Puddocky
Encyclopedia
"Puddocky" is a German
fairy tale
. A variant, "Cherry," was collected by the Brothers Grimm
, and in French
, Madame d'Aulnoy
retold it in a literary fairy tale as "The White Cat", altering the tale's frog into a cat.
, but in both tales, the girl is seen by three princes, and because of her beauty, they quarrel over her. The witch in Puddocky and the abbess in Cherry whose cherries were stolen both curse the girl for the commotion, turning her into a frog, and the princes make up.
In all variants, the king wishes to know which son will best follow him, and so he sends them to find them a specific piece of cloth (a beautiful carpet, a linen piece fine enough to go through a golden ring, etc.). The youngest son
sets out with the least and finds a frog who offers him cloth. It exceeds his brothers' discoveries. The king then sends them out to find either a dog that could fit in a walnut shell, or an excellent gold ring. Again, the frog provides.
For the third
task, the king orders them to return with a bride. The frog either transforms another frog into a maiden, or herself goes with him and turns into a beautiful bride. His father selects his youngest son and the frog princess marries him. In the variants opening with the quarrel, the prince recognizes her as the beautiful woman over whom he had quarreled with his brothers.
, wherein a transformed frog, the bride of the youngest son, performs better at three tasks to test the brides than the other sons' human brides.
Madame d'Aulnoy
began with tasks, and wrought the tale into a highly ornate and literary story. Her king sets the tasks to his sons to distract them, for fear that he will lose his throne. The prince finds not a frog in a dreary swamp but a fanciful and enchanted
castle inhabited by cats, and his sojourn there is richly detailed. The cat does not transform merely because the prince needs a bride, but like the fox in The Golden Bird
, asks the prince to cut off her head. The cat tells an elaborate story to explain her transformation: After her mother promised her, before she was born, in return for fairy fruit, the fairies
raised her, again using the motif as in Rapunzel. When she fell in love with a human king while they were arranging her marriage to an ugly fairy king, they killed her lover and transformed her into a cat. Instead of the youngest son receiving his father's kingdom, his wife bestowed a kingdom on his father, and one on each of his brothers, and at that, she and he still had three kingdoms to reign over.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
fairy tale
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...
. A variant, "Cherry," was 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...
, and in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Madame d'Aulnoy
Madame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy , also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French writer known for her fairy tales...
retold it in a literary fairy tale as "The White Cat", altering the tale's frog into a cat.
Synopsis
Some variants open with the heroine, who is so greedy for one type of food — cherries in Cherry and parsley in Puddocky — that her mother steals it for her. In Puddocky, this is from a witch who demands her daughter, as in RapunzelRapunzel
"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
, but in both tales, the girl is seen by three princes, and because of her beauty, they quarrel over her. The witch in Puddocky and the abbess in Cherry whose cherries were stolen both curse the girl for the commotion, turning her into a frog, and the princes make up.
In all variants, the king wishes to know which son will best follow him, and so he sends them to find them a specific piece of cloth (a beautiful carpet, a linen piece fine enough to go through a golden ring, etc.). The youngest son
Youngest son
The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters....
sets out with the least and finds a frog who offers him cloth. It exceeds his brothers' discoveries. The king then sends them out to find either a dog that could fit in a walnut shell, or an excellent gold ring. Again, the frog provides.
For 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...
task, the king orders them to return with a bride. The frog either transforms another frog into a maiden, or herself goes with him and turns into a beautiful bride. His father selects his youngest son and the frog princess marries him. In the variants opening with the quarrel, the prince recognizes her as the beautiful woman over whom he had quarreled with his brothers.
Variants
This story is closely related to The Frog PrincessThe Frog Princess
The Frog Princess is a fairy tale that exists in many versions from several countries.Russian variants include the Frog Princess or Tsarevna Frog and also Vasilisa the Wise ; Alexander Afanasyev collected variants in his Narodnye russkie skazki...
, wherein a transformed frog, the bride of the youngest son, performs better at three tasks to test the brides than the other sons' human brides.
Madame d'Aulnoy
Madame d'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy , also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French writer known for her fairy tales...
began with tasks, and wrought the tale into a highly ornate and literary story. Her king sets the tasks to his sons to distract them, for fear that he will lose his throne. The prince finds not a frog in a dreary swamp but a fanciful and enchanted
Incantation
An incantation or enchantment is a charm or spell created using words. An incantation may take place during a ritual, either a hymn or prayer, and may invoke or praise a deity. In magic, occultism, witchcraft it may be used with the intention of casting a spell on an object or a person...
castle inhabited by cats, and his sojourn there is richly detailed. The cat does not transform merely because the prince needs a bride, but like the fox in The Golden Bird
The Golden Bird
"The Golden Bird" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, number 57, about the pursuit of a golden bird by a king's three sons.A French version, collected by Paul Sébillot, is called The Golden Blackbird. Andrew Lang included that variant in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 550,...
, asks the prince to cut off her head. The cat tells an elaborate story to explain her transformation: After her mother promised her, before she was born, in return for fairy fruit, the fairies
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
raised her, again using the motif as in Rapunzel. When she fell in love with a human king while they were arranging her marriage to an ugly fairy king, they killed her lover and transformed her into a cat. Instead of the youngest son receiving his father's kingdom, his wife bestowed a kingdom on his father, and one on each of his brothers, and at that, she and he still had three kingdoms to reign over.
See also
- Doll i' the GrassDoll i' the GrassDoll i' the Grass is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr.It is Aarne-Thompson type 402, Animal Brides...
- Lord PeterLord Peter (fairy tale)Lord Peter or Squire Per is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.It is Aarne-Thompson type 545B.-Synopsis:A couple died, leaving their three sons a porridge-pot, a griddle, and a cat...
- PrunellaPrunella (fairy tale)Prunella is an Italian fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it The Grey Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 310, the Maiden in the Tower.A version of the tale also appears in A Book of Witches, by Ruth Manning-Sanders....
- The Frog PrinceThe Frog Prince (story)"The Frog Prince; or, Iron Henry" is a fairy tale, best known through the Brothers Grimm's written version; traditionally it is the first story in their collection. In the tale, a spoiled princess reluctantly befriends a frog , who magically transforms into a handsome prince...
External links
- Cherry, or the Frog bride version from the Grimm Brothers
- SurLaLune Fairy Tale Site The White Cat
- SurLaLune Fairy Tale Site The White Cat as included in The Blue Fairy Book
- Puddocky from The Green Fairy Book
- Toad Princess from the Grimm Brothers
- L2Divinity from the L2 Divinity compendium server