Sweetheart Roland
Encyclopedia
Sweetheart Roland is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
, number 56.
It combines several Aarne-Thompson types: type 1119, Ogres Kill Their Own Children; type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee; and type 884, the forgotten fiancée. Others of the second type include The Master Maid
, The Water Nixie
, Nix Nought Nothing
, and Foundling-Bird
. Others of the third type include The Twelve Huntsmen
and The True Bride
. The Two Kings' Children
, like this one, combines the 313C and the 884 types.
Roland said they must take her silver wand. The stepsister went back to take it, and leave three drops of blood. When, in the morning, the witch called, the drops of blood answered her, but when she could not see her daughter where she heard the voice, she went into the bedroom and saw her dead daughter. Raging, she set out after them in seven league boots
.
The girl turned
herself into a duck, and Roland into a pond, and the witch was unable to lure the duck to her, and had to return home that night. The girl and Roland went on, and when, the next day, the witch caught them again, she turned Roland into a fiddler and herself into a flower in a brier-hedge. The witch asked permission to pick the flower, and got it, but when she crawled into the hedge, Roland played his fiddle, which forced her to dance until the thorns tore her to death.
Roland went to his father to arrange for the wedding, and the girl remained as a red boundary-stone, but a woman
made Roland forget her. Sad, the girl turned herself into a flower, thinking that someone would trample her. A shepherd picked her and took her home. He found that whenever he left, all the housework was done in his absence. At the advice of a wisewoman, he threw a white cloth when he saw something move in the morning, and this revealed the girl. She agreed to keep house for him.
At Roland's wedding, all the girls about sang, as was the custom, and Roland recognized his true love and married her instead of his new bride.
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 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...
, number 56.
It combines several Aarne-Thompson types: type 1119, Ogres Kill Their Own Children; type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee; and type 884, the forgotten fiancée. Others of the second type include The Master Maid
The Master Maid
The Master Maid is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr. "Master" indicates "superior, skilled." Jørgen Moe wrote the tale down from the storyteller Anne Godlid in Seljord on a short visit in the autumn of 1842.It is...
, The Water Nixie
The Water Nixie
The Water Nixie or The Water-Nix is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 79. It came from Hanau.It is Aarne-Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee and revolves about a transformation chase...
, Nix Nought Nothing
Nix Nought Nothing
Nix Nought Nothing is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his English Fairy Tales. A similar tale was collected by Andrew Lang in Scotland...
, and Foundling-Bird
Foundling-Bird
Foundling-Bird is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 51.It is Aarne-Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee, and revolves about a transformation chase...
. Others of the third type include The Twelve Huntsmen
The Twelve Huntsmen
The Twelve Huntsmen is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale number 67 in their Grimm's Fairy Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 884, the forsaken fiancée...
and The True Bride
The True Bride
The True Bride or The True Sweetheart is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales as tale 186.It combines two Aarne-Thompson types: 510, the persecuted heroine, and 884, the forsaken fiancée...
. The Two Kings' Children
The Two Kings' Children
The Two Kings' Children is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales, tale number 113.It is Aarne-Thompson type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee, and type 884, the forgotten fiancée...
, like this one, combines the 313C and the 884 types.
Synopsis
A witch had a daughter, whom she loved, and a stepdaughter she hated. Her daughter wanted the stepsister's apron, and her mother promised she would have it: she would chop off her stepsister's head in the night, and the daughter was to make sure she lay by the wall, and her stepsister in the front of the bed. The stepdaughter overheard this and, after her stepsister slept, shifted their places. The witch cut off her own daughter's head, and the stepdaughter rose and went to her sweetheart Roland, telling what had happened, and that they had to flee.Roland said they must take her silver wand. The stepsister went back to take it, and leave three drops of blood. When, in the morning, the witch called, the drops of blood answered her, but when she could not see her daughter where she heard the voice, she went into the bedroom and saw her dead daughter. Raging, she set out after them in seven league boots
Seven-league boots
Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boots allow the wearer to take great strides—seven leagues each step—resulting in great speed. The boots are often presented by a magical character to the protagonist to aid in the completion of a significant task...
.
The girl turned
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
herself into a duck, and Roland into a pond, and the witch was unable to lure the duck to her, and had to return home that night. The girl and Roland went on, and when, the next day, the witch caught them again, she turned Roland into a fiddler and herself into a flower in a brier-hedge. The witch asked permission to pick the flower, and got it, but when she crawled into the hedge, Roland played his fiddle, which forced her to dance until the thorns tore her to death.
Roland went to his father to arrange for the wedding, and the girl remained as a red boundary-stone, but a woman
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...
made Roland forget her. Sad, the girl turned herself into a flower, thinking that someone would trample her. A shepherd picked her and took her home. He found that whenever he left, all the housework was done in his absence. At the advice of a wisewoman, he threw a white cloth when he saw something move in the morning, and this revealed the girl. She agreed to keep house for him.
At Roland's wedding, all the girls about sang, as was the custom, and Roland recognized his true love and married her instead of his new bride.
See also
- Mother HuldaMother HuldaMother Hulda is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. It was originally known as Frau Holle and is tale number 24.- Synopsis :...
- Hop o' My ThumbHop o' My Thumb"Hop-o'-My-Thumb", also known as "Little Thumbling" , is a literary fairy tale by Charles Perrault . At the age of 67, Perrault decided to dedicate himself to his children and published Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals , with the subtitle: Tales of Mother Goose...
- King KojataKing KojataKing Kojata or The Unlooked for Prince or Prince Unexpected is a Slavonic fairy tale. Andrew Lang included the Russian version King Kojata, in The Green Fairy Book. A. H. Wratislaw collected a Polish variant Prince Unexpected in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, number 17...
- The Story of Tam and CamThe Story of Tam and CamThe 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...
- Beauty and Pock FaceBeauty and Pock FaceBeauty and Pock Face is a Chinese fairy tale collected by Wolfram Eberhard in Chinese Fairy Tales and Folk Tales.It is classified as Cinderella, Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine; others of this type include The Sharp Grey Sheep; The Golden Slipper; The Story of Tam and Cam; Rushen...