How to find out a True Friend
Encyclopedia
How to find out a True Friend is an Italian fairy tale
collected by Laura Gonzenbach
in Sicilianische Märchen. Andrew Lang
included it in The Crimson Fairy Book.
The queen gave him apples and told him that he needed a companion, but he should invite any prospect to eat with him, and then he should cut an apple into two unequal parts and reject anyone who did not take the smaller. He met three young men, each of whom also claimed to be going on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, but the first two wanted the larger part, and the prince feigned illness to be rid of them. The third took the smaller, and they traveled together, having pledged that if one died, the other would bring his body. It took them a year to reach the shrine. At one point, they hired a house to rest before they continued.
The king saw them, thought them both handsome but the prince the handsomer, and resolved to marry his daughter to the prince. He invited them both to dinner, and poisoned the friend, thinking that would keep the prince from travelling on. Instead, the prince instantly resolved to go on. The king offered his daughter, but the prince went on, and brought his friend's body with him. The friend was not dead, only sleeping, and when the prince had reached the shrine, he prayed the friend be restored to life, and he was.
They returned to the king, and the prince married his daughter. The prince, after a time, declared that he had to return home. The king hated the friend and sent him off with a message, telling him the prince would wait; then he got the prince to leave, assuring him the friend could catch him, he would give him a good horse. When the friend returned, the king sent him after the prince on foot. He was exhausted when he reached the prince, so the prince tended to him like a brother and brought him home. However, no doctor was able to cure him.
The prince's wife gave birth to a daughter.
One day, a strange old man arrived, and the queen brought him to the friend. He declared that the man could be restored by the daughter's blood. The prince was horror-struck, but since he had declared he would treat his friend as his brother, he did it. The friend was restored, but the daughter lay in her cradle as if dead. The old man returned, revealed he was St. James of Lizia, and restored the girl.
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 Laura Gonzenbach
Laura Gonzenbach
Laura Gonzenbach was a Swiss folklorist, active in Messina, who collected fairy tales in a number of European dialects.Gonzenbach was born in a Swiss-German community of Sicily, to a German speaking mercantile family, her sister, Magdelena, began a school in Messina...
in Sicilianische Märchen. 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 Crimson Fairy Book.
Synopsis
A childless king and queen pledged to St. James that if they had a son, he would make a pilgrimage on his eighteenth birthday. They had a son. When he was twelve, his father died. When his eighteenth birthday grew near, the queen grieved over the thought of not seeing him for a year; she tried to put her son off, but when his consolations for her pretended causes did not work, she had to reveal the truth. He assured her that he would return.The queen gave him apples and told him that he needed a companion, but he should invite any prospect to eat with him, and then he should cut an apple into two unequal parts and reject anyone who did not take the smaller. He met three young men, each of whom also claimed to be going on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, but the first two wanted the larger part, and the prince feigned illness to be rid of them. The third took the smaller, and they traveled together, having pledged that if one died, the other would bring his body. It took them a year to reach the shrine. At one point, they hired a house to rest before they continued.
The king saw them, thought them both handsome but the prince the handsomer, and resolved to marry his daughter to the prince. He invited them both to dinner, and poisoned the friend, thinking that would keep the prince from travelling on. Instead, the prince instantly resolved to go on. The king offered his daughter, but the prince went on, and brought his friend's body with him. The friend was not dead, only sleeping, and when the prince had reached the shrine, he prayed the friend be restored to life, and he was.
They returned to the king, and the prince married his daughter. The prince, after a time, declared that he had to return home. The king hated the friend and sent him off with a message, telling him the prince would wait; then he got the prince to leave, assuring him the friend could catch him, he would give him a good horse. When the friend returned, the king sent him after the prince on foot. He was exhausted when he reached the prince, so the prince tended to him like a brother and brought him home. However, no doctor was able to cure him.
The prince's wife gave birth to a daughter.
One day, a strange old man arrived, and the queen brought him to the friend. He declared that the man could be restored by the daughter's blood. The prince was horror-struck, but since he had declared he would treat his friend as his brother, he did it. The friend was restored, but the daughter lay in her cradle as if dead. The old man returned, revealed he was St. James of Lizia, and restored the girl.
See also
- Trusty JohnTrusty JohnTrusty John, Faithful John, Faithful Johannes, or John the True is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 6, and by Joseph Jacobs in his European Folk and Fairy Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 516. Others of this type are...
- In Love with a StatueIn Love with a StatueIn Love with a Statue is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales.-Synopsis:A king had two sons. The younger one fell in love with a statue. His older brother set out to see if he could find a woman like it...
- Amis et AmilesAmis et AmilesAmis et Amiles is an old French romance based on a widespread legend of friendship and sacrifice. In its earlier and simpler form it is the story of two friends, one of whom, Amis, was sick with leprosy because he had committed perjury to save his friend. A vision informed him that he could only be...
- Father RoquelaureFather RoquelaureFather Roquelaure is a French fairy tale collected by Achille Millien.It is a type 516 tale in the Aarne-Thompson classification system. Others of this type are Trusty John and The Raven.-Synopsis:...
- The RavenThe Raven (Italian fairy tale)The Raven is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone. The story is a man winning a bride for his brother the king, and then having to protect the couple from perils that he can not tell anyone about, without being turned to stone.It is...