The Old Witch
Encyclopedia
The Old Witch is an English fairy tale
collected by Joseph Jacobs
in his 1894 book, More English Fairy Tales.
Also included within A Book of Witches
Ruth Manning-Sanders
and A Book of British Fairy Tales by Alan Garner
.
It is Aarne-Thompson tale 480, the kind and the unkind girls. Others of this type include Shita-kiri Suzume
, Diamonds and Toads
, Mother Hulda
, Father Frost
, The Three Little Men in the Wood
, The Enchanted Wreath
, The Three Heads in the Well
, and The Two Caskets
. Literary variants include The Three Fairies
and Aurore and Aimée
.
, where the bread
begged her to take it out. She did so. She came to a cow that begged her to milk it, and an apple tree that begged her to shake down its apples, and she did those as well. She came to a witch's house, and the witch set her to clean the house, but forbade her to ever look up the chimney
. One day, she did, and bags of money fell down. She took them and fled. The witch chased her, but each time she came close, the apple tree and the cow hid her, and when she came to the oven, the baker hid her behind it, and tricked the witch into the oven, trapping her for a long time. With her money, she married a rich man.
Her sister decided to try the same thing, but refused the oven, the cow, and the apple tree. When she stole
the gold
, the apple tree refused to hide her, and the witch caught her, beat her, and took back the money.
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 Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs was a folklorist, literary critic and historian. His works included contributions to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, translations of European works, and critical editions of early English literature...
in his 1894 book, More English Fairy Tales.
Also included within A Book of Witches
A Book of Witches
A Book of Witches is a 1966 anthology of 12 fairy tales from Europe that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders....
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...
and A Book of British Fairy Tales by Alan Garner
Alan Garner
With his first book published, Garner abandoned his work as a labourer and gained a job as a freelance television reporter, living a "hand to mouth" lifestyle on a "shoestring" budget...
.
It is Aarne-Thompson tale 480, the kind and the unkind girls. Others of this type include Shita-kiri Suzume
Shita-kiri Suzume
, translated literally into "Tongue-Cut Sparrow", is a traditional Japanese fable telling of a kind old man, his avaricious wife and an injured sparrow...
, Diamonds and Toads
Diamonds and Toads
Diamonds and Toads or Toads and Diamonds is a French fairy tale by Charles Perrault, and titled by him "Les Fées" or "The Fairies." Andrew Lang included it in The Blue Fairy Book....
, Mother Hulda
Mother Hulda
Mother 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 :...
, Father Frost
Father Frost (fairy tale)
Father Frost is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki. Andrew Lang included it, as "The Story of King Frost", in The Yellow Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 480, The Kind and the Unkind Girls...
, The Three Little Men in the Wood
The Three Little Men in the Wood
The Three Little Men in the Wood or The Three Dwarfs is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 13. Andrew Lang included it in The Red Fairy Book, and a version of the tale appears in A Book of Dwarfs by Ruth Manning-Sanders.It is Aarne-Thompson type 403B, the black and the...
, The Enchanted Wreath
The Enchanted Wreath
The Enchanted Wreath is a Scandinavian fairy tale, collected in Benjamin Thorpe in his Yule-Tide Stories: A Collection of Scandinavian and North German Popular Tales and Traditions...
, The Three Heads in the Well
The Three Heads in the Well
The Three Heads in the Well is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson tale 480, the kind and the unkind girls. Others of this type include Shita-kiri Suzume, Diamonds and Toads, Mother Hulda, Father Frost, The Three Little Men in the Wood, The Enchanted...
, and The Two Caskets
The Two Caskets
The Two Caskets is a Scandinavian fairy tale included by Benjamin Thorpe in his Yule-Tide Stories: A Collection of Scandinavian and North German Popular Tales and Traditions. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book....
. Literary variants include The Three Fairies
The Three Fairies
The Three Fairies is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.It is Aarne-Thompson tale 480, the kind and the unkind girls, and appears to stem from an oral source...
and Aurore and Aimée
Aurore and Aimée
Aurore and Aimée is a French literary fairy tale written by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. Like her better known tale Beauty and the Beast, it is among the first fairy tales deliberately written for children....
.
Synopsis
A couple had two daughters, and their father had no work. They wanted to seek their fortune, and one said she would go into service. Her mother said she could, if she could find a place. She searched, unable to find anything, and came to an ovenOven
An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...
, where the bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
begged her to take it out. She did so. She came to a cow that begged her to milk it, and an apple tree that begged her to shake down its apples, and she did those as well. She came to a witch's house, and the witch set her to clean the house, but forbade her to ever look up the chimney
Chimney
A chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
. One day, she did, and bags of money fell down. She took them and fled. The witch chased her, but each time she came close, the apple tree and the cow hid her, and when she came to the oven, the baker hid her behind it, and tricked the witch into the oven, trapping her for a long time. With her money, she married a rich man.
Her sister decided to try the same thing, but refused the oven, the cow, and the apple tree. When she stole
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
the gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, the apple tree refused to hide her, and the witch caught her, beat her, and took back the money.
See also
- The Magic Swan GeeseThe Magic Swan GeeseThe Magic Swan Geese or is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 451...
- The Little Girl Sold with the PearsThe Little Girl Sold with the Pears"The Little Girl Sold with the Pears" is an Italian fairy tale collected by Italo Calvino in Italian Folktales, from Piedmont. Ruth Manning-Sanders included a variant, as "The Girl in the Basket", in A Book of Ogres and Trolls.-Plot summary:...
- The King of LoveThe King of LoveThe King of Love is an Italian fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 425A. Others of this type include The Black Bull of Norroway, The Brown Bear of Norway, The Daughter of the Skies, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Enchanted...
- Kallo and the GoblinsKallo and the GoblinsKallo and the Goblins is a Greek fairy tale. Fani Papalouka, Nikolaos Politis, and Haris Sakellariou collected variants of the story.-Synopsis:...