The Dragon and his Grandmother
Encyclopedia
The Dragon and his Grandmother or The Devil and His Grandmother is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
, number 125.
Andrew Lang
included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.
A version of this tale also appears in A Book of Dragons
by Ruth Manning-Sanders
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 812, the devil's riddle.
to save them if they served it for seven years, and when they agreed, carried them off. It was, however, the devil; he gave them a whip with which they could make money, but said at the end of seven years, they were his, unless they could guess a riddle, in which case they would be free and could have the whip.
At the end of the seven years, two of the soldiers were morose at the thought of their fate. An old woman advised them to go down to a cottage for help. The third soldier, who had not feared the riddle, went down and met the devil's grandmother
. She was pleased with his manner and hid him in the cellar. When the demon came, she questioned him, and the soldier learned the answers.
The demon found them at the end of the seven years, and told he would take them to hell and give them a meal, and the riddles were what was the meat, the silver spoon, and the wineglass for that meal. The answers were a dead sea-cat in the North Sea, a whale rib, and an old horse's hoof.
So the soldiers escaped him and kept the whip.
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 125.
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 Yellow Fairy Book.
A version of this tale also appears in A Book of Dragons
A Book of Dragons
A Book of Dragons is a 1965 anthology of 14 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...
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 812, the devil's riddle.
Synopsis
Three soldiers could not live on their pay, and so attempted to desert by hiding in a cornfield but, when the army did not march on, were soon caught between starving there or emerging to execution. A dragon/Beelzebul flew by, offeredPact with the Devil
A deal with the Devil, pact with the Devil, or Faustian bargain is a cultural motif widespread in the West, best exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, but elemental to many Christian folktales...
to save them if they served it for seven years, and when they agreed, carried them off. It was, however, the devil; he gave them a whip with which they could make money, but said at the end of seven years, they were his, unless they could guess a riddle, in which case they would be free and could have the whip.
At the end of the seven years, two of the soldiers were morose at the thought of their fate. An old woman advised them to go down to a cottage for help. The third soldier, who had not feared the riddle, went down and met the devil's grandmother
Devil's grandmother
The devil's grandmother is a common figure in Russian folklore, mainly used in curses and as a reason something has gone wrong, i.e. when a machine breaks down. Also occasionally mentioned in less prominent roles are the devil's other relatives, such as his mother.-External links:*...
. She was pleased with his manner and hid him in the cellar. When the demon came, she questioned him, and the soldier learned the answers.
The demon found them at the end of the seven years, and told he would take them to hell and give them a meal, and the riddles were what was the meat, the silver spoon, and the wineglass for that meal. The answers were a dead sea-cat in the North Sea, a whale rib, and an old horse's hoof.
So the soldiers escaped him and kept the whip.
See also
- BearskinBearskin (fairy tale)Bearskin is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, as tale no. 101. A variant from Sicily, Don Giovanni de la Fortuna, was collected by Laura Gonzenbach in Sicilianische Märchen and included by Andrew Lang in The Pink Fairy Book...
- The Devil With the Three Golden HairsThe Devil With the Three Golden HairsThe Devil With the Three Golden Hairs is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 29. It falls under Aarne-Thompson classification types 461, "three hairs from the devil", and 930, "prophecy that a poor boy will marry a rich girl."...
- The Story of Three Wonderful BeggarsThe Story of Three Wonderful BeggarsThe Story of Three Wonderful Beggars is a Serbian fairy tale. It is also known as Vasilii the Unlucky its Russian form, collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki....
- The Prince and the Princess in the ForestThe Prince and the Princess in the ForestThe Prince and the Princess in the Forest is a Danish fairy tale. It was collected by Evald Tang Kristensen in "Eventyr fra Jylland". Andrew Lang included it in The Olive Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...