The Two Kings' Children
Encyclopedia
The Two Kings' Children is a German fairy tale
collected by the Brothers Grimm
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
, tale number 113.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee, and type 884, the forgotten fiancée. Others of the first type include
The Master Maid
, The Water Nixie
, Nix Nought Nothing
, Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter
, and Foundling-Bird
. Other of the second type include The Twelve Huntsmen
, The True Bride
, and Sweetheart Roland
.
The Brothers Grimm also noted that scene with the false bride
resembles that of The Singing, Soaring Lark. Other fairy tales that use a similar motif include East of the Sun and West of the Moon
, Black Bull of Norroway
, The Feather of Finist the Falcon
, Mr Simigdáli
, and White-Bear-King-Valemon
.
daughters, one each night; he would call to the king's son each hour, and if he answered every time, the king's son could marry his daughter, but if not, he would die. Each night, the daughter he was set to watch enchanted a statue of St. Christopher to answer in the king's son's place.
The king said in order to marry one of the daughters, he had to cut down a forest in a day, and the king gave him a glass axe, a glass mallet, and a glass wedge to do it. All these things broke, and the king's son wept. The king told his daughters to bring him some food. The youngest daughter brought it, and told him to let her comb his hair. He fell asleep, and she conjured up Earth-workers to fell the forest.
The king then ordered the king's son to clear a muddy pond and fill it with fish in a day. When the king's son tried, his hoe and shovel stuck and broke. The youngest daughter brought him food and got him to sleep again; then she conjured the Earth workers again.
The king then ordered the king's son to clear a mountain of briars and put a castle on it. The glass hatchet he was given broke on the first briars, and the youngest daughter saved him again.
Finally, the king declared that the youngest daughter could not marry until the oldest daughters were married. The couple decided to run away at night. Once they were on their way, the king's daughter heard her father behind them. She turned
herself into a rose, and the king's son into a briar. Her father thought he had lost them, and went back, but his wife told him the briar and the rose had been the children. He chased them again. The king's daughter turned herself into a priest, and the king's son into a church, and she preached a sermon. The king listened to the sermon and went home. His wife told him that they had been the children and came after them herself. The daughter realized the queen would know them whatever they did, but she changed herself into a duck and the king's son into a pond. The queen tried to drink the pool, but became ill and told her daughter she could come back. The daughter did, and the queen gave her three walnuts to aid her.
The king's son and the king's daughter went on. The king's son had her stay while he went to get her carriage to bring her back in due state, but his mother kissed him, and he forgot the king's daughter entirely. The king's daughter had to work for a miller.
One day, the queen sought a bride
for her son. The king's daughter cracked one walnut and found a splendid dress in it. She wore it to the wedding. The bride declared she would not marry without a dress as fine. The king's daughter would not give it up unless she could spend a night outside the king's son's bedroom. The bride agreed but had the servants give the king's son a potion so he slept. She lamented all night long; the king's son did not hear, but the servants did. In the morning, the bride took the dress and went with the king's son to the church, but the king's daughter cracked the second walnut, and it held a more splendid dress, and the bride again refused to marry without one as fine. The king's daughter asked the same price, and the bride agreed and gave the same order, but the servant, who had heard, gave the king's son something to keep him awake. He heard her laments and was troubled by them. His mother had locked the door, but in the morning, he begged her pardon. The king's daughter cracked the third walnut and found still more splendid dress and wore it as her wedding gown, but the bride and the false mother were sent away.
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...
in Grimm's Fairy Tales
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Children's and Household Tales is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales .-Composition:...
, tale number 113.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee, and type 884, the forgotten fiancée. Others of the first type include
The Master Maid
The Master Maid
The Master Maid is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their Norske Folkeeventyr. "Master" indicates "superior, skilled." Jørgen Moe wrote the tale down from the storyteller Anne Godlid in Seljord on a short visit in the autumn of 1842.It is...
, The Water Nixie
The Water Nixie
The Water Nixie or The Water-Nix is a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 79. It came from Hanau.It is Aarne-Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee and revolves about a transformation chase...
, Nix Nought Nothing
Nix Nought Nothing
Nix Nought Nothing is an English fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his English Fairy Tales. A similar tale was collected by Andrew Lang in Scotland...
, Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter
Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter
Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter is a French fairy tale collected by Achille Millien.The fable is classed as Aarne-Thompson type 313 and revolves about a transformation chase. Others of this type include The Water Nixie, The Foundling-Bird, The Master Maid, and The Two Kings'...
, and Foundling-Bird
Foundling-Bird
Foundling-Bird is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 51.It is Aarne-Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee, and revolves about a transformation chase...
. Other of the second type include The Twelve Huntsmen
The Twelve Huntsmen
The Twelve Huntsmen is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm as tale number 67 in their Grimm's Fairy Tales. Andrew Lang included it in The Green Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 884, the forsaken fiancée...
, The True Bride
The True Bride
The True Bride or The True Sweetheart is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales as tale 186.It combines two Aarne-Thompson types: 510, the persecuted heroine, and 884, the forsaken fiancée...
, and Sweetheart Roland
Sweetheart Roland
Sweetheart Roland is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, number 56.It combines several Aarne-Thompson types: type 1119, Ogres Kill Their Own Children; type 313C, the girl helps the hero flee; and type 884, the forgotten fiancée. Others of the second type include The Master Maid,...
.
The Brothers Grimm also noted that scene with the false bride
False hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
resembles that of The Singing, Soaring Lark. Other fairy tales that use a similar motif include East of the Sun and West of the Moon
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
East of the Sun and West of the Moon is a Norwegian folk tale.East of the Sun and West of the Moon was collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe...
, Black Bull of Norroway
Black Bull of Norroway
The Black Bull of Norroway is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in More English Fairy Tales.The language, including references to bannocks, would indicate a Scottish story teller, in this instance, Kenny Norman Macleod....
, The Feather of Finist the Falcon
The Feather of Finist the Falcon
The Feather of Finist the Falcon or Finist the Falcon is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne–Thompson type 432, the prince as bird...
, Mr Simigdáli
Mr Simigdáli
Mr Simigdáli is a Greek fairy tale, collected by Irene Naumann-Mavrogordato in Es war einmal: Neugriechische Volksmärchen. Georgios A. Megas collected a variant Master Semolina in Folktales of Greece. There are about forty known Greek variants on the fairy tale of baking a figure and having it...
, and White-Bear-King-Valemon
White-Bear-King-Valemon
White-Bear-King-Valemon is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by the artist August Schneider in 1870, after a peasant woman, Thore Aslaksdotter , in Setesdal. The tale was for the first time retold and published in Peter Christen Asbjørnsen's Norske Folke-Eventyr. Ny Samling...
.
Synopsis
It was foretold of a king's son that he would be killed by a stag at sixteen. When he was sixteen, he went hunting and chased a stag; a great man, a king, caught him and carried him off. He set him to watch his threeRule 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...
daughters, one each night; he would call to the king's son each hour, and if he answered every time, the king's son could marry his daughter, but if not, he would die. Each night, the daughter he was set to watch enchanted a statue of St. Christopher to answer in the king's son's place.
The king said in order to marry one of the daughters, he had to cut down a forest in a day, and the king gave him a glass axe, a glass mallet, and a glass wedge to do it. All these things broke, and the king's son wept. The king told his daughters to bring him some food. The youngest daughter brought it, and told him to let her comb his hair. He fell asleep, and she conjured up Earth-workers to fell the forest.
The king then ordered the king's son to clear a muddy pond and fill it with fish in a day. When the king's son tried, his hoe and shovel stuck and broke. The youngest daughter brought him food and got him to sleep again; then she conjured the Earth workers again.
The king then ordered the king's son to clear a mountain of briars and put a castle on it. The glass hatchet he was given broke on the first briars, and the youngest daughter saved him again.
Finally, the king declared that the youngest daughter could not marry until the oldest daughters were married. The couple decided to run away at night. Once they were on their way, the king's daughter heard her father behind them. She turned
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
herself into a rose, and the king's son into a briar. Her father thought he had lost them, and went back, but his wife told him the briar and the rose had been the children. He chased them again. The king's daughter turned herself into a priest, and the king's son into a church, and she preached a sermon. The king listened to the sermon and went home. His wife told him that they had been the children and came after them herself. The daughter realized the queen would know them whatever they did, but she changed herself into a duck and the king's son into a pond. The queen tried to drink the pool, but became ill and told her daughter she could come back. The daughter did, and the queen gave her three walnuts to aid her.
The king's son and the king's daughter went on. The king's son had her stay while he went to get her carriage to bring her back in due state, but his mother kissed him, and he forgot the king's daughter entirely. The king's daughter had to work for a miller.
One day, the queen sought a bride
False hero
The false hero is a stock character in fairy tales, and sometimes also in ballads. The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the hero or heroine and is, therefore, always of the same sex as the hero or heroine. The false hero presents some claim to the position. By...
for her son. The king's daughter cracked one walnut and found a splendid dress in it. She wore it to the wedding. The bride declared she would not marry without a dress as fine. The king's daughter would not give it up unless she could spend a night outside the king's son's bedroom. The bride agreed but had the servants give the king's son a potion so he slept. She lamented all night long; the king's son did not hear, but the servants did. In the morning, the bride took the dress and went with the king's son to the church, but the king's daughter cracked the second walnut, and it held a more splendid dress, and the bride again refused to marry without one as fine. The king's daughter asked the same price, and the bride agreed and gave the same order, but the servant, who had heard, gave the king's son something to keep him awake. He heard her laments and was troubled by them. His mother had locked the door, but in the morning, he begged her pardon. The king's daughter cracked the third walnut and found still more splendid dress and wore it as her wedding gown, but the bride and the false mother were sent away.