The Lassie and Her Godmother
Encyclopedia
The Lassie and Her Godmother (Norwegian: "Jomfru Maria som gudmor"; Virgin Mary as godmother) is a Norwegian fairy tale
collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
and Jørgen Moe
in Norske Folkeeventyr
.
The Brothers Grimm
noted its similarity to their Mary's Child
, and also to the Italian The Goat-faced Girl
.
When the girl was old enough to know right from wrong, the lady went on a journey, forbidding her to go into certain rooms. The girl could not resist looking into one, and a star sprang out. When her foster mother returned, she was angry with her, and threatened to send her away, but at her pleading, let her stay. The next time the foster mother went away, the girl opened the second door, and the moon sprang out. Again, the angry foster mother was appeased by the girl, but the third time, when she let out the sun, the foster mother insisted that the girl had to leave. Before sending her away, she gave her the choice of being ugly and able to speak, or being beautiful but mute. The girl chose to be beautiful.
She wandered in the woods
until nightfall, when she climbed a tree over water and slept there. Several female servants sent from the castle to fetch water saw her reflection, thought it was their own, and decided they were too beautiful to fetch water. Finally, the prince went himself, realized she was there, and coaxed her down to be his queen. His mother objected, arguing the girl could not speak and might be a witch. Nevertheless, he married her.
When she was to have her first child, the prince set a watch about her, but they all fell asleep, and the foster mother came, took the baby, and smeared the queen's mouth with blood, saying she would be sorry as her foster mother had been when she let out the star. Everyone thought she had killed and eaten the child, and the prince's mother would have had her burned if the prince had not pleaded for her. The same thing happened the second time, though the watch was twice as strong; the foster mother decreed that the girl would be as sorry as the foster mother had been when she had let out the moon. The third time, the watch was three times as strong, the foster mother decreed that she would be as sorry as the foster mother when she let out the sun, and the prince was unable to save her. But when they were leading her to the fire, the foster mother reappeared with the children, restoring them to their parents, said that the girl had been sufficiently punished, revealed that she was the Virgin Mary, and restored her speech. Thereafter they lived happily, and even the prince's mother grew to love the young queen.
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 Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
and Jørgen Moe
Jørgen Moe
right|thumb|Norske Folkeeventyr Asbjørnsen and Moe Jørgen Engebretsen Moe was a Norwegian bishop and author...
in Norske Folkeeventyr
Norske Folkeeventyr
Norwegian Folktales is a collection of Norwegian folktales and legends by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. It is also known as Asbjørnsen and Moe, after the collectors.-Asbjørnsen and Moe:...
.
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...
noted its similarity to their Mary's Child
Mary's Child
Mary's Child or Our Lady's Child is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales as tale number 3.The Brothers Grimm noted its similarity to the Italian The Goat-faced Girl and the Norwegian The Lassie and Her Godmother...
, and also to the Italian The Goat-faced Girl
The Goat-faced Girl
The Goat-faced Girl is an Italian fairy tale. Giambattista Basile included a version in his Pentamerone. Andrew Lang included a version, collected by Hermann Kletke, in The Grey Fairy Book....
.
Synopsis
A poor couple had a baby girl. They wished to have the child christened, but could not pay the parson's fees. At last, the father found a beautiful lady who offered to get the child christened, but said that she would keep her as her own child afterwards. The father spoke to his wife about it, and his wife refused, but when the beautiful lady made the same offer the next day, his wife agreed that they should accept if they could not find anyone else. The child was christened, and the lady then took her home and treated her kindly.When the girl was old enough to know right from wrong, the lady went on a journey, forbidding her to go into certain rooms. The girl could not resist looking into one, and a star sprang out. When her foster mother returned, she was angry with her, and threatened to send her away, but at her pleading, let her stay. The next time the foster mother went away, the girl opened the second door, and the moon sprang out. Again, the angry foster mother was appeased by the girl, but the third time, when she let out the sun, the foster mother insisted that the girl had to leave. Before sending her away, she gave her the choice of being ugly and able to speak, or being beautiful but mute. The girl chose to be beautiful.
She wandered in the woods
Enchanted 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...
until nightfall, when she climbed a tree over water and slept there. Several female servants sent from the castle to fetch water saw her reflection, thought it was their own, and decided they were too beautiful to fetch water. Finally, the prince went himself, realized she was there, and coaxed her down to be his queen. His mother objected, arguing the girl could not speak and might be a witch. Nevertheless, he married her.
When she was to have her first child, the prince set a watch about her, but they all fell asleep, and the foster mother came, took the baby, and smeared the queen's mouth with blood, saying she would be sorry as her foster mother had been when she let out the star. Everyone thought she had killed and eaten the child, and the prince's mother would have had her burned if the prince had not pleaded for her. The same thing happened the second time, though the watch was twice as strong; the foster mother decreed that the girl would be as sorry as the foster mother had been when she had let out the moon. The third time, the watch was three times as strong, the foster mother decreed that she would be as sorry as the foster mother when she let out the sun, and the prince was unable to save her. But when they were leading her to the fire, the foster mother reappeared with the children, restoring them to their parents, said that the girl had been sufficiently punished, revealed that she was the Virgin Mary, and restored her speech. Thereafter they lived happily, and even the prince's mother grew to love the young queen.
See also
- The Enchanted CanaryThe Enchanted CanaryThe Enchanted Canary is a French fairy tale collected by Charles Deulin. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A lord was the fattest lord in Flanders. He loved his son dearly. One day, the young man told him he did not find the women in Flanders beautiful; he did not wish to...
- The Love for Three OrangesThe Love for Three Oranges (fairy tale)The Love for Three Oranges or The Three Citrons is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone. It is the concluding tale, and the one the heroine of the frame story uses to reveal that an imposter has taken her place.It is Aarne-Thompson type 408, and the...
- The Twelve Wild DucksThe Twelve Wild DucksThe Twelve Wild Ducks is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norske Folkeeventyr.It is Aarne-Thompson type 451, the brothers who were turned into birds.-Plot summary:...
- The Six SwansThe Six SwansThe Six Swans is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. It is tale number 49. Andrew Lang included a variant in The Yellow Fairy Book. It is Aarne-Thompson type 451: the brothers who were turned into birds...