The Golden Key
Encyclopedia
The Golden Key is a fairy tale
written by George MacDonald
. It was published in Dealings with the Fairies (1867).
It is particularly noted for the intensity of the suggestive imagery, which implies a spiritual meaning to the story without providing a transparent allegory for the events in it.
is in Fairyland
, the rainbow only glows the brighter, and he finds the key, and it dawns on him that he does not know where the lock is.
Also on the borders of this forest, a merchant's daughter is being cared for by servants, who are such poor housekeepers that they disgust the local fairies
, who resolve to get them sent away by frightening off the child. Their first attempts, by animating the furniture in her room, make her laugh, but as she has been reading Silverhair, when they make her think three bears are coming into her bedroom, she flees into the woods.
A tree traps her there, but an air fish frees her and leads her to a lady. A pot is boiling there, and the air fish flies into it. The lady asks her name; the girl says that the servants always called her Tangle, and the lady decides that although her tangled hair was their fault for not looking after her, Tangle is a pretty name. She tells the girl that she is her grandmother, and that it has been three years since she ran away from the bears. She has the girl washed by fish and dresses her. Then they eat a dinner of the air fish, after the lady assures her that the air fish had voluntarily gone into the pot to be their dinner, and the pot that had cooked the air fish produces a little winged figure, who flies off.
The lady sends another air fish after the young man at the foot of the rainbow. At supper the next day, the young man, whose name is Mossy, arrives. The lady tells Mossy that if he searches for the keyhole, he will find it, and sends Tangle with him. In their wanderings, they come across a land where beautiful shadows fill the air, and they resolve they must find the land from which the shadows fall, but they are separated.
Tangle meets with the aëranth that used to be the fish, and it leads her to the mountain. There she meets the Old Man of the Sea. He can not tell her the way to the land from which the shadows fall, and sends her to his brother the Old Man of the Earth. He, also, does not know, and sends her to the Old Man of the Fire.
She throws herself in, and the Old Man of the Fire sends her to follow a serpent, which will lead her to that land.
Mossy also finds the Old Man of the Sea, who shows him a way leading to a door that his key unlocks. Behind the door, he finds Tangle, and another door that his key unlocks, where a stairway leads to the land from which the shadows fall. They start to climb, at which point the story ends.
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...
written by George MacDonald
George MacDonald
George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. It was C.S...
. It was published in Dealings with the Fairies (1867).
It is particularly noted for the intensity of the suggestive imagery, which implies a spiritual meaning to the story without providing a transparent allegory for the events in it.
Plot summary
A woman tells her great-nephew of a golden key found at the end of a rainbow. One day, he sees a rainbow and sets out to find the end. The sun sets, but as the forestEnchanted forest
In literature, an enchanted forest is a forest under, or containing, enchantments. Such forests are described in the oldest folklore from regions where forests are common, and occur throughout the centuries to modern works of fantasy...
is in Fairyland
Fairyland
Fairyland commonly refers to the land of fairies, in folklore.Fairyland may also refer to:* Álfheimr, the abode of the elves in Norse mythology* Elfhame or Elfland, the abode of the elves in English and Lowland Scottish folklore...
, the rainbow only glows the brighter, and he finds the key, and it dawns on him that he does not know where the lock is.
Also on the borders of this forest, a merchant's daughter is being cared for by servants, who are such poor housekeepers that they disgust the local 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...
, who resolve to get them sent away by frightening off the child. Their first attempts, by animating the furniture in her room, make her laugh, but as she has been reading Silverhair, when they make her think three bears are coming into her bedroom, she flees into the woods.
A tree traps her there, but an air fish frees her and leads her to a lady. A pot is boiling there, and the air fish flies into it. The lady asks her name; the girl says that the servants always called her Tangle, and the lady decides that although her tangled hair was their fault for not looking after her, Tangle is a pretty name. She tells the girl that she is her grandmother, and that it has been three years since she ran away from the bears. She has the girl washed by fish and dresses her. Then they eat a dinner of the air fish, after the lady assures her that the air fish had voluntarily gone into the pot to be their dinner, and the pot that had cooked the air fish produces a little winged figure, who flies off.
The lady sends another air fish after the young man at the foot of the rainbow. At supper the next day, the young man, whose name is Mossy, arrives. The lady tells Mossy that if he searches for the keyhole, he will find it, and sends Tangle with him. In their wanderings, they come across a land where beautiful shadows fill the air, and they resolve they must find the land from which the shadows fall, but they are separated.
Tangle meets with the aëranth that used to be the fish, and it leads her to the mountain. There she meets the Old Man of the Sea. He can not tell her the way to the land from which the shadows fall, and sends her to his brother the Old Man of the Earth. He, also, does not know, and sends her to the Old Man of the Fire.
- Then the Old Man of the Earth stooped over the floor of the cave, raised a huge stone from it, and left it leaning. It disclosed a great hole that went plumb-down.
- "That is the way," he said.
- "But there are no stairs."
- "You must throw yourself in. There is no other way."
She throws herself in, and the Old Man of the Fire sends her to follow a serpent, which will lead her to that land.
Mossy also finds the Old Man of the Sea, who shows him a way leading to a door that his key unlocks. Behind the door, he finds Tangle, and another door that his key unlocks, where a stairway leads to the land from which the shadows fall. They start to climb, at which point the story ends.
External links
- The Golden Key - full text
- The Golden Key - Audio Recording - from LibrivoxLibriVoxLibriVox is an online digital library of free public domain audiobooks, read by volunteers and is probably, since 2007, the world's most prolific audiobook publisher...