Katie Woodencloak
Encyclopedia
Katie Woodencloak or Kari Woodengown (originally Kari Trestakk) is a Norwegian fairy tale
collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
and Jørgen Moe
in Norske Folkeeventyr
. Andrew Lang
included it in The Red Fairy Book.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine. Others of this type include Cinderella
, The Sharp Grey Sheep
, The Golden Slipper
, The Story of Tam and Cam
, Rushen Coatie
, The Wonderful Birch
, and Fair, Brown and Trembling
.
The princess told the bull, who told her they must flee.
They passed through a wood of copper. Although the bull told her not to break any branches, she broke off a leaf. The bull told her to keep the leaf and not lose it under any circumstances. A troll
roared that they were touching his wood, and he and the bull fought. The bull won, but the princess had to cure him with a horn of ointment that the troll carried on his person.
The same happened in a silver wood and a golden one, so she had a silver leaf and golden apple as well.
They came to a castle. The bull gave her a wooden cloak and told her to ask for work at the castle as "Katie Woodencloak". But first she must cut off his head, flay him, and put the hide away in the rock with the leaves and apple. Then she should knock on the stone whenever she needed anything. She did not want to, but he finally persuaded her.
She got work in the scullery, and one day she carried water to the prince for bathing. He, not wanting water from such a filthy creature, threw it over her. She went to the rock and had herself magnificently dressed in copper to go to church, and the prince fell in love with her at once. She told him she came from Bath and used a charm to keep him from following her, but he had caught one of her gloves.
A second time, she brought him a towel, to the same treatment, and went to church dressed in silver. She told the prince she came from Towelland, and she dropped her riding whip.
A third
time, she brought him a comb, to the same treatment, and went to church dressed in gold. She told the prince she came from Combland, and he got her golden shoe.
The king had all women come to try on the shoe, and it fit Katie's stepsister. A bird warned the prince that the stepsister had cut her foot to fit in the shoe, and sang that it was Katie Woodencloak's shoe.
Having disposed of the false bride
, the prince asked after Katie Woodencloak. Though he was warned off, he insisted, so they married and lived happily ever after.
and Cap O' Rushes
, where the heroine is persecuted by her father.
One may also note that, according to Norwegian
custom, the couple meet at Church, not at a royal ball. In Norway, the church plays a prominent role in many fairy-tales, as this was a common place for meetings.
In Norway, other versions of the story bear greater resemblance to the classical Cinderella story. In these versions, it is the girl's dead mother that aids her. These versions are written down in Valdres
and Telemark
, and the girl is called Kirsti or Åse (the latter wearing a dirty leather dress).
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 Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
and Jørgen Moe
Jørgen Moe
right|thumb|Norske Folkeeventyr Asbjørnsen and Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe was a Norwegian bishop and author...
in Norske Folkeeventyr
Norske Folkeeventyr
Norwegian Folktales is a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. It is also known as Asbjørnsen and Moe, after the collectors.-Asbjørnsen and Moe:...
. 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 Red Fairy Book.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine. Others of this type include Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
, The Sharp Grey Sheep
The Sharp Grey Sheep
The Sharp Grey Sheep or The Sharp-Horned Grey Sheep is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as John Dewar, labourer, from Glendaruail, Cowal....
, The Golden Slipper
The Golden Slipper
The Golden Slipper is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine.-Synopsis:...
, The Story of Tam and Cam
The Story of Tam and Cam
The Story of Tấm and Cám is an ancient Vietnamese fairy tale. Best known as the Vietnamese version of Cinderella.The last section of the story has been the subject of controversy. An edited version was published in secondary school textbooks in 2011. This was supported by some educators and...
, Rushen Coatie
Rushen Coatie
Rushen Coatie or Rashin-Coatie is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his More English Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine, as is Cinderella.-Synopsis:A queen with a daughter died...
, The Wonderful Birch
The Wonderful Birch
The Wonderful Birch is a Russian fairy tale.A variant on Cinderella, it is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 510A, the persecuted heroine. It makes use of shapeshifting motifs.Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
, and Fair, Brown and Trembling
Fair, Brown and Trembling
Fair, Brown and Trembling is an Irish fairy tale collected by Jeremiah Curtin in Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland and Joseph Jacobs in his Celtic Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A...
.
Synopsis
A king with a daughter married a widowed queen with a daughter. He had to go off to war. The stepmother maltreated and starved her stepdaughter. A dun bull helped the stepdaughter, telling her that she would find a cloth in his left ear. When she spread the cloth, she had all the food she needed. The queen discovered this. When the king returned, the queen feigned sickness and then bribed a doctor to say that she needed the flesh of the dun bull to be well again.The princess told the bull, who told her they must flee.
They passed through a wood of copper. Although the bull told her not to break any branches, she broke off a leaf. The bull told her to keep the leaf and not lose it under any circumstances. A troll
Troll
A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
roared that they were touching his wood, and he and the bull fought. The bull won, but the princess had to cure him with a horn of ointment that the troll carried on his person.
The same happened in a silver wood and a golden one, so she had a silver leaf and golden apple as well.
They came to a castle. The bull gave her a wooden cloak and told her to ask for work at the castle as "Katie Woodencloak". But first she must cut off his head, flay him, and put the hide away in the rock with the leaves and apple. Then she should knock on the stone whenever she needed anything. She did not want to, but he finally persuaded her.
She got work in the scullery, and one day she carried water to the prince for bathing. He, not wanting water from such a filthy creature, threw it over her. She went to the rock and had herself magnificently dressed in copper to go to church, and the prince fell in love with her at once. She told him she came from Bath and used a charm to keep him from following her, but he had caught one of her gloves.
A second time, she brought him a towel, to the same treatment, and went to church dressed in silver. She told the prince she came from Towelland, and she dropped her riding whip.
A third
Rule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
time, she brought him a comb, to the same treatment, and went to church dressed in gold. She told the prince she came from Combland, and he got her golden shoe.
The king had all women come to try on the shoe, and it fit Katie's stepsister. A bird warned the prince that the stepsister had cut her foot to fit in the shoe, and sang that it was Katie Woodencloak's shoe.
Having disposed of the false bride
False hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
, the prince asked after Katie Woodencloak. Though he was warned off, he insisted, so they married and lived happily ever after.
Commentary
Although this is of the type of Cinderella in that she is persecuted by her stepmother, most of that type do not include her being driven off, a motif more usually found in type 510B, such as CatskinCatskin
Catskin is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, in More English Fairy Tales. Marian Roalfe Cox, in her pioneering study of Cinderella, identified as one of the basic types, the Unnatural Father, contrasting with Cinderella itself and Cap O' Rushes.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B,...
and Cap O' Rushes
Cap O' Rushes
"Cap-o'-Rushes" is an English fairy tale published by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales.Jacobs gives his source as "Contributed by Mrs. Walter-Thomas to "Suffolk Notes and Queries" of the Ipswich Journal, published by Mr. Lang in Longman's Magazine, vol. xiii., also in Folk-Lore September, 1890"...
, where the heroine is persecuted by her father.
One may also note that, according to Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
custom, the couple meet at Church, not at a royal ball. In Norway, the church plays a prominent role in many fairy-tales, as this was a common place for meetings.
In Norway, other versions of the story bear greater resemblance to the classical Cinderella story. In these versions, it is the girl's dead mother that aids her. These versions are written down in Valdres
Valdres
Valdres is a traditional district in central, southern Norway, situated between Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal.Administratively, Valdres belongs to Oppland. It consists of the municipalities Nord-Aurdal, Sør-Aurdal, Øystre Slidre, Vestre Slidre, Vang and Etnedal. The main town in the region is...
and Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
, and the girl is called Kirsti or Åse (the latter wearing a dirty leather dress).