Donkey Cabbages
Encyclopedia
Donkey Cabbages or The Donkey Cabbage is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
, tale number 122. Andrew Lang
included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it, as "The Donkey Lettuce", in A Book of Witches
. In 1988, the story was also animated by Japan
's Nippon Animation
studio for its Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
series; the title of the episode in the English
version produced by Saban Entertainment is The Magic Heart.
ing cloak. Furthermore, if he swallowed the heart of the dead bird, he would find a gold coin by his pillow every morning.
He went out into the world and came to a castle where an old witch lived with her beautiful daughter. The witch knew about the bird's heart and told her daughter what she must do to steal it. She gave the man a drink, and the bird's heart came up. The daughter swallowed it herself. Then the witch told her that she had to steal the wishing cloak as well, and how to do it. The daughter looked at the Garnet Mountain and told the huntsman that she wished she were there. He took her under the cloak and wished them both there. He slept there, and she stole the cloak and wished herself back home.
Three giants
saw him and talked of killing him, but the third said that a cloud would bear him away. He climbed up the mountain and rode off on a cloud. It bore him to a cabbage garden. He was so hungry that he ate some. It turned
him into a donkey. He went on, and found a different patch of cabbage, which turned him back into a man. He took both kinds of cabbage and went back to the castle. He told the witch that he was a royal messenger, sent to fetch the finest cabbage for the king, but he was afraid that the heat would make it wither. The witch asked for some. He gave it to her, and she, her maidservant, and the daughter all ate and became donkeys. The huntsman sold them to a miller, telling him to give the old one, the witch, one meal a day and three beatings; the younger one, the maid-servant, three meals and one beating; and the youngest, the daughter, three meals and no beatings.
After a time, he came back. The miller told him that the oldest was dead, but the two younger were so sad he thought they would die. The huntsman bought them back and turned them back into women. The daughter told him where the cloak was and said she would give him back the heart as it had been stolen, but he said it would make no difference, if they wed. So they married.
The Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics episode based on Donkey Cabbages, The Magic Heart, made a few alterations to the story (at least in the English-dubbed version). In The Magic Heart, the huntsman is named Frederick and the witch's daughter (changed here to a servant instead of a daughter) is named Lisbeth; neither character was given a name in the original story. Also, rather than the heart of a dead bird, Frederick swallows a golden orb. The "magic heart" of the episode's title is not the heart of a dead bird, but rather the magic of Frederick's heart when he forgives Lisbeth for her transgressions against him.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, tale number 122. Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang
Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
included it, as "The Donkey Lettuce", in A Book of Witches
A Book of Witches
A Book of Witches is a 1966 anthology of 12 fairy tales from Europe that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
. In 1988, the story was also animated by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Nippon Animation
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City....
studio for its Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics
is a Japanese animated anthology series by Nippon Animation. The episodes are adaptations of a variety of folk and fairy tales, and not limited to Grimm's Fairy Tales....
series; the title of the episode in the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version produced by Saban Entertainment is The Magic Heart.
Synopsis
A huntsman gave an old woman alms. She told him to go to a tree where nine birds fought for a cloak; if he shot among them, one would die and they would drop the cloak, which was a wishWish
A wish is a hope or desire for something. Fictionally, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used.-In literature:...
ing cloak. Furthermore, if he swallowed the heart of the dead bird, he would find a gold coin by his pillow every morning.
He went out into the world and came to a castle where an old witch lived with her beautiful daughter. The witch knew about the bird's heart and told her daughter what she must do to steal it. She gave the man a drink, and the bird's heart came up. The daughter swallowed it herself. Then the witch told her that she had to steal the wishing cloak as well, and how to do it. The daughter looked at the Garnet Mountain and told the huntsman that she wished she were there. He took her under the cloak and wished them both there. He slept there, and she stole the cloak and wished herself back home.
Three giants
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
saw him and talked of killing him, but the third said that a cloud would bear him away. He climbed up the mountain and rode off on a cloud. It bore him to a cabbage garden. He was so hungry that he ate some. It turned
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
him into a donkey. He went on, and found a different patch of cabbage, which turned him back into a man. He took both kinds of cabbage and went back to the castle. He told the witch that he was a royal messenger, sent to fetch the finest cabbage for the king, but he was afraid that the heat would make it wither. The witch asked for some. He gave it to her, and she, her maidservant, and the daughter all ate and became donkeys. The huntsman sold them to a miller, telling him to give the old one, the witch, one meal a day and three beatings; the younger one, the maid-servant, three meals and one beating; and the youngest, the daughter, three meals and no beatings.
After a time, he came back. The miller told him that the oldest was dead, but the two younger were so sad he thought they would die. The huntsman bought them back and turned them back into women. The daughter told him where the cloak was and said she would give him back the heart as it had been stolen, but he said it would make no difference, if they wed. So they married.
The Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics episode based on Donkey Cabbages, The Magic Heart, made a few alterations to the story (at least in the English-dubbed version). In The Magic Heart, the huntsman is named Frederick and the witch's daughter (changed here to a servant instead of a daughter) is named Lisbeth; neither character was given a name in the original story. Also, rather than the heart of a dead bird, Frederick swallows a golden orb. The "magic heart" of the episode's title is not the heart of a dead bird, but rather the magic of Frederick's heart when he forgives Lisbeth for her transgressions against him.