The Water Nixie
Encyclopedia
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. Others of this type include
The Master Maid
, Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil's Daughter
, The Two Kings' Children
, Nix Nought Nothing
, and Foundling-Bird
. The Grimms noted Sweetheart Roland
as an analogue.
ie caught them and made them work for her. One Sunday while she was at church, they ran away. The nixie chased them. The girl threw a brush, which became a mountain with thousands of spikes, which the nixie got through with great effort. The boy threw a comb behind them, which became a mountains with thousands of teeth, which the nixie got through with great effort. The girl threw a mirror behind them, which became a mountain too slick for the nixie to climb. She went back to get an ax, but before she could chop through the mountain, they escaped.
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...
, tale number 79. It came from Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
.
It is Aarne-Thompson type 313A, the girl helps the hero flee and revolves about a transformation chase. Others of this 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...
, 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'...
, The Two Kings' Children
The Two Kings' Children
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...
, 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...
, 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...
. The Grimms noted 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,...
as an analogue.
Synopsis
A brother and sister fell into a well, where a nixNix
The Neck/Nixie are shapeshifting water spirits who usually appear in human form. The spirit has appeared in the myths and legends of all Germanic peoples in Europe....
ie caught them and made them work for her. One Sunday while she was at church, they ran away. The nixie chased them. The girl threw a brush, which became a mountain with thousands of spikes, which the nixie got through with great effort. The boy threw a comb behind them, which became a mountains with thousands of teeth, which the nixie got through with great effort. The girl threw a mirror behind them, which became a mountain too slick for the nixie to climb. She went back to get an ax, but before she could chop through the mountain, they escaped.