The Princess That Wore A Rabbit-Skin Dress
Encyclopedia
"The Princess That Wore a Rabbit-skin Dress" is an American fairy tale
from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Uncle Tom Dixon.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B. Others of this type include Catskin
, Cap O' Rushes
, Donkeyskin
, Allerleirauh
, The King who Wished to Marry His Daughter
, The She-Bear
, Mossycoat
, Tattercoats
, and The Bear
.
time, and that husband was so cruel to her that she became ill and died. The last husband wanted to marry her daughter. The daughter's mare
told her to ask her stepfather for a dress of silver; with some help from fairies
, it took a year and six months. Then she asked for a dress of gold, which took two years and six months, and a dress of diamonds and pearls, which took three years and six months. The mare gave her a dress of rabbit skin, and the princess rode off on her. Some hunters, including a prince, found her and took her to the castle, where they gave her a job in the kitchen. They were rude, saying she needed only the ears to be a rabbit. One day, the mare told her that the prince was going to a party; the mare carried her there and gave her a nut that held the silver dress. The next day, she went in the gold dress; the third, in the dress of diamonds and pearls, and the prince gave her a golden ring. She wore the ring after she took off the dress, and the prince recognized and married her.
and Mossycoat
.
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...
from Kentucky, collected by Marie Campbell in Tales from the Cloud Walking Country, listing her informant as Uncle Tom Dixon.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B. Others of this type include Catskin
Catskin
Catskin is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, in More English Fairy Tales. Marian Roalfe Cox, in her pioneering study of Cinderella, identified as one of the basic types, the Unnatural Father, contrasting with Cinderella itself and Cap O' Rushes.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B,...
, Cap O' Rushes
Cap O' Rushes
"Cap-o'-Rushes" is an English fairy tale published by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairy Tales.Jacobs gives his source as "Contributed by Mrs. Walter-Thomas to "Suffolk Notes and Queries" of the Ipswich Journal, published by Mr. Lang in Longman's Magazine, vol. xiii., also in Folk-Lore September, 1890"...
, Donkeyskin
Donkeyskin
Donkeyskin is a French fairy tale told by Charles Perrault.Andrew Lang included it, somewhat euphemized, in The Grey Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson folktale type 510B, unnatural love...
, Allerleirauh
Allerleirauh
Allerleirauh is a fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. Since the second edition published in 1819, it has been recorded as Tale no. 65. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book....
, The King who Wished to Marry His Daughter
The King who Wished to Marry His Daughter
"The King Who Wished to Marry His Daughter" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Ann Darroch from Islay.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B, unnatural love...
, The She-Bear
The She-Bear
"The She-bear" is an Italian literary fairy tale, written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone.Ruth Manning-Sanders included it in A Book of Princes and Princesses....
, Mossycoat
Mossycoat
Mossycoat is a fairy tale collected by Katherine M. Briggs and Ruth I. Tongue in Folktales of England.Also included within A Book of British Fairy Tales by Alan Garner....
, Tattercoats
Tattercoats
Tattercoats is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his More English Fairy Tales.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B, the persecuted heroine...
, and The Bear
The Bear (fairy tale)
The Bear is a fairy tale collected by Andrew Lang in The Grey Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson classification system type 510B, unnatural love...
.
Synopsis
A king died after his wife gave birth to a girl. The queen remarried, and that husband also died. Then she married a thirdRule of three (writing)
The "rule of three" is a principle in writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader/audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of...
time, and that husband was so cruel to her that she became ill and died. The last husband wanted to marry her daughter. The daughter's mare
Donor (fairy tale)
In fairy tales, a donor is a character that tests the hero and provides magical assistances to the hero when he succeeds.The fairy godmother is a well-known form of this character...
told her to ask her stepfather for a dress of silver; with some help from 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...
, it took a year and six months. Then she asked for a dress of gold, which took two years and six months, and a dress of diamonds and pearls, which took three years and six months. The mare gave her a dress of rabbit skin, and the princess rode off on her. Some hunters, including a prince, found her and took her to the castle, where they gave her a job in the kitchen. They were rude, saying she needed only the ears to be a rabbit. One day, the mare told her that the prince was going to a party; the mare carried her there and gave her a nut that held the silver dress. The next day, she went in the gold dress; the third, in the dress of diamonds and pearls, and the prince gave her a golden ring. She wore the ring after she took off the dress, and the prince recognized and married her.
Motifs
This is an unusual variant of type 510B, where the man who wishes to marry her is commonly her actual father. Other variants without her father usually threaten marriage to an unwanted suitor who is no relation, as CatskinCatskin
Catskin is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, in More English Fairy Tales. Marian Roalfe Cox, in her pioneering study of Cinderella, identified as one of the basic types, the Unnatural Father, contrasting with Cinderella itself and Cap O' Rushes.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510B,...
and Mossycoat
Mossycoat
Mossycoat is a fairy tale collected by Katherine M. Briggs and Ruth I. Tongue in Folktales of England.Also included within A Book of British Fairy Tales by Alan Garner....
.