Misfortune
Encyclopedia
Misfortune is an Italian fairy tale
, from Palermo, collected by Italo Calvino
in his Italian Folktales
.
Another telling of the tale appears under the title Unfortunate in A Book of Enchantments and Curses
, by Ruth Manning-Sanders
.
She sought service at a weavers', calling herself Misfortune. Her evil fortune followed her, and as a woman, went about the shop, cutting all the threads. They blamed Misfortune and threw her out. She found service at a shopkeeper's, but when her Fortune spilled all the wine, the shopkeeper blamed Misfortune and threw her out.
She worked for a laundress, and the prince, whose work the laundress did, was taken by her skill, giving ten gold pieces. The laundress bought Misfortune new clothing, and made two loaves of bread. She had Misfortune bring one to the laundress's Fortune, and ask her how she found find her own. The laundress's Fortune directed her to a foul old witch who refused the bread, but Misfortune still laid it down. They repeated this on the next washday, and on the third
time, the prince gave twenty gold pieces, so the laundress sent her off with not only two loaves, but fine clothing for Misfortune's Fortune. When the Fortune took the bread, Misfortune grabbed her, washed her, and dressed her. The Fortune gave Misfortune a tiny box, which Misfortune found contained a tiny piece of braid. and stuffed batons in it.
Soon after, the laundress found the prince upset because his bride's betrothal gown lacked a tiny piece of braid that could not be matched anywhere. The laundress brought Misfortune's braid, and the prince decided to pay her its weight in gold, but no scale managed to weigh it. He demanded where it had come from, and the laundress told about Misfortune. The prince summoned her, asked who she was, paid off her old masters for the damage and warned them about their behavior, and married Misfortune instead of his betrothed bride.
Meanwhile, Misfortune's parents had regained their kingdom, but were distressed by the thought of their daughter. So the prince sent word to them.
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...
, from Palermo, collected by Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino
Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels. His best known works include the Our Ancestors trilogy , the Cosmicomics collection of short stories , and the novels Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler .Lionised in Britain and the United States,...
in his Italian Folktales
Italian Folktales
Italian Folktales is a collection of 200 Italian folktales published in 1956 by Italo Calvino. Calvino began to undertake the project that will lead to the Italian Folktales in 1954, influenced by Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale; his intention was to emulate the Brothers Grimm in...
.
Another telling of the tale appears under the title Unfortunate in A Book of Enchantments and Curses
A Book of Enchantments and Curses
A Book of Enchantments and Curses is a 1977 anthology of 13 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 was captured and dethroned, and the queen had to make shift as best she could with her seven daughters. A beggar woman told the queen that all their misfortunes sprung from having a daughter who was unlucky. If she sent her away, all would go well with them, and she could find out which daughter it was: the one who slept with her hands crossed. The queen found it was her youngest; when her daughter found out why she was weeping, she left at once.She sought service at a weavers', calling herself Misfortune. Her evil fortune followed her, and as a woman, went about the shop, cutting all the threads. They blamed Misfortune and threw her out. She found service at a shopkeeper's, but when her Fortune spilled all the wine, the shopkeeper blamed Misfortune and threw her out.
She worked for a laundress, and the prince, whose work the laundress did, was taken by her skill, giving ten gold pieces. The laundress bought Misfortune new clothing, and made two loaves of bread. She had Misfortune bring one to the laundress's Fortune, and ask her how she found find her own. The laundress's Fortune directed her to a foul old witch who refused the bread, but Misfortune still laid it down. They repeated this on the next washday, and on the 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, the prince gave twenty gold pieces, so the laundress sent her off with not only two loaves, but fine clothing for Misfortune's Fortune. When the Fortune took the bread, Misfortune grabbed her, washed her, and dressed her. The Fortune gave Misfortune a tiny box, which Misfortune found contained a tiny piece of braid. and stuffed batons in it.
Soon after, the laundress found the prince upset because his bride's betrothal gown lacked a tiny piece of braid that could not be matched anywhere. The laundress brought Misfortune's braid, and the prince decided to pay her its weight in gold, but no scale managed to weigh it. He demanded where it had come from, and the laundress told about Misfortune. The prince summoned her, asked who she was, paid off her old masters for the damage and warned them about their behavior, and married Misfortune instead of his betrothed bride.
Meanwhile, Misfortune's parents had regained their kingdom, but were distressed by the thought of their daughter. So the prince sent word to them.
See also
- Catherine and her DestinyCatherine and her DestinyCatherine and her Destiny is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales, and included by Andrew Lang in The Pink Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
- The Ill-Fated PrincessThe Ill-Fated PrincessThe Ill-Fated Princess is a Greek fairy tale collected by Georgios A. Megas in Folktales of Greece.It is Aarne-Thompson type 938A, Misfortunes in Youth.-Synopsis:A queen could not marry off her three daughters...