-tung (zh) established a second typological classification of Chinese folktales (the first was by Wolfram Eberhard in the 1930s). In his new system, tale type 707, "The Three Golden Sons", shows the rivalry between the king's other wives; the number of children vary between stories, and the animal that replaces the children "is often a dead cat". One of the variants of his selected bibliography shows the quest for a magical tree and a girl, and in another for a bird of happiness.

A famous Chinese story that follows the replacement of the child for a cat is Limao huan taizi (English: "Cat in Exchange for a Prince"; "Exchanging a Leopard Cat for a Prince"), attested in the literary work The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants. In this story, a consort, jealous of the other, replaces the latter's son for a cat and gives the child for a eunuch to drown. Out of pity, the eunuch smuggles the child out of the palace, to the residence of another prince. The child is then raised by this second prince, unaware of his true origins.

In a tale collected from a Chinese-American source from California, titled The Long Lost Mother, a king is childless, but his queen promises him a boy. When his son is born, a guard who hates the royal couple replaces the boy for a slain cat. The queen is accused of infidelity and banished from the palace. She ends up in poverty and finds a lonely child in a small house. She decides to adopt the baby as her son. Despite its origin as literary tale, Chinese scholar Ting Nai-Tung acknowledged that its oral variants "clearly belong[ed]" to tale type ATU 707.

Korea

See also: The Pretty Little Calf § Korea

Korean scholarship reports a Korean tale similar to Japanese "The Golden Eggplant". In the Korean tale, titled "아침에 심어 저녁에 따먹는 오이" (Cucumber Planted in the Morning and Harvested in the Evening), a son is trying to find his father, because he abandoned his mother for passing wind on their wedding night. The boy walks around with a bunch of cucumber seeds that can be planted in the morning and harvested in the evening, and that can only be harvested by people who do not break wind (a physical impossibility).

Mongolia

See also: The Pretty Little Calf § Mongolia

See also: The Rich Khan Badma § Mongolia

Southeast Asia

Indonesia

French scholar Gédeon Huet noted the tale "entered into Indonesia". One example is the story Die Schwester der neun und neuzig Brüder ("The Sister of the Ninety-Nine Brothers"), from the Celebes Islands. In this tale, the youngest daughter promises to give birth to 99 boys and a girl, which draws the attention of the prince. When the children are born, the sisters replace the children for inanimate and "worthless" objects. The 100 siblings are rescued by "benevolent spirits", who also give the girl a wooden horse.

In another Indonesian variant from Aceh, Hikayat gumba' Meuïh, Gumba' Meuin, Gumbak Meuih, or Gombak Emas ("The Tale of Goldenhead"), King Hamsöykasa is married to three wives, but hasn't fathered a son by the first two, named Ratna Diwi and Keuncan Ansari. The third wife, Cah Keubandi, of humble origin, gives birth to 100 children in one day: 99 brothers and 1 sister, each of them with hair of gold and diamonds. The first two wives cast the siblings in the water encased in a box and replace them for creatures. The 100 are saved by a gògasi (gěrgasi) couple. The youngest child, the girl, named Gumba' Meuïh (Goldenhead), is told of her royal origins by a "celestial bird", reaches their father's kingdom and reveals the whole truth. The tale continues with the adventures of princess Goldenhead with celestial (adara) prince Lila Bangguna. Like her mother before her, she is also persecuted by the prince's sister and his second wife, but reclaims her right with the help of her 99 brothers. Her son, Mira' Diwangga, marries a princess of Atrah named Cheureupu Intan ("Diamond Sandal"), and fathers a daughter called Gènggöng Intan, who later marries prince Kaharölah of Silan (Ceylon). The hikayat is reported to exist in 4 (quite similar) manuscript versions in the archives of the Library of Leiden University, and contains the episode of petrification of the 99 brothers and their elephant retinue, as they make their way to their father's kingdom.

Myanmar

In a Burmese tale, The Hundred and One Lobsters, a woman eats 101 magical lobsters, said to give the ability to bear wonderful children, and is made queen. She gives birth to 101 children, 100 sons and a daughter, but the king's second queen replaces them for puppies. The 101 children are saved by the king's pet animals (a sow, a cow, a buffalo and an elephant), which are killed by a ploy of the second queen. At last, they are taken in by a fisherman couple and, some time later, take part in a cock fighting contest against their own father, the king.

In a Burmese tale from the Palaung people, "История Схумо" ("The Story of Schumo"), an elderly couple lives in poverty with their daughter. The king, who had many wives, but no son, marries the girl and she gives birth to a son she names Schumo. The jealous co-wives of the king replace the boy for a puppy, to disgrace their rival. The young queen is expelled and returns to her parents' house with the puppy, while her son survives. The son visits his grandparents' home and sees his mother playing with the dog. She confirms her relationship with the boy by using a jet of her breast milk. Russian scholarship classified the tale as type 707, following Thompson and Roberts' Types of Indic Oral Tales.

Philippines

Author Dean Fansler collected a story titled The Wicked Woman's Reward, from one Gregorio Frondoso, a Bicol from Camarines. This tale shows the rivalry between two concubines of the king: one substitutes the other's son for a cat.

Professor Damiana Eugenio listed Thai tale The Four Champa Trees and Chinese tale Cat in Exchange for a Prince as "foreign analogues" to Filipino versions of the story of the king's wife banished from the palace due to the concubine's intrigue and accusations of giving birth to animals.

In a Tagalog version of Cinderella (ATU 510A), after the princess marries the king and is pregnant with seven boys, her step-family replace the boys for puppies and throw the septuplets in the sea in a box. The boys are saved by a hunter and word of the good deed reaches the ears of the princess' step-family. The women bring the boys poisoned maruya, they eat and die. The hunter places the bodies inside a cave, but an oracle's voice tells him to seek the mother of the Sun, who lives in a distant place, for a remedy. He passes by three places where people ask him the solution for their problems, and the hunter promises them he will bring the answers after visiting the house of the sun (akin to tale type ATU 461, "Three Hairs of the Devil"). He resurrects the princes, now young men, and the youngest of them fetches a tree branch of silver and gold, with which a helping enchanter makes clothes and equipment for them.

In another Filipino variant of Cinderella, collected in 1903 from a sixty-year-old woman in Pola, Mindoro, as the continuation of the story, after the marriage, the Cinderella-like character, named Maria, gives birth to seven princes, who are replaced by seven puppies and exposed in the mountains. However, they are saved by a "mother of the day" or "mother of the sun" (ina nang arao) and become seven young men. One day, they pass by their mother, suffering the king's punishment.

Dean Fansler, in another article, summarized a metrical romance published in the archipelago, The Story of the Life of Maria in the Kingdom of Hungary, and showed that it was a combination of Cinderella and Constance. However, the tale contains the punishment of the mother, now disgraced, and the lives of her sons, abandoned in the mountains and saved by a shepherd. He also published another (lesser-known) metrical romance, and a folktale, Amelia ("current in the province of Laguna"), which largely follow the same plot structure: marriage, birth of child or children, replacement by animals, severe punishment of the mother, rescue of children, meeting with parents later in life.

In a tale published by Yukihiro Yamada and collected in 1987, from teller Quintina Cabal Gutierrez (Itbayat), papito so pipatoran (The Seven Kingdoms), three sisters, Magdalena, Rosalina and Maria, express their wishes for a husband: the elder two want to marry rich and powerful men, unlike the youngest, Maria. One day, a bachelor named Juan passes by their house and becomes enchanted with Maria. They marry, and the girl says she prays to God to give her a pair of children, one with golden hair, the other with silver hair. After their birth, her jealous sisters replace the children for puppies and her husband sentences her to be buried up to the torso near the sink.

Africa

Researcher Daniel Crowley pointed that a preliminary study by researcher May Augusta Klipple, in 1938, indicated the existence of 10 variants from Africa, without specifying their region. However, analysing Klipple's study, Hasan El-Shamy identified that she pointed to 11 variants in the following ethnic groups: 9 among Venda, Larusa, Kamba and Masai (East Africa); one from the Sotho (southern Africa), and one from the Hausa (west Africa).

El-Shamy also noted that variants from Subsaharan Africa focus on the rivalry between co-wives and the bond between male twins.

North Africa

See also: The Story of Arab-Zandiq § North Africa

Tunisia

See also: The Story of Arab-Zandiq § Tunisia

Algeria

See also: The Story of Arab-Zandiq § Algeria

Egypt

See also: The Story of Arab-Zandiq

Morocco

See also: The Story of Arab-Zandiq § Morocco

Sudan

In a Sudanese variant published by S. Hillelson, The Talking Parrot, a sister, with the ability to make rain fall when she cries, to produce pearls and coral when she laughs, is convinced by an old woman to send her brother to seek a talking parrot.

West Africa

In a West African tale, local chief Nyame marries other four women, who later move to his house. There, they need to follow the rules of the head-wife, who asks the women what each would give to their husband. The youngest one answers she would bear him a "child of gold" (or "gold-child"), but eventually gives birth to a twin of silver and a twin of gold. The boys are replaced by two frogs, but the whole truth is discovered with a little help from Anansi, the Spider.

A variant of The child born with a moon on his breast is mentioned by Édouard Jacouttet as hailing from "Gold Coast", an old name for a region on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa: a king named Miga has many wives, who had not born any children. A witch doctor gives a remedy for the wives: all of them give birth to animals, except one, who mothers a son "with a peculiar sign on his forehead", just like his father. This tale was first recorded in 1902 by G. Härtter, from the Ewe people in Togo.

In a Senegalese tale, The child with a star on the forehead, originally collected in French by Lilyan Kesteloot and Bassirou Dieng with the title L'enfant qui avait une étoile sur le front, the jealous co-wives replace the chief's son for a bottle, but the boy is rescued by a helpful old woman. She raises him and directs him to meet his father.

In a Southern Nigerian tale, The Woman with two Skins, king Eyamba I of Calabar has 200 wives, but no son. He is persuaded to marry one of the spider's daughters, but she is so ugly. In fact, this woman, named Adiaha, takes off the ugly skin at night and becomes a beautiful young woman. The king's head wife discovers this and buys a potion form the "Ju Ju man" in order to make the king forget about Adiaha. She succeeds, and the spider's daughter returns home. Adiaha's father contacts another Ju Ju man to prepare an antidote for his daughter to use on her husband. Adiaha returns to king Eyamba, still with her ugly skin disguise, and gives birth to a son, to the jealousy of the head wife. She prepares another potion to make the king fall ill and forget his son. Due to his poor health, he is convinced by the head wife to cast his son in the water, but the boy is saved by a Water Ju Ju. Once again, Adiaha counters the head wife's plot, returns to her husband Eyamba and mothers a daughter. The girl suffers the same fate as her older brother, but is saved by the same Water Ju Ju. Now a young man, the Water Ju Ju advises the king's son to hold a wrestling match to draw the attention of the king. The youth wins every match and is invited to a dinner with the king. The Water Ju Ju advises the youth to summon the people and present his case in front of the king. There, the whole truth is revealed about the head wife's deception. Soon, the king's children and Adiaha are reinstated to their proper place. Folklorist Andrew Lang, on his notes, recalled similar tales of "European folk-lore" wherein the king is deceived and throws his children in the water because he thought his wife gave birth to puppies.

In a tale from the Ndowe people of Equatorial Guinea, El cerco de los leones, two sisters confide in each other that they will bear handsome children. The younger, however, confesses that she will bear a boy with a star on the forehead and another on the chest. After the boy's birth, the elder sister replaces her nephew for a piece of wood and throws him into a den of lions.

In a tale from the Dahomey people, collected by Melville J. Herskovits with the title Slandering co-wife: Why there are several attendants at childbirth, a girl named Agenu (or Tohwesi), daughter of King Abiliba Numayago, becomes the second wife to a king called Beu. She becomes heavy with child and when it is time to give birth, she is blindfolded by her husband's other wife. Agenu gives birth to a boy, but the second wife hides the boy in a calabash and replace him for a stone. An old woman who was nearby gets the calabash to raise the boy, while his mother locked in a hut to be insulted by the other wives. Years later, the old woman requests an audience with the king, the prime minister and the second minister. The king gathers the people and the boy is asked to appoint his mother. The old woman reveals the treachery to the king.

Hausa language

Hermann Gundert Harris published a variant in the Hausa dialect of Kano, with the title Story of a Poor Girl and the Rival Wives. The tale contains barren co-wives, a poor girl giving birth to twins, the replacement for animals, and the children meeting the father.

Another tale from the "Haoussa" (Hausa) was collected by François-Victor Équilbecq from Fatimata Oazi, in Bogandé, in 1911. In this tale, titled Les trois femmes du sartyi ("The sartyi's three wives"), three women, near a marigot (fr), comment among themselves their wishes. The first one says she will give birth to twins with navels of pure gold if she marries the sartyi (a ruler, a king). The other two also promise extraordinary things. The sartyi marries all three. The sartyi's favorite wife takes the twin boys as soon as they are born, throws them "en dehors du tata" and replaces them for margouillats (lizards). An old woman that was looking for herbs finds the boys and takes them. When they grow up, the twins often provoke the other co-wives when they are taking a bath in the marigot. A griot tells the sartyi of this incident, noting that both boys resembled the king. The sartyi orders that all of his wives shall prepare a meal for the twins, so that they may identify their true mother. Équilbecq noted its similar motifs with European fairy tales and the story from the Arabian Nights: the intrigue of the co-wives and the extraordinary promises of the women.

Cape Verde

Anthropologist Elsie Clews Parsons collected some variants from Cape Verde Islands, grouped under the banner of The Envious Sisters. The wonder children appear in four of them. In one, collected in San Anton (sic), the third sister promises three children with gold stars on the forehead; in the second from the same island, a servant of the king gives birth to triplets with gold stars on the forehead. In the main text, provided by Antonio da Graça of San Nicolao (sic), the third sister gives birth to two boys and a girl with a gold star on the forehead, in three consecutive births. In the fourth, collected from Fogo, the boy has a gold star on the forehead, and the girl a golden apple on her hand.

In a second set of Cape Verdean variants, the children are replaced for animals and saved by the Old-Woman-of-the-Sea. These tales also lack the quest for the items.

East Africa

Scholars have attested the presence of the tale type in African sources. For instance, researcher E. Ojo Arewa indexed some tales from northern East Africa cattle area under number 3743 (which corresponds to type ATU 707 in his system). In these tales (one from the Kamba, one from the Larusa, one from the Maasai), the childless wife tries to get rid of the twins born from the other co-wife.

In one tale from the Maasai people, titled 'L-omon loo-'ñgorōyok are oo 'l-mao ("The story of the two wives and the twins") - tabulated by Arewa -, a man is married to two women. The first hasn't born any sons, but the second gives birth to twin boys. The co-wife cuts the boys' fingers and smears their mother's mouth to accuse her of cannibalism. She puts the twins into a drum and casts it in the water. The drum is washed ashore in another country. This version was translated by Carl Meinhof into German.

Southern Africa

In a Khoekhoe tale collected by Leonhard Schultze-Jena, Ariba gye iiguibahe kχoësa or Die Frau, der ein Hund untergeschoben wird, a woman's son is replaced for a dog by jealous women, but he is saved by an aigamuxa. This tale was listed by Elsie Clews Parsons as a parallel to the Cape Verdean tales she collected, and classified as type 707 by Sigrid Schmidt.

Réunion

In the island of Réunion, a variant was collected from local male storyteller Germain Elizabeth, born in 1895, with the title Kat fler d-roz ("Four Rose Blossoms"). In this variant, three orphan girls express their wishes to marry the king's cook, the king's baker, and the king himself. The king marries the youngest, and, she is to give birth, she is to ring a golden bell for a son, and a silver bell for a girl. She gives birth to two boys and a girl in three consecutive births, but the children are replaces for two puppies and a kitten. An old fairy rescues and raises the children as their foster mother, and she helps them to obtain the treasures: e dancing apple, the singing water, and the bird of truth from the garden of a woman named Four Rose Blossoms lives. Professor Lee Haring also noted that his tale was a "descendant" from Galland's Two Sisters and Grimm's Three Little Birds and, like those tales, also classified as type 707.

Mayotte

A Maorais variant was collected from teller Afiatu Sufu of Mtsapere in the Shimaore language. In this tale, titled Vovoo mutseha na Rambuu mulagua or La Noix d'Arec qui rit et la Feuille de Bétel qui parle ("The Laughing Areca nut and the Speaking Betel leaf"), a poor girl grows up and becomes ill. Whenever the king passes by her village, she shouts at him to cure her, and in return she will give him seven children, six boys and a girl. The girl pleads him so insistently he cures her. Some months later, the girl loses her grandparents, but marries the king, who already has a previous wife. When she is in labour, the first wife and an old woman act as midwife to the second queen in the delivery, replacing the children for stones. The seven siblings are found by a poor old couple. Years later, the old midwife convinces the youngest sister to send her brothers for the lioness's milk, the laughing Areca nut and the speaking betel leaf.

Americas

North America

United States

Professor and folktale collector Genevieve Massignon collected the tale titled Les Trois Sœurs abandonnées, part of a collection of 77 stories obtained from fieldwork from Madawaska, Maine.

A few versions have been collected from Mexican-American populations living in U.S. states, such as California and New Mexico, and in the Southwest.

In a variant collected around Los Angeles area, there are two sons, one golden-haired and the other silver-haired, and a girl with a star on her forehead, while a second variant mixes type ATU 425A ("Search for The Lost Husband") with type ATU 707.

A variant was collected from a Spanish-descent fifteen-year-old named Philomene Gonzalez, from Delacroix Island, Louisiana, in 1941. In this variant, titled Golden Star, a maiden wishes to marry the prince and to have a boy with white and golden hair and with a star on the forehead. She gives birth to this boy and a girl with the same traits the following year. An old woman replaces the children for puppies and throws them in the river, but God rescues them. This version lacks the quest for the items, and concludes when God sends them to a feast with the king.

Native Americans

In a Chippewa tale collected in 1942 from Delia Oshogay, in Court Oreilles, Oshkikwe's Children, Oshkikwe is the youngest sister who marries the king because she promised to give birth to three children: two boys, and the last a girl with golden hair and a star on her forehead. Her two sisters, the elder named Matchikwewis, become jealous and enraged that they married lowly men and devise a plan: cast the children into the river and replace them for animals, causing the queen to be imprisoned by her husband. The children are rescued and raised by an old couple, then go on a quest for the "golden bird that talked".

Anthropologist James Teit collected a tale from the Upper Thompson River Indians titled Spiṓla. A white woman is exiled from home, but meets a lodge where her four brothers lived. She helps them and is blessed with the ability to produce gold with her mouth. A chief's son marries her and she is pregnant. When the husband is called away to a meeting, her step-mother and step-sister help in the delivery. However, they make a hole in the floor, let the her sons fall through it and put a cat and a snake in their place. Seeing the animals, the chief's son condemns her to be drowned in the river, but her brothers rescue her. Meanwhile, the boys have been rescued by the woman's favourite dog named Spiṓla. The dog protects and feeds the children. One day, the woman's step-mother gives some poisoned food to the boys and they die. The dog Spiṓla decides to go to the house of the Sun to seek help, and on his way is questioned by three people to find answers to their problems (a la "Three Hairs from the Devil's Beard"). When the dog resurrects the boys, one boy has a shining sun on the forehead, and the other a bright moon. Lastly, Spiṓla decides to find the wise Bird, who "talked all languages, knew the future, and never told a lie". Stith Thompson related this tale to the cycle of "The Bird of Truth".

New Mexico

A variant from Northern New Mexico was collected by José Manuel Espinosa in the 1930s from a twelve-year-old María del Carmen González, who lived in San Ildefonso. The tale was republished by Joe Hayes in 1998 with the title El pájaro que contaba verdades ("The Bird that spoke the Truth"). In this tale, originally titled Los niños perseguidos, a couple have three children: two boys with golden hair and a girl with a star on the forehead. They are kidnapped by an evil witch and left in the canyon to die. The objects they seek are a bird with green feathers, a bottle of holy water and a whistle.

A second version from New Mexico was collected by Professor R. D. Jameson, titled The Talking Bird, The Singing Tree, and the Water of Life, first heard by the raconteur in his childhood. In a second version by R. D. Jameson, the princess promises to give birth to twin boys: one golden-haired and one silver-haired.

In another variant, first collected in 1930 by Arthur L. Campa in his thesis (El Pájaro Verde; English: "The Green Bird"), the quest is prompted by the siblings's foster mother, in order to ensure a life-long happiness for them.

In another variant, titled The Three Treasures, the youngest sister wants to marry the prince and promises to give birth to golden-haired children. She gets her wish and gives birth first to a girl, then to two boys in the following years. Her sisters cast the siblings in the water, but they are saved by the gardener.

Canada

See also: Les Princes et la Princesse de Marinca

Mexico

A variant was collected from Tepecano people in the state of Jalisco (Mexico) by J. Alden Mason (Spanish: Los niños coronados; English: "The crowned children") and also published in the Journal of American Folklore. A version from Mitla, Oaxaca, in Mexico (The Envious Sisters), was collected by Elsie Clews Parsons and published in the Journal of American Folklore: the siblings quest for "the crystalline water, the tree that sings, and the bird that talks".

In a Yucatec Maya variant, Ooxtuul kiktsilo'ob or El Rey y Las Tres Hermanas ("The King and the Three Sisters"), the king marries the youngest sister and the elder ones replace the children for dead animals.

Central America

Four variants have been collected by Manuel José Andrade, obtained from sources in the Dominican Republic. The tales contain male children as the heroes who perform the quest to learn the truth of their birth. A later study by Hansen listed 12 Dominican variants.

The tale type is also present in the folklore of Puerto Rico (amounting to 9 local versions), and of Panama.

Anthropologist Elsie Clews Parsons recorded a tale from Martinica (L'arbre qui chante, l'oiseau qui parle, l'eau qui dort; English: "The singing tree, the talking bird, the sleeping water"), Guadalupe (De l'eau qui dort, l'oiseau dite la vérité; English: "About the water that sleeps, the bird that tells the truth") and Haiti (Poupée caca la: Trois sé [soeurs] la). The version from Guadalupe begins like Snow White (ATU 709), a mother's envy of her daughter's beauty, and continues as ATU 707.

A version from Jamaica was collected by Pamela Colman Smith, titled De Golden Water, De Singin' Tree and De Talkin' Bird.

Douglas Taylor collected a tale from British Honduras (modern day Belize), in the Island Carib language, translated as Tale of a woman's three children, Hero is the eldest sister's name, Juana the intermediate one, Jessie the youngest,-three girls. In this tale, the king's son, the baker's son and the butcher's son pass by the girls' verandah, and the three sisters express their wishes for a husband: Jessie the king's son, Juana the baker's son and Hero the butcher's son. Their mother, Mrs. Willy, goes to the king, who arranges their marriages. Jessie marries the king's son and he becomes king. He announces during an assembly of the people that he shall have three children, two boys and a girl, thet girl with a star on the forehead, one of the boys with a moon and the other with a sun. The elder sisters deliver the children, cast them in the water and replace them for a cat, a goat and a dog. The children are saved by a poor couple that lived by the river. After his adoptive father dies, the youngest son dreams that his father told him to seek the world's riches. The youngest goes and fails, his elder brother goes as well and fails, both turning to stone. The elder sibling, the girl, goes after them and captures a talking bird. The bird tells her to get a golden water, a branch of a singing tree and to sprinkle a bit of the water to restore her brothers.

South America

Brazil

Brazilian folklorist Luís da Câmara Cascudo stated that the tale type was brought to Brazil by Portuguese colonization. He also collected a variant from a woman named Benvenuta de Araújo, from Rio Grande do Norte. In this variant, titled A Rainha e as Irmãs ("The Queen and her Sisters"), the youngest marries the king and gives birth to two boys and a girl, all with a golden star. Her sisters replace them with frogs and a servant abandons them under a tree in the forest, but they are saved by a hunter. The siblings quest for the Água-da-Vida ("The Water of Life"). During a supper with the hunter, they invite a poor woman to join them, and she reveals she is the servant. The siblings forgive her and later reconcile with their father.

Another Brazilian version was collected by Brazilian literary critic, lawyer and philosopher Silvio Romero, from his native state of Sergipe and published as Os três coroados ("The three crowned ones") in his Contos Populares do Brazil (1894). In this version, the siblings are born each with a little crown on their heads, and their adoptive mother is the heroine.

Author Elsie Spicer Eells recorded a very similar Brazilian variant titled The Stone Twins: the queen gives birth to twins, but the queen's jealous sisters cast them in the river. They are saved by a poor fishing couple. Years later, the sisters meet the boys again and give them flowers and fruits that petrify them. The boys' foster mother is advised to seek the abode of the Sun, because he knows many things. The story continues as tale type ATU 461, Three Hairs from the Devil's Beard, wherein the hero or heroine gets asked three questions and the Devil (or the Sun, or Father Know-All in Slavic variants) is wise enough to know the answers.

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References

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Russian folklorist Nikolai V. Morokhin collected a tale from Nizhny Novgorod with the title "О золотых детях" ("About the Golden Children"). In this tale, three sisters are daughters of a merchant family. Every night, they go to a room to sing songs and talk while they are spinning. One day, the tsar's three sons visit their house, and, as they are not there, decide to hide and listen to the conversation of the three sisters. The girls come and say they want to marry the tsar's youngest son: the elder promises to give a dowry of a thousand for him; the middle one that she can weave a cloth for the entire world; and the youngest that she will bear him two golden children, with golden stars in their hair and a golden moon on the forehead.

Further reading

Category:Female characters in fairy tales Category:Fictional kings Category:Fictional queens Category:Twins in fiction Category:Fictional twins Category:Child abandonment Category:Adoption forms and related practices Category:Adoption, fostering, orphan care and displacement Category:Birds in culture Category:Fictional birds