Long, Broad and Sharpsight
Encyclopedia
Long, Broad and Sharpsight or Long, Broad, and Quickeye is a Bohemian fairy tale
, collected by Louis Léger in Contes Populaires Slaves.
Andrew Lang
included it in The Grey Fairy Book.
A. H. Wratislaw collected it in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, number 1.
Another version of the tale appears in A Book of Wizards
by Ruth Manning-Sanders
.
On the way, he met a man who wanted to be taken into his service; his name was Long, and he could extend himself, and showed it by taking down a nest from a tall tree. The prince took him. He also met Broad, who could extend himself until he was as large as mountain, and Sharpsight, who kept his eyes bandaged because he could see through the bandage, and without it he would set things afire, or break them into pieces, and he took them into his service as well.
They reached the iron castle. As soon as they were inside, the gates closed. They found many men, turned to stone, and food laid out. Because no one came, they ate. The sorcerer appeared with the woman and told them they could have the princess if they could keep her from escaping three
nights. The prince tried to talk to her, but she did not answer. They fell asleep, she vanished, but Sharpsight spotted her: she had turned into an acorn on an oak tree. Long brought her back. The wizard was furious. The next day, she became a precious stone on a mountain, but again Sharpsight saw her, and Long brought her back. The wizard was furious again. The third night, she became a golden ring on a shell in the sea. Long brought Broad with him, and Broad, making himself broad, drank up the sea. Long got the ring. On the way back, he could not carry Broad but dropped him. All the water came out, and Broad barely managed to avoid drowning, but they made it back.
The sorcerer turned into a crow. All the people turned to stone came back to life. The prince took the woman home and married her. Long, Broad, and Sharpsight left his service and went on to seek their fortune.
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 Louis Léger in Contes Populaires Slaves.
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 Grey Fairy Book.
A. H. Wratislaw collected it in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, number 1.
Another version of the tale appears in A Book of Wizards
A Book of Wizards
A Book of Wizards is a 1967 anthology of 11 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
by 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...
.
Synopsis
A king with one son was growing old. He told his son he wished to see him married before he died. The son said he did not know a suitable bride. His father sent him to a tower room that had not been opened in years. There he found windows showing beautiful women, and a curtain over one window. He pulled away the curtain and fell in love with the woman he saw there. He told his father, who told him he should have left that window curtained, because the woman was the prisoner of an evil sorcerer, in an iron castle, but he had given his word and must try to rescue her.On the way, he met a man who wanted to be taken into his service; his name was Long, and he could extend himself, and showed it by taking down a nest from a tall tree. The prince took him. He also met Broad, who could extend himself until he was as large as mountain, and Sharpsight, who kept his eyes bandaged because he could see through the bandage, and without it he would set things afire, or break them into pieces, and he took them into his service as well.
They reached the iron castle. As soon as they were inside, the gates closed. They found many men, turned to stone, and food laid out. Because no one came, they ate. The sorcerer appeared with the woman and told them they could have the princess if they could keep her from escaping three
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...
nights. The prince tried to talk to her, but she did not answer. They fell asleep, she vanished, but Sharpsight spotted her: she had turned into an acorn on an oak tree. Long brought her back. The wizard was furious. The next day, she became a precious stone on a mountain, but again Sharpsight saw her, and Long brought her back. The wizard was furious again. The third night, she became a golden ring on a shell in the sea. Long brought Broad with him, and Broad, making himself broad, drank up the sea. Long got the ring. On the way back, he could not carry Broad but dropped him. All the water came out, and Broad barely managed to avoid drowning, but they made it back.
The sorcerer turned into a crow. All the people turned to stone came back to life. The prince took the woman home and married her. Long, Broad, and Sharpsight left his service and went on to seek their fortune.
See also
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